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Form of the Lord (Letters)

Expressions researched:
"form of god" |"form of the lord" |"forms of god" |"forms of the lord" |"god's form" |"lord's form"

Correspondence

1967 Correspondence

Letter to Gargamuni -- Calcutta 19 October, 1967:

Brahmananda is very pure at heart. He might have been misled by Kirtanananda for the time being but Krishna did not allow him to fall back. According to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord is full in six opulences & the rascal impersonalists says that the Lord has no form & the most dangerous accusation for the Lord that He assumes a material form when he descends. The Impersonalist is of the opinion that the absolute has no form & He appears in a particular type of form according to the whim of nonsense; The impersonalist presents any form nonsensical by his imagination & worships it as God. This accusation of the Lord is the greatest offense of the nonsense impersonalist. Such offender can never realize the transcendental form of the Lord & the Lord puts such nonsense into more & more darkness so that the dangerous impersonalist can never know the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I do not believe that Kirtanananda has gone to such an extent of ailing situation but if he does not rectify himself immediately his future is very dark. If he is sincere in his concept of impersonal Absolute he should enter into correspondence with me & I shall refute all his arguments; but I understand that he could not answer you even when you hit him with some questions. I shall request that you save this poor creature from impersonal calamity.

You will be glad to know that I've already secured my visitors visa for going to U.S.A. & I am advised by travel agent to book my seat conveniently. I am going to Navadvipa, the birth place of Lord Caitanya next with Acyutananda & Ramanuja. My next mailing address is; c/o Sri Caitanya Saraswat Math, Kolergunge, P.O. Navadvipa. District Nadia. W.B., India. Hope you are well.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Syamasundara -- Los Angeles 15 July, 1969:

This means that all valuable nuts like almonds, macadamias, walnuts, coconuts, etc. all take a long time to fructify. Anything valuable takes a little time to come into existence. Therefore there is no harm in waiting for the best thing. But everything is well that ends well: That should be the principle.

I am glad that your friendship with Mr. George Harrison is gradually working, so much so that he is now prepared to spend $3,000 for an altar slab and a block of bluish marble for carving Krishna or Lord Caitanya. For Lord Caitanya yellowish marble or white marble should be used. If yellowish golden colored marble is available, that is very nice. Another thing is that these Forms should be worshiped. Our Deity worship is not heathenism. If we keep Forms of the Lord without worshiping the Deity under regulative principles, it will gradually turn into idol worship, which is an offense. The Deity of the Lord and the Lord Himself are identical. Krishna can act through the Deity perfectly. As I have given several times the example, the mailbox can act perfectly as the post office because it is authorized. Similarly, when the Deity is installed under authorized regulative principles, the Deity is as good as Krishna Himself. So you may advise your friend on this principle. But I am so much pleased that he is coming forward to offer his hard-earned money for Krishna's purpose. I am also glad to learn that George has purchased one nice house for his family, and there he will be building a very rich altar which will be bedecked with jewels and gold work. I have already given you one design for the throne.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Linda -- Los Angeles 19 February, 1970:

I am in due receipt of your nice letter dated 10 February, 1970, and I am very glad to note how you are eager to understand this science of devotional service to Krsna or Krsna Consciousness.

Regarding your questions about the difference between the picture of Krsna and the Deity, Krsna is equally there in both these forms. Krsna is so kind that he agrees to appear, for the benefit of the conditioned soul, in eight different kinds of forms. Such form is called arca or the form of the Lord manifested through material agency as metal, earth, wood, painting, stone, jewel, drawing, and mind. The arca is accepted as incarnation of God, and is worshiped by regulations. Generally the installed Deities are so worshiped and the regulative principles should be strictly followed in regard to Them.

I am very happy to learn that you are finding the Detroit atmosphere so blissful, and actually the more you engage yourself in the sincere service of Krsna, the more you will find yourself always blissful.

Letter to Jagadisa -- Los Angeles 27 February, 1970:

Astanga Yoga is better than Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga is on the level of Astanga Yoga. But the Bhakti Yoga is the ultimate goal of all Yogas. In other words, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Astanga Yoga by proper execution culminate in Bhakti Yoga. So far yogis who meditate on the Paramatma form of the Lord within their hearts, if they see Him in that way actually they become pure devotees, but if they do not perfect the process they may remain on the lower level of incomplete realization or Paramatma realization.

I am happy to learn that your Sankirtana party is very successful. If you have some extra money, you can contribute to the book fund because I am contributing to purchase a large church here to the extent of 20,000 dollars; and try to send the maintenance charges to me regularly.

Letter to Pradyumna -- Los Angeles 21 June, 1970:

Better we should practice to concentrate our attention by offering flowers and tulasi on the lotus feet of the Lord. In this way as we become purified by arcana process gradually we dress Him, bathe Him, and all these transcendental activities help us in purifying our existence. So when we are on the higher standard of purification, at that time if we see the smiling face of the Lord or relish the Rasa Dance pastimes of the Lord, then we can relish His activities. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, therefore, Rasa Dance pastime is delineated in the 10th canto.

The more we concentrate on the transcendental form of the Lord, either on the lotus feet or on the calf or on the thighs or on the chest, the more we become purified. In this verse it is clearly stated "as and as the intelligence becomes purified," which means as and as we become detached from sense gratification. Our intelligence at the present moment in the conditioned state of life is impure on account of being engaged in sense gratification. So the result of all meditation on the transcendental form of the Lord shall be manifested by our detachment from sense gratification. Therefore the ultimate purpose of meditation is purification of our intelligence.

Those who are too much engrossed in sense gratification cannot be allowed in the matter of arcana to touch the transcendental form of Radha Krsna or Visnu Deities. For them it is better to meditate upon the gigantic Virata Rupa form of the Lord as it is recommended in the next verse. The impersonalist and the voidist are therefore recommended to meditate upon the universal form of the Lord, whereas the devotees are recommended to meditate on the Deity worship in the temple. So because the impersonalist and voidist are not sufficiently purified in their spiritual activities arcana is not meant for them

Letter to Upendra -- Los Angeles 15 July, 1970:

So how you can say that we were before? You are always with Krsna and when we forget this fact we are far, far away from Him. In the Isopanisad it is clearly stated that tad dure tad vantike "He is very away, but He is very near as well." (Iso. mantra 5). So this forgetfulness is our falldown. It can take place at any moment, and we can counteract this forgetfulness immediately rising to the platform of Krsna consciousness.

Yes, your have correctly answered your second question by the purport that Arjuna's mind was already absorbed in knowing Krsna as his friend so he should not give up that status but he should only change his vision for the time in order to see the Universal Form of the Lord.

Regarding the three beads missing from your set of japa beads, just string three beads in place. That is all that is necessary.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Devamaya -- Bombay 9 January, 1975:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated Jan. 6th 1975 and have noted the contents. Thank you for your burfis. Regarding your questions, there is no special planet for the Lord in His form of Lord Jagannatha. This particular lila was performed with His brother and sister when They were on this planet. If you are attracted to worshiping this form of the Lord, then you will go to Krishna. Lord Jagannatha is Krishna. You ask about what kind of food He likes to eat most. That you cannot prepare. If you sometimes come to Jagannatha Puri, then you can see. You should not give them any clubs to hold. It is not necessary.

Regarding astrology, you should not listen to any of these so-called astrologers—strictly avoid. Don't even see them. What is the use of seeing them? Astrology is meant for the materialist, but a spiritualist does not care for the future. Everything is dependent upon Krishna. So where is the necessity of astrology? The devotees' principle is, let there happen anything as Krishna desires. Let me remain sincere devotee, that's all. Pure devotee is never interested in this astrology.

Page Title:Form of the Lord (Letters)
Compiler:MadhuGopaldas, RupaManjari
Created:25 of Apr, 2013
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=7
No. of Quotes:7