Prabhupada On Tour — Bombay

[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.

[00:30]

[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.

[02:10]

[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.

[05:57]

[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.

[06:17]

[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.

[06:37]

[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.

[12:51]

[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.

[13:43]

[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.

[19:24]

[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.

[20:22]

[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.

[21:35]

[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.

[23:22]

[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.

[24:19]

[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.

[25:38]

[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.

[29:05]