Meeting With Governor
of Tamil Nadu
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
July 31, 1977, Vrndavana

Prabhupada: …difficult to go from this room to that room. Unless one or two men help, I cannot go even to the toilet.

Governor: I see. Whose treatment is going on?

Tamala Krsna: One local kaviraja, Ayurvedic doctor.

Governor: I see. I invite you warmly to come to Madras. Stay at Raj Bhavan. And we have the best medical team of Madras government at your disposal. We have got the best doctors in whole South Asia. The physicians are the best government doctors. All two, three doctors, are at the top. People come from Malaysia.

Prabhupada: Medical men.

Governor: Medical men. Our government hospital. Best people in the government hospital. Best physicians. Very good physicians.

Prabhupada: Thank you very much. But I am not very inclined for medical treatment, their injection, operation. (laughs)

Governor: No, they won’t give you injections. They also… There doctors give yogic treatment also, and nature cure treatment. But… See I have taken that Ravi Shankar Maharaj. You’ve heard the name in Gujarat, he was one of the very great saintly person, Ravi Shankar Maharaj from Gujarat. I have taken him there. He’s stays in my Raj Bhavan, and best doctors attending him, he is improving the health. And we have very good Raj Bhavan, big Raj Bhavan.

Prabhupada: After all, the thing is that so long we have got this body, the janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi, you have to accept. This is the statement in the Bhagavad-gita. So the human endeavor should be diverted how to stop this repetition of birth and death. That is the prime instruction in the Bhagavad-gita. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti [Bg. 4.9]. Krsna says that,

janma karma ca me divyam yo janati tattvatah tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti… [Bg. 4.9]

So our movement is on that platform, how to stop. Our whole Vedic culture is based on that process. When Visvamitra Maharaja went to see Dasaratha about…, Dasaratha Maharaja inquired from Visvamitra, aihistam(?) yat punar-janma-jayaya: “You are great saintly person. You are trying to conquer over birth and death. Is your process going on nicely?” Visvamitra inquired Dasaratha Maharaja about royal activities, government, prosperity, because he was ksatriya and he was brahmana. So my request… This, our Gita philosophy, that catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah… [Bg. 4.13] There must be a class of men, ideal brahmanas; a class of men, ideal ksatriyas; class of men, ideal vaisyas; and balance, sudras, to help. That will make the human society happy. Cooperate. Just like body. There are different departments: head department, then arms department, then the belly department and the leg department. If they are all in good condition, the health is all right. And now, at the present moment, I am suffering because my belly department is not working nicely. So we cannot neglect any department. There must be all the departments, and they must be cooperative and healthy. So this movement is meant for that purpose. It is the duty of government to give us protection. The counter movement is this Communistic movement. They want to drive away God conscious and we want to give God con…, completely opposite. Therefore they do not like it. This Mayapura affair has been completely…

Governor: Distorted. I know it.

Prabhupada: Distorted. Manufactured by the Communists.

Governor: Yes.

Prabhupada: So give us little protection. That is my request.

Governor: We’ll do it, no doubt. I’m meeting the Prime Minister tomorrow, and we are going to discuss that matter. This is my daughter. She stays in Delhi.

Prabhupada: Oh. Thank you very much. She is married?

Governor: She is married. She has a husband. She was also an advocate in… This is husband. He’s in the government of India agricultural department now.

Prabhupada: Very good. We are very much interested in agriculture.

Governor: He’s a scientist. Very, very great scientist. He is Ph.D. of California University.

Prabhupada: Oh.

Governor: He studied in California, and he’s a Ph.D. of California University.

Prabhupada: I have got two, three Ph.D.s.

Governor: And these two daughters, my daughter’s daughters.

Prabhupada: I see.

Governor: This is…, name is Radhika.

Prabhupada: Oh! Very good. (laughs)

Governor: And this is Gopika, younger daughter. This is Gopika.

Prabhupada: Very good. You have given them some prasadam? Arrange.

Governor: When she was four years old, this girl, she was telling me in Ahmedabad often, “Dadaji, you take me to Vrndavana.” I said, “Why?” “So that we will meet Krsna.” I said, “But to…, Krsna will not be…” “No, no, I will see. You will meet Krsna. Krsna is there. You must go to Vrndavana.”

Prabhupada: Just see. She is natural Vaisnavi. Natural Vaisnavi. So give them proper education. This is real education. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah [Bg. 15.15]. That is the Vedic civilization, to understand Krsna. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedanta-vid vedanta-krt ca aham. So at least this knowledge from India must be spread all over the world. We are making a humble attempt. We have no such thing, these… “You have got money and I’ll snatch it.” The Communists take it. Just see. They have taken. “Why so big, big buildings? Take them away.”

Governor: In Madras I find quite a good atmosphere for this religious character.

Prabhupada: Oh, yes, I know that.

Governor: That Kanjarama Sankaracarya, he’s doing a lot for spread of Gita and Vedanta literature. Though he’s eighty-four he’s doing wonderful work. And another Sankaracarya is also moving. (Hindi) (prasadam offered to guests)

Prabhupada: This is our homemade.

Governor: And there I find many good institutions working for Vedanta, Veda. The pronunciations are also…

Prabhupada: Very nice.

Governor: Very nice there. I attend many yajnas there.

Prabhupada: Our men, they have learned Sanskrit.

Governor: This Chinmayananda Swami is also there. He is making good propaganda about Gita everywhere, moving…

Prabhupada: Gita propaganda, there are many persons. But if you don’t mind, all these men, they do not understand what is real meaning of Gita.

Governor: Once, three men that come here, back in Madras. So I arranged with our government libraries to have all your books in our libraries there.

Prabhupada: Thank you. Gita should be accepted as it is. It should not be interpreted. Then there will be no benefit. And that has become… (Hindi) Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2] That is Gita. It is not meant for the loafer class. It is meant for the rajarsis. Rajarsayo viduh.

imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam vivasvan manave praha manur iksvakave ’bravit [Bg. 4.1]

evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2]

So unless the high government officials, rajarsis, they understand properly Bhagavad-gita, we cannot derive any benefit from Gita. It is not a question of interpretation.

Governor: We will do something there much better, because everything is under our control.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Governor: So I would request you to come to Madras, and we’ll arrange some of your lectures also.

Prabhupada: (to Tamala Krsna) If possible, take me there. Madras is not far away. It takes about two hours from Delhi.

Governor: From Delhi only one and a half hour. I came only yesterday morning. We left the plane by… Now with jet line only takes one and half hours. Otherwise takes two hours. Boeing flight. Daily.

Prabhupada: Think over. His Excellency is inviting. It is a good opportunity.

Governor: We’ll keep Maharaja in our Raj Bhavan in very comfortable place to stay. It’s like asrama, because in our lands in my garden we have got 1,300 deers of various type. We feel as if we are in Valmiki- asrama. They are all coming to us, and we give them some food also, 1,300 deer in our compound.

Prabhupada: So accept his invitation and fix up.

Governor: Very good trees. Mango trees. There are more than two hundred mango trees in our compound. Various fruit trees. Beautiful everything. Nearly 200 acres of land is in our compound, very fine, and very cool. The sea … There is our one small bungalow on the sea also.

Prabhupada: So when you think it will be suitable?

Governor: I am going tomorrow to Ahmedabad with our chief minister. He has come here. Ahmedabad I stay for four days. I go to Bombay. And from Bombay I’ll be in Madras on 8th back. Then I am there.

Prabhupada: Eighth, August. So we can if you think. So kindly submit my application to the Prime Minister.

Governor: Oh, yes.

Prabhupada: That’s it. This should not…

Governor: The difficulty because of not ours, but what happened in our Madras state, there is that Pondicherry. Pondicherry has made one Auroville. Auroville is international town. There are more than four to five hundred foreigners from various countries of Europe and America. Families also. Now they and those Aurobindo society people, they are going on always, some disputes. And that they have developed so much that physical violence, traffic obstruction… And law and order is not there. So I receive complaints from both that “You send your police. Help us. Help us,” like that. So that has come to the notice of government of India. And so they are worried that we must have some restriction on so many foreigners living here and creating disturbance.

Prabhupada: No, these foreigners…

Governor: Because of this, everybody is put into trouble.

Prabhupada: But these foreigners, they will die. They will die. If I say that “You die, they will die,” there is no dispute.

Governor: I know. I know all of them, how wonderful they are. But you see this government would consider all-India policy.

Prabhupada: But you can consider our situation, that such big, big establishment and Deity… Here is a big establishment. In Mayapura there is Deity also. They are trained up. They are helping me. So kindly… At least we have submitted some list. So give them either permanent residence or citizenship. In America I have got permanent residency, so why not here? If there is no such arrangement, give them citizenship. They have nothing…

Governor: I am meeting the Home Minister tomorrow also. I will also talk to him, Charan Singh. The meeting is. He’s mainly going.

Prabhupada: Because every year I am losing five to six lakhs of rupees for their going, again coming. Just like he’s acting my secretary. Now his visa is finished. He has to go, and again he has to come back. And that means ten thousand, more than ten thousand. So in this way so many workers are…

Governor: (Hindi)

Prabhupada: So they will never do anything harm and never take part in politics.

Governor: I know it. I know it.

Prabhupada: So kindly try to help.

Governor: Oh, yes.

Prabhupada: That is wanted.

Governor: So may I take leave? You also take rest?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Governor: Don’t take much strain…

Prabhupada: No, I…

Governor: …because your life is precious to… And that should not be.

Prabhupada: No, I…

Governor: He must not take much strain also.

Prabhupada: Even in communistic country they are receiving my literature very great. Very great. So it is for all humanity.

Governor: I will help to my best. I take leave?

Prabhupada: Jaya. Hare Krsna.

Tamala Krsna: (to governor) You’ll have darsana in the temple now? (end)