Plastic

Expressions researched:
"plastic" |"plastics"

SB Canto 3

SB 3.33.17, Translation and Purport:

The walls of the house were made of first-class marble, decorated with valuable jewels. There was no need of light, for the household was illuminated by the rays of these jewels. The female members of the household were all amply decorated with jewelry.

It is understood from this statement that the opulences of household life were exhibited in valuable jewels, ivory, first-class marble, and furniture made of gold and jewels. The clothes are also mentioned as being decorated with golden filigree. Everything actually had some value. It was not like the furniture of the present day, which is cast in valueless plastic or base metal. The way of Vedic civilization is that whatever was used in household affairs had to be valuable. In case of need, such items of value could be exchanged immediately. Thus one's broken and unwanted furniture and paraphernalia would never be without value. This system is still followed by Indians in household affairs. They keep metal utensils and golden ornaments or silver plates and valuable silk garments with gold embroidery, and in case of need, they can have some money in exchange immediately. There are exchanges for the moneylenders and the householders.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.16.20-21, Purport:

In modern times, girls and ladies have ornaments made of plastic instead of gold, and plastic utensils are used instead of golden ones, yet people are very proud of their material wealth. Therefore the people of this age are described as mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ (SB 1.1.10). In other words, they are extremely bad and slow to understand the opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They have been described as sumanda-matayaḥ because their conceptions are so crippled that they accept a bluffer who produces a little gold to be God. Because they have no gold in their possession, they are actually poverty-stricken, and therefore they are considered unfortunate.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.15.25, Purport:

The mind sometimes induces us to think that if we purchase an automobile we can enjoy the physical elements, such as earth, water, air and fire, combined in forms of iron, plastic, petrol and so on. Working with the five material elements (pañca-bhūtas), as well as with our five knowledge-gathering senses like the eyes, ears and tongue and our five active senses like the hands and legs, we become involved in the material condition.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- London, August 18, 1973:

All necessities, But again you revive your consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the plan. But if you do not revive your Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if you simply enjoy the senses, then there will be restriction of supply. This is the law. That is the restriction of supply. Therefore, there will be no rain. And if there is no rain, what factory will do, you rascal? You can manufacture scissors and knives and buckets of plastic, but you cannot prepare rice and wheat. That is not possible, sir. That will depend on rain. So immediately rains will be restricted.

Lecture on BG 2.16 -- London, August 22, 1973:

So far I have heard. But the jewels were taken away. That's a fact. Anyone can see that. So material opulence and... Of course, in India, it was not considered to have a big tin car or plastic plates. Material opulence means jewels, gold, silk, butter, that is material opulence. Not plastic pots or plastic bucket, plastic cloth. It has no value. So anyway, India was concerned material opulence, whatever is gotten from the nature, not by industry, not engaging oneself in industry. Therefore, India, the leaders of India now, they are finding that on account of our negligence to the material side of life, we have become poor.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.1 -- Caracas, February 21, 1975:

Just like this microphone. This microphone is combination of some metal and some wires or anything is metal or something plastic. But they have not combined together automatically. A person who knows the art, he has combined all of them together. Now it is acting. Now, if this microphone is not in order, then I will have to take to the person who knows what is indirectly and directly the composition of the microphone. Therefore the origin of everything or the original source of everything, He is the knower. He is not dull matter.

Lecture on SB 1.2.18 -- Vrndavana, October 29, 1972:

When there was no so-called advancement of civilization, people used to eat on utensils made of silver, gold, at least metal. Now they're using plastic. And still, they are proud of advancement of civilization. Actually it is anartha, anartha, unwanted things. At least, in, two hundred years ago in India, there was no industry. I think I am correct. Yes. But people were so happy. They did not have to go two hundred miles or five hundred miles away from home and for earning livelihood.

Lecture on SB 1.8.24 -- Mayapura, October 4, 1974:

So Vidura was very favorable to the Pāṇḍavas. So they made a subway in that house, and when the house was set fire, they escaped through the subway. In this way, it is said, viṣān mahāgneḥ, set fire in shellac house... Just like nowadays this, what is called, plastic. It gets set fire very soon. Then puruṣāda, they took shelter in a house where there was a rākṣasa, cannibal. He was disturbing the whole village. So the settlement was that every day one family should hand over one man to him for eating, then he will not create disturbance.

Lecture on SB 1.8.40 -- Los Angeles, May 2, 1973:

Oyster. The oyster produces pearls, very valuable. If you can collect the oysters you'll get valuable pearls. One pearl, ten thousand dollars. The wealth is there. So formerly people used these pearls, the valuable stones, silk, gold, silver, and decorated the body with nice manufactured ornaments. The beautiful for body.(?) But where are those things gone? Those things are now gone. Now plastic bangles. Advancement of civilization. All these beautiful girls without any ornament of gold, pearls and nice jewels, they have got plastic bangles. Just see the fun!

Lecture on SB 1.8.40 -- Mayapura, October 20, 1974:

When men were not civilized, they would depend on nature, but when they are advanced in civilization, they must discover industrial enterprises. So instead of eating on metal dishes, the civilized men should eat on, what is that called, plastic. That's all. Now plastic utensils, not even metal. Still, according to Vedic civilization, these Hindus, they would not touch this china, clay utensils, or this plastic utensils. Never they'll... Or glass utensils, they'll never touch. Especially in South India they are very strict. A poor man would prefer to eat on the plantain leaf. And the rich men, they eat on silver utensils. They do not even like to, I mean to say, brass or other base metals.

Lecture on SB 1.8.40 -- Mayapura, October 20, 1974:

If you have got metal utensils, if you are in need of money, you can get immediately in exchange some money. There are pawn shops. So they will keep anything, a gold Banarsi sari, or metal utensils or ornaments, if you are need of... Village bankers. Immediately. Poor man... Suppose if you require five rupees, ten rupees. You haven't got, but what..., how to get the money? You take something from your household paraphernalia and go to the pawn-maker. You get money. You are now relieved from the present anxiety. Then again you get back. But what is this china, clay, the china pots and this plastic pot will bring? No, nothing.

Lecture on SB 1.9.2 -- Los Angeles, May 16, 1973:

They are very much proud, advancement of material civilization, but instead of gold, we find plastic. (laughter) And the nonsense, they are very much proud of their wealth. Just see. Even they cannot decorate their wives. And woman, they require also ornament. It is psychology. Manu-saṁhitā, it has been recommended that "If you want to keep satisfied your wife, then you must give her good food, good sari and good ornament." This is the system.

Lecture on SB 1.15.40 -- Los Angeles, December 18, 1973:

Nowadays nobody has seen also how many different types of ornaments there is. They do not know it. Simply plastic plate or a paper plate, and he thinks something. That's all. They do not know what is golden plate, what is silver plate, what is jewelry. All forgotten. All forgotten. And still, they are proud of advancement of material civilization. What you have got? Plastic and paper plates only. That's all. No more ornament, no jewel, no house, no garment, no life—everything is gone.

Lecture on SB 2.3.17 -- Los Angeles, June 12, 1972:

The plastic, some trees. So they have made the plastic tree exactly resembling the tree. But it is not tree. Similarly, this body is as good as the plastic body. It has no value. So tyaktvā deham. So when Kṛṣṇa says that after giving up this body... But this body is plastic body. Just like you have got cotton shirt or plastic shirt or so many. You can give it up. That does not mean you die. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22). As one gives up old garment for a new one, similarly, death means to give up this plastic body and take another plastic body.

Lecture on SB 2.3.17 -- Los Angeles, June 12, 1972:

And again, under that plastic body, you have to work. If you get a nice body, then you can work nicely. If you get a dog's body, then you act like dog. According to body. So tyaktvā deham. Kṛṣṇa says that "Anyone who understands Me in truth ..." So how you will understand? Simply if you hear about Him, then you will understand. Then you will understand. So hearing is not very difficult job. But you must hear from the realized soul.

Lecture on SB 2.9.11 -- Tokyo, April 27, 1972:

If you ask somebody... They may have some plastic utensils, but if you ask somebody that "Have you seen pearl, sapphire, or coral, or diamond?" everyone will say, "I have never seen in my life." And still they are proud: "Oh, we are now advanced." What advanced? Simply plastic and paper. I see in Japan, all paper, simply papers. All big, big buildings packed up with papers. I was observing from the train all the big, big... What is the contents? Contents means paper. That's it. The house is made of paper. And Japan is considered to be very advanced, and industrialist. Simply outward dress. Actually nobody has got any wealth. The money is also paper. No pearl, no gold, no silver, nothing. But they are satisfied with papers. That's all. Paper house, paper money, paper book, paper everything. Plastic, paper.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on The Evolutionists Thomas Huxley, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Alexander:

Śyāmasundara: So there is even spiritual space?

Prabhupāda: Oh yes. Otherwise, how there is spiritual world? The ingredient is different. Otherwise, they're exactly the same. Just like you create plastic tree like this. The plastic tree and this tree, ingredients are the same. The same, that earth, water, air. What is this plastic? It is also a kind of earth. Is it not? You mix with water and put a shape and heat it, it becomes glass and this and that, so many things. Similarly, the whole material creation is also combination and permutation... What is called?

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- April 1, 1972, Sydney:

Prabhupāda: They could find where there is a big hill of gold only. These are there. And actually gold is found in some mine within the material arrangement. Why there should not be any hill of gold? As there are hills of stone, and marble, why not gold? You do not know. Your utensils are only plastic. It is worth nothing. So that was their material advancement. Gold, silver, jewels, corals, sapphire, diamond. Just see Kṛṣṇa's palace described. Not these rascal chairs, cushions, but with ivory, gold. And the cushion is as soft as the foam of milk. (laughter) These things are description there. And the rooms are bedecked with jewels.

Interview with the New York Times -- September 2, 1972, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: If one gets a diamond, he possesses something valuable. But in this civilization you are simply making plastic plates and plastic cups. Indeed, in Japan I have seen pasteboard homes. And everyone is thinking that he is advanced. Formerly people used to have golden and silver utensils, but now they have plastic ones, and still they are very proud to be so materially advanced. What is your position? You have a bunch of paper and think, "I am a millionaire." What is the value of that paper? Is that not cheating? However, if we possess gold or diamonds worth a million dollars, that is actual wealth.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 30, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: ...things of value, they're disappearing. Just like formerly people used to have some dishes of valuable metals. Now it is plastic. This is the advancement.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: It's...

Morning Walk -- April 30, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Rascals, they are thinking it is advancement. And if he goes to sell the plastic plates, nobody will pay even cent. But one of those metal plate, if he's in difficulty, he can get some money. This is scientific advancement. Instead of gold coins, now there is papers: "I trust in God. We trust in God." Cheating, "We trust in God." Take hundred dollars. And what is this hundred dollars? It is paper. "We trust in God." By the name of God, I give you. And it is scientific. That's all.

Morning Walk -- December 7, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: He will say... They may say, but we are putting some fact. They may say all nonsense. We are not going to accept that.

Karandhara: Some of them say, "Well we've improved on nature. By making things like plastics and medicines, we've improved nature."

Prabhupāda: All right. Very improvement. People were eating in silver plates, golden plates, and you have improved by plastic plates. (laughter) This rascaldom can be understood by another rascal. We are not going to do.

Hṛdayānanda: The plastic is a great problem because they can't get rid of it. Plastic has become a great problem because there is no way to dispose of it. So it just piles up and piles up, and they can't get rid of it.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: In the future they are going to make plastic houses.

Morning Walk -- December 29, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Daniel, come here. Daniel Sardar.

Sujit: Sujit.

Prabhupāda: Sujit, oh. (Bengali conversation regarding his being a student of science, chemistry and plastics engineering, and Śrīla Prabhupāda tells him that he attended Scottish Churches' College) (break) ...astrology?

Sujit: What is my opinion?

Prabhupāda: No. I am asking scientist.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: First of all I did not believe astrology in the beginning. I thought it was a pseudo science.

Morning Walk -- December 31, 1973, Los Angeles:

Jagajjīvana: In the past there was a lot of gold on the planet. What has happened to it? There used to be a lot of gold on the planet?

Prabhupāda: Yes. They used as utensil, as household pots. Just like now you are advanced, using plastic, because you have become very advanced. So you are using plastic. They were using gold.

Jagajjīvana: So what has happened to that gold?

Prabhupāda: What happened? If you keep utensil at home, what happens? You eat nicely on the plate. That's all. Why you are concerned, what happening? It is in your store. That's all. And gold is such a metal, any part of the country, any part of the world you go, you get immediately value.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 15, 1974, Hawaii:

Prabhupāda: Then wherefrom water comes? You rascal, wherefrom you got the water?

Sudāmā: They say, "It's too much to think about."

Prabhupāda: That means rascal. That means rascal. (japa) (break) ...plastic group like this? Their life will be finished. (break)

Devotee: ...in Time magazine yesterday, and the scientists are thinking now that man is his mind. They were talking about the brain.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Devotee: That if man only knew his mind he would know himself. What is actually the brain? And the mind?

Prabhupāda: Mind, that is also matter, material.

Morning Walk -- January 22, 1974, Hawaii:

Prabhupāda: Yes. They said that my movement is, I am priest. Because I worship Kṛṣṇa in the temple. In other words, I am not a philosopher; I am a priest. What it is made of, this surfer?

Sudāmā: It's made of styrofoam. It's a plastic material that's very light and floats on the water. And then different polishing plastics.

Prabhupāda: So, it is a costly thing.

Sudāmā: They cost about close to a hundred dollars.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- February 21, 1975, Caracas:

Prabhupāda: The water must be always down. (break) ...falling from the top of the Sumeru Hill, a big tree, and the juice, after falling down, turns into a river of mango juice. And the blackberries, they are just like the body of elephant and small seed. They also turn into river, Jambu-nada. And the both sides of the river, being moistened by the juice and dried by air and interacted by the sunshine, it becomes gold. And that gold is used for the denizens of heaven for their ornaments, helmets, bracelet, belt. Where is gold here? Paper. They cannot make even gold coins. They are reducing into poverty. In our childhood we have seen gold coin currency, silver coin. And now there is no such thing. Plastic. Paper and plastic. This is their advancement. Yes, it is a nice garden.

Morning Walk -- March 11, 1975, London:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So they didn't dig deep holes underneath the ground?

Prabhupāda: No. There was no need. The richest persons' property were ivory, gold, marble, valuable jewels, pearls, silk. This was luxury, not plastic. Now they have advanced, they have got plastic, no gold, no silver. Paper money and plastic utensils. This is advancement.

Morning Walk -- April 6, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Anything nonsense you do, that is scientific, artist.

Pañcadraviḍa: Now the scientists have another plan for changing all the plastic to eatable foodstuffs.

Prabhupāda: No.

Pañcadraviḍa: There's something they put on the plastic so you can now eat it.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like the Germans, they extracted fat from stool. And that was used as butter. This is scientific. They'll have to eat stool even. They have eaten. In the last war, concentration camp, they have eaten their own stool. There was no food.

Morning Walk -- May 13, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: Now this glass-making is also becoming obsolete. The plastic is replacing.

Paramahaṁsa: Oh, yeah.

Prabhupāda: The glass industry is finished.

Morning Walk -- Durban, October 13, 1975 :

Prabhupāda: Huh? No, no, it is an experiment. You say life comes from chemical. So by chemical combination make an egg and do it. Begin from this. Then we shall see others. This is very easy. If you have already analyzed the yellow portion of the egg, the white portion of the egg and that outer plastering can be done. Nowadays there is… What is called?

Harikeśa: Plastic.

Prabhupāda: Plastic. It can be done. Do it.

Morning Walk -- December 7, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Create one egg. That was my proposal. So he is going to create. (laughter) He'll explain how to create egg from...

Aksayānanda: From chemicals.

Jnana: And make chicken.

Harikesa: Calcium phosphate and a little sulphur for the yellow, make some color, and cover it in plastic and put it in an incubator and let a chicken grow.

Prabhupāda: And you eat.

Aksayānanda: That will be a nice article.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 18, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) What is that?

Jayapatākā: They brought the glass light thing, and they didn't break it, with this plastic foam.

Prabhupāda: Oh, oh. That plastic bullet is now in motorcar. Even if you fire, it will not enter, the bullet. Is it not?

Gurudāsa: Windows? Plastic in the motorcar?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Bullet-proof glass.

Room Conversation -- April 20, 1976, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Nothing. Artificial blood.... Superficially it is red water. So if red water is the life, then why you are spoiling so much blood? Keep it scientifically and push it into the dead body. I say it is, that way, it is the red water, nothing but red water. Urine is white water. I am coming to the five elements, air, water.... Then what is this bone? Earth. You can manufacture bone, hard bone, with earth or wood or something plastic. So we are analyzing the combination of the body, so everything you can manufacture. But where is the life you can manufacture? Why do you say? That is our challenge. All the ingredients of the body you can manufacture exactly like that. Ultimately you can give the beauty also of the woman or the man. But where is life? Bring life by all these things. Then I will say that you are scientist.

Morning Walk -- May 12, 1976, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: ...made of grass?

Rādhāvallabha: They make plastic grass.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Rādhāvallabha: They make it out of plastic.

Prabhupāda: Even plastic, they can cover big land like this?

Rādhāvallabha: Almost this big.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They cover football fields. They can cover big areas, but it's artificial. (break) ...flowers also.

Prabhupāda: You take. (break)

Rādhāvallabha: ...shopping centers, they also make plastic trees.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Rādhāvallabha: In the big shopping centers they have plastic trees growing.

Prabhupāda: Grown?

Morning Walk -- May 12, 1976, Honolulu:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda, in London recently, just like they have plastic grass, they have plastic trees, they have a plastic woman.

Prabhupāda: That is all right, but the plastic woman will not satisfy me.

Rādhāvallabha: They have operations.

Prabhupāda: Simply rascals, that's all. Better not to talk with, that "You are rascal number one. I don't want to waste my time. When you make solution of these problems, then we shall talk. Now go on researching and befool your followers that in future you'll get." That's all.

Magazine Interview -- June 10, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: But that, they cannot do it. They cannot make any dull matter moving by chemical combination. Although they cannot do it, still they talk of it. That is another foolishness. We say that you.... Egg, everyone can see some white matter, some yellow matter, and some covering, plasticlike. So a chemical, mostly chemicals are white. So combine the chemicals and make white and cover it with plastic and give it to the incubator. Why the chicken is not coming? Hm? And why they talk nonsense that it is a chemical combination? They cannot experiment it, neither they can do it, and still they'll talk nonsense.

Prabhupada Visits Palace and Garden -- June 22, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Kīrtanānanda: ...can be seen in one direction at least a couple of miles away, several, no, three directions. This is the capital that will go in the courtyard here in the assembly area. On those columns, this will go at the top.

Prabhupāda: Very nice. Thank you. This is plastic?

Kīrtanānanda: This is what they make the mold from. This one is in plaster. Now they will cast more. Below that the...

Prabhupāda: They can do Deity also, they can.

Room Conversation -- July 2, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: Just see. Simply speculation and misleading people.

Hari-śauri: There's no basis for it, there's no truth to it at all. (laughs)

Prabhupāda: And you people believed that? I'm surprised. (laughter) You are also fools and rascals.

Hari-śauri: This is what they teach in all the schools.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They have little models, Śrīla Prabhupāda, made out of plastic.

Prabhupāda: Ah, they are... Let them, we take them as rascals, that's all. Mūḍha.

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: That is mis...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Selling plastic world.

Prabhupāda: Plastic world?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Mostly synthetic, in a synthetic...

Prabhupāda: Manufacture.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Plastic materials will be predominant, and we will have more frontiers of knowledge especially in the biology, molecular biology.

Morning Walk -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:

Hari-śauri: Such a high standard of living, that was not available to as many people as there is now.

Prabhupāda: What is that higher standard? When there was no industry, in India, there was full of gold, jewelries. And now there is plastic.

Harikeśa: Yes, but now there's TV.

Prabhupāda: TV, yes.

Room Conversation -- September 11, 1976, Vrndavana:

Dhanañjaya: Actually Janmāṣṭamī celebrations were very bad and it's very...

Prabhupāda: Therefore the color has faded? He is a rascal.

Harikeśa: I remember that when these Deities... They're never to be washed. Never water was to touch. Supposed to put a plastic bag over the Deity. That was... If you have to use the big Deities, you're supposed to cover them with plastic.

Prabhupāda: Why did you allow? Just see, this is the disease. Rascals they do not know. And although I was...

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 10, 1977, Bombay:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Also if we can give these Bhāgavatams for a dollar to America, they can import it from here also, and as I told Rāmeśvara Mahārāja, we can give a plastic cover plus two or three ribbons. Insured, it will cost nothing extra.

Prabhupāda: You decide for (indistinct) why not.

Rāmeśvara: We're going to discuss it at the Māyāpura festival with Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Swami, because he's in charge of distribution.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Talk About Varnasrama, S.B. 2.1.1-5 -- June 28, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: It is golden, gold border. You can... When you want to..., mean an old Benarsi sari..., you can go. There are persons, they'll take it, and they'll burn it, and the borders will take care, either silver or gold. Still in Delhi we find. Any investment were... Not this plastic plate and paper plate.

Room Conversation Mayapura attack -- July 15, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: That means gold and silver and jewels and cloth sump..., more than... Milk products, grains. This was richness.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Now all there is is tin and plastic. Tin can. Food is in the tin cans, and you eat it off of plastic.

Prabhupāda: And paper plate.

Room Conversation -- October 21, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Where he is making?

Bharadvāja: Well, they are having most of the part done outside by outside people, professionals, and Īśāna is assembling, and he's working very hard.

Prabhupāda: It is plastic?

Bharadvāja: Yes, Completely, everything. And it can be tuned also on the spot. There is a key, and with this key you can tune it up. The heads never break, but if they happen to break they can be immediately replaced within... They can get extra heads and it takes about two minutes to change, to put a new head on.

Room Conversation -- October 26, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Then, another day, we can go to some of the temples and see the Deities by parikrama. And then, when we've done that successfully and you're feeling fit from it, we will attempt the mahā-parikrama. Is that a good program?

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...plastic mṛdaṅga?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Plastic mṛdaṅga. Should we get some? He saw one in London. Do you want us to have plastic mṛdaṅgas for the parikrama?

Prabhupāda: No, just a sample.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Jadurani -- Los Angeles 14 December, 1968:

So far Los Angeles temple is concerned, we have just now leased a very big church, with large meeting hall and various compartments, so here we shall need many very large paintings for making the hall attractive. If it is possible, you can paint very large ones, as large or even larger than the one you sent to Montreal of the Gopis. Regarding the gesso sizing of the canvases: If they last for 20 years that is fine and plenty long enough. The other process sounds too complicated, and this plastic sounds to be very nice.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Himavati -- Bombay 26 December, 1971:

Regarding your questions, there is no question of using paper plastic fruits and flowers for worshiping the deities. If no fresh fruits or flowers are available, then you can decorate with some fresh leaves. You have seen our temples; nowhere do we use such things. You are experienced devotee, why you propose like that? We are not after decoration, we are after devotional service for pleasing Krishna's senses. Decoration must be there of course, to make the temple as opulent as possible for pleasing Krishna. Outside the temple, you can use the plastic ornaments. But not for worship. For daily worship there must be fresh fruit, flowers, and leaves.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Hamsaduta -- Ahmedabad 10 December, 1972:

I shall be very glad indeed to see that book printed by you, and that will be your greatest credit. You may send the copy with plastic cover and I shall see how it is put out. I can understand that your preaching work there is going on nicely just to the standard, because now you have got so many devotees and you are distributing so many of our books and magazines.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Jayapataka -- Evanston, Illinois 4 July, 1975:

In Hawaii they are arranging for manufacturing plastic kholes. You can arrange one or two Bengali experts in making and fitting the heads of the kholes. They must be prepared to stay with us for at least one year. We will pay their transportation to Hawaii and return and also a small salary. Our men can then learn from them. We now require so many khols for expanding our Sankirtana movement.