Room Conversation
with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
January 31, 1977, Bhubaneshwar

Prabhupada: …subject matter.

Hari-sauri: It was that article on transcendental science.

Prabhupada: And no irresponsible article should be published, strictly. It is going to be future evidence. Not whimsical.

Hari-sauri: There’s no reason why the BTG should be any different from any of our books. There’s no reason why the BTG standard should be different from our books. We take your books as absolute authority.

Prabhupada: No, it will not be.

Hari-sauri: BTG should not be any different from that.

Prabhupada: See to that.

Satsvarupa: Yes. [break] Mainly it’s about the girls who are over ten. They were in Vrndavana and discussed this with Jagadisa, but they couldn’t settle up, so they wanted to know what you think. Their idea is that… As of now, there is no plan for a school for the girls over ten, but just that they should return to their parents and not get any more schooling. But they’re thinking that there should be, and one reason is that you said in France that the girls could learn these sixty-four arts. So they were thinking that there should be a school for girls over ten, and that it should be situated in India. One reason is that in India our teachers can take help from Indian Life Member ladies who know these arts. Our Western devotees don’t know them, the cooking and painting and things like this, but the Indian women do. And also they were saying that this age is very delicate for the girls. They’re starting to be attracted to boys, and India is better than being in the West where the material attraction is very strong for the girls as well as the boys. So they’re wondering whether this principle is good, that there be a school for girls over ten in India. Right now there are only twelve such girls in the movement, a dozen girls that age, just a little over ten years old. They thought that they should have just one teacher for every three girls so they’d be closely supervised.

Prabhupada: Every three girls?

Satsvarupa: Should have one teacher, not just one teacher for all of them.

Prabhupada: At least ten students one teacher.

Satsvarupa: That’s to live with them and everything? They think that’s a little taxing, that the girl won’t get such personal supervision.

Prabhupada: What is that personal? We had a tutorial class system.

Satsvarupa: So it’s not necessary to have it so small, classes. Gopala Krsna, they talked with him, and he likes the idea. He said he can give them rooms in Bombay where they could do this. They think that it’s not good that the girls be in the same building as the boys, such as in Vrndavana, because then…

Prabhupada: No, they are on the upstairs.

Satsvarupa: Well, they were saying that what happens is, if they’re both in the same building, that they get to hate each other, he said. The preaching is either the boys should avoid the girls and the girls should avoid the boys, but they get a very… It’s better to be out of sight of each other, not even near each other. They could be in Vrndavana, but it’d have to be in a different building or location, they said. So maybe better Bombay.

Prabhupada: Bombay’s good. These things should be decided by the GBC.

Satsvarupa: I mentioned that to them. They said they had been with Jagadisa. I said, “Well why…?” They said they just want to know your opinion, then they’d go and talk with him again.

Prabhupada: My opinion is already there according to the… They should be chaste, faithful to husband. Little literary knowledge, they can read. That’s all. Not very much.

Satsvarupa: As for the details of where and how to do this, that should be worked out by the GBC.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Satsvarupa: They had another question, whether these sannyasis’ widows, that they would like to engage them, those who want to do it, as teachers. They think that would be a good…

Prabhupada: That’s nice.

Satsvarupa: Yogesvara is going to Los Angeles to produce children’s books. He wants the books to be first class, just like your books, with illustrations, that are appreciated everywhere. He said a children’s books illustration…

Prabhupada: Yes. In Texas they also produce some books. Where are those books?

Hari-sauri: They have a sample here.

Prabhupada: Why again?

Satsvarupa: Who has produced some books?

Hari-sauri: I just saw this one book called The Story of Madhavendra Puri.

Satsvarupa: I think they want to do a better quality than that.

Prabhupada: No, no, why better quality?

Hari-sauri: Actually this man that was here from that college the other day, he saw one of those Gurukula books and he said, “Oh, what is this?” He saw the Gopal Coloring Book. He said, “Can I get a sample?” Very nice.

Satsvarupa: At any rate, even that one had many illustrations in it, that Madhavendra Puri. So he was wanting to know if he could… In order to get all these paintings done, these so many drawings, whether he could employ some Jaipur artists that Saurabha is working with, which would be inexpensive.

Prabhupada: Jaipur artists?

Satsvarupa: There’s some… Just like village craftsmen and workers that Saurabha is working with in Bombay who are making the furniture and different decorations in Bombay, and he says that Saurabha also knows some men in these villages who are artists, and they work for very little, but they can make nice authentic illustrations of all these things, whether…

Prabhupada: Hm, that is all right. I do not know.

Satsvarupa: And they would be carefully…

Prabhupada: No, I have no knowledge about these things. What is the use of consulting me?

Satsvarupa: Well, I think it’s to consult with you on the principle that they’re not devotees…

Prabhupada: I know that they made some books already. Why they are being rejected? Then again you make, and again rejecting. That is unnecessary.

Satsvarupa: I see.

Prabhupada: They can better translate in French so many books, the husband, wife. And the children’s books there are already. [break] …excess book had to be cancelled. They have already made.

Satsvarupa: They have quite a number of books.

Prabhupada: Then?

Satsvarupa: No, I don’t know what’s wrong with them. They seem to be all right. But the thing is they want to make a book that will be so nice that any teacher, elementary school teacher, would say “This is very good.”

Prabhupada: No, everything is good, and again sometimes, again improvement, again…

Hari-sauri: I think their idea is that if they have a good quality, then they could even be distributed to the schools.

Prabhupada: That is to be decided by the GBC. How can I know what is good quality, bad quality? But I know there are some books made. Again you translate; again you make another.

Satsvarupa: In one sense, it’s not so good that they come and ask these questions. Better that Jagadisa…

Prabhupada: No, no. Jagadisa also not very intelligent. You GBC…

Satsvarupa: All the GBC.

Prabhupada: Hm. (yes.)

Satsvarupa: Make this one of the topics for the whole GBC to discuss.

Prabhupada: I simply know there are some books. Why they are being rejected?

Satsvarupa: Actually, you think a better engagement for him would be that along with his wife to go back to French translation rather than so much attention on the children’s books.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Hari-sauri: That last letter that he wrote, he mentioned to you that now there are other devotees who are qualified to do the jobs that he was doing, and he wanted to get more into organizing the Gurukula, because they need someone to organize.

Prabhupada: That is another… That is all right, Gurukula organize. But the former books, why they should be rejected? (end)