700624 - Letter to Yamuna written from Los Angeles

Letters by Date, 1970

Letter to Yamuna

Tridandi Goswami
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Founder-Acharya:
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
CENTER:     3764 Watseka Avenue
              Los Angeles, Cal. 90034

DATE ......24th..June................19.70


My Dear Yamuna,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 15th June, 1970, and noted the contents. So it is very good news that the atmosphere of London ISKCON is swelling in preparation of Rathayatra festival.
Regarding your first question, while Lord Jagannath is on His Ratha, and for the duration of the festivities for eight days following, bhuni kicrie may be offered along with other preparations. So for Rathayatra day feast should consist of bhuni kicrie which you make by first frying the dahl and rice in ghee. Also fry the vegetable with little ghee and massala. Then after the kicrie is cooked add some sugar, not enough to make it sweet, but just a little sweet taste, and some nutmeg, cinnamon, and other sweet spices. In this way it is like push pana. Other preparations may be a fruit salad, sweet rice, puries, a chutney, and a vegetable which is neither wet nor dry.
There is no need of a curtain for covering the Lord as He is being carried to His throne. For the eight days following July 5th the best thing is that Their Lordships remain in some new place very gorgeously decorated for Them and the program should be as much offering of feasts and Kirtan as possible. If it is not possible that They shall be able to remain in some new temple place, then they may return to London temple. I had suggested to Shyamasundar that this could be very nicely done at the chapel house at George's, but I have not heard from him in this connection.
It is very nice that you have decorated Their Lordships with complete new outfits just befitting Their excursion. I am enclosing also a description of the samkirtan parties and how they should be arranged for surrounding the London Ratha. I have received the tape recording of London devotees chanting and thank them all very much.
Hope this will meet you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS:db

Srimati Yamunadevi Dasi
p.t.o.