Prabhupāda: Your photograph is not yourself?
Reporter (2): Yes, it is.
Prabhupāda: Yes, similarly, it is Kṛṣṇa's painting. But the difference is that you cannot talk with your photograph, but we can talk with Kṛṣṇa's photograph. That is the difference.
Reporter (2): But some of these pictures are slightly different. They show different . . .
Prabhupāda: No, no, on principle it is. As Kṛṣṇa's color is there, Kṛṣṇa's flute is there, Kṛṣṇa's peacock feather is there, these things are . . . these are described in the śāstra. Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ barhāvataṁ samasitāmbuda-sun . . . (Bs. 5.30). So Kṛṣṇa's . . . suppose even a painting of yourself: One man paints a little different from your face; another man paints . . . but on the whole, it is the same. In that way Kṛṣṇa is not depending on the painting but on the features of His description as it is in the śāstra. Kṛṣṇa's color is described there. Kṛṣṇa's peacock feather is described there. Kṛṣṇa's flute is there. Kṛṣṇa's ever-eternal consort . . . praṇaya-keli. In loving mood always, Kṛṣṇa. Praṇaya-keli-kalā-vilāsam (Bs. 5.31). He's always in enjoying spirit. So we get idea, idea of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa, being Absolute, the idea of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa is nondifferent.
Reporter (2): But if a painter was to paint a picture of me or of Allen or of anybody, first they'd take the subject, and the subject would be a living person, and then they would paint the picture, and the picture would be in . . .
Prabhupāda: Yes. Subject is there, that "Kṛṣṇa's color is bluish. Kṛṣṇa has got in His hand a flute. Kṛṣṇa has got a peacock feather on His head. Kṛṣṇa stands little curving." Tri-bhaṅga-lalitam. Tri-bhaṅga means in three ways He is curved. You see? Tri-bhaṅga. Three, three times He is curved. Śyāmaṁ tri-bhaṅga-lalitaṁ niyata-prakāśam (Bs. 5.31). These are the description of the Vedas. Just like my students, they have painted so many pictures, so I have given simply the hints that "This picture should be like this." So they take note and make the picture, and people very much appreciate our picture. So you can paint pictures by taking hints from the authority. That is going on. So if you are intelligent, you can make almost like that.