Monday, April 8, 1968
San Francisco, Calif.
My Dear Jadurani,
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated April 2, 1968, and I thank you very much for it.
[…]
Yes, the Panca-tattva picture is standard, no need of changing. Panca-tattva belongs to Navadvipa and it is authentic. In Vrindaban, there is Radha-Krishna, that you have got enough pictures of, and you have got picture of Radha Madan Mohan Temple. When you go to Vrindaban, you can take pictures of important places; wait for those days when I shall accompany you in all the important places of Vrindaban.
You are already a great artist. You don’t want to become a great artist to satisfy the senses of the public. If your present paintings are not acceptable to the general public, I do not mind; they are fools. You continue trying your best to make your pictures as far they can be nice looking, but not to satisfy the senses of the rascal public.
Yesterday I have been in a Unitarian Church and there I saw two pictures of only logs and bamboos, and I was explained by our great artist Govinda dasi that these are modern abstract arts. Anyway I couldn’t see in them nothing but combination of logs and bamboos. There was nothing to impel my Krishna Consciousness. So, if you want to be a great artist in that way, I will pray that Krishna may save you.
Anyway, if the public doesn’t buy, we don’t mind. Why you are anxious for selling? We shall distribute them to devotees without any price. If our things have no market in the sense gratification society that does not mean we are going to change our principles. We are meant for satisfying Krishna, not anybody’s senses. That should be the principle of our life.
In this connection I may remark that you have sent one picture of Narada Muni which I understand was copied from some so-called great artist, but Narada Muni’s body appears to be very sensuous. He was a first class Brahmacari. He cannot have such a sensuous body. So you will do well not to work from the so-called well known artists. But you should follow exactly the descriptions of the scriptures.
The picture of Narada Muni which you painted in N.Y. in my presence was very nice and good looking, but this picture here doesn’t appeal to me. Better not to worry about this sort of technique and style.
Anyway whenever I come there to N.Y. we can discuss all this as you suggested.
Hoping you are feeling well, I am
Your ever well-wisher,
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
pamho agtACBSP,
Devotees whose desire is to satisfy Krsna can see very clearly even in this material world.
Srila Prabhupada: “Your business is to become a sincere devotee of Krsna. And without any expecting, ahaituki, any success or failure, you do your duty, and you will see, Krsna.”
Here the living entities are in trouble therefore they need to hurry up to get rid of material entanglement.
We must keep engaged in spite of all troubles by increasing the desire to satisfy Krsna and improve daily sadhana bhakti. Because from vaidi bhakti the sincere sadhaka follower can attain raga bhakti stage which is the natural and spontaneous mood in devotional service to SRI GURU GAURANGA.
We have to pray that Fiskcon is progressing too by the causeless mercy of SRILA PRABHUPADA.
If we really want to satisfy Krsna as our first principle of life then we need to mind our business by linking with SRILA PRSABHUPADA. This will create the house where the whole world can live in.
ys
a.c. seva das
haribol