USA (Conversations 1977)

Expressions researched:
"U.S.A." |"USA" |"United State" |"United States"

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Discussion about Kumbhamela -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: You go and eat there. (laughter)

Dr. Patel: But I don't go there to eat it. These government regulations are very bad. I don't think they would be able to...

Gurudāsa: It's your own right to...

Dr. Patel: He thought that India is spoiled by American policy, Mr. Dulles's. And he spoiled the pitch, this Mr. Nehru, Nehru, being a flamboyant, highly arrogant man... And then they supported Pakistan, and Americans lost lot of money on these small wars. Instead of that, much money was given away to a poor country. it was Dulles who got United States to this present condition. We should have insulated this country after svaraj, not selling anything, not taking anything. Produce yourself or starve and die. People don't work when they get food like that.

Prabhupāda: I am simply surprised when I compare British days and nowadays. My practical experience—one of my maternal uncles, he's a very big, rich man. He was; he is not existing. So he was doing business, rice exporting. So in Calcutta, Chetra side, he had big, big godown full of rice. Not only he, other merchants also. But now they are empty. Similarly, from Bombay the oil seeds are being exported.

Discussion on Deprogrammers -- January 9, 1977, Bombay:

Rāmeśvara: This is from an organization called "Committee Engaged in Freeing Minds." Freeing the mind. That is their name. And this is sent out all over the United States. It says, "Confidential. Not for publication."

Prabhupāda: (laughs) And it is out to the enemies.

Rāmeśvara: In capital letters it says, "HELP PUSH THE HARE KRSNA COURT ACTION. There are two legal cases in progress..."

Prabhupāda: Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya Kṛṣṇa.

Morning Walk -- January 9, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: He's right. And he's a very important man.

Rāmeśvara: He has joined this society to defend us. He's now traveling different places in the United States to speak on our behalf.

Prabhupāda: He's serious gentleman. That is wanted. Kṛṣṇa will help us.

Dr. Patel: Aldous Huxley is another, he's also very...

Trivikrama: He's dead.

Dr. Patel: He is dead. No? He is dead? How long?

Trivikrama: Since 1962.

Dr. Patel: I had no idea of it. I am reading his books thinking he is still alive.

Trivikrama: He's a Māyāvādī, anyway.

Prabhupāda: Who?

Room Conversation -- January 9, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: That's very nice. (laughs) One and half million.

Rāmeśvara: They say it is the largest printing in the history of the Western United States. They are giving Bhaktivedanta Book Trust credit now for the largest printing of any publisher in the Western United States for one title. And for our printer, the only books... He has never printed... He prints encyclopedia, he prints the Bible, but he has never printed so many copies of one book all at one time. This one and a half million copies should be printed all at once.

Prabhupāda: They are proud of printing.

Rāmeśvara: Oh, yes.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) That is good.

Room Conversation -- January 9, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: That is always, trespass. Their trespass law is very strict in USA. There are dogs, and there are revolver, and trespasser, if he is killed, there is no offense. Is it not? It is very dangerous. I know one incident in New York. Some yogi came. So he was... You know that? So I became very irritated. So I asked him, "Get him out immediately." So my men got him out. He went to the police and he said that he was assaulted and so on, complained. The police came and inquired. So there were so many inquiries. But I did not know... Then I said that "He came to me without invitation." "Oh!" Immediately he dismissed. "I did not ask him to come. He came to me and disturbed me." So immediately, "Oh..." He decided. He said, "Oh..." So that law is very strict. And that is very good. Nobody can come without invitation or engagement. Otherwise they trespass. Is it?

Arrival of BBT Manager -- January 9, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes, bring more money. (Hari-śauri laughs) (break) I am going to spend this money in huge advertisement propaganda. I have given him the idea. Because here in India we haven't got devotees pushing as in USA and America we have got our devotees. They are attacking and pushing. Here there is no such devotee. And therefore I have proposed huge, big advertisement in the paper.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Paper and billboards.

Prabhupāda: Especially newspapers. I have given the instruction. You are here, and you can arrange, three. I am reading the matter also like this. Read it. It is very simple.

Room Conversation -- January 10, 1977, Bombay:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Also the income tax will say, "Your sales were so high," so he doesn't want the paper account to come under that. So what I'm saying, Śrīla Prabhupāda... The demand for our books is there. And like BBT Los Angeles sells a Bhāgavatam to the temples for $3.50, and we are selling it for $1.45. And that includes our profit already. Our real cost is 90 cents, 95 cents. So we can expand our printing capacity here. As I discussed with you last week, there's one machine from England that Usa Printers wants to import. And if we give him a loan... It will be his machine. He'll give us documents, and he'll pay back interest every month. In two years he'll pay back the whole money plus interest, which will be higher than what the bank gives us.

Prabhupāda: Is that all right?

Room Conversation -- January 19, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Last I went to see, before going to USA, in 1958.

Rāmeśvara: Almost twenty years.

Prabhupāda: Yes. 1958, yes. After that, I had no chance of going.

Rāmeśvara: There's no doubt that if we build a temple there it must be very, very magnificent.

Prabhupāda: Because after some years I went to USA, in 1966, er '65. 1958 or '59, I went there. For four, five years naturally. And after going to USA there was no chance.

Room Conversation -- January 19, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: When I was going to your country at Cochin, they loaded in the ship cashews, black pepper, and lobster, big, big cases. There are many American firms. They are export business. Lobster is very favorite food in USA. Although it is rotten, still, they take it.

Gargamuni: My father used to take at least once a week.

Prabhupāda: Lobster juice.

Gargamuni: Lobster and everything, the juice... He used to eat many lobster, King lobster.

Rāmeśvara: That's a big business. In the state of Maine, that is one of their main sources of income, lobster. Famous, Maine... That state...

Room Conversation -- January 24, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: The text order. That will be nice.

Satsvarūpa: Yes I have some of those from the United States. Here is one. Twenty-two Bhagavad-gītās was ordered on December lst.

Prabhupāda: That will be nice. Let them introduce as text for studying by the students.

Satsvarūpa: That we can still push.

Prabhupāda: Yes. A new batch of students will come-new books will be sold. Text books.

Room Conversation -- January 24, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Gargamuni: 'Cause his assistant, Mr. O'Neil, told me that they received a telex from Washington saying that formal protest should be made that ISKCON is not part of the CIA and also they are not funded by the government of the United States.

Prabhupāda: People can say anything. But if there is officially protest, that is...

Gargamuni: Yes. He said. (break) ...there at Purī, yes. In our sampradāya these—Māyāpur, Purī, and Vṛndāvana—are most important.

Prabhupāda: Hm. Now if we revive, just like Pānihāṭi...

Gargamuni: Yes, and Pānihāṭi also.

Prabhupāda: Haridāsa Ṭhākura had part. Here, at Siddha-bokula. Siddha-bokula, Gambhīrā—if you try, you can get.

Morning Walk -- January 29, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: They have "mation." What is that? "Cremation"? (break)

Satsvarūpa: This year in the United States several temples had very good success by advertising a cooking class in the college, because many times the students, they don't want to come when they see Bhagavad-gītā or bhakti-yoga. But they would see "Indian Cooking," and they would go, and in the class they would teach how to make cooking, but then they would preach, "And so this food should be offered to God, and this is the Bhagavad-gītā." In this way it was much...

Prabhupāda: Very good. This is very nice.

Room Conversation -- January 29, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: The barking, dog's bark. Otherwise, what... They do not attempt it. Why not make one state—the whole world? Keep the democracy, but make one state, "United States of the World." Why "United States of America"? Make English language common language and "United States of the World." If they organize, they can do it. Just like United States has included Hawaii. They are not actually of the same blood. They are not European. So how they are managing Hawaii? Hawaii is a different stock. It is from Chinese.

Room Conversation -- January 29, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Yes. It is actually a type of Chinese people. That, our Bali-mardana's wife, belongs to that stock. But in order to elevate her she represents that "I belong to the Japanese." (laughs) but I have studied. She belongs to that Hawaii. Maybe her father or somebody was respectable or rich man in that Hawaii, but she does not belong to Japan. She is that Hawaiian-Chinese stock. So the United States, they have included this and going on nice. Their position is now secure. Nobody can invade. The Japanese tried to invade Pearl Harbor. Then finished. Atom bomb. The atom bomb was dropped on account of their attempt to invade this Pearl Harbor. In Honolulu there is Pearl Harbor.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Balavanta was in Manipur?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No. This is in the United States.

Prabhupāda: United States.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: America. Just before I came. So we made several slides and these, called transparencies. We are going to make all these things as illustrations in our book as well as in the journal. These are some samples that we have.

Prabhupāda: So what these big, big scientists said?

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Pradyumna: Not very big. Because they have baby crocodiles at home. In the United States it used to be the fashion to get a baby crocodile and keep him in a tub. Then he would get too big so they would flush it down the toilet, and then in the sewers in New York many crocodiles.

Hari-śauri: Yes. They're all living in the sewers. (Prabhupāda laughs)

Pradyumna: If one goes in the sewers it's very dangerous, because crocodiles have grown up and they are in the sewers. So they get them small size and they keep them at home.

Prabhupāda: And when it is bigger it is thrown into commode?

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Because you were challenging, maybe? But one thing is... I have got experience. Because you took immigration from America, it was so difficult. If you had taken immigration outside USA, then it would have been easier. That was my case. When I was trying to get immigration from America, it was practically...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: It was easier a few years ago, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Nowadays it is very difficult for anybody.

Prabhupāda: Oh, to get immigration?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: In my case, the university sponsored me saying that nobody in the United States that can do the job as I do, which is not true.

Prabhupāda: What is that job?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: My job, my work, chemist, the instrument I work. Saying that... Must be written to the Federal Government, to the Labor Department, saying that there's nobody who would be able to do my job in the United States, qualified. Then the second condition is that by being employed myself, then nobody will be displaced. Any U.S. citizen will not be displaced by my employment. So those two conditions. And it has to be written by the university sponsor.

Prabhupāda: So very difficult, that.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: But they did it. After that, I have to get from India government saying that Indian government has no objection for me to be in the United States. So I have to get from Central Government, from the Minister of Education, and I have to get one certificate from the passport office in Calcutta, Regional Passport Office. And I have to get one from Manipur Government saying that Manipur Government has no objection for me to be in the United States. And the Manipur Government objected, that they want me back to Manipur. So there was some difficulty at the beginning. So I told them that "No, no, don't say that. Just say that you don't need me." (laughter) So they did it, letter, and I got all those letters. And that letter has to go to Indian Embassy. First of all it has to go to Indian Consulate in San Francisco. And San Francisco has to send a letter of recommendation to Indian Embassy in Washington. And then the Embassy has to send to Federal Government to the Labor Department in Washington, State Department, saying that "Such and such has this letter."

Prabhupāda: So made it very complicated.

Room Conversation -- January 31, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: He was very impressed. He can become life member. Very, very nice man. Very old. And he said his children are in United States and he has everything he has. He's very rich also.

Prabhupāda: Why don't you ask him to come? He's rich. Ask him to come, live with us in Māyāpur, and rest of the life let him become happy. Why he's after money?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: His aim is to make as many bridges as possible. He's thinks that's some sort of philanthropic work.

Prabhupāda: This is māyā. This is māyā. What he can do? He will die. This is called māyā. Therefore our system is because you are rascal, do all rascaldom up to fiftieth year. Then give it up. All kinds of rascaldom you can continue. Pañcāśordhvaṁ vanaṁ vrajet. Then you retire from all this rascal work.

Room Conversation -- February 2, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Yugadharma: I had one more other scheme with Dhanañjaya dāsa from Vṛndāvana. Dhanañjaya is making with this Spanish devotee who's staying, making... I have just seen last week these beautiful, beautiful Gaura-Nitāi mūrti, these Gaura-Nitāi Deities that he is making. They are casting them in Vṛndāvana, and they are very, very beautiful. And Dhanañjaya has told me that you have encouraged him to sell mūrtis in the United States.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Yugadharma: I would like to do also, set a large business up if the prasādam...

Prabhupāda: It will be very nice.

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, this special medicine. But this is illegal. You have to go outside the United States. Even though they know about it, they won't allow it to come in because then they will lose so much money. This girl who joined us, she was telling the most horrible things. She said they're all... She had to quit the profession because she could not stand to be doing this kind of work with these people, the so-called doctors. They were so cruel and cheaters.

Brahmānanda: When Gargamuni took you out of the hospital they threatened that now you will not recover, and now it is our responsibility, what we are doing. The tried to force us.

Prabhupāda: I could understand that. Therefore I said, "No, I am quite..." (laughs) They were arranging for my brain operation, very dangerous.

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Killed his own son because he was smoking marijuana. He couldn't stand that the boy was smoking marijuana. Then after killing him he went to the police and turned himself in. So he came before the judge, woman judge, and he said that "I could not help it. This boy is my son, and look what he was doing. It is abominable. I had to kill him." And the judge said, "Yes, I can understand your feelings. It was intolerable." And she let the man go without one day jail sentence. No reprimand even. So this is the thing that is starting to happen now, that they are lobbying in the Congress in the United States to pass laws that if someone is abnormal, then the parents should have the right to commit him to psychological treatments. Even the child may be fifty years old and the parent may be seventy years old, if the parents think that child is not sane, then they have the right to get the child committed. So this is being passed in a couple of states, and already in California...

Prabhupāda: This is very dangerous.

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Canada, Australia. The problem is that... Actually it's a fact that many of these groups are bad. They're cheating. Of course, ours is not, but because they're not very intelligent, they cannot see the distinction. Probably as a result of this court case, we will make them aware that now the other groups are bogus but we are not. That they'll have to admit. That will be the effect. But at least up until now we are being lumped in with these other bad groups. Cults, they call them. But it's a very dangerous thing. Therefore the lawyers and all of the scholars and intelligentsia of the United States is very alarmed that this is a great treading on human rights. This is a great danger to human rights because the Fifth Amendment of the... The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion. But according to these laws that they want to pass, a parent can say, "It is not a question of religion. My son has become abnormal." So who is to say what is religion and what is abnormal? They are saying, "This is not religion." So we have to prove, "No, this is... Hare Kṛṣṇa is a religion." Otherwise they are saying this is abnormal. Now, just... Our lawyer has pointed out that if you say that the devotees' preaching is brainwash, then you must say that every single Christian priest who preaches, he is also brainwashing.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You must condemn all preaching. So this is against the Amendment, the Constitutional First Amendment. So there is a big Constitutional case. This court case has great interest to all the people who are into civil right and things in the United States because it is testing the freedom of religion. It's a test case. It's the biggest test case of this decade in the United States. And the American Civil Liberties Union is taking this up as their main..., one of their main points of fighting now. All over the United States they're defending. Of course, there are many groups also who are insisting, "We will fight, but only for Hare Kṛṣṇa. We are not going to align ourselves with a general group." They wanted to give a name, as Brahmānanda was saying. And they insisted that it must include the Hare Kṛṣṇa. The name of our organization must include the word Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Brahmānanda: This is a group of scholars and intelligent people who want to help Hare Kṛṣṇa, in other words, friends of Hare Kṛṣṇa. So actually it was some of our devotees, they suggested that the name of this group should not say Hare Kṛṣṇa. It should say, "Friends of God conscious people," or something like that, because they thought the word Hare Kṛṣṇa makes some negative...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Reaction.

Prabhupāda: But Hare Kṛṣṇa is religion.

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: That is wanted. (laughs) That is wanted. We want that.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This man is very prominent, Harvey Cox. He's the most prominent theologian, I think, in the United States, or one of the...

Brahmānanda: Harvard.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Very big man. He is very active. He's organizing everything, he and that Dean Kelly. What is his position?

Satsvarūpa: He's National Council of Churches.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. He's the head of the National Council of Churches, this Dean Kelly, and he is a very big proponent of our movement also.

Prabhupāda: So Kṛṣṇa is sending so many men.

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: So Kṛṣṇa is sending so many men.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh, yes, we're going to win. But actually it is a dangerous situation, how the government is becoming so callous in the United States.

Brahmānanda: They compare it to Russia, because in Russia the system is if someone goes against...

Prabhupāda: State.

Brahmānanda: ...the state, they put him in a mental hospital. They don't put him in jail but in a mental hospital.

Prabhupāda: And kill him.

Morning Room Conversation -- February 16, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Where it is done?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: In USA. "Permabound" it's called.

Hari-śauri: That's like that plastic cover-type stuff.

Prabhupāda: It is half-bound.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Hari-śauri: No, what they've done is they've taken off the paper cover, this pink, and they just hardbound it...

Prabhupāda: Softbound.

Room Conversation -- February 18, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: California?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Maybe. Florida they can do. Southern United States, the weather is more like India, especially Florida. Florida is very much like India.

Prabhupāda: There are many places like India.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Hawaii they could do, I think.

Prabhupāda: Hawaii, yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This Mr. Punja, I was talking with him. He had a... His suitcase was stolen in Calcutta.

Prabhupāda: Huh? Suitcase stolen?

Room Conversation -- February 18, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: All churches are closed.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Just see. They call a meeting of five hundred rabbis, all of the leading rabbis, and the Jewish leaders in the whole USA, just to deal with this question of "The cults taking our children."

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Us? Au...?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. We're the main cult.

Prabhupāda: Then? This is a verse. They do not know what is the aim of life.

Hari-śauri: "Neither cleanliness nor proper behavior nor truth is found in them." All liars and cheats.

Prabhupāda: This is demon.

Room Conversations -- February 20, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Very important.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, especially in the United States.

Prabhupāda: New York high-court decision.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Very important. This man is senior man too in the courts, very old, conservative.

Prabhupāda: But I think he's sincere.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, he's God-believing. This statement that he makes at the end, this statement that "Any attempt, be it circuitous, direct, well-intentioned or not, presents a clear and present danger to this most fundamental basis and eternally needed right of our citizens." "Eternally needed right." Freedom of religion.

Prabhupāda: So we should send him a letter of congratulations. "May God bless you for such right judgment. Be... Live long life to serve God." Like that, make a nice... That is our mission.

Room Conversations -- February 20, 1977, Mayapura:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Sometimes people ask whether I have seen anything very powerful in Śrīla Prabhupāda. I sometimes answer, saying that when Śrīla Prabhupāda came to the United States, all the foreign disciples, all the Americans, they all because of their social structure, eating all kinds of things, but they are all now pure Vaiṣṇavas. So it is the greatest wonder that one can expect. So they become very silent, just hearing the answer, seeing that there is something very powerful.

Prabhupāda: Yes. First of all they admitted in that Voice, that "We thought God is dead. Here Swamiji has brought." They admitted like that. (break) ...wife, she is also coming from very respectable family. Her father, grandfather all... Doctor had big...

Arrival of Devotees -- February 24, 1977, Mayapura:

Rāmeśvara: This is very timely, because the President's mother, of United States, just came to India, and it's all over the American press how she was in the Peace Corps. So this book, the copy on the back cover, "A search for meaning carries a young American Peace Corps worker to ancient city in West Bengal..." There he meets you and finds out everything he ever wanted to know. It's very timely.

Gargamuni: Why don't you put the Jimmy Carter quote on it too?

Rādhā-vallabha: This is Satsvarūpa's book.

Prabhupāda: Hm. Buses arrived?

Evening Darsana -- February 25, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: What do you think, this idea?

Tripurāri: Well, we tried it a little bit in the United States, but I think that the major difficulty was getting the people to pay. They would pay, perhaps promise to pay, but then they wouldn't follow through. We were afraid they would cancel the order.

Prabhupāda: That you have to manage, how to collect. You give him in credit, but keep men also to collect.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Collection agency.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Then it will be successful. You can give it... Americans are expert to take in credit, but the banking arrangement is nice, that they get back. Similarly, you give them credit. They will take it and then make such machinery that it will be collected. Collected means to go and ask. Then it will be collected.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- February 28, 1977, Mayapura:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: He had a lot of grants from the United States. From Europe also.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: He had grants, money coming from the United States to support his research. So he was on opposite side, but we had a very interesting discussion. And he told me later on that he was a keen follower of Śaṅkarācārya. I said, "Why?" because I was speaking, "There are innumerable lives." I was giving examples that we are not as one, but there are innumerable forms of life depending on the level of consciousness, giving examples. scientific examples. So he answered that traditionally his forefathers, his parents, his grandfathers, became followers of Śaṅkarācārya, so he became some sort of addicted to it, but he said he's not one hundred percent follower of Śaṅkarācārya.

Prabhupāda: Individual. Where there is question of mixing? Śaṅkarācārya's mistake is that the spirit is a mixture, and in māyā state, they're divided. Is it not? So when the division is finished, then it is spirit. But Kṛṣṇa does not say that.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- February 28, 1977, Mayapura:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They were saying, "There are things going on and we must also go there." Somebody was advising people to come. (break)

Prabhupāda: And on this Kṛṣṇa culture, the India was ruling all over the world. During Parīkṣit Mahārāja time there was only one flag. And now go to the United States organization—simply flag increasing, "United."

Brahmānanda: In Africa they just made a new country. It's the smallest country in the world. It's one little island. Now it's independent country.

Prabhupāda: This is going on. So for the time being let this program. We go to Vṛndāvana and from Vṛndāvana to Bombay, and then we make program there. Is that all right? If possible, invite some ministers.

Room Conversation 'GBC Resolutions' -- March 1, 1977, Mayapura:

Gargamuni: He told me that also in Bhuvaneśvara, that the reason why he was leaving is because he wanted to work with his mother, who has some type of public relations job in the United States.

Brahmānanda: Bhagavān claims that all these men who signed this letter, they were spiritually weak.

Prabhupāda: So what you have decided? Yogeśvara was doing nice in translation, his wife was doing nice. So why should we lose these important hands?

Rāmeśvara: He hasn't been working at the French BBT for many months. He gave that up some time ago and was working with his wife at the gurukula.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He told me that he was frustrated. That's why he gave it up. When he was in New York he told me that had become discouraged.

Room Conversation 'GBC Resolutions' -- March 1, 1977, Mayapura:

Rāmeśvara: "...to avoid America."

Kīrtanānanda: We really wanted him to come to the United States and help there.

Hṛdayānanda: But he was discouraged by that idea.

Kīrtanānanda: He said he could not get enthusiastic about that.

Prabhupāda: But to remain in France, if you think it is all right, that is another thing. But you said that he requires little change, you all GBC. What...?

Hṛdayānanda: Yes. That was the general feeling, that it would be good for both, for him and for France.

Kīrtanānanda: But we did not feel that he had done anything seriously wrong that would require our forcing a change on him.

Satsvarūpa: He doesn't feel he needs a change. He said, "Everyone has some trouble in their zone."

Prabhupāda: Then try to rectify. Then...

Room Conversation 'GBC Resolutions' -- March 1, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Very good arrangement.

Satsvarūpa: As for Jayatīrtha, he will keep England in his zone, but he is also going to take a zone in the United States, which he finds that he can travel to without much difficulty, which is the Mid-West of the United States, including Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, and a little center, Ann Arbor.

Prabhupāda: So you have all agreed to. That's nice.

Satsvarūpa: Harikeśa Mahārāja will mostly retain the same zone of Eastern European countries, Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavian countries.

Prabhupāda: So you have discussed Hare Kṛṣṇa, er, Harikeśa's activities, reviewed? It is all right?

Room Conversation 'GBC Resolutions' -- March 1, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: That's nice.

Satsvarūpa: Then the division of the United States.

Prabhupāda: Gopāla Kṛṣṇa went to Russia. He did some work. How GBC appreciate that work? Do they appreciate or not?

Jayatīrtha: It appears that he several nice orders and reviews from the universities there.

Prabhupāda: So?

Rāmeśvara: It's considered a breakthrough. It's considered a great achievement...

Prabhupāda: Yes, then...

Rāmeśvara: ...his work in Russia.

Prabhupāda: Then why, if he continues like that, what is the wrong there?

Harikeśa: I had a few objections which I didn't bring up as a whole.

Prabhupāda: What is that objection?

Room Conversation 'GBC Resolutions' -- March 1, 1977, Mayapura:

Satsvarūpa: Then for the division of the United States, for myself, for being editor of Back to Godhead, I would go to Los Angeles for that, Back to Godhead, but would also supervise the Northwest US zone, which includes Berkeley, California; Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and the Dallas temple. Rāmeśvara Mahārāja would continue being the GBC for Los Angeles, San Diego, Laguna Beach, and Denver. Balavanta Prabhu would keep his same zone—Atlanta; the Tennessee farm; Gainesville and Miami, Florida; New Orleans and the Mississippi farm; and Houston, Texas. Rūpānuga would also keep his same zone—Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; Philadelphia; St. Louis; the St. Louis farm; Ottawa; and Montreal, Canada. Kīrtanānanda would keep his same zone—New Vrindaban, Buffalo, Toronto, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja was accepted as your permanent secretary, and therefore, for the vacancy created in his absence in New York, Pennsylvania farm, Boston, Puerto Rico...

Rāmeśvara: And Rādhā-Dāmodara.

Satsvarūpa: ...and the Rādhā-Dāmodara party, it was decided that he should keep the responsibility of being the GBC for that area. However, Ādi-keśava Mahārāja will act as special assistant to the GBC and take the on-the-spot responsibility.

Prabhupāda: That means he'll be trained up in his place. Is it not?

Room Conversation -- March 2, 1977, Mayapura:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: How much hopeful? I think there's a great potential. It is a great future, and I can see that if we start publishing the first journal, volume, then it's going to attract many people from the academic circles and intellectual surroundings, and in some time I can see there will be a whole new field of preaching in the academic circles all over the world, not only in India and United States, Canada, but Europe. Europe is going to be observe better centers along these lines. In fact, there are some very leading men in Cambridge and Oxford going to open the whole...

Prabhupāda: So arrange for that, what to do, immediately.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. So we have our Indian headquarters in Bombay, and we can organize in such a manner that...

Prabhupāda: Where you will give them place?

Room Conversation with GBC members -- March 2-3, 1977, Mayapura:

Satsvarūpa: Then we made resolutions concerning the public relations. One is that each temple president will instruct the devotees that as each devotee approaches people in any way he is acting as a public relations representative for Śrīla Prabhupāda. At least one day a week there must be chanting and food distribution in public performed by each temple. Balavanta, who is the minister of public relations in the United States, will be the editor of a monthly newsletter to ISKCON reporting on public relations programs to be executed, including do's and do not's. Every temple will start a program of sending a monthly Back to Godhead and a letter from a devotee to his parents if his parents are at least...

Prabhupāda: This is very good.

Room Conversation with GBC members -- March 2-3, 1977, Mayapura:

Satsvarūpa: All temples will be encouraged by the GBC to undertake vigorous life membership programs with the Indians. In America this program should be standardized in all respects, using the present forms developed in New York and New Vrindaban. The program in USA will be overlooked by Ādi-keśava Mahārāja.

Prabhupāda: That's nice.

Satsvarūpa: Resolved: A committee be formed of Saurabha, Tamāla Kṛṣṇa, Rāmeśvara, Ātreya Ṛṣi, Jayapatākā, Gopāla Kṛṣṇa, and Gurukṛpā to research and give a report on all aspects of the Māyāpur projected construction, including its material feasibility, cash flow requirements. They will report their research to Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: One very big paṇḍita is coming. He'll help us about the Sanskrit language, how to form this...

Room Conversation with GBC members -- March 2-3, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: That's not bad. (laughter)

Kīrtanānanda: Some boys were arrested for that, Śrīla Prabhupāda. They will arrest you in the United States if they catch you. They have done that.

Brahmānanda: That is considered fraud.

Rāmeśvara: Prabhupāda, the points that we are proposing to ban will not decrease book distribution, so they can be eliminated and book distribution will not be decreased.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So the real legal thing is: some way or other, introduce books. Therefore... And it will be beneficial in the long time let us see. Read it.

Room Conversation with GBC members -- March 2-3, 1977, Mayapura:

Jayatīrtha: It was published in practically every newspaper in the world, a picture of Santa Claus being arrested by a policeman in America. We got a lot of questions. Also the President of the United States questioned one boy in a Santa Claus outfit.

Rāmeśvara: We felt that it would not seriously decrease the book distribution if we stopped this.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Then it is all right.

Rāmeśvara: That's the real thing. That's the key factor.

Prabhupāda: All right.

Room Conversation with GBC members -- March 2-3, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Lage laghu.(?) Very good.

Satsvarūpa: In the US, all that territory where there are no temples was assigned into geographic zones so that all territory in Canada and the United States fits into the zone of one GBC or another.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda? I'd just like to point out to Your Divine Grace that preaching center means no Deities. It just means Pañca-tattva worship.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And if we find that there's good...

Prabhupāda: The devotees.

Room Conversation -- March 26, 1977, Bombay:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Many..., some engineers came, and some doctors also came. They wanted us speak in Bombay Hospital. And just now also I got a letter from England from Jagadguru Swami. He said that on our way to the United States we should stop in England. He says that he talked something about Bhaktivedanta Institute in England. He said we should speak in Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He said there is a very good preaching background there. So he invited us to...

Prabhupāda: You will be invited. You stick to your position and train up your assistants and recruit more and more. We shall come out successful. Write books. You can take. Now yesterday Dr. Dattrey, did he say anything?

Room Conversation -- March 26, 1977, Bombay:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, Sharma just came here from the United States. He studied for a few years. So he is also a cardiologist.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: And he had some friends there in Bombay Hospital, and he is going to definitely make arrangement so we can give a seminar in the hospital.

Prabhupāda: Important man. Recognize him. Make him member.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: We will also make some engagements in... There is an institute called Patha Institute for Fundamental Research. They study about nuclear physics. So I am going to arrange for one of our people to speak.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Speak in important institution like that. That will command respect.

Room Conversation -- March 26, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Personal importance they have...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: From the newspaper I see that the United States is praising a lot this election.

Prabhupāda: Yes. The democratic campaign. But from our point of view, these are not the solution. Temporary. Temporary relief. Daṇḍya jane rāja yena nadīte cubāya.(?) You know this? Daṇḍya jane rāja yena nadīte cubāya. I have spoken several times in... Formerly, the criminal was taken in the middle of the river and he was drowned. And when he was suffocating, he's held up. Then he, ahhh (takes deep breath). This relief is like that. That means as soon as he takes little strength, again, put again. Then daṇḍya jane rāja yena nadīte cubāya.(?) These rascals are like that. For the time being there is little relief: "Oh, we are now free from the leaders." And there is another hand is being created. Bābājī or something like that. Then again they shall put his... This is going on.

Room Conversation with Ratan Singh Rajda (Member of Parliament) -- March 27, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Why don't they do this, this God consciousness? Do it seriously. Then everything will be all right. They are defying the existence of God and reading Bhagavad-gītā. This is their position. And if I go to the details, it may not be very palatable. But big, big leaders say like that. We have got everything in India, and to become God conscious, to establish the Lord's kingdom, not at all difficult. But we manufacture our own ideas. But we want that rāma-rājya, but without Rāma, how rāma-rājya will be? So those who are leaders of the society, if they take it seriously, will there not be an ideal state? And you can make an..., set an example to the whole world. The whole world will be happy. But we must be very serious about it. That is our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We are trying, but we have no support from the government, from the leaders. We are alone. Now, after twelve years, they have recognized in the United States and London, Germany. Otherwise I was, twelve years before, I was not (Rajda coughing). Loitering in the streets of New York, who was caring for me? Now these boys, they have joined, they are doing something, they are fighting.

Room Conversation -- March 31, 1977, Bombay:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: In India it is all right, but in the West, especially in the United States...

Prabhupāda: Then you keep hair. I have no objection. That should not be an impediment. Whichever you... But tilaka is objectionable?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, no. Tilaka we can always have.

Prabhupāda: That's nice. Then it is all right. You belong to Hare Kṛṣṇa. That should be there. That cannot be...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I would use tilaka many times when I was doing my thesis, also like this, but in giving lectures, especially amongst the scientists, sometimes if we come with head shaved, sometimes they think it very strange. We can do it when...

Prabhupāda: No, no, no. Don't disturb them, that "These are strange people." No, we don't want that. But we must have our position. Tilaka is our position. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's stricture. You will not see one face if there is no tilaka. He used to say it is cremation ground. Yes, without tilaka. Pasanta mukha.(?)

Room Conversation with Scientists, Svarupa Damodara, and Dr. Sharma -- March 31, 1977, Bombay:

Dr. Sharma: Actually, we never had the geographical conception of the nation. Only conception was the religious conception. Wherever Kṛṣṇa is worshiped, that is India. That has been the concept through all the centuries, until 1947, you know, and then we had these boundaries. Otherwise, Kṛṣṇa is worshiped in north, He is worshiped in south, He is worshiped in east, He is worshiped in west, and there are temples marking that plain. And that's what we call India. And that has been throughout the centuries. Not the geographical boundaries they have given now to India. Really you can make out the definition of India, where Kṛṣṇa is worshiped, that is India. And that can be anywhere now, including worship in the United States or in Canada. Because He was the man, He was our Lord, He came here. He gave us the religion, He gave us the life, He gave us this... So now these politicians are taking that concept away, and they are changing the consciousness of the whole nation now. They want to change the consciousness. They want to make them materialistic. They want to make them greedy. They want to...

Prabhupāda: And what materialistic advancement they have done?

Interview with Mr. Koshi (Asst. Editor of The Current Weekly) -- April 5, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Not here, there.

Mr. Koshi: In the United States.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. They were kidnapped, they were taken by force, and so on, so on. So many times.

Mr. Koshi: No, I think the opposition comes because of...

Prabhupāda: Opposition comes means there was some strength of this movement. Therefore there was...

Mr. Koshi: No, I think the complaint was of families...

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be, they felt the strength. In Bengali it is called capale babale.(?)

Morning Talk -- April 5, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. So will the government accept?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: In United States there is a group in Pennsylvania, and they say that they will not undergo any kind of normal education, because it is polluted, and they have their own education, and they are permitted. Even from six, seven years old, from first grade. They are called the Amish people. (some noise in background) That's not a door, Śrīla Prabhupāda. That's heavy dropping of heavy items.

Prabhupāda: Another point, in secular, the scientific knowledge, two plus two equal to four. If somebody says, "No, in our opinion it is five," will it be accepted?

Room Conversation Meeting with Dr. Sharma (from Russia) -- April 17, 1977, Bombay:

Dr. Sharma: This publication is from States or Russia?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This is published from the United States.

Prabhupāda: Anthology of Religions of the World.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So your book is considered an authoritative book on the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: They have given nice description of bhakti-yoga. So if you want to, we can give you some sets of books for reading, and discussing amongst your friends.

Conversation with M.P., Shri Sita Ram Singh -- May 19, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: And just now I have got news. We have got a branch in Ceylon. So we thought that instead of going back to U.S.A. or Europe, let him go to Ceylon and renew the visa. So I hear that they have been forbidden, not to issue visa to our boys. (Hindi)

Sita Ram Singh: (Hindi) Rather, the Constitution is molded from bad to worse. This point should be repaired. I have got feeling for that.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi)

Sita Ram Singh: When I go next time to Delhi I shall write letter. I have got address of this mission here. I shall write a letter here, and one of the representatives will go. I will give that...

Short Dissertations -- May 24-25, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: They received well.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. Well and... It was actually the Indian who arranged this group, from the Federal Government, United States.

Prabhupāda: You gave him good reception?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, good reception.

Prabhupāda: Hm. So what is your news?

Harikeśa: Everything's going on, Prabhupāda. The Russian book is now a textbook.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Discussions with Devotees and Conversation with Dr. Ghosh -- June 1, 1977, Vrndavana:

Yaśodānandana: Yes, that is very good.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: In future I think that we can invite scholars even from the West, just like from the United States. Sometimes they have these departments called...

Prabhupāda: You have brain. You are not afraid of anything...

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Jaya.

Prabhupāda: ...that we are preaching something which not is acceptable by scientists or philosophers. He must have to accept.

Bhavānanda: Śrīla Prabhupāda, Bhakti-prema Mahārāja is not here now. He's gone out.

Room Conversation -- June 17, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: I thought all this. I went to USA not to come back. I left here hopeless. I did not want to come back. I went with determination that "If I do this job, I will survive." So Kṛṣṇa helped me. I never desired to come back. It was 197... Er, no, 1968. You all helped, so I called you: "I want to return back. There are so many secretaries."

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, you called me from France.

Prabhupāda: London.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I was in Paris.

Prabhupāda: Yes, and you were Paris.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So that I am asking to enroll as members of the Bhaktivedanta Institute.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That must have come from the United States.

Prabhupāda: Yes. We have got enough material to convince. We are not blind.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Why do they have to come in the United States?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Well, people nowadays expect, if anything comes from the States, that's a fact. So sometime all the leading scientists of the world are in the States. Even if they are coming from other countries, they all get together in the States. Everybody goes there. So something is coming from the States, it is formally respected by all the big men all over the world. So that is why I want to attack United States as my last, bringing men from all over. Then we can make a strong presentation in the States.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: And actually it so happened. Who would have joined unless I would have gone from United States? Useless. Their money, their men, they are helping. That's a fact. And that was my aim.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You tried here first.

Prabhupāda: And they are useless here, waste of time. Neither I wanted to go to London. "New York I shall go."

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Anyone else would have gone to London.

Prabhupāda: Yes, to go to the Western countries means to go to England. I didn't like that. I thought, "I shall go to New York."

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Yes. That you can...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I have taken that idea because in the United States there is a conference called Garden(?) Conference, and I want to develop this in the future as a regular feature of our movement, organize this conference all over the world. We'll title as "Bhaktivedanta Vijñāna Conference," and it involves all sources of knowledge. Just like Garden Conference. They have a meeting in Boston, in Harvard, in chemistry, and Garden Conference is in all fields, in physics, chemistry, the humanities. It is very respected all over the academic world. So we also wanted to generate a spiritual scientific conference along these lines.

Prabhupāda: Bhaktivedanta is spiritual.

Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- June 21, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: USA.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And we have three hundred rooms. It would fetch... If it was divided up as an all-apartment building, it would make very..., lot of money. To run a building like that... It's very prestigious. Even though it's not a new building, still, it is prestigious. People are impressed. Many Indian people come there from India at night. A number of officials came, and they were all very... They said, "Oh, we didn't know you had such a building like this." They said like that. They were very impressed. And they liked the... They were very much impressed with the temple room and the restaurant and the general size of the building. Those three features are impressive. The restaurant they're very impressed by, pure vegetarian prasādam served with a restaurant atmosphere.

Prabhupāda: And so palatable.

Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- June 21, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, he says that "I heard..." This is from ex-president Ford. There was some discussion that perhaps he would be a candidate in the 1980 Presidential election here. Anyway, he's an important man. Then he lists some of the people who have gotten your Bhagavad-gītā as well as other small book in Russian or other languages or prasādam. "Mr. Igor Orligalik, Deputy Director (gives list of many Eastern Bloc professors and directors) You see, he keeps a file on all these people, so if ever we go to these countries, we know which people got our books, and these are all highly placed people, very prominent people. Good work. One of these lunches is very expensive-$7.50 per person. (reads:) "Los Angeles World Affairs Council cordially invites you to attend a special luncheon discussion meeting with the USSR-USA Society Delegation to the Soviet Union." This is one such invitation that's put out by these people. Every one of these people who spoke there, all these delegates, he gave them Bhagavad-gītās, the Russian Easy Journey and a calendar. (break) (kīrtana)

Prabhupāda: ...slaughter, bigger slaughter. This is my practical experience. Father hates. (break) We saw lots of people.

Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- June 21, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: ...ashes. This is going on. Hm? (Bengali)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, this will be for everybody because just starting here. But especially I like to attack the Japan and the United States, 'cause Japan and the United States, they are pretty much the leading bars, very...

Prabhupāda: Stubborn.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. And I'd like to specially make a strong show in Japan and the United States. So I'd like to attack them as my last point. Getting momentum from the smaller areas and having confidence and also some support from some leading scientists, then I'd like to put my full force in Japan and United States.

Prabhupāda: Japan and... Make... (Bengali)

Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- June 21, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I made an advertisement in M.I.T. saying that... Korana is the man who synthesized this gene... They thought that might life. So I was putting in an M.I.T. newspaper in the campus, saying that "Korana's gene is not life, and virus is not life. These are all molecules. They have nothing to do with life." So we have a lecture coming up next month, July 10th, in the M.I.T. campus, so three of us are going to speak on life coming from life. Because this is an M.I.T. campus, so there'll be many people from his group coming, because it is directly challenging the biggest group in the United States about this...

Prabhupāda: So do they accept?

Room Conversation -- July 1, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh. That means at the conclusion, where the festival comes to at the end, apart from the stage where Lord Jagannātha is, where the devotees will be chanting, there will also be many booths, selling prasāda and books. So these booths will be set within little houses that look like Indian-style houses. It'll appear like Jagannātha Purī. That's what they want to make it look like. 'Cause San Francisco they call New Jagannātha Purī. Anyway, it'll give a feeling of cultural change. It's one... It may be... It's one of the very biggest festivals now in the United States. It is already.

Prabhupāda: Last time, when I was there, so many young persons, they were giving me, "Thanks, Prabhupāda." They were feeling some enlightenment. Do you remember?

Room Conversation with Vrindavan De -- July 6, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: When I entered the toilet bathroom I was surprised. (laughs)

Vrindavan De: In USA or Detroit?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Detroit, Michigan, USA. Prabhupāda's bathroom is nearly the size of this room, and it's all gold-covered on the ceiling, and the sink is a piece of marble this thick.

Prabhupāda: In London my sitting room is bigger than this, double. My sleeping room is like this. And my toilet room is half this. This is my quarters.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You have so many places that you cannot visit them all in a year.

Prabhupāda: In everywhere. I have got now 120 places, palaces.

Room Conversation Gaurasundara, Dr. Kapoor -- July 26, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No, we are the first publisher in the world. That is already recognized.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: At that recent library convention in the United States, four hundred publishers in America participated, every major publisher. And our booth was awarded the first place amongst all of the publishers' booths.

Dr. Kapoor: Where? In the quality of printing or amount of sales?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, generally they give it based on different factors. The quality of the printing, the sales, and the booth appearance, presentation.

Dr. Kapoor: This is solid work.

Prabhupāda: Now we are going to hold Bhaktivedanta Institute scientific meeting. What is that? Where is that paper? Bombay. Scientifically presenting, among the scientists.

Room Conversation Gaurasundara, Dr. Kapoor -- July 26, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So he offered everything he has to Prabhupāda. So Śrīla Prabhupāda has requested him to build a large building and put in a Vedic planetarium in Washington, D.C., capital of the United States, right near the White House, with the Vedic planetary system according to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Fifth Canto. So he has agreed to do this, and now they are choosing the property where they will develop this program right in the heart of Washington, D.C. So it will be very good. And also the dolls will be... Doll exhibit.

Prabhupāda: How they are making dolls, show him. How nice dolls.

Dr. Kapoor: Oh.

Room Conversation -- October 13, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. Once we get incorporated in Bombay, then we can also get some grants from the government, also in the United States when we get it properly established. And the word bhakti-vedānta is so important that it seems everybody knows what it means, at least in India. When they say bhakti, "Oh," they say, "Oh, that's different from Maharishi Yogi. That's different from anybody else. You have to start with bhakti." So the word is so nice also.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And Prabhupāda is very famous also. So people think about Prabhupāda and Hare Kṛṣṇa movement when they hear it also.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: When they hear "Bhaktivedanta," they immediately know that this is Prabhupāda. Many of them told me that "Oh, I have heard Swamiji's lecture in Delhi. It's very nice and very impressive and very convincing." Many of them told me like that.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Your lectures in Delhi drew the most intelligent class of people, Śrīla Prabhupāda. The other swamis, when they would lecture, they would get just the typical pious Indian people, but yours also drew very intelligent group of people, sophisticated people.

Prabhupāda: They danced. (laughter) With coat-pant. I have seen.

Room Conversation -- October 22, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I had a similar story. It is my own personal experience. In 1974 I came here in India. I got malaria in the United States in summer 1975. Then temperature was very high. I went to the Baptist Hospital in Atlanta. They thought it was a virus, viral infection. They couldn't diagnose. Then they gave some medicine, and then I went. But it started again the following day, and I went to another doctor. He could not diagnose. So they gave me glucose injection, a big bottle, thinking it was a strange viral infection. So about six, seven doctors, they couldn't diagnose for three-four days. Then one day there was a doctor who came from Vietnam, he had some experience in tropical disease. So he thought it might be malarial fever. Then, after that, I was surrounded by many doctors thinking that it was a strange disease before, but they diagnosed... But it was not right. They did all the wrong medicine, thinking it was a viral infection.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation With Sri Narayana and Rama-Krsna Bajaj -- October 31, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda? We got report that the recent printing of the Bhagavad-gītā will be sold out by June. One million five hundred thousand copies will have been sold in about ten months' time. Fifteen lakhs were sold in ten months just in the United States.

Śrī Nārāyaṇa: (Hindi)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Standing orders was..., I think it was three thousand standing orders.

Prabhupāda: Three thousand or five thousand... (Hindi) Three thousand eight hundred.

Room Conversation -- November 7, 1977, Vrndavana:

Jayapatākā: That was supposed to be done this year, but then Bombay took all the funds. Prabhupāda sanctioned it already last year. It was a good idea. But Māyāpur has become very popular. This is all due to your effort, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Simply due to your efforts Māyāpur and Navadvīpa is becoming so much more famous and popular. We want to make the Māyāpur temple so beautiful and make the city so nice that not only the Queen of England and the President of United States, but even the Russian and Chinese leaders, they'll all have to come to see this. They can't avoid. Will that please Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura? If all the leaders, all these presidents and kings would come and visit the temple at Māyāpur, that would please Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.