740708 - Conversation - Los Angeles

Conversations by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

740708R1-LOS ANGELES - July 8, 1974 - 07:50 Minutes

Prabhupāda: . . . Gopala.

Gurukṛpā: Gopala? He left.

Prabhupāda: Why?

Gurukṛpā: He was in māyā for a long time. He stole $6000 also.

Devotee (2): No, he had twenty times that.

Gurukṛpā: He must have gotten more. That's all I know. He took from the bank.

Devotee (2): He could have got the whole thing, right?

Gurukṛpā: He could have, but he couldn't, because it was in yen; he couldn't trade it in. But I had American money hidden for . . . because we are foreigners, we must keep some American money, and he knew where it was, and he took $4000 of that. Plus I don't know how much more he took—at least $6000 though—and he left his tridaṇḍi.

He was supposed to go to Korea and file for missionary visas, and I looked in his drawer in his files, and he had not gone. But he had been away, and he came back and said that he went. So I took over all the money and everything, took over all the accounts, but I did not trust him because he was not chanting properly, and he was not Kṛṣṇa conscious. And then he snuck away.

Prabhupāda: This is the difficulty, out of sight.

Devotee (2): Hm.

Gurukṛpā: I think it had been planned, though, for some time. It was very planned.

Prabhupāda: Where he is now?

Gurukṛpā: I don't know. He is a criminal. He has taken so much money. He has not left any message.

Devotee (2): He sent back the bank book, right?

Gurukṛpā: Yes.

Devotee (2): He took the bank book with all . . . that had all money in it, with all this money.

Gurukṛpā: He went to the bank to pay the rent, and he withdrew . . . he paid the rent and withdrew some for himself, and he left.

Prabhupāda: Only his signature?

Gurukṛpā: Only. Because he is the only one who has proper visa, he has business visa. That was the problem.

Prabhupāda: So what news about Bhanu?

Gurukṛpā: He is doing nice.

Prabhupāda: Very nice.

Gurukṛpā: But he is very reluctant to become the president. He does not like the business.

Prabhupāda: No, that is good. He thinks himself, and feels why should he take this money?

Gurukṛpā: He is very intelligent, though.

Prabhupāda: Very intelligent, good devotee. But he is doing any translation work?

Gurukṛpā: No.

Devotee (2): He is not able to translate.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Devotee (2): Because he has only learned Japanese since he went to Japan. He did not know it previously.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Gurukṛpā: He has translated the whole Bhagavad-gītā, but it just sits there. They say it is not well enough translated, the Japanese people.

Devotee (2): It will not be accepted.

Prabhupāda: But he was translating?

Devotee (2): He has been working on Śrī Īśopaniṣad, but not very quickly.

Devotee (3): Śrīla Prabhupāda, I just met one boy here, a boy from Fukushima, Japan.

Devotee (2): Who?

Devotee (3): He speaks very little English, and he has shaven head and śikhā. And I just preached with him, and he is going to go back to Tokyo, and his visa is expiring in a week or two, and he says he wants to go back and help to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Prabhupāda: He has formally joined that temple?

Devotee (3): No. He is very intelligent boy. He speaks Spanish—a little bit of Spanish—Chinese, English—a little bit of English—and he is fluent, of course, because he is born in Japan.

Devotee (4): That's what . . . that's what we need.

Devotee (3): He came in contact with our movement in Los Angeles, and he just asked me the question, when he was a young boy in Fukushima he used to go to the Buddhist temples, and they play the drums. And he wanted to know why now, after so many years, he saw our saṅkīrtana party in Los Angeles, and he was very much attracted, so much so that he went with them to the temple and shaved his head. So I told him it was natural for him; that is why it is our position to be Kṛṣṇa conscious. So he has a desire to return back to Japan and help with translating and study, and he has a good mind. His name is Fuji.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Devotee (3): Young. He is very nice.

Prabhupāda: So what about Book Trust? I want to see that according to the Trust, desire, there is fifty percent for building . . . (indistinct) . . . temples, and fifty percent for reprinting, or printing. That is being observed or not?

Devotee: Mm.

Devotee (2): Well, we are giving as much as we can for the loans and with construction. We are just . . .

Prabhupāda: Some business was started for . . . (indistinct) . . . for Book Trust?

Devotee (2): No, not that I know of.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee (2): (indistinct) . . . (laughs) The jewelry business?

Prabhupāda: And that business will not close. And in this way it will invest in some business risk.

Devotee (2): Oh, that was with Karāndhara and Jayatīrtha. I did not even know about that.

Prabhupāda: Invest . . . (indistinct) . . . should be stopped.

Devotee (2): Yes, there is a loan that . . . Spiritual Sky has a large debt to the Book Trust, that they owe . . .

Prabhupāda: How much?

Devotee (2): Well, they told me it is somewhere 100,000, 150,000.

Prabhupāda: Eh? What is this? Without consulting, Karāndhara has taken that money?

Devotee (2): Yes. Apparently it was something that was done a long time ago. (break)

Prabhupāda: Even I saw in Ramakrishna mission was sent. That's why I gave this solution. Now by God's grace it has . . . (indistinct) . . . nice business. Remember to do that. But this Trust money should not . . .

Devotee (2): They cannot . . . they can work everything out themselves. (break)

Prabhupāda: So Karāndhara is now in India. You have some correspondence?

Devotee (2): Yes, he has . . . (break)

Prabhupāda: He was Indian king.

Devotee (2): That's why they recognize India, because they know that Lord Buddha is from India.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And this Buddhist group. India is also a holy place for their . . .

Devotee (2): Buddhists.

Prabhupāda: . . . Buddhists. They go to see. Just like we have got with our Jagannātha Purī, they have got similar places in India. In Madhya Pradesh, in Bihar. They visit all these places.

(aside) So, give him something to eat.

Devotee: Yes. (end)