Dvaraka (Letters)

Expressions researched:
"Dvaraka" |"Dvaraka's" |"Dvarakadhama" |"Kusasthali"

1966 Correspondence

Letter to Sir Padampat Singhania -- New York 20 January, 1966:

I am very glad to learn it that you wish to construct a Temple of Sri Sri Radha Krishna with nice architecture and the idea is quite appropriate for a personality of your position. You are a great devotee of Lord Dvarakadhisa traditionally. Lord Dvarakadhisa exhibited His opulence at Dvaraka with sixteen thousands of queen and it is understood that He built up as many palaces for each and every queen and the palaces were so made with jewels and stones that there was no necessity of artificial light in the palaces. So your conception of building temple of Lord Krishna is in opulence. But we our residents of Vrindaban and Vrindaban has no palaces like your Dvaraka. Vrindaban is full of forest and cows on the bank of the Yamuna and Lord Krishna in His childhood played the part of a cow boy without any royal opulence as you people inhabitants of Dvaraka think. So when the Dvarakawalas and the Vrindabanwalas meet there may be a via media.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Krsna Devi -- Montreal 21 August, 1968:

Regarding your question about Cintamani dham, I may inform you that all the planets in the spiritual world is known as Cintamani dhama (Bs. 5.29). And Goloka Vrndavana is one of the planets. Regarding the Queens of Dvaraka, mostly they were devotees, and some of them descended from the Vaikuntha planets, or they were manifestation from Goddess of Fortune, Laksmi.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Dayananda -- Allston, Mass 1 May, 1969:

You have not mentioned when you are returning to Los Angeles. The idea of New Dvaraka in Los Angeles is developing there, and Tamala Krishna has already informed Mr. Leo Brown, the real estate man, to find out a bigger place than the present one. So when you return you try to complete it.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Yamuna -- Los Angeles 16 January, 1970:

Krishna as He is appearing in our Temples is in the Kisora age, and the dress which I have introduced is His dress of Kisora age. In our Temples the Deities, Radha and Krishna are worshiped as Laksmi-Narayana with all the opulences of Their Majestic Lordship in Dvaraka. The worship of Radha-Krishna as They appear in Vrndavana is a very advanced stage, so we worship Them in the Temples as Laksmi-Narayana. Actually there is no difference because Laksmi-Narayana is directly the expansion of Radha-Krishna. We are following the prescribed method of Temple worship as it is the effective program for developing the highest perfection of pure love of Krishna.

Letter to Sacisuta -- Los Angeles 14 February, 1970:

Regarding your first question to explain the statement of Sri Isopanisad that "even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance." In material things there is exhaustion and in spiritual things there is no exhaustion; that is the difference between matter and spirit. From one Krsna there were 16,100 Krsnas in Dvaraka, and each Krsna is as good as the original Krsna. Just like there may be 1000 candles, and all of them light up from one original candle, but still they are of the same candle power as the original candle. Similarly, there may be hundreds and thousands of emanations from Krsna the Supreme, but that does not mean that the Supreme One has diminished in potency, although all other emanations are equally potential.

Letter to Sudama -- Los Angeles 21 April, 1970:

Regarding your temple house, gradually as you work, as you are presently doing, the Japanese center will be another Dvaraka undoubtedly.

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Los Angeles 15 May, 1970:

Regarding your question about Lord Jagannatha and Lord Krsna, Jagannatha is Krsna. Krsna's childhood up to His 15th year He lives in Vrndavana. Radharani is His childhood friend. But Krsna, after returning to His father's home at Dvaraka, came to see Kuruksetra during some solar eclipse. At that time His sister Subhadra and brother Balarama also came in a chariot, and this incident is worshiped as Jagannatha Rathayatra. The conclusion is that Jagannatha and Krsna is the same.

Letter to Jadurani, Bharadraja, Muralidhara -- Los Angeles 4 June, 1970:

Jambavan the name does not suggest a bear, because his daughter was one of the queens of Dvaraka married by Krsna. Just like sometimes our name is Krsna, that does not mean that I am real Krsna, but I am Krsna Das or servant of Krsna. From the description of Srimad-Bhagavatam we understand that this Jambavan was very sturdy and strong fighter. Sometimes we get such picture of bodily construction of a black man in your country. So in this way you can guess what should be the features of his body. But certainly he was not a bear.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Giriraja -- Los Angeles 21 June, 1972:

Ahmedabad is a great industrial city. It has got more than 100 big, big mills and if all of the mill-owners and officers become our members, from Ahmedabad and other cities in Gujarat, such as Baroda, Surat, Dvaraka, Rajkot, like that, you can collect millions of Rs. Also, I remember in Bombay at Akash Ganga there was some invitation from some important persons living near Dakot in Gujarat sometimes before. Whether they have been contacted? If we can open a Center in Dvaraka or Dakor, that will be very nice. In Gujarat State we can open a Center in every city because the people are so much dedicated to Krishna. In Gujarat we can very soon make our movement very popular, because by nature they are devotees of Krishna.

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Jadurani -- Bombay 4 January, 1973:

So far your questions about Lord Jagannatha and Ratha-yatra Festival, the first Ratha-yatra Festival was 5,000 years before, when Krsna and Balarama and Subhadra came from Dvaraka to Kuruksetra. So far the festival at Puri, there is no such history, but it must be more than 3,000 years. At least there is recorded history 2,000 years old, because we see in the Aquarian Gospel that Lord Jesus Christ was attending the Ratha-yatra Festival at Puri. Yes, there was attempt by Radharani to take back Krsna from Kuruksetra to Vrndavana.

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Los Angeles 24 December, 1973:

Yes I am ready to go to Dvaraka. I have never visited there so now I am taking the opportunity. Similarly, Mr. B.R. Mohatta who was recently here in Los Angeles, has promised me accommodations at Allahabad and Haridwar for the Kumba Mela observances in these places next year. Also Mr. Bhogilal Patel who has given Rs 25,000 donation has also promised accommodations at Haridwar. So I have never seen Haridwar also and I am getting older so before my last days I wish to visit the holy places in Northern and Southern India. Mr. Badruka has promised to make arrangements for my accommodations in Southern India so you may fix up the program.

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Los Angeles 11 January, 1974:

Regarding your invitation to go to Dvaraka, yes I have already written you I have accepted, and I can go there. Hearing that you have collected Rs 81,000 in the month of December is very pleasing; you are a very good boy.

Letter to Ramesvara -- West Bengal 25 October, 1974:

When informed that the government here will pay 2/3 of the cost for road and bridge development if 1/3 is put up locally, Prabhupada said we should immediately inform them that he will put up 1 crore (dollars 1 million), and they can give 2 crores to develop the entire Mayapur area. He wants roads parks, gardens, like the descriptions of Dvaraka in the Krishna Book. Prabhupada personally surveyed the sites for a large lake as well as the second residential building. He called for a wall with a large front gate to be built. Work on a spacious kitchen complex near the Bhaktisiddhanta Road is progressing, but Prabhupada ordered that a second story should be added so that women and householders can live there and that the kitchen operation in the present residential building be moved there so that additional guest rooms can be added in the present kitchen and women's quarters. A dollar 25,000.00 Prasadam Distribution Pavilion attached to the new kitchen complex will also be built. Gargamuni Swami has pledged half the cost, and Hamsaduta Prabhu has sent dollars 4,000.00 from Germany and promises more. 1,000 people will be able to be served prasada at one sitting.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Jayatirtha, Manjuali -- Bombay 10 November, 1975:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your card dated October 25, 1975 along with the beautiful photographs of Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakadhisa of New Dvaraka. So do it nicely. I have invited Krsna and He may not be insulted by disrespectful behavior. I have introduced this system of Deity worship amongst the non-believers, the atheists, the mlecchas, the yavanas and I pray to Krsna that I am inviting You to come, so please, because You are seated in their hearts, please give them the intelligence how to serve you so that You may not be inconvenienced. I have introduced this system to the mlecchas, the yavanas and the lowest and the fallen, but still it is successful. I think that you are doing nicely.

Letter to Jayatirtha -- Bombay 20 November, 1975:

I am very pleased with the distribution that the new Dvaraka temple is going. When I hear of your advancement of devotional service by book distribution, it invigorates me although I am an old man. Although I am traveling all over the world, my mind is always in Los Angeles.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Giriraja -- Honolulu 4 May, 1976:

We have nothing to do with politics and our cultural and religious movement is being spread throughout the world. When they become actually devotees, it is the instruction of the sastra to live in such Holy Places as Vrindaban, Mathura, and Dvaraka. The references are there in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu.

Letter to Giriraja -- New Vrindaban 30 June, 1976:

A devotee is very much anxious to chant Hare Krishna and to live in that place where Krishna has His pastimes, generally Vrindaban, Mathura, Dvaraka, like that. All of our men who are coming to India for this purpose, they are properly initiated and following the regulative principles. In this connection, the certificates of the S. Indian authorities gotten by Yasodanandana Swami can be used, where in they certify that our ISKCON men are proper Vaisnavas, decorated with tilaka in twelve places, etc., etc.

Letter to Sons and Daughters -- Bombay 14 August, 1976:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated August 9, 1976 and the enclosed daksina and pictures of the murtis in New Dvaraka which I am having framed and put on my wall here in Bombay.