690508 - Letter to Upendra written from Columbus

Letters by Date, 1969

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness

CENTER: 318 East 20th Avenue
Columbus, Ohio

DATE May 8, 1969

My Dear Upendra,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 4 May, 1969, and I have noted the contents with much encouragement. Regarding the church, I think you should try for it by all means, and if need be I shall see that the funds which you need will be loaned to you. I have already informed Tamal Krishna that the Los Angeles temple may be called upon to give this loan. So try for it, because such a nice church will be a tremendous boon to our Seattle propaganda activities.

Regarding your question about the difference between mind and soul, the mind is one of the senses, and the soul is the owner of the senses, including the mind. The mind is material, just like the material body, but when the material coverings are taken away, as we revive our spiritual body, similarly we revive our spiritual mind also. At the present moment, my material mind, intelligence and ego is carrying me in different types of bodies, because mind has different desires, and it carries the soul just like finer air carries the flavor of the flower or some other smell. So the mind is an instrument, and the soul is the worker of the instrument.

I hope this will meet you in good health and cheerful mood.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami