760813 - Arrival - Bombay

Conversations by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

760813AR-BOMBAY - August 13, 1976 - 32:56 Minutes

(in car and at temple)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: The whole thing is being done in one week. I just got the whole text from Nirañjana on Sunday from England. We've got it composed, it is going into printing tomorrow. it will be ready by Vyāsa-Pūjā. It's a Hindi Back to Godhead on Janmāṣṭamī . . .

Prabhupāda: Nirañjana is helping to translate it?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, and he's the most reliable. The others I find are not reliable. Even with Yaśomatīnandana, I give him a book, it gets stuck for three months. But now we are moving very fast. The first Hindi Back to Godhead we printed up forty-five thousand; it is sold. So I'm reprinting thirty thousand more in Delhi, and in Bombay we are producing a new Back to Godhead with thirty thousand first print. Forty-five thousand of first printing is almost sold. People can't believe it. Even Hitsaran Sharma couldn't believe it that we distributed forty-five thousand Hindi magazines in two months.

Prabhupāda: We are distributing millions in English.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: We got a new import permit to import books worth five lakhs. I think I wrote that to you. And also the government is going to let us . . .

Prabhupāda: I saw your wife in New York.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. She's in Dallas now. Also the government's going to give us permission to import paper now, and I have already arranged to get samples of Japanese paper. So this will make our quality very good. The government likes our printing in India. So that's why they gave me this new license. Because I said: "As we import and sell, we print more in India," so they like that.

Prabhupāda: What is the temperature here?

Hari-śauri: Temperature?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: (to driver) What's the temperature, about?

Kartikeya Mahadevia (driving): Outside? Twenty-nine degrees.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Twenty-nine degrees.

Hari-śauri: What?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Twenty-nine degrees.

Hari-śauri: What's that?

Kartikeya Mahadevia: Centigrade.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Centigrade.

Kartikeya Mahadevia: It is about ninety-five. Ninety, ninety-five.

Hari-śauri: Ninety-five!

Kartikeya Mahadevia: Ninety, ninety-five.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: How was it in Iran?

Hari-śauri: Nice.

Prabhupāda: Iran night, very nice.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: I was there a year ago. I've gone to Tehran.

Prabhupāda: In the morning also it is very nice.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Do you go on the morning walk now, Śrīla Prabhupāda, I heard?

Prabhupāda: No, not . . .

Hari-śauri: Prabhupāda can't climb up stairs. Once he goes upstairs then he'll stay.

Prabhupāda: What about the lift here?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: The lift will not be ready till . . . your apartment will not be ready till December or January. They can't do it any sooner.

Kartikeya Mahadevia: If Śrīla Prabhupāda wants to stay somewhere else, we can find out from people where, who have got lift.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Otherwise, I was thinking we have vacant that old flat of Menon on the ground floor. I discussed it with Girirāja, and I just wanted to . . . I was waiting for you. If you like that, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we can convert. That is construction office. We can move the construction office somewhere else, and we can give you that whole flat on the ground floor. Girirāja and I both thought it was a good idea, but I just wanted your approval. We can do that in half a day. It is right on the ground floor.

Hari-śauri: That would be very nice.

Prabhupāda: Small.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, but it is on the ground floor. That's the only advantage. In Vṛndāvana the guesthouse is all completely renovated. S. K. Samani came from Bombay, I showed him around Vṛndāvana, and he booked thirty rooms for ten days in September and October. Oh, it's first class.

Prabhupāda: Mr. S. K. Samani?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: S. K. Samani, yes, Shri Krishna Samani. He liked it very much. Now the government has kept two policemen outside our Vṛndāvana temple to control the traffic, there is so much traffic. The policemen told me that we get even more people than Bankibihārī. But I don't think it's a fact, but the policemen say the crowd is bigger than Bankibihārī.

Kartikeya Mahadevia: Should I take it around the gate?

(indistinct conversation in Hindi)(sounds of traffic)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Also a lot of people are coming to the Delhi temple. The Maharani of Jaipur comes every second day. She is the daughter-in-law of the Maharani Gayatridevi. Everyone, lot of these . . . many people are coming every day to our temple in Delhi.

Prabhupāda: What about Hyderabad?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Hyderabad will be ready. I was there last week. It will be ready in time. The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is coming as the chief guest on the day the temple will be opened.

Kartikeya Mahadevia: We are getting very good bungalow in Ahmedabad. Six bedroom with six baths, all marble.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: But we don't have any devotees there. What will we do?

Kartikeya Mahadevia: There are eight devotees at least. They have to vacate in any case. They have to go. (break)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: . . . news stands also. Yaśomatīnandana has made some arrangement with some distributor.

Prabhupāda: Newsstand?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, through news, where they sell newspapers and all.

Kartikeya Mahadevia: They distribute about fifteen hundred on Ratha-yātrā day.

Prabhupāda: Fifteen hundred on . . .?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Ratha-yātrā in Ahmedabad. Now we are distributing these books for one rupee each or 1.50 in Vṛndāvana, because now we've got the cost of printing down to sixty paisa . . .

Prabhupāda: Our Ratha-yātrā in New York was very successful.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, I saw in the New York Times. I went to the American Embassy in Delhi, and I saw "East Meets West," that was the heading, and there were picture, and Daily News had it on the first page.

Hari-śauri: Middle page.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: First page.

Hari-śauri: Center pages.

Prabhupāda: Three chariots, very gorgeous.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: It's due to your causeless mercy this is spreading everywhere. There were hundreds of orders from libraries. Actually, we cannot even keep up, there are so many orders coming. Every order has been dispatched, Śrīla Prabhupāda. There's not one order outstanding, but we are getting lot of correspondence, everything. That's why . . . and I spoke to Rāmeśvara two nights ago, he's shipping the books right away. Because we only got the sea. By Kṛṣṇa's grace, first our application for import of books was rejected. Then I went and met this very big man and preached to him. So now he's become a devotee and he said: "You just come to me. I'll give you in one day whatever you want."

Prabhupāda: Ācchā.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: So he gave the import license for five lakhs in one day, he gave, and he also told me how to import paper.

Kartikeya Mahadevia: From the other side? Port number five?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, doesn't matter. Anywhere. He also told us how to import paper.

Prabhupāda: Gave some hint.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, I gave him some books. I meet him regularly now, when I meet him. He'll come to see you in Delhi he said. He's the Joint Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, very high position. So he has the final authority for giving licenses up to one lakh. He said he could give it to us.

Prabhupāda: What is the political position here? (break)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: . . . big celebration here starting tomorrow to the 18th. P. K. Savant—he came to see you last year, the president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee—he is the chief guest. Mr. Pagay, another, he is the minister from Maharashtra, he's also coming. Very big program. It's being advertised all over Bombay.

Prabhupāda: So raining stopped here?

Kartikeya Mahadevia: For three days stopped, sir. Otherwise, it was very heavy.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: It's monsoon, it will still rain.

Prabhupāda: Throughout whole Europe there is not a drop of water.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. They're getting suffering now.

Prabhupāda: All, no cloud.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: In France I read in the paper that the river was the lowest . . . (break)

Prabhupāda: (at temple) . . . (prema-dhvani prayers) Thank you very much.

Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: So when you have come? Everything all right?

Devotee: Hyderabad will be complete.

Prabhupāda: If there is any prasāda for distribution?

Hari-śauri: Is there any prasādam for distribution?

Devotee: It's coming.

Prabhupāda: You are taking so much trouble.

Mr. Ashnani: It's a pleasure

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Ashnanijī's helping us a lot now.

Prabhupāda: He is the cause of this site. Unless he would not help, it was practically lost. I know that. Two, three hours how we finished that sales agreement.

Mr. Ashnani: Customs did not open that day anyway.

Prabhupāda: Oh, that's right. We are always traveling. They should give us some concession. Every time we get checked. Actually, the government should have given us the best facilities because I am distributing India's culture all over the world.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda!

Prabhupāda: Unfortunately, I am not receiving encouragement from the leaders and the authorities. This is India's glory. History will say. (prasādam arrives) Give it. Yes, you can . . .

Hari-śauri: Pass it out.

Prabhupāda: All people are responding all over the world. They . . . money, men, strength, everything they are supplying. But we are not getting very good encouragement from India. Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission is that every Indian should become guru and preach the instruction of Kṛṣṇa.

āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa

yāre dekha tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa

(CC Madhya 7.128)

This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's . . . and people are hankering after receiving this instruction. Unfortunately, the so-called svāmīs, yogīs, they are going . . . or even politicians, they are not presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Anyway, so long I live I shall go on struggling like this. That's all.

Devotee: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. So Nitāi, when you are coming?

Nitāi: I came just two days ago, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Everything is all right?

Nitāi: Yes, everything is fine.

Prabhupāda: So, now you can disperse.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Jaya. Take prasādam and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, that's all. And we have now nice buildings. Live here peacefully, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Bās. This is my success. If I see that you are living very nicely, chanting very nicely, then all my labor is successful.

Hari-śauri: Hare Kṛṣṇa. So if all the devotees would like to leave now, then Prabhupāda can rest a little bit from traveling.

Harikeśa: You can distribute prasādam in the hall.

Prabhupāda: Oh, you are older than me.

Older Indian man: Your blessings . . . (indistinct Hindi)

Prabhupāda: Live peacefully, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. It is for you, so many buildings. Let devotees come, live here peacefully, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, that's all. That I want.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: There's a lot of devotees visiting Bombay.

Prabhupāda: How many devotees?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: On a permanent basis about forty, but there are a few from different centers.

Prabhupāda: (referring to Vyāsa-pūjā book) Where you have received this?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Ṛṣabhadeva, president of Spiritual Sky Products.

Prabhupāda: President of . . .?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Spiritual Sky in Los Angeles. He has come on a business trip. They were trying to negotiate buying incense sticks from Mysore, sandalwood, and Bangalore. So they are . . . did you get those color proofs I sent you of Bhāgavata? Did you like? It's coming out quite nicely.

Prabhupāda: Not as good as . . . not as good as foreign.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: It's not as good as foreign? That is . . .

Prabhupāda: I replied you.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: But we are going to be printing the softbound book for seven rupees.

Prabhupāda: All right, we shall talk later on. Now let me . . .

Hari-śauri: Maybe somebody could take these flowers and put them in vases. (indistinct talking in background)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: All the pictures have a garland.

Prabhupāda: Still you . . .

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Distribute it?

Prabhupāda: (chuckling) So you have come. It is good.

Pālikā: Would you like to take some fruit now?

Prabhupāda: I'll tell you. Not now.

Harikeśa: Haribol. (offers obeisances)

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Harikeśa: Everything came in and nothing is on any passport.

Prabhupāda: All right, that's all right.

Harikeśa: Oh, you had the key. Does the Dictaphone work? All right, you take the keys back. The Dictaphone.

Hari-śauri: . . . (indistinct)

Harikeśa: Just one second. If you can open it I can . . . or just pass it to me and I'll open it.

Prabhupāda: That projector also there?

Harikeśa: Projector?

Prabhupāda: No, there was no projector.

Hari-śauri: No, no. That was Ātreya Ṛṣi's.

Harikeśa: Yes, we should have many of those in India.

Hari-śauri: First class.

Harikeśa: They're so marvelous.

Hari-śauri: This is a desk.

Harikeśa: Do you have the almirah key?

Hari-śauri: This is almirah.

Harikeśa: Prabhupāda's bedroom almirah somehow got out here, or is that the office almirah?

Prabhupāda: Which almirah? Which almirah?

Hari-śauri: The sitting room, it says. This one, I think. Maybe it's not.

Harikeśa: I can go check on that.

Hari-śauri: They weren't labeled when we were here, they were labeled a long time afterwards.

Harikeśa: This is not for this.

Hari-śauri: This is the cash box.

Harikeśa: This one has two keys, Hari-śauri. They say "one" and "two." This is not it. This is the key for the inside. This is not this key.

Hari-śauri: It's this one. This is it. They all fell off the hoop.

Harikeśa: Oh. Do you have the key to these two almirahs out here?

Hari-śauri: There's some keys that we didn't know where they fitted.

Prabhupāda: So, how are you?

Girirāja: Fine.

Prabhupāda: Everything is going?

Girirāja: Yes, very nicely.

Prabhupāda: And the lift is . . . oh! Hare Kṛṣṇa. Lift is not available.

Hari-śauri: They're all here now, Śrīla Prabhupāda. There was one key that dropped off the hoop. There's one, two, and the small cash box inside.

Harikeśa: This is the cash box key. For this box.

Hari-śauri: What are these keys? This, this . . .

Prabhupāda: Oh, how he can know?

Harikeśa: He had one key, I think, for one of these.

Girirāja: I don't have.

Prabhupāda: Keep in the bag everything.

Hari-śauri: Yes, they're all in the bag there somewhere. A couple weren't labeled. This is here.

Prabhupāda: Everything all right?

Indian man: Very comfortable journey? There was weather?

Prabhupāda: (chuckles) There was no water. All over Europe there is no cloud, no water.

Girirāja: No water?

Prabhupāda: No water.

Harikeśa: Big drought. They just had to close the factories in Wales because there's no water now.

Girirāja: It's a reaction to their sinful activities.

Prabhupāda: It will be increasing throughout the whole world. Anāvṛṣṭi.

Hari-śauri: They think it's just happening by chance.

Prabhupāda: Godless civilization. Sinful activities. The reaction will increase—no rainfall, scarcity of food grains, and government taxes. These are written in Bhāgavata. Anāvṛṣṭi-durbhikṣa kara-pīḍitāḥ (SB 12.2.9). Government will exact tax more and more.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: There was a scientific study done by the CIA in America, this study done by the CIA on world weather conditions. And they concluded that the world weather conditions will only get worse and worse. There's going to be drought every three, four years, and so there will not be food production.

Prabhupāda: It is predicted in the Bhāgavata five thousand years ago.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. They're having earthquakes in China now.

Hari-śauri: Yes, big ones. They say a million people died in the last one.

Prabhupāda: You have got the keys for that?

Hari-śauri: I think they're . . . that last set that I gave you, Śrīla Prabhupāda? These, yes.

Prabhupāda: Now print books many, as good as possible, and distribute. Let us do our duty.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: We have three small Hindi books in production, plus as I said, Hindi Back to Godhead.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Hari-śauri: Oh. This silver loṭā has become very black. You can get it polished.

Prabhupāda: See if there is . . .

Hari-śauri: If there's . . .?

Prabhupāda: If there is worms.

Hari-śauri: I was just looking in the corners. There's some spiders, I think, and there's some signs again of worms. Some powdered remains and things like that.

Prabhupāda: So we shall . . .

Hari-śauri: So I think if we do it once more then it should be finished.

Indian boy: I come from Tanzania, Dar-es-Salaam.

Hari-śauri: That's in Africa.

Indian boy: Yes. And we are the Life Member of ISKCON. You know Navayogendra dāsa of Nairobi? Now he is transferred in Mombassa.

Prabhupāda: Navayogendra, yes.

Indian boy: Yes, he came there between 1975 or 1974 and he made us the member. He's now in Mombassa.

Prabhupāda: Ācchā. So when you have come here?

Hari-śauri: When have you come here?

Indian boy: Here? We just came for a holiday trip.

Prabhupāda: Where you are staying?

Indian boy: In Malad.

Prabhupāda: So come tomorrow at five.

Indian boy: At five. Do you have the Hare Kṛṣṇa Cookbook?

Prabhupāda: Ask him . . .

Hari-śauri: If you like, go out there now and see Girirāja. He's the president. He'll fix you up. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Indian boy: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Hari-śauri: Get some prasādam when you go.

Indian boy: Yes.

Prabhupāda: So cleanse this.

Hari-śauri: This spittoon? They . . . oh. They've put one here, actually. This is the bathing loṭā, but there's one here also. Oh, they used this for bathing your feet. This is a new loṭā for drinking until . . . I'll clean this silver one.

(long pause)

Prabhupāda: This is spittoon?

Hari-śauri: Yes. (break)

Prabhupāda: So? What fruit you have got?

Hari-śauri: I'll go and check.

Prabhupāda: Ask somebody to call Saurabha.

Pālikā: Yes.

Prabhupāda: What is this?

Pālikā: Some sweet one girl has made here.

Prabhupāda: Not everyone should make. She is initiated?

Pālikā: Yes. I will generally make, but I just arrived today, so there was not time.

(pause) (end)