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Auroville (spiritual city in South India)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: In Aurobindo āśrama the same thing. Aurobindo said that "You simply think of me. Then you will be pure."

Gargamuni: One of our party went to this Pondicherry. He said the whole thing is simply propaganda. There's nothing there in this Auroville.

Rāmeśvara: What is Auroville?

Gargamuni: They're building a city. You've never heard of it? It's big, worldwide... Auroville. Building a city of spiritual life.

Rāmeśvara: Where?

Hari-śauri: Yes. That's all over the world. Aurobindo. That's in South India on the coast, Pondicherry.

Rāmeśvara: Who goes there? Westerners?

Gargamuni: Oh, yes. That's all that's there now. But there's only about twenty of them.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Gargamuni: Yeah, very few. And they asked our men... Because people started to become attracted and asking and looking at our books, so the in-charge asked our men, "Please leave."

Prabhupāda: Acchā?

Gargamuni: Yes.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) You are dangerous. You are dangerous.

Gargamuni: Yes. They are trying to imitate our Māyāpura project, but they have failed. Trying to make a community. And they are very much hated by the local people because they are not following any regulative principles. They drink, they smoke....

Prabhupāda: They drink?

Gargamuni: Oh, yes. It's just a bunch of hippies now who are there. That's a complete bluff.

Prabhupāda: The Aurobindo was a hippie. (laughter) He had that long hair, and he was victimized by that mother. She brought... She was young, and she brought money, and Aurobindo was killed. In the beginning he had some yogic practice, but since that mother came, woman can conquer any rascal. (laughs) So she also... She conquered, and then nobody was allowed to see him in his secluded meditation. Only this mother was allowed. She would supply food, supply... And nobody could see. And she would give darśana only one day in the year. He would not speak with anyone, and the disciples were advised, "Simply think of Aurobindo. You have nothing to do." That's it. So you have been there?

Gargamuni: I didn't go. But our library party, on their way to south, they stopped there because they thought maybe they could sell a standing order.

Prabhupāda: So they did not.

Gargamuni: Well, they were quite shocked to find that the whole thing is a bluff. The propaganda about this Auroville just does not exist. They only have a few houses, and it's simply a few hippies who live there.

Hari-śauri: They make it out to be such a big project.

Gargamuni: They said our Māyāpura project is more advanced.

Conversations -- April 19, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Maybe Girirāja should be called up. When they come, then we can read this article out loud. Says here, "Asked whether his city..."

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Asked whether his city..."

Prabhupāda: "His city"?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah.

Prabhupāda: What is that? "Asked..."?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Says, "Asked whether his city would not meet the same fate as Auroville..." It's not his city.

Prabhupāda: He can say that he has taken sannyāsa for his popularization?(?) (Surabhīr Abhipālayantam enters, offers obeisances) Did you consult this article with others' consultation or by whimsical joke?

Surabhīr Abhipālayantam: It could be...

Prabhupāda: This article...

Surabhīr Abhipālayantam: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Did you publish it by consulting your other colleagues, or whimsically you have published?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda's asking whether this article was published in consultation with other, with your Godbrothers, or how it came about that you got this article published.

Surabhīr Abhipālayantam: Well, it was in... I think he went to different newspapers, just like the Indian Express and this one, and they wanted to speak with him.

Prabhupāda: So such an important article, there are so many discrepancies, and you have published without consulting others?

Conversations -- April 19, 1977, Bombay:

Surabhīr Abhipālayantam: Well, we have given them a booklet which...

Prabhupāda: Again "booklet." You are publishing article. What is the use of booklet? Why they will take care of a booklet? Take articles and... They have given, asked you, "your city." Where is that article?

Surabhīr Abhipālayantam: I can't explain it.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Asked whether his city would not meet the same fate as Auroville..."

Prabhupāda: "His city." Your city.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "...Swami said..."

Surabhīr Abhipālayantam: Yeah, I never said this to him. We didn't even talk about city.

Prabhupāda: So how is that, without your saying, they are publishing?

Conversations -- April 19, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: So they have criticized that "Your city, there will be forty...," "Aurobindo..." You have seen it?

Surabhīr Abhipālayantam: No.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Asked whether his city would not meet the same fate as Auroville..."

