771028 - Conversation B - Vrndavana
Svarūpa Dāmodara: ...with the press...
Prabhupāda: What you are doing?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: With the press from the Indian Express and other newspapers. And also I went to the television and the All-India Radio for the engagement. And also I wanted to discuss with some of my members the immediate plan that we have. So I sent one to Bombay to organize a conference. So I'll try to cover this area very quickly, Agra, Delhi, and Punjab. I'm meeting a lot of scientists. And also I collected several copies of the newspaper, The Statesman. I went to the Statesman building, collected the newspaper coverings. How are you feeling, Śrīla Prabhupāda?
Prabhupāda: That kavirāja did not come?
Upendra: What happened? No one knows. They left. They say he left Calcutta at twelve o'clock flight.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: I could have gone to the airport. Maybe they are coming tomorrow on the train, Taj Express?
Upendra: No, by air they came.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, from Delhi. I thought that maybe he didn't know that, Adri...? If it starts from Calcutta at twelve o'clock, it should be arriving at Delhi about two o'clock.
Upendra: Then let's say one hour, then three to here.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: There's a train at five o'clock that I came by, train, five o'clock. It's a very good train. Maybe they didn't know that train. It starts from Nizammudin Station. So if they're planning to come by train tomorrow, the Taj Express is at seven o'clock in the morning, arriving Mathurā at nine o'clock.
Upendra: Someone could call Delhi.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: I don't know whether they're in the temple or not. I think some of our men came from Delhi temple about four o'clock, arrived in the temple. [break]
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And we discussed a number of points. One thing is that I talked to him about Panchashil flat. So I explained to him that he should feel the responsibility for paying for the living there, as we have given him this nice place. So he's agreed to do that. And I told him that whatever he pays, the receipts should be in your name, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. Apparently the receipts have been issued in the name of M. M. De. So I told him don't do that, because if they get the receipts in their name then they become the tenant. I don't want that. They're living there as our guest, not as tenants. So he agreed to that. As soon as I mentioned it, he understood what I was talking about. M. M. is a little clever. So then I told him, however, that the permanent electricity was never hooked up. Permanent electricity line was never installed. So since that was an initial giving of the flat, I told him that if he paid for half of that, we would pay the other half. I said but first of all he has to pay and send me the receipt showing that he's paid. It's about 650 rupees.
Prabhupāda: Six hundred and fifty?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Half. It's thirteen hundred total. This is for permanent connection of electricity. The flat never has had a permanent connection. The whole building is not permanent. It's a temporary line. So all the...
Prabhupāda: Yearly?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, no. Once and for all. It's a permanent installation of a permanent line. The yearly electricity bill he'll pay. That's his business. Then he seems to want to repay this amount that we're giving from the postal receipts. So I have no objection. If he repays, then we'll simply follow the original scheme and divide it up accordingly. Or he can divide it up. I don't know why he wants to pay it back. I don't know. I've explained to him that it's a donation. But anyway, it's better he pays it back, and then we can give it to each of the persons involved. I don't think there's any need of taking any loan agreement or anything, is there? Is there any need?
Prabhupāda: I don't think so.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I mean verbal agreement is enough, isn't it, in dealing with him? I would think so. I mean I thought it was sufficient if he agrees verbally. No contract or loan agreement. He wants to pay this money back by April. I didn't tell him he had to. I told him it was a donation. He seems to want to pay it back. So let him if he wants to. Then he wanted me to arrange, so I'm sending... I gave the receipts to him as you saw. I'm sending the letter... I'm sending a man to Delhi tomorrow to get a ticket for him, airline ticket.
Prabhupāda: Where he is?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He's gone to take his meals now. Then he's going to take rest, he said.
Prabhupāda: And he has got the papers?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He gave them back to me to keep in the almirah locked up. He said until he goes he wants me to keep them carefully. I said all right. And I'm getting him a ticket as well as sending the letters by special mail service to Bombay for Girirāja's signature, so that at least from our side there will not be any reason to delay. And when I showed him the letter that I had written to the bank, he was very satisfied. He could understand that there should be no difficulty now. He was quite confident after reading the letter. The letter is very clearly written, and with the power of attorney it's a complete document. I think everything was done all right. He seemed to be satisfied.
Prabhupāda: So what about kavirāja? He might think it is a whimsical. And that was my last desire. You could not.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What, Śrīla Prabhupāda?
