Prabhupada Vigil
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
November 1, 1977, Vrndavana

(very poorly recorded)

Brahmananda: …offered him respect. This Bajaj, he was speaking something to him, offering him some respect. This morning they just had their organizational meeting, and they’ve asked one of our representatives to come and speak about our activities. So Aksayananda Swami will speak, and he will speak in Hindi. One of the things they mentioned… ’Cause I was saying this morning that we’re having difficulty also getting the younger people to join, so they thought that one reason is that our men are not able to speak the Indian languages. These people are also very attached to Indian language. They’re pro-Indian language. So if he speaks in Hindi, that will be an influence…

Prabhupada: He is Mayavadi, this… What is? Akhandananda?

Brahmananda: Yes.

Prabhupada: You met him?

Brahmananda: I didn’t see… You remember you went to that Kuruksetra meeting?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Brahmananda: About two years ago? Mainly the same people are here also that were there at that meeting. Then this Swami Cinmayananda…

Prabhupada: He has not come.

Brahmananda: No. They were just talking about him.

Prabhupada: Don’t bother to come here, then.

Brahmananda: But they treated you with much respect, though. They said that they had wanted Your Divine Grace to come because you are also a member of their steering committee. (indistinct) They also had a proposal to produce a series of different books, small books, pamphlets, forty, fifty pages, comprising selections from the Bhagavad-gita. And these would be for specific types of persons. The books would be Bhagavad-gita for students, Bhagavad-gita for businessmen, Bhagavad-gita for scientists, like that. So they want us to produce the book for the scientists, taking various quotes from Bhagavad-gita with a short explanation of the verse. So I said one problem is that all the different groups who are assembled here will all have different interpretations of the verses. What about this? And they said, “No, no, we shouldn’t interpret.” I said, “Well, one reason that the young people are not taking up this Bhagavad-gita is because they see that everyone is giving a different interpretation. Nobody is presenting it as it is, so they’re confused.” I was in Kashmir, I was speaking with some young boys. They were telling me they’re confused by religion. They don’t respect the panditas in the temples—they’re all simply after money. They have no respect for religion, Hindu religion. So I mentioned this to all of them. They are all Mayavadis. And they argued with me. I presented arguments. They would not accept it.

Prabhupada: They want to avoid criticism.

Brahmananda: I argued right back with them. I said, “You…” They were saying that we shouldn’t interpret Bhagavad-gita. I said, “Then why are you saying that Krsna means ‘divine consciousness’? Where does Krsna say ‘divine consciousness’? He says, mam, aham. He doesn’t say ‘divine consciousness.’ He says ‘to Me.’ ”

Prabhupada: And all the acaryas say. We have to follow the acaryas. Very good. They do not answer. And they… Is it not?

Brahmananda: But they don’t listen to you. We tell them the truth, but they don’t want to hear it. They just want to come and become important by their attending this meeting, become puffed up and speak their own ideas and think that they’re accomplishing some real…

Prabhupada: That may be (indistinct).

Brahmananda: One of the delegates, he is sitting there, and he was spinning thread on a hand spinner. Then afterwards he stopped and even he fell asleep during the meeting. We were arguing about personalism and impersonalism, and Mr. Bajaj, he interrupted that “Now, you shouldn’t… The purpose of this meeting is not to discuss Bhagavad-gita but just to discuss how to promote Bhagavad-gita.”

Prabhupada: No idea of… He has no authorized.

Brahmananda: One thing they recognize is that the young people of India, they want to see the experience of Bhagavad-gita. Just like Arjuna in the beginning was bewildered and in the end he agreed. So that experience… I said, “Yes, and we have had the same experience, because as Westerners, in the beginning we didn’t even the know the name Krsna, and now we are serving Krsna twenty- four hours a day. So obviously there was some great experience. So that has been given to us by Srila Prabhupada.” And then he recognized, “Yes.” I said, “So we are… We can actually give our experience.” So then he suggested that some publication be made actually dealing with the experiences.

Prabhupada: That we are giving. This Bhagavata discourse…

Brahmananda: I think now that our books are coming out in the Indian languages and are being distributed, I think this will cause young Indians…

Prabhupada: Young Indians are not… They have already published these things. Scientific investigation of matter.

Brahmananda: Yes, they appreciated that we are preaching to the scientists. They liked that, that we’re the only ones who are doing this, because the scientists are amongst the biggest atheists.

Prabhupada: This Gita Pratisthana is a good proposal, transport(?) Bhagavad-gita As It Is all over the world. (indistinct)

Brahmananda: When I was in Jammu, we went to visit a big army base there, Indian Army, huge.

Prabhupada: (indistinct)

Brahmananda: Yes. And we went to visit one colonel, full colonel, in charge of supply. He’s a very pious men. He tells his soldiers not to drink, not to eat meat, and he teaches them Bhagavad-gita. So we went to go speak with him, and he was very impressed. He himself admitted that he was taking eggs and drinking tea. So I requested him to stop this, and then you’ll be on the…, purely. And he could understand that. He agreed. He said, “From now on, from this day, I will stop.” And we showed him the film, “Hare Krsna People,” and he was very impressed. He called another officer in, and they called their wives to come to the base, and we showed it a second time. And then he wanted some of our books. I gave him Bhagavad-gita and Hindi Srimad-Bhagavatam, and then told him about our Gurukula here in Vrndavana.

Prabhupada: How much he paid? (?)

Brahmananda: Well, he was wanting to pay, but Nava-yogendra Maharaja said it’s all right… We asked him to become a member. He didn’t want to pay so much money. So we gave him… Because he was an important officer, we gave him. Then he offered… He has some land 25 miles from Delhi, and he said, “We would like to give it for a Hindu temple.”

Prabhupada: Who was there, this meeting?

Brahmananda: This meeting? Well, the meeting was led by the three men who came to see you this morning. The center was the man from Auroville, and then Mr. Narayana and Mr. Bajaj.

Prabhupada: So that will be three.

Brahmananda: Yes. Of the three, Mr. Narayana is very favorable to us. Tamala Krsna Goswami was noticing it. He preached to him about two or three years ago. At that time he was chief minister for Gujarat, governor.

Tamala Krsna: Srila Prabhupada? I want to suggest that you should not talk too much, because the doctor said conserve yourself. (indistinct) Because tomorrow we’re going to be leaving at about two o’clock, two or two-thirty, so you won’t get a full night’s rest.

Prabhupada: (indistinct)

Tamala Krsna: You are the most important (indistinct).

Prabhupada: Bon Maharaja you did not see?

Brahmananda: He didn’t see me. I was in the back, and he was in the front. Mr. Jaluka came. I spoke with him, and he asked about you.

Tamala Krsna: The reason I don’t want you to talk so much now, because I suspect they’re all going to want to come and see you, and then you’ll definitely talk too much. If they’re all here, they’re all going to want to see you. (indistinct) It’s very prestigious that it’s being held in our temple. In such a short time this temple has become (indistinct) for very important meetings.

Brahmananda: Bon Maharaja, he had this idea for making this center in Vrndavana, and now, after so many years, it’s practically closed. Everything’s shut down. Ghost town. Just in two-three, three years our temple is now the most popular.

Prabhupada: (indistinct) Jaya Krsna-Balarama.

Tamala Krsna: Now we will pay them our (indistinct) but we will go on watching. That we want. As long as you’re watching them, we will (indistinct).

Prabhupada: They haven’t got (indistinct).

Bhakti-caru: (Bengali)

Prabhupada: (Bengali) (indistinct)

Tamala Krsna: No, no. He’s definitely impersonalist. But he’s not very serious, caught in family life. He associates with these people. I mean his philosophy’s Caitanya Mahaprabhu…

Brahmananda: They want to see our films tonight. They want to see the film on New Vrindaban, “Spiritual Frontier.” They’ll show it tonight at 8:30. And they want kirtana. Mr. Narayana, he’s very much wanting us to have kirtana. He said, “That is the thing.”

Tamala Krsna: Prabhupada, you should rest, really. Probably all the men will come to see you, so you can talk directly with them. (long pause) [break]

Brahmananda: They were arguing with me. They would not accept. They were so strong Mayavada.

Tamala Krsna: Actually this is one way that we ought to be able to… First of all, it would be prestigious on our part to stick to our principles, and secondly, actually people will find that we’re convinced when they’ll see, “You are Mayavadi, we have no bus… You are not…” At first they may feel offended, that why shouldn’t we let everybody speak.

Prabhupada: (indistinct)

Tamala Krsna: Prabhupada says, in future, henceforward, these people should not be allowed to hold lectures here. Strictly Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teaching forbids. Mayavadi haya krsne aparadhi. You tell them, “You’re Mayavadi. So this is a Krsna conscious temple. If you’re speaking on Krsna consciousness, Vaisnavism…” We don’t need their money, neither do we need them to become more prestigious. Rather, they need us. They came here only because of the fact that they’re so insignificant that they wanted to be associated with Prabhupada. Without you they have no substance, Srila Prabhupada. Without your presence the meeting has no substance.

Prabhupada: (chuckles) Why?

Tamala Krsna: Because you are the only substantial personality amongst all of them. Therefore they know that. We have concluded that they know.

Aksayananda: I just spoke. I just told them Srila Prabhupada was one Indian who has done this, so if everyone in India does this a little, then the whole world would become Vaikuntha. And I said, “He has one secret, one sloka from the Brhad Naradiya Purana: harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam, kalau nasty eva nasty eva [Adi 17.21].” They liked it very much. They all applauded. I told them in Hindi.

Tamala Krsna: You spoke in Hindi?

Aksayananda: Yes.

Tamala Krsna: But they won’t change.

Aksayananda: I also said that many, many swamis and yogis and sannyasis have tried to bring the teachings all over the world. And they have given different versions, just like dhyana, jnana, karma, etc. But then I quoted two slokas, na tad mam abhijananti, and the other one, yas tas tu aham evam viduh.(?) I said, “In this way our spiritual master has taught us. Even though we are foreigners, he has successfully made us come to the lotus feet of Lord Krsna. So if you are all Indians and you know Lord Krsna better than me, so come and stay with us. All over the world my Guru Maharaja has established our temples. Please stay with us anywhere in the world and help us, join us at the lotus feet of the Lord.” So they were very happy with this.

Tamala Krsna: That’s good that you tell this to Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: Bombay also.

Tamala Krsna: Especially everybody’s going to be after us for that air-conditioned hall. It’s really good that you’re telling us.

Prabhupada: Be very careful.

Tamala Krsna: Actually, Srila Prabhupada, Your Divine Grace and this movement is the only substantial movement left in India now, in the whole world.

Prabhupada: Yes. You can have signboard: “No Mayavadis visit (?) here.” (laughter)

Tamala Krsna: Wow. Just like “No dogs allowed.” (laughter) Are you serious about that, Srila Prabhupada?

Prabhupada: Hm. (indistinct)

Brahmananda: If they come and they want to hold meetings, we show them the signboard that “We don’t allow Mayavadis here.”

Prabhupada: Yes.

Tamala Krsna: Yes, on the signboard we’ll quote the verse from Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Prabhupada: Why they do not hold meetings in Bon Maharaja’s…?

Tamala Krsna: Well, there’s a number of reasons. One is that you are not in Bon Maharaja’s place, and they want your presence, because they are inconsequential without you. And another thing is that Bon Maharaja’s place is a little bit archaic, dilapidated.

Brahmananda: I remember you went there I think two years ago, and (indistinct) Bon Maharaja there within one room. And he came to turn the light on in the room, and there was no light bulb in the socket. They had to go and get a light bulb and put it in. I mean he doesn’t even use that.

Prabhupada: It is closed now.

Tamala Krsna: Soon he will rent a room here in the guesthouse.

Aksayananda: He was at the (indistinct). This morning.

Prabhupada: In the guesthouse they can remain. But they cannot hold meeting.

Brahmananda: They were asking me that we should cooperate with them, but they are envious of us. This one woman, the way she was speaking to me, it was quite… She was attacking me. She was so envious. She was quoting Bhagavad-gita that Krsna recommends the impersonal.

Tamala Krsna: So why is she talking? Why talk? Everything is illusion. Then why talk?

Brahmananda: She said there are two paths. I said, “Yes, but your path is most difficult. So why are you promoting the most difficult path to follow?”

Tamala Krsna: But who cares for her path?

Aksayananda: (indistinct) a different path.

Prabhupada: Never mind. You remain strong. Don’t be intimidated by this… That is my request.

Tamala Krsna: Srila Prabhupada? I think we should go to the next room. We will do just exactly as you say. [break] (end)