October 13, 1968 My Dear Janaki,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter, very nice letter. You have expressed very nice sentiments and this shows that you are positively advancing in Krishna Consciousness. Your talk with the Indian ladies and gentlemen is very interesting. They inquire from you, and they are astonished that you are very serious. That means they are not at all serious. They take Krishna Consciousness as something fictitious. So they are not very hopeful combination, but try to make them interested as far as possible, it is our duty. We do not mind whether he is Englishman or Indian or any man; our duty is to impress Krishna Consciousness as far as possible. Answering your puzzle, it may be said that a pure devotee is he who loves Krishna, without any material desire. People are generally engaged in karma. Karma means work and get the result and enjoy life. And jnana, jnana means speculating process to understand the Absolute Truth. So one who does not indulge in speculating habit, neither tries to gain something by his work, but simply engages himself in the service of the Lord, he is called a pure devotee. Such pure devotees are very rare. But by the Grace of Krishna, practically all the devotees and disciples who have kindly joined me, they are, their symptoms are pure devotees. Even if they have got some ulterior desire, that will be removed very soon, because they have taken to the pure process of Krishna Consciousness. Hope this will meet both of you in good health, and awaiting your good news by next mail. Thanking you once more for writing me,
Yours ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami