710713 - Letter to Dinesh Candra written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1971

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
CENTER 3764 Watseka Ave.
Los Angeles, Calif.

DATE ..........13th.July,..1971...19......

My Dear Dinesh Chandra,

Please accept my blessings and offer the same to your wife Krishna Devi, daughter Vishnu Arati and Kulashekar Prabhu. I am in due receipt of your very encouraging letter dated 30th June, 1971 and have noted the contents carefully. Your endeavor is very much appreciated. Thank you very much. You have my all good wishes. Success or no success, it doesn't matter; you have come to Israel with your family and that is my pleasure. All blessings upon you.
So for the time being, you can stay in your apartment, have discourses and hold kirtan and whoever voluntarily may join, no one can object. Whoever comes, give him nice prasadam. For the time being this can be done. There is no need of outside engagements if they are not possible to get. If you can, that's all right. But inside activities should go on. So live peacefully and whatever service you can render is all right.
You should preach on the position of God. You can describe how God Consciousness can be developed. We are not presenting another God. We shall talk on God, his nature, His exalted position, His omnipresence and how we can realize him. For example in Bhagavad Gita we can realize, as it is stated there, that God is in everything extraordinary. We can realize God in the taste of water. When we are thirsty and drink water, the nice taste which quenches the thirst, that is God. So gradually you can introduce and disclose that according to the Vedic faith God is called Krishna, just as he is called Jehovah or Allah. Indirectly you can say that God has no name but because we are accustomed to understanding everything by giving some nomenclature, so God has names which are ascertained by His activities. For example God is creating, so if I call God 'the master of the world' (Jagadisha) then what is the wrong there? And who can deny that God created the world?
We are not concerned with the common man because they will think that we are criticizing. So speak on general features of how we understand God. God is called great in every religion. Our appreciations of greatness are six in number. These are stated in the Krishna Book Introduction. So you have to introduce the matter of God scientifically, and that will be appreciated by any reasonable man. If we say that your God is like this and our God is like that, then there will be great disturbance. Simply speak on general topics, that God is like this. Then let them read our literature and ask questions. In this way try to push on our missionary activities.
Hoping this will meet you in good health.