730104 - Letter to Jadurani written from Bombay

Letters by Date, 1973

Letter to Jadurani (Page 1 of 2)

Letter to Jadurani (Page 2 of 2)

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
CENTER:c/o Mahadevia
             B-11 Sea Face Park
             50-B Desai Road
             Bombay-26. India
DATE .....January..4,.....................19..73


My dear Jadurani,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated December 16, 1972, along with photos from Srimad-Bhagavatam. To answer your questions, "self-deception" means that I know I should have done something, I have knowledge of what I ought to do, and still I don't do it. Just like some of our devotees, we have got certain prohibitions, and everyone knows they will be harmful to me to violate, still they do it, despite everything. It is not like running after a mirage in the desert, thinking something water, that is ignorance, not self-deceit. So I cannot think of any example for your illustration just at this moment, but you have got the idea now what is self-deceit, I think you will be able to draw something nice.

The depiction of Brahma and the destruction of the material worlds is very nice. When Brahma enters into the body of Visnu, that is ultimately, at the ultimate destruction, not in the partial destruction which you are illustrating. So it is all right as you have done it.

So far the picture of three-headed Brahma in the assembly of other Brahmas, I have not seen, so what can I say? Whatever is palatable to everyone, you can do it that way. There is no mention otherwise, so the all Brahmas can be shown four arms. So far the question of all Brahmas riding on swans, at least when they came to offer respects they did not come with swan, they are all standing, they have walked into Krsna's palace. Yes, you may show all Brahmas very big in comparison with three-headed Brahma, otherwise how you can compare the elephant and the mosquito? The picture of my Guru Maharaja is nice.

So far your questions about Lord Jagannatha and Ratha-yatra Festival, the first Ratha-yatra Festival was 5,000 years before, when Krsna and Balarama and Subhadra came from Dvaraka to Kuruksetra. So far the festival at Puri, there is no such history, but it must be more than 3,000 years. At least there is recorded history 2,000 years old, because we see in the Aquarian Gospel that Lord Jesus Christ was attending the Ratha-yatra Festival at Puri. Yes, there was attempt by Radharani to take back Krsna from Kuruksetra to Vrndavana.

I think that answers your questions, so if you have got any more in connection with your work you may feel free to always write to me.

incomplete [handwritten]

Hoping this meets you in good health,

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Jadurani Devi Dasi
ISKCON Press, New York

ACBS/sda