Prabhupāda: That kavirāja, I wanted. Somehow or other, it has not happened.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I don't feel that it's conclusively not happened.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Simply, one after another, frustration.(?)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. First we had that Madhva..., not Madhva. Rāmānujī came from Śrī Raṅgajī temple, and he seemed to be a cheater. Then this one... We got this medicine from that śakta-kavirāja, and that medicine turned out to be poison. And now this kavirāja who's supposed to be coming from Calcutta, it's become a mystery where he is. The temple was called, and they said that they've left. They called twice to Calcutta, and they said they've left, and yet he's not here. I don't know what to make of it. Very puzzling situation. I think that if by tomorrow noon they have not arrived, then Śatadhanya can go to Calcutta to bring them. If they're going to arrive, they'd arrive by tomorrow noon.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, at the latest.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: At the latest absolutely. I mean, to me, for them to arrive by tomorrow noon is not... From the very beginning I would not have felt it was out of the ordinary.
Prabhupāda: They said they have left!
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Still, whatever the reason is.
Prabhupāda: You are not talking... Everything is being done by the same Śatadhanya. (laughs)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: By the same what?
Prabhupāda: Śatadhanya.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: (laughter) Yeah, that's maybe what the problem is.
Prabhupāda: And people are bluffing him, and he says...
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He's bluffing us. (laughs) He seems very sincere, though. It's hard not to believe him.
Prabhupāda: That was my impression. But how is that? If you take leave, something.(?)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It is a big mystery, this makara-dhvaja. It is like the immortal elixir, very hard to grasp. I think you described the flowers in the sky? There's that Bengali...
Bhakti-caru: Ākāśa-puṣpa?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Well, one thing we could say in favor of the kavirāja delay in coming is that if he had come, then he might have given some medicine right away. But this way, your body has been given a chance to rest from that other thing that you had taken. By not taking medicine for two days now, it's good. It's made... The body will become a little more regular. If he had come, naturally he would have wanted to immediately prescribe some medicine. This is not bad, to give the body a rest after such strong medicine. How much did Prabhupāda drink today? The stool-passing has stopped?
Bhakti-caru: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Better that you don't drink any more tonight, Śrīla Prabhupāda, except a little bit of miśri-jala or some little bit. Then by tomorrow you should be more normal again. Anyway, our activities are going on— parikrama, kīrtana, Bhāgavatam.
Prabhupāda: Can I go to Calcutta?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, I still feel a little confident that we could take you there, but... I mean just like we carry you in the palanquin and you don't have any difficulty, so airplane is like a big palanquin. I mean, you know, there's so many of us, eight or ten of us. I can't see that there could be any difficulty. Of course, I still think the kavirāja is going to come. I have faith in Śatadhanya Mahārāja. I think this is simply Kṛṣṇa's test for him. I think the kavirāja will come. The nicest thing will be if the kavirāja treats you for some days, and you get some benefit, and then he takes you...
Prabhupāda: (?) Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We go back with him to Calcutta and Māyāpura. That would be very nice. Of course, he has to first of all come here. I've seen things like this happen before in India, Śrīla Prabhupāda. I mean India is the kind of place where... It's difficult. You could drop out of communication for a day. It's very possible that that can happen. It's just a very strange kind of place to communicate and to travel in.
Bhakti-caru: Another thing is I think this noon flight is not a direct flight. It's a Kanadu(?) that hops, say, from Calcutta, Benares, Allahabad, Lucknow, Delhi.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah. So how many hours could that be?
Bhakti-caru: Five, six hours. Takes a long time. And it's not as fast as Boeing.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That means it would arrive at 6:30 or 7:00. I think that by tomorrow noon, if they didn't come, then we would have to say that the matter has become hopeless for them coming. And really it's a fact, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that you've been resting today without taking any medicine is not a bad thing.
Bhakti-caru: And the passing stool has stopped.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, that stopped. That's the main thing. That was the disturbance. The stool was passing. So many people are coming to the temple here, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Many pilgrims. The temple is full of people all the time. Lots of pilgrims coming. Devotees were saying that in other temples there's not so much activity. Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma are attracting all of the people of the land. Everyone is attracted to Them. But it seems like Rādhā-Śyāmasundara are equally popular. People like Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa very much, and especially in Vṛndāvana. But Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma is unique. I hear them exclaiming. They are at once surprised and pleased to see the two brothers together.
Bhakti-caru: And the śṛṅgāra is so unique here. It's the best.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, everyone says the śṛṅgāra is the best. But for flowers we have not yet the best. So we have to make that. Bhavānanda Mahārāja was suggesting a program, Śrīla Prabhupāda. He was suggesting that in that open land on the side of the Gurukula, that we could build a prasādam pavilion, and we could serve the public every day free p rasādam at noon time. That might become very popular in Vṛndāvana. Ḍāl and cāpāṭis. All the sādhus would come. I don't know if it's a good idea, but he was suggesting.
Prabhupāda: Good idea. Very good idea.
Nayanābhirāma: We used to serve them khicuṛi in the morning. Then they discontinued.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I mean so many pilgrims come, and there are already so many sādhus living in Vṛndāvana. This would make our temple very, very popular additionally, even more popular than now. So many pilgrims come. I see them. And they're farmers and things, you know. And if we gave that, probably they would be inclined, even some of the farmers would bring a little of their..., you know, thinking to offer something also to the Deities, because they would see that we're giving things.
Prabhupāda: If you distribute prasādam, there will be no scarcity of participants. Bhāta ei kāke āra.( ?)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What does that mean, Śrīla Prabhupāda? What does that?
Bhakti-caru: "If you scatter rice, then there's no dearth of crows." (laughs)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "No dearth of crows."
Svarūpa Dāmodara: They'll come by the bunches.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It seems like there's a Bengali proverb for practically everything, Śrīla Prabhupāda. (laughter)
Prabhupāda: Ektu bhauma bhauma deśa tabu raṅge bara. (?) Explain this.
Bhakti-caru: That "Bengal has been divided into so many different parts, but still it's full of rasas and humor."
Prabhupāda: Bengali people are easy-going. So therefore they can manufacture all these humors. (laughter)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Would your Guru Mahārāja tell a lot of Bengali proverbs, Śrīla Prabhupāda?
Prabhupāda: Hm. I learned from him.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You once said that he liked you very much, 'cause you were also a Calcutta boy, Calcutta born. [break]
Prabhupāda: Sohar(?) has money.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Actually I started to have a talk with him about the...
Prabhupāda: You write. You are intelligent. I cannot do anything. I only want...
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, that point.
Prabhupāda: (crying) I am very poor man, and somehow or other, I built up. And still in my...
Kavirāja (1): (Hindi or Bengali)
Prabhupāda: Aiye. Aiye. (Hindi)
Guest (2): What is the actual problems?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The problems are that... The biggest problem...
Prabhupāda: (Bengali)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Where is the urine report? Where is Bhakti-caru?
[break] ( kavirāja and Prabhupāda—Hindi)
Bhakti-caru: Since when is that dropsy?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The dropsy is more than one year.
Prabhupāda: No, one year... Less.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, I mean, I asked Hari-śauri. He said that that swelling has been there for a long time, Śrīla Prabhupāda. I've seen it for... (Hindi)
Bhakti-caru: Last three, four days, any blood in the urine?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No.
Kavirāja (1): Prasādam quantity... (Hindi)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Give him the book. He'll see the quantity.
Kavirāja (1): (Hindi)
Bhavānanda: Tell him when the urine was bloody...
Bhakti-caru: (Hindi) That was about ten days back.
Bhavānanda: And tell him that Prabhupāda took allopathic medicine last week. He asked for information.
Bhakti-caru: Let him see it first. (Hindi)
Prabhupāda: Who has come with him?
Śatadhanya: This is Adri-dhāraṇa dāsa, Śrīla Prabhupāda. I told you about him, that he's collecting very big in Calcutta, making many members. So he has come with the kavirāja personally.
Prabhupāda: He belongs to which province?
Adri-dhāraṇa: I was born in Bombay, but my parents are from Sindh.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But he's born in Bombay.
Bhakti-caru: And he joined in Florida, yes? (Hindi— kavirāja ) About six months back we had a report.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Urine specimen report?
Bhakti-caru: Yes. This is the... He's asking about that time, four or five months ago.
Bhakti-caru: This one is from... Yes, this is very recent.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's better.
Kavirāja (1): (Hindi)
Bhakti-caru: Pressure is good. When Dr. Ghosh came, that other Dr. Ghosh came... (Hindi) ...pressure, 180 and 80. (Hindi) He's saying that in this condition, Prabhupāda can't take makara-dhvaja. That any medicine that contains mercury and arsenic is poison to him.
Bhavānanda: That's what Prabhupāda said.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That is a fact. He found that to be true.
Kavirāja (1): (Hindi)
Prabhupāda: (Hindi—long conversation with kavirāja )
Bhakti-caru: (Hindi) (end)