February 01, 1977
Sriman Pranaba das ISKCON, 4544 Laclede St. Louis, Mo.63108 USA
Nayapalli, Bhubaneswara 12 Orissa, Puri
Dear Pranaba dasa,
Please accept my blessings. I have received your undated letter and considered the contents.
Krsna Consciousness is not a faith, such as the Hindu or Christian faith, but it is a science. When Krsna says Dehino smi yatha dehe…, the principle is that the soul is different from the body. On account of the presence of the soul we are getting different bodies. You cannot say it is Hindu. The Hindu religion may be more advanced, but Krsna Consciousness is a science. Others have only a vague idea. Krsna never said He was preaching as a Hindu or for the Hindus.
But as a public statement you may say we are part of the Hindu dharma. It is actually Vedic culture, but they have been misinformed. We are actually Varnasrama dharma. The public doesn't understand Varnasram so sometimes we say "Hindu dharma. "It is a great science but unfortunately the name has come since the Mohammedans called the Indians Hindu because of the Indus River. The word is coming down like that, but we do not find the word Hindu in any scripture.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami