Room Conversation
with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
August 20, 1976, Hyderabad

Prabhupada: …disorder. [break]

Gopala Krsna: …everything to Bombay.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Gopala Krsna: It is very convenient.

Prabhupada: Yes. That, that is better.

Gopala Krsna: I moved everything to Bombay.

Prabhupada: The main distribution should be from Bombay.

Gopala Krsna: Yes. Now because this Usa Printers is much bigger also, and we’re getting better quality.

Prabhupada: So, what news, Bombay?

Saurabha: The festival was a great success. We counted approximately, for the last two days, twenty thousand people must have come.

Prabhupada: Somebody said five hundred.

Gopala Krsna: Somebody came and said that six hundred people Janmastami night.

Saurabha: It was packed. They were…

Prabhupada: I was surprised.

Gopala Krsna: I was surprised myself that six hundred people on Janmastami night.

Saurabha: They were everywhere.

Prabhupada: Who is that nonsense who came and said this? Who is that rascal?

Gopala Krsna: He’s a thirteen-year-old boy.

Prabhupada: Oh. You believe the boy? He’s authority. Here you take the information. Why did you believe the boy?

Gopala Krsna: No, He wasn’t here. He just told me last night. I asked him.

Prabhupada: Then how did you believe that boy? Five hundred.

Gopala Krsna: I was very surprised myself.

Prabhupada: I know that so many people come, even in ordinary years.

Saurabha: They were sitting everywhere, even on the balconies and in the scaffolding. They were everywhere. Very crowded.

Gopala Krsna: The press and the television people came? Every year the television comes. They televise this?

Saurabha: The Telenews.

Prabhupada: I was surprised when I heard five hundred. They boycotted or what?

Saurabha: For the abhiseka ceremony, that lasted about an hour, up till one o’clock, and everyone remained. There were thousands of people. They were just everywhere around.

Prabhupada: I will give you one salagrama-sila. So as it is being worshiped in Mayapura, it should be worshiped in Bombay also.

Gopala Krsna: You want to start it now or in the new temple?

Prabhupada: No, now. Salagrama-sila. It is not difficult. You have seen salagrama-sila?

Saurabha: I have seen.

Prabhupada: So you’ll take it and…

Saurabha: I’m going back tomorrow night.

Prabhupada: So you can take it. So what other news?

Gopala Krsna: What other news, Prabhupada?

Saurabha: Well, now the festival is over, all the holidays are gone, so there’s a big crew of people working now. It goes very fast.

Prabhupada: That’s nice.

Saurabha: And we’re putting in the walls of your room. We have started…

Prabhupada: What is the length and breadth of my room?

Saurabha: Well, it has different shapes. It’s difficult to say. But the main room, the sitting room, is about, altogether, about 900 square foot. (loud cracking sound)

Prabhupada: Oh, this business is going on.

Gopala Krsna: Mahamsa went down and stopped it.

Prabhupada: Everyone can go, but the business will go on.

Saurabha: So that is your sitting room. Then you have a bedroom.

Prabhupada: What is the sitting room?

Saurabha: That is about 900, 850 square foot.

Prabhupada: Eight hundred means length and breadth?

Saurabha: Because it consists of three rooms.

Prabhupada: So people were enthusiastic to come to our festival?

Saurabha: Oh, yes, very much.

Prabhupada: That is wanted.

Saurabha: And this place, when it is finished, it will be the most popular temple in Bombay.

Prabhupada: They have done.

Saurabha: It’s already the biggest. So this is the building, (unfolding plans) and these three rooms—this is 32 by 32—is your sitting room where you can receive people. Then here is your bedroom, and here is the secretary room, here is kitchen, and here is servant room. So personally you have this, four rooms.

Prabhupada: What are these?

Saurabha: This is the elevator.

Prabhupada: Oh.

Saurabha: Then this is the entry where the people can wait in case many people are there. Here’s the secretary. This is the kitchen and…

Hari-sauri: Bathroom?

Saurabha: That is… That is… Like those things come out here. That is all connected with the room. So your bathroom, you have one toilet here and one shower here, each side.

Prabhupada: That’s good.

Saurabha: This is very nice, quite big. Then on the roof you have practically the whole roof plus a room in the middle. Here is a room on the roof, the next slide, room here, and then you have just a nice terrace and very nice breeze.

Prabhupada: All sides open.

Saurabha: Yes this is open. Well, we have arches here, just arches. Now we are finishing for the temple the second floor slab. That should be finished at the end of the month, and then one more month, the main slab of the darsana-mandapa, and then we start towers, which we already started now precasting. We have rings. We make rings which we put up later, one by one.

Prabhupada: Oh, it is by ring.

Saurabha: Yes, we make rings out of concrete and then we… With a rod we keep holes in it and then we just put them on top and it’s… Because for Mayapura, we get into Mayapura we trying it out if that is possible to do that there, because there are so many domes. This system is very practical because you can cast at site, and then with a crane you bring it up and then it’s fixed. Because this short ring, to make a tower on top of a building is very troublesome.

Prabhupada: This ring, concrete ring?

Saurabha: Yes, concrete. Reinforced. Most of the rings are one foot and some, when it is straight, you make two feet. It depends. Then all the guest rooms we have marble on the floor, because that is very much liked in Bombay especially, to have marble. The halls, they are kota stone.

Prabhupada: So there is proposal to provide a bank?

Saurabha: Yes. I have the area already marked out. There’s about four or five banks that are very interested.

Prabhupada: Which bank are these?

Saurabha: The Indian Overseas Bank. That is the bank most interested at the time now. Then the State Bank of India.

Prabhupada: State Bank of India. That is better.

Saurabha: That is better. Then the Syndicate Bank and the…

Prabhupada: So the charges will be four rupees.

Saurabha: Four or four and a half.

Prabhupada: Yes. So best. Whoever gives the best.

Saurabha: And then one year in advance payment?

Prabhupada: Yes, if we get from…

Saurabha: Of course, the location is excellent. It is… This is… There’s two towers, and here is the road. Here is that, our road, going to our land in the back. Here is the main entry. Here is the temple in the back. So these two on the ground floor are meant for bank. So people can come right from here, and here is an entry. So place is the best for the bank. So they all want that place. So you think State Bank of India is the best?

Prabhupada: No, as you think?

Saurabha: I don’t know very much, but Gopala said that the Indian Overseas Bank is an upcoming bank as well as Syndicate Bank, so they may be more eager for this.

Prabhupada: Syndicate Bank is not very…

Saurabha: I also think to have a big bank is better.

Prabhupada: Big bank is better. And who pays the best price.

Saurabha: The best. And also the facilities. Now, in the floor we start tiling, the basement floor… Under the Deities there we have a basement. So there we have started the flooring, tiling, and now we have decided on all the other parts of the building, for the stone. So they promised, they guaranteed, that at the end of this year the building—that means the guesthouse—will be completed. And of course, that includes the temple. The only thing which will definitely go on is the marble work, the carving. That is a very big job. But that we can always continue. That is mainly outside work, finishing. So that we get the inside ready for the opening.

Prabhupada: ISKCON Juhu? That is sufficient address?

Saurabha: Well, this was hand-delivered. It would be nice if… I think now it is sufficient. Many letters come like that now.

Prabhupada: No, we are famous now, Juhu.

Saurabha: But your official letters, the name of the street is called A. B. Nyer Road. I never knew that. I thought it was the road in the back.

Prabhupada: No, they said Gandhi, Juhu Road?

Saurabha: No. Now on the latest letter that I got from the government it was written A. B. Nyer Road. Maybe it was an old letter, I don’t know. When we submitted the new plans for the gurukula building, there was a letter I had to sign about the work, that we have given to the architect, an official letter so that we can get the permission. And it was written that the plot was on the A. B. Nyer Road, our land. So I inquired, and they said, “Yes, that’s the name of that road.”

Prabhupada: Is there any signboard, A. B. Nyer Road?

Saurabha: No.

Prabhupada: Then?

Saurabha: That is only in the back near that new hotel, that Holiday Inn Hotel. This one portion says A. B. Nyer Road. So that road goes like this—here is the Juhu Market and the road goes…

Prabhupada: No, we go on as Hare Krishna Land, Juhu.

Saurabha: Yes, that is… You don’t have to say the road.

Prabhupada: Hare Krishna Land, Juhu.

Saurabha: Yes. Everyone knows. It’s no problem. Now, the altar of Radha and Krsna, I sent you a picture that showed four columns— one here, one here, one here, and then the top. Here is Radha and Krsna, and here is Lalita-Visakha. Those columns here, they’re not in the front but they’re in the back only. In front it is open.

Prabhupada: Open. That’s nice.

Saurabha: So then that is all right to use that one?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Saurabha: Because we need more breadth; this is different size. So that work has been started also, and it will be covered in silk.

Prabhupada: You have seen this temple?

Saurabha: I have not gone around, but it looks very nice.

Prabhupada: It is after your design.

Saurabha: Yes. But I haven’t been in Hyderabad for at least eight months.

Prabhupada: They have done nice.

Saurabha: Yes. Mahamsa Swami has done very nice. There’s many good workers also in the south of India. We have a lot of difficulty in getting those men from Vrndavana sent to America for Kirtanananda Maharaja.

Prabhupada: Is he anxious to get them?

Saurabha: Well, simply because they didn’t speak English they delayed so much.

Prabhupada: Now, Kirtanananda did not show any anxiety for that. He did not show any anxiety like that, he requires that. So why it is?

Saurabha: Well, at that time they wanted.

Prabhupada: That time wanted? That is finished now. Don’t bother.

Saurabha: All right. Because I spent a lot of time in trying to arrange that.

Prabhupada: That was not successful. That’s all right.

Saurabha: No. That work is going nice also, isn’t it, flooring especially.

Prabhupada: Marble.

Saurabha: In New Vrindaban.

Prabhupada: Yes. Let them do their own.

Saurabha: They practically do everything themselves.

Prabhupada: Ah, yes.

Saurabha: That is their greatness.

Prabhupada: Yes. Their men are being trained up.

Saurabha: That is actually the best.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Saurabha: They will be engaged always like that.

Prabhupada: They have got marble-polishing machine.

Saurabha: Yes. Last night I spoke with Jayapataka Maharaja, and he says that the land requisition will be in about two months or something. So whether we should go ahead with trying to purchase land before we wait till…?

Prabhupada: Purchase land?

Saurabha: Well, that particular area where the main temple will come, we need about…

Prabhupada: So let us wait.

Saurabha: Let us wait. So can I start in the meantime to develop the plans?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Saurabha: To contact engineers and everything? Now, if I have to pay some money for that type of work, do I take it from the Bombay…? It is not much, but some money is there, some expense is there.

Prabhupada: So… [break] …immediately… You have waited. Why not wait till the reception is there?

Saurabha: I have some people, they do practically things for free. They work on it. But they only do that because they know in the future we’re going to do it. So if there is too much delay, they may lose faith.

Prabhupada: Delay? But that’s a fact. Unless government gives us land… [break] …but we… We are not Krsna. But if we remain Krsna conscious Vaisnavas, then our position is strong, If there is slackness, then they will come to kill us. That we have to see. Apani acari’ prabhu jive sikhaila. Our behavior should be very clear. “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion.” Then it will be… This Aghasura, Bakasura, will come and… In the beginning there was Aghasura, Putana. That Devananda, “Hare Krsna Film,” he wanted to do some harm. And he is gone, finished. Nobody talks of Devananda. They talk of our movement. So if you remain strong in your spiritual activities, these Aghasura, Bakasura will come, go. But we should take precaution and counteract to reduce them. Real strength will remain from Krsna-Balarama’s strength. Balarama. Balarama means strength. Nayam atma bala hina na labhyah.(?) If you are not supported by Balarama, then it is not possible. So we have got our Balarama, Krsna-Balarama temple. Now in Europe we have got Krsna-Balarama.

