Dec 9 1971 letter Mohanananda
Karandhara and you are sincere workers, so Krishna will give you intelligence. So go on with your program nicely. In every case always remember Krishna so intelligence will come from within. I am very glad the deity worship is going so nicely. They look very glowing, and that is very satisfying to me. When I shall go to Los Angeles very soon, I shall take transcendental pleasure in offering my obeisances to Them.
April 22 1972 letter Labangaltika
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated March 4 and I have noted the contents. Upon inquiring from Hayagriva prabhu regarding the deity worship program at New Vrindaban, I have been assured that everything is going on nicely now, and that Radha and Krishna are receiving proper care and service. It is very good that you are feeling so much responsibility for the welfare of Their Lordships, and I hope that you will very enthusiastically engage yourself in tending to Their needs. Always remember that cleanliness and promptness are two very important requirements in Deity worship.
Jan 31 1973 letter Sri govinda
I am glad to hear that you are taking up the program of deity worship very seriously. This is required. So everything should be first class as you have got full facility, just to the standard of Los Angeles. In Los Angeles I personally advised them in all the different aspects of deity worship, so you may consult, especially with Silavati Prabhu (now in Dallas) and do the needful. One thing though, the deity worship must be completely pure in terms of cleanliness and punctuality, otherwise there will be some offense. Regarding the Radha-Krsna Deities for Chicago, I believe that Syamasundara. Prabhu is taking care of this matter so you may consult with him about the shipping date of the deities, etc.
Aug 13 1974 letter Amsu
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated July 23, 1974 and have noted the contents. Regarding the worship of our Gaura Nitai by women pujaris, we worship Lord Caitanya in His householder life when He was with His wife, and not as a sannyasi. So, it is alright for women to do this service. But, besides this, service is spiritual and there can be no material designation. In Bhagavad-gita it is stated by Lord Krishna: striyo vaisyas tatha sudras te’pi yanti param gatim. The principle is that everyone who is properly initiated and following the rules and regulations can worship. This activity can not on the material platform.
According to the smarta vidhi, women cannot touch deity during menstrual period but the goswami viddhi allows. But it is better not to do it. One thing is that the seva can never be stopped for any reason. This also for the cooking.
May 31 1975 letter Kirtananda
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 23, 1975 and have noted the contents. Your report is very nice to hear. If you give the right protection to the cows, then they will give so much milk, that the ground of New Vrndavana will be muddy with milk. European and American civilization will be finished on account of this sinful activity of killing the cows. Actually, one should not circumambulate when the Deity is open. It is stated in the Nectar of Devotion. I think you can close the doors to the Deity room during Tulasi puja and then open them again afterwards.
Sept 29 1975 letter Hamsadutta
Regarding your idea for a Gujarati newspaper, no it is better to sell our Gujarati books. We shall print and sell our own books. Yes, you can open a restaurant in Edinburgh. Regarding Bharadraja, I have no objection to him coming. What is he doing in L.A.? Only on Sunday can you keep the Deity curtains open throughout the afternoon. Regarding the Frankfurt temple and the Deity program, unless we have got our own building, this proposal of installing Deity should be postponed. Do not install, unless we have got our own building, the large Deities. And, the Nrsimha Deity should be installed only in a separate temple building. The Deity must have its own temple.
May 4 1975 letter Nityananda
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated April 17, 1976, and I have noted the contents with care. You can call your farm, Talavana. Concerning constructing a temple at the farm, it is feasible only if you have sufficient brahmanas to take nice care otherwise no. You have seen our Vrndavana temple, also the temple in Melbourne and Los Angeles. So things must be at this standard in order to have a temple. The standard must be very high. Neatness and cleanliness are the first business of temple worship. I shall see later on whether or not that Krishna Balarama can be installed there. You cannot paint the Deity with paint to make bluish. Don’t manufacture ideas. What is standard you must follow. Don’t make it a farce.
April 29 1977 letter Brahmananda
Why do these life members not come on time to see the Deity? Yes, in special cases you can open the curtain for a moment. But they should be instructed next time to come at the correct time to properly respect the Deity. The best thing will be if you immediately send a printed schedule to all of the life members showing what are the times of darsana
