Room Conversation with Yadurāṇī – July 4, 1972, New York

720704R2-New York [05:08 Minutes]

Nothing our activity is speculation or imaginary

Yadurani: ...they just didn't know how to do it effectively. And, Srila Prabhupada, Muralidhara just asked you that when Lord Brahma, when he became angry at the four Kumaras he created Lord Siva from between his eyebrows. So he is always situated on his lotus, but at that time should we paint him on his planet?

Prabhupada: His planet is just like lotus flower.

Yadurani: Oh.

Prabhupada: Just like Krsna planet is also like lotus.

Yadurani: Jaya. So, so it has...

Prabhupada: Just like here in this material world the Brahma's planet is the ultimate. That is also like mat..., lotus flower. And in the spiritual world the ultimate planet is Krsnaloka. That is also [indistinct] land.

Yadurani: So we would have palaces and garden scenes, and Lord Brahma perhaps on his throne?

Prabhupada: Yes. Cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-laksavrtesu [Bs 5.29]. There are palaces, trees, everything. They are not voids. The voidist cannot understand what is there.

Devotee (1): And Srila Prabhupada, can we paint more informal portraits...

Prabhupada: Hmm?

Devotee (1): ...of yourself and the other acaryas to send to the temples? Or should we...

Yadurani: Informal.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Yadurani: Informal. That is, Puskara painted a picture of you sitting in a very formal position.

Prabhupada: Ah.

Yadurani: Should we stick to formal positions, or is it all right to do informal pose, of just your head and your chest?

Prabhupada: No, no. Formal.

Yadurani: Formal always?

Prabhupada: Full. Not like bust. No. Just like Guru Maharaja. We won't put all that top, bust form.

Yadurani: Srila Prabhupada? You asked for big, big paintings to be sent to Mayapur and Vrndavana. When you say "big, big," do you mean like five feet and..., or six feet? That big?

Prabhupada: Yes. Five, six feet.

Yadurani: And Srila Prabhupada, Syamasundara... [break]

Devotee (1): About fifty people will be initiated.

Prabhupada: Fifty?

Devotee (1): Both gayatri and...

Devotee (2): Both, gayatri and... Both.

Devotee (3): Srila Prabhupada? We want to view the movies in this room.

Prabhupada: Go ahead. How many beads?

Devotee (4): Twenty-seven. [indistinct]

Devotee (5): Srila Prabhupada? You said you want to present more philosophy in Back to Godhead magazine. Does that mean that we should make it more and more sophisticated? Or does that mean that we should try to present the philosophy in the easiest way?

Prabhupada: You should insert articles. It is reality. It is not speculation. Nothing our activity is speculation or imaginary. Everything is fact. We should present in that way. Either picture or philosophy, anything. They are all facts.

People may not take it as something imagination. That argument will be there. Just like here there is a picture, Daksa is with a goat's head. But they may not take it as imagination. That is possible. It is fact.

Devotee (5): So the..., our business is to present it in such a way that people will... understand it.

Prabhupada: Yes, people will understand it is reality, not sentiment or fictitious. Because they have been instructed by rascals that all these Vedic literatures, they are allegories. Or..., what is it called?

Devotees: Mythology.

Prabhupada: Mythology. So we are presenting facts, not mythology. That should be the spirit of all our artist and philosophy, writing.

[devotees pay obeisances and leave] [end]