Gopala Krsna: In France.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Gargamuni: Which place? Outside? The farm?

Prabhupada: Very nice.

Gopala Krsna: Exactly like Vrndavana, I heard. The Deities are exactly…

Prabhupada: Nitai-Gaura and Balarama. Brajendra-nandana jei krsna, saci-suta haila sei: “He is now Saci-suta.” Balarama haila nitai: “And Balarama has become Nitai.” That’s all. These two brothers. And devotees are very nice. So if our devotees remain… Two hundred devotees there are. And they are taking prasada on the open lawn. Very nice. Presently they are growing vegetables sufficient for their consumption and for the Paris temple. Fresh, nice vegetables. Flowers, grains also they have got. Barley and wheat. Milk also. Their own cows.

Gargamuni: Cows.

Prabhupada: Oh, yes. So if there is milk, there is food grain, there is vegetable, so what do you want more? Enough we can grow. They have got two hundred acres of land. Some portion of the land they are utilizing. That is becoming sufficient for them. And if they grow the whole land, they can make good trade. Just like in Philadelphia they are producing so much milk, they are selling outside fifteen hundred dollars per month. Fifteen hundred dollars, how much it is?

Gopala Krsna: Fourteen thousand.

Saurabha: Twelve thousand.

Prabhupada: That is their income. Philadelphia they have organized very nice.

Gopala Krsna: Port Royal farm.

Prabhupada: And this Paramananda, he is expert. He’s very expert.

Gopala Krsna: He was in New Vrindaban before.

Prabhupada: Yes. So he could not keep in line with Kirtanananda. (laughs)

Gargamuni: I thought he was in New York farm.

Gopala Krsna: That is the New York farm.

Prabhupada: That is.

Gopala Krsna: It’s in Philadelphia.

Gargamuni: Yes, I heard it is very good there.

Prabhupada: His wife is… They are making…

Gopala Krsna: Satyabhama.

Prabhupada: Capatis. When she brought, it was so thick. And “How shall I eat this?” But when I ate it was so nice. Soft and sweet. I ate everything.

Jayapataka: Devotees have brought from the farm.

Gopala Krsna: Maybe she should come here to cook for you.

Prabhupada: Oh, maybe. No, they are very happy. All the boys and girls are very happy. Sit down. So that I want, that I live happily and chant Hare Krsna. That’s all. We don’t want unnecessary luxury. Anartha. Anartha-nivrttih syat. Anartha should be reduced, nil, bare necessities. Anartha… Just like this material thing we require for preaching. That is not anartha. But when it is used for sense gratification, that is anartha. Anything for sense gratification, that is unwanted, anartha. And anything for Krsna consciousness, that is spiritual.

Jayapataka: Anukula.

Prabhupada: Anukula. Anukulyena krsnanusilanam. So whatever we are using, that is not material. It is all spiritual. So what are these? So… Mahabharata Sunday? (?)

Gopala Krsna: Yes. I’ve cancelled it. I’ll send tickets for…

Prabhupada: So two strong opinion was against. One Kanadaji (?), another Gargamuni.

Gopala Krsna: Another?

Prabhupada: Gargamuni. He was also not in favor, going to Hill Station.

Gopala Krsna: Okay, that’s fine. When you come to Bombay in October, you can go, October or November, whenever you come…

Prabhupada: Hill Station, I have also heard—I do not know—that during rainy season they get some diarrhea. Get some diarrhea. And that hill diarrhea is not…

Gargamuni: Good.

Prabhupada: Not at all.

Gargamuni: Best season for Hill Station is May and June. May and June.

Gopala Krsna: That’s when most people go, in the summer months.

Gargamuni: Very nice. Very warm.

Gopala Krsna: Summer period.

Saurabha: Most people in the rainy season, they all leave that place, many houses. They close it all.

Gargamuni: Yes. In Simla and Nanital everyone leaves after June.

Saurabha: But after the rainy season?

Gargamuni: Yes, in October again they go back.

Prabhupada: Rainy season is bad on the whole.

Saurabha: That place. But the rest of the year it’s excellent.