Prabhupāda: That...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "It was started nine years ago near Pondicherry with the same target of fifty thousand but has still a population of only four hundred, mostly foreigners." In other words, this is... The idea is that just as Auroville is a farce, any one of us, we're also farcical.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is... It is very good farce. That is the... Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, that's the implication.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Conversations -- April 19, 1977, Bombay:

Patita-pāvana: This is a great mistake. Surabhī Mahārāja did not want that. He specifically said, and we also told him, "You must put this, 'Founder-Ācārya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.' " He said it definitely, I said it, and I wrote it down. And I wrote it down, I think, two places for him. And then it was also written down on our release, "disciples of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda."

Prabhupāda: So how is that, nobody's name is there, only Saurabha's? And they have mentioned, "his city."

Patita-pāvana: Oh, no. That is not good.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They mentioned that "Will his city be like Auroville?" And the answer's given, "No, it won't."

Patita-pāvana: The answer's good, but the question's not.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, the answer's not good either 'cause it's not his city. If you answer that question at all, it means that you accept that it's your city.

Patita-pāvana: Yeah, but they never asked him like that. This is simply this man's journalism.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But Prabhupāda's point is that everything has been printed. Whether they asked you or didn't ask you, now it's there in print and it can't be retracted.

Patita-pāvana: We could also have them write some article. I know the chief reporter there.

Prabhupāda: Therefore I say you have done independently, whimsically. This is... This is to be stopped. You are acting too independent.

Meeting With Governor of Tamil Nadu -- July 31, 1977, Vrndavana:

Governor: The difficulty because of not ours, but what happened in our Madras state, there is that Pondicherry. Pondicherry has made one Auroville. Auroville is international town. There are more than four to five hundred foreigners from various countries of Europe and America. Families also. Now they and those Aurobindo society people, they are going on always, some disputes. And that they have developed so much that physical violence, traffic obstruction... And law and order is not there. So I receive complaints from both that "You send your police. Help us. Help us," like that. So that has come to the notice of government of India. And so they are worried that we must have some restriction on so many foreigners living here and creating disturbance.

Prabhupāda: No, these foreigners...

Governor: Because of this, everybody is put into trouble.

Prabhupāda: But these foreigners, they will die. They will die. If I say that "You die, they will die," there is no dispute.

Governor: I know. I know all of them, how wonderful they are. But you see this government would consider all-India policy.

Prabhupāda: But you can consider our situation, that such big, big establishment and Deity... Here is a big establishment. In Māyāpura there is Deity also. They are trained up. They are helping me. So kindly... At least we have submitted some list. So give them either permanent residence or citizenship. In America I have got permanent residency, so why not here? If there is no such arrangement, give them citizenship. They have nothing...

Governor: I am meeting the Home Minister tomorrow also. I will also talk to him, Charan Singh. The meeting is. He's mainly going.

Prabhupāda: Because every year I am losing five to six lakhs of rupees for their going, again coming. Just like he's acting my secretary. Now his visa is finished. He has to go, and again he has to come back. And that means ten thousand, more than ten thousand. So in this way so many workers are...

Governor: (Hindi)

Prabhupāda: So they will never do anything harm and never take part in politics.

Governor: I know it. I know it.

Prabhupāda: So kindly try to help.

Room Conversation -- November 3, 1977, Vrndavana:

Brahmānanda: That man from that āśrama...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Aurobindo.

Brahmānanda: Auroville. He was poisonous, very poisonous. Mr. Bajaj wanted to conduct the proceedings in English just so that I would be able to understand, because I was sitting as your representative, but that man refused.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What did he say?

Brahmānanda: Well, he just spoke in Hindi, and he said something in Hindi to Mr. Bajaj that "I want to speak in Hindi," and he continued speaking in Hindi.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: All artificial platform, surface. "Hindu, Indian, Hindi."

Brahmānanda: He was very envious, that Auroville, of what is going on.

Jayādvaita: They're nothing.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They are nothing. No one ever heard of them outside of India.

Prabhupāda: Aurobindo never preached in Hindi.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: (laughs) He was speaking in English?

Prabhupāda: Um hm.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You should have said that. "Why don't you follow your master? He spoke in English." That would have been a good point. You could say, "We are following our spiritual master. He speaks in English. Why don't you do the same?"

Prabhupāda: He wrote all books in English.

Page Title:Auroville (spiritual city in South India)
Compiler:Labangalatika
Created:01 of May, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=7, Let=0
No. of Quotes:7