720703 - Letter to Gunagrahi written from New York

Letters by Date, 1972

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
CENTER: 439 Henry St., Brooklyn, N.Y.

DATE ....July...3,....................19..72.

My Dear Gunagrahi:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter from Buffalo dated June 21, 1972, and I have noted the contents carefully. Especially I am very much pleased to hear that the University of Buffalo has given to you more than $1200.00 in grant. I can understand by your enthusiastic preparations for Rathayatra in Buffalo that you are very sincere boy and capable devotee. This is very much wanted throughout the society of men, that some few of you will come to the understanding that by serving the Lord with my full energy that this will be my happy position of life and that no other occupation will give me any, not even an ounce of pleasure. Such persons like yourself who are thinking in this way are getting all intelligence and facility by how to do the things properly, and that Krishna is helping you with intelligence and ability, now you take the right course and utilize the opportunity given to you by Krishna to actually inject the human society with that same determination to serve the Lord. Only a handful of you are there who are convinced beyond any doubt about this Krsna consciousness movement, but is sufficient to change the entire course of history.

I shall be in London this year for the Rathayatra festival and after that I am going to Paris for the twenty-first, twenty-second and twenty-third of July, and as I have already confirmed these engagements long ago, I regret I shall not be able to physically attend your Rathayatra at Buffalo, but my presence is always with the devotees who are serving so nicely.

Worship of Radha-Krishna Deities is the ultimate pinnacle of Deity worship, and it must be done with the utmost caution and attention to every detail of giving opulent service. I am not recommending more temples to install Radha-Krishna Deities until I have become more convinced that they can properly manage. At least five to ten persons must be engaged full time to worship Radha-Krishna properly, and for any small temple especially that is a detrimental factor to maintaining the highest standard in other temple activities besides, because there are not enough men. You may worship Lord Jagannatha, or if you like to install Gour-Gouranga, Gour-Nitai, or simply Gour Deity, He is also very liberal and will forgive and tolerate any service offered to Him even by Jagai and Madhai.

Hoping this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS/sda/nd