Prabhupada: That all right.

Gopala Krsna: But I’ve told that Mr. Malhotra to come and see you here…

Prabhupada: Yes.

Gopala Krsna: …directly, because he wants to meet you. Actually he wasn’t… After meeting you he’ll decide. Twenty-five acres of land. It has a dak(?) bungalow.

Saurabha: Yes, we went there about one and a half months ago.

Gopala Krsna: We saw the place.

Prabhupada: So can you… You have… Give me a site plans.

Saurabha: Yes, I… Approximately?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Saurabha: You want me to show you?

Prabhupada: No, you can… Not immediately… You can give me very nice, where is the bungalow, where is the… You can give.

Saurabha: But these two people, they are very much in favor. All the time when we went…

Prabhupada: No, if it is nice, we shall take it. Why not?

Saurabha: It is beautiful. It’s very beautiful.

Prabhupada: It’s near Bombay. So if you can go and come…

Gopala Krsna: Bombay is going to be so big when the building is completed.

Saurabha: It’s on a hill, but the land is flat so you can cultivate it.

Prabhupada: Very good.

Saurabha: It’s excellent. And from there you can see down. You look down, and then you see the river Krishna.

Prabhupada: It is a plateau.

Saurabha: Yes, a plateau.

Gopala Krsna: See the river Krishna.

Saurabha: Yes, you can just see the river flowing down there.

Prabhupada: Oh, it is beautiful spot.

Saurabha: It’s very, very beautiful.

Gopala Krsna: And he wants us to develop it.

Prabhupada: Oh, we develop. We shall spend lakhs, two lakhs, three lakhs, as you…

Gopala Krsna: So he wants us to give him a proposal…

Saurabha: And it has been… They have been doing agriculture before there, so it’s in very good state. You don’t have to do much.

Prabhupada: Oh, then we shall take it. What is use of waiting? He has seen already. Take it.

Gopala Krsna: No, no, he wanted you to see it.

Prabhupada: That, we shall go in October. We shall go. So when Saurabha has seen, that is my seeing. You give me a site plan. And we shall take it and develop it.

Gargamuni: So many of our men get ill health. They can go there…

Prabhupada: Oh, yes.

Gargamuni: …and then come back. Then we don’t have to send them to America…

Prabhupada: No.

Gargamuni: …because of being sick.

Prabhupada: No.

Gargamuni: We need a place—health.

Gopala Krsna: Prabhupada wrote, he wrote that to me last year, to get a Hill Station…

Prabhupada: Yes. The Mahabaleswar(?) is well known. Yes.

Jayapataka: They have nice cows there, nice vegetables.

Saurabha: Oh, yes. Everywhere… What is the name of that root we ate on ekadasi?

Prabhupada: So take it and develop according to your plan. Develop.

Saurabha: It’s a place known for strawberry cultivation.

Prabhupada: What do you think will be the expenditure to develop it into a nice place?

Saurabha: For agriculture I can’t say, but according to me, it is all level. They have leveled everything out. It’s like terrace. It’s just… We can start growing anything there—potatoes, grains, strawberries, fruits.

Prabhupada: Now for residential quarter there is already bungalow.

Saurabha: There is a bungalow with four big… It’s a big bungalow. And stone is available there, just like here in Hyderabad. At the back of the land it’s like a rocky area. One small portion that is so much stone there available, so you can just build from the stone anything. The land can be used for the cement, instead of cement. So very cheap you can build there.

Prabhupada: One lakh rupees? No.

Saurabha: Well, it depends how many devotees are going to stay. But for a farm, I think …

Prabhupada: Say ten rooms.

Saurabha: Ten rooms.

Gopala Krsna: The grhasthas from Bombay could be moved over there.

Prabhupada: No, grhasthas can live, go to the farm.

Gopala Krsna: Yes, they can go from Bombay to there. They can cultivate our farm.

Saurabha: For sixty thousand rupees we can build sufficient accommodation, and then the rest we need…

Prabhupada: So we can spend up to one lakh and make more rooms.

Saurabha: Yes. And when you come there the house is sