# Srila Prabhupada in Bombay, 1970-1977 **Location:** Bombay **Duration:** 31:03 <div class="video-container" style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%;"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BoD6ek6cS10" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; pointer-events: auto; z-index: 10;" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoD6ek6cS10) --- ## Transcript **[00:01]** All of a sudden one day he came to office and he said, **[00:05]** "I want to go to America." I said to him, "Are you crazy? **[00:08]** Why do you want to go there? What will you do? **[00:12]** Who will look after you? What will you do there?" **[00:15]** So he said.... **[00:18]** So I said, "All right, I will make this arrangement and then you go." **[00:20]** So when the arrangement was made, he was in Bombay, **[00:26]** I made all the arrangements with the captain and the ship went. **[00:41]** In 1970 Srila Prabhupada returned to India with some disciples. **[00:50]** When Srila Prabhupada arrived in Bombay you could say he took Bombay by storm. **[00:58]** People were astonished that Americans and Europeans and Orientals could **[01:08]** totally accept Krishna consciousness and Vedic culture. **[01:13]** I'll never forget the program at Chowpatty Beach that was organized by the Bharata Sadhu Samaja. **[01:23]** There were thousands of people. **[01:25]** I could never imagine so many people could gather in one place to hear spiritual discourses. **[01:33]** We started the kirtan sitting and gradually all the devotees stood up on the stage **[01:40]** and began to dance at the front of the stage. **[01:45]** Pretty soon the whole group of us were chanting and dancing through the audience, **[01:51]** thousands of people and they were standing up, they were swaying on their feet **[01:57]** and they got completely captivated by the whole mood. **[02:04]** And the whole atmosphere was completely transformed. **[02:52]** One of our close friends and supporters, Sadaji Whitlaw, **[02:58]** suggested that we should put on our own pandal. **[03:03]** I mean for us to put on our own pandal then seemed impossible **[03:11]** but Srila Prabhupada encouraged us. **[03:14]** By the end of the publicity campaign everyone knew about the program **[03:20]** and as the final climax to the publicity, Shamasundara arranged a blimp **[03:31]** that was fixed to the sight at Cross Maidan in down-town Bombay and that **[03:39]** hovered over the city, "Hare Krishna Festival-Cross Maidan" **[03:46]** And on the opening night thousands of people streamed into the pandal and every night **[03:56]** we had about twenty thousand people and on the weekends maybe thirty thousand. **[04:04]** And it was a tremendous success. Then one evening Srila Prabhupada **[04:12]** had a ceremony on stage, a marriage. So the marriage featured Vegavan from Sweden and **[04:24]** Padmavati from Australia and they were married with the proper Vedic fire ceremony **[04:32]** in front of twenty thousand people. Srila Prabhupada declared: **[04:38]** "This is the real united nations." **[04:41]** And the whole audience began to cheer and clap, thousands of people. **[04:45]** Juhu was just a simple fishing village. There was one hotel there **[04:53]** because of the beautiful beach and there were two more under construction **[04:58]** and it was considered very remote. **[05:02]** The explanation of expert devotees is that Krsna was actually not absent from Vrndavana; **[05:08]** He came back with Nanda Maharaja as promised. **[05:11]** When He was going to Mathura on the chariot driven by Akrura and the gopis were **[05:17]** practically blocking the way, Krsna assured them that He was coming back **[05:22]** just after finishing His business in Mathura. He told them not to be overwhelmed, **[05:28]** and in this way He pacified them. **[05:31]** We remember Him playing in those places because He was constantly visiting them. **[05:36]** Therefore Mayavadi takes that this Krsna-lila is maya. They are surprised. **[05:45]** "How God can be affectionate like this." He is nivaka, **[05:51]** He is without any attachment. They cannot understand Krsna philosophy. **[06:07]** Because he is playing exactly like human being they think, **[06:11]** "Oh, He is human being, maya," Mayavada, this is called Mayavada. **[06:18]** How wonderful it is that Krsna took in one hand the big, heavy bow **[06:22]** made of three joined palm trees and broke it very quickly! **[06:26]** How wonderful it is that continually for seven days He held up Govardhana Hill **[06:31]** in one hand! How wonderful it is that He has killed all the demons. **[08:54]** After signing the sales agreement and getting possession of the land Srila Prabhupada **[09:01]** organized a huge pandal right on the Juhu land and even though it was far from the city **[09:09]** and not so many of our friends from the city came but many of the local people came. **[09:15]** And as part of the proceedings Srila Prabhupada had the corner stone laying ceremony. **[09:23]** So we selected this Bombay. Bombay city is the best city, most advanced city, in India. **[09:39]** And people are also very nice, they are religiously inclined, therefore **[09:46]** I wanted to start this center, Bombay, for spreading this Krishna consciousness movement. **[09:55]** Although there have been many impediments in my endeavor, **[10:01]** still ultimately it is Krsna's business, it will come successful. **[10:07]** So today, the foundation and corner-stone establishment was done two years before **[10:19]** but there were many, many impediments from the ausric jana. **[10:25]** Now somehow or other we have got little relief from such impediments **[10:34]** so we are putting this corner stone this auspicious day **[10:41]** and I am very glad that you have joined us. **[10:46]** So the mission is very, very authorized therefore my request is that **[10:56]** the inhabitants of Bombay, especially those who are our members, **[11:03]** they will kindly take active part in how to make this institution very successful in Bombay. **[11:13]** This land was called "Nair-wadi," now it is "Hare Krishna Land." **[11:23]** One day Guruji was here. Myself, Valiya and my wife was there, in that room. **[11:31]** Valiya said to Guruji that Guruji Mr. Nair will not give you this land because he has **[11:40]** been offered by some hotel owner for 36 lakhs and you are purchasing for 14 lakhs and **[11:56]** Mr. Nair has to pay so much income tax. So he must have changed his idea **[12:04]** and he will give the land to that person who has offered 36 lakhs. **[12:12]** Then Guruji said, There is no matter. If he doesn't want to give us this land then **[12:22]** he must return our money but I don't think he can pay the income tax in this life. **[12:32]** So Guruji went at the night to Sydney. **[12:41]** And when we wake up in the morning we heard that Mr Nair's heart failed and he died. **[12:54]** At the second Bombay pandal Sri Sri Kisora Kisori that were later sent to Chicago **[13:04]** and installed there were the Deities at the pandal program. **[13:10]** And on the last day of the pandal during the last kirtan Srila Prabhupada stood up and **[13:17]** began to dance and of course the devotees were always dancing **[13:23]** whenever there was kirtan in Srila Prabhupada's presence especially **[13:26]** but when he stood up and danced the devotees went wild. **[13:30]** And then Prabhhupada began to dance in a circle around the Deities, **[13:35]** Sri Sri Kisora Kisori, and then the devotees were also dancing in a circle **[13:40]** following Srila Prabhupada. **[16:51]** So in the beginning before the creation God is existing and after the creation, **[17:05]** when the creation is annihilated, He will be existing. This is called transcendental... **[17:16]** The same cloth but the tailor according to the body makes a covering of this hand **[17:29]** and this looks like a hand. This covering of the chest looks like a chest. **[17:37]** Therefore the impersonal means the material covering. **[17:44]** Otherwise the spirit soul is person. Just like you go to the tailor. **[17:53]** According to your body the tailor will cut a coat. **[17:57]** This coat, the ingredients of the coat, the cloth, that is impersonal, **[18:05]** but it is made like a person. Covering of the person. **[18:13]** In other words the spirit soul is person as much as God is also person. **[18:24]** Imperson means the covering. Try to understand. **[18:29]** The covering is imperson. Not the living being who is covered. **[18:43]** He is not imperson, he is person. Very simple example. **[18:50]** The coat / shirt is impersonal. **[18:53]** But the man who is putting on the coat and shirt, he is not imperson, he is person. **[19:01]** So how God can be imperson? The material energy is imperson. **[19:13]** That is explained in the Bhagavad-gita. **[19:32]** This jagat is avyakta, imperson. That is also energy of Krsna **[19:42]** therefore we say I am expanded in the impersonal form. **[19:50]** That impersonal feature is Krsna's energy. So the material covering is impersonal **[20:04]** but the spirit soul or the supersoul is person. Any questions on this. **[20:13]** It is very intricate question, anyone. If there is any difficulty to understand. **[20:25]** Because I have heard so many of these so-called yogis in English about Gita **[20:30]** and this and that but they can not explain... **[20:35]** How can they explain? They can not touch even Bhagavad-gita. **[20:41]** They have no qualification. Their speaking on Bhagavad-gita is artificial. **[20:47]** They cannot speak. Because the real qualification, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, **[20:54]** bhaktosi, one must be devotee and then he can touch what is Bhagavad-gita. **[21:00]** Even in Mayapur when we went to visit that time Sridhar Swami's ashram **[21:06]** and he spoke something in English, some other man spoke in English. **[21:09]** They cannot explain like you Srila Prabhupada. **[21:12]** You are the only one that when you speak this knowledge it becomes **[21:18]** immediately enters into the ear and into the heart. And then it is realized. **[21:23]** Maybe. **[21:26]** Vishaka you think also like that. **[21:30]** Without a dobut. **[21:37]** Unfortunately I am thinking this is American pains and pleasures, **[21:44]** this is Indian pains and pleasures. Pains and pleasures is the same. **[21:49]** It is neither American nor African. Pains and pleasure is the same. **[21:58]** So as soon as this consciousness that I am feeling American pains, American **[22:07]** pleasure. As soon as this is over then we come to the original consciousness. **[22:13]** Because consciousness cannot be American or African. **[22:18]** If I pinch you the pain felt by you is the same when I pinch the African. **[22:28]** Therefore the consciousness is the same. **[22:32]** Artificially we are thinking that American consciousness, African consciousness, **[22:38]** actually that is not the position. Simply this misunderstanding has to be cleared out. **[22:48]** That is called ceto-darpanam-marjanam. Is it not a fact? **[22:55]** The consciousness of feeling pains and pleasure, can it be American or Indian? No. **[23:05]** It is the same. Artificially we are thinking that it is American pains or it is Indian pains. **[23:12]** That is artificial. This artificial covering has to be removed, **[23:19]** then we come to Krsna consciousness. **[23:28]** Feelings... The consciousness is not American, African or Indian. **[23:32]** The consciousness is the same. **[23:35]** When you feel hungry is that Americans feel a different way hungry, **[23:43]** the Africans feel in a different way. Hungry, appetite, is the same. **[23:53]** Now if you say this is American appetite, this is Indian appetite, that is artificial. **[24:01]** So when you do not go to the artificial platform, that is Krsna consciousness. **[24:13]** That is explained in Narada Panchartra. **[24:32]** When we become free from these artificial designations, American consciousness, **[24:40]** Indian consciousness, African consciousness, there is no such thing, **[24:44]** this is artificial. Even bird and beast, they also feel consciousness. Pains and pleasures. **[24:55]** Just like when there is scorching heat you feel some pains. **[25:02]** Is that American, Indian or African? Scorching heat is everywhere. **[25:07]** If you say that I am feeling scorching heat American way. Simply these are artificial. **[25:23]** Everything is depending on consciousness therefore Krsna consciousness **[25:34]** is the original standard of consciousness. **[25:44]** In 1977 we organized the last public preaching program for Srila Prabhupada, **[25:56]** the last pandal program. **[25:58]** When Gurudasa put on the first Delhi pandal he invited important persons **[26:06]** from different fields to attend as chief guests every night and to speak **[26:14]** so we followed the same pattern now for what turned out to be Srila Prabhupada's **[26:20]** last public pandal program. **[26:23]** One evening Srila Prabhupada had Svarupa Damodara dasa [at the time] give a **[26:31]** presentation to the audience with slides and different scientific arguments in favor of the existence of the soul. **[26:43]** Srila Prabhupada was so please with the presentation. **[26:47]** As part of the last pandal program in 1977 the Vaikuntha Players performed Ramayana **[26:55]** and the people of Bombay were overwhelmed. **[27:00]** They had never seen such a professional quality performance with beautiful costumes, **[27:10]** powerful acting, and the mood in the pandal at the time was as if Sita and Laxman and **[27:23]** Hanuman and Lord Rama Himself were personally present. **[27:27]** Also during the last Bombay pandal Srila Prabhupada performed initiations. **[27:36]** Perhaps the last public ceremony with the fire sacrifice and many devotees were initiated **[27:45]** on Ramanavami day and many of them were given names related to Rama **[27:51]** so it was a very poinent moment when Srila Prabhupada left Juhu for the last time **[28:01]** and within our hearts we all felt that he will not return. **[28:08]** And then the car pulled out of the driveway and left Hare Krishna Land. **[28:15]** We were thinking how is it that Prabhupada left before the temple opened. **[28:21]** It's almost as if his life's ambition had been to see that the temple opened **[28:28]** and somehow we came to the conclusion that Prabhupada wanted us to feel **[28:36]** his presence in his apparent separation and we did. **[28:42]** We all felt that Srila Prabhupada was present and we think now and we thought then **[28:50]** of Srila Prabhupada's own words of dedication to his spiritual master **[28:57]** that he lives forever by his divine instructions and the follower lives with him.