Prabhupāda: I know everything, but I did not say anything.
Yogi Amrit Desai: You knew him before?
Prabhupāda: No. When I went to America one gentleman here, Paramananda Mehra . . .
Yogi Amrit Desai: He introduced.
Prabhupāda: . . . he gave me an introductory letter. Yes. So he received me well. In the beginning I was staying in his care. But I did not say anything, but I knew everything.
Yogi Amrit Desai: I'm sure you did.
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Yogi Amrit Desai: I'm sure you did.
Prabhupāda: I was his guest. He was receiving nightly. Of course, I was indirectly saying him that "You are not doing nice," but what more I could do?
Yogi Amrit Desai: Yes. I just . . . I have so much love for you, and I said I must come for a darśana.
Prabhupāda: Thank you.
Yogi Amrit Desai: I was telling to the devotees. I said you are . . .
Prabhupāda: You are with Dr. Mishra?
Yogi Amrit Desai: No, I'm not. I was telling all the devotees here, I said Śrī Prabhupāda is the first man who brought bhakti in the West, where it is needed most. Because there they are so much in the head—thinking, thinking, thinking. This path of love is so profound.
Prabhupāda: You see: present a real, genuine thing . . .
Yogi Amrit Desai: It's very genuine.
Prabhupāda: . . . it will act.
Yogi Amrit Desai: That is why it is growing so beautifully, because it is genuine.
Prabhupāda: And it is the duty of the Indians to give them genuine thing. That is para-upakāra. Before me, all these svāmīs and yogīs were there to cheat them.
Yogi Amrit Desai: No, they were afraid to give the truth, because they were afraid they will not be accepted.
Prabhupāda: They did not know what is truth, (laughter) not afraid. Why? If one is on the platform of truth, why he should be afraid?
Yogi Amrit Desai: Sure.
Prabhupāda: They did not know what is truth—beginning from Vivekananda.
Yogi Amrit Desai: All the way, right. See, after you came . . . I was there in 1960. I started teaching yoga. But after you came I became fearless to teach bhakti and chant mantra. So now we have lots of bhakti in āśrama, lots of bhakti. And I paid that respect to you because I was afraid to give them. Because I thought they are Christians, that they will not like so much devotion; they will misunderstand. But you have performed a miracle. God has . . . Kṛṣṇa has performed miracle through you. It's just very amazing, greatest miracle on earth. Just, I just feel so strongly about it.
Prabhupāda: It is very kind of you that you give so . . . (indistinct) . . . if we give genuine thing, it will act.
Yogi Amrit Desai: Right. This is what I'm doing too. Everyone . . . we have about 180 people who live permanently in the āśrama, and they all practice celibacy. Everyone wakes up at four o'clock, and they sleep by nine o'clock and they don't touch even each other. They sleep separately . . . they sleep different quarters. They sit even separately in sat-saṅga. And everything strict. No drugs, no alcohol, no meat, no tea, no coffee, no garlic, no onion.
Prabhupāda: Very good. Yes. We are following this. But you have got any Deity?
Yogi Amrit Desai: Yes. Lord Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā is our Deities. My guru is Swami Kripalvanandji. He is in . . . near Baroda he has a āśrama. He practiced his sādhana for twenty-seven years, and twelve years was complete silence. The last few years he is speaking once or twice a year because many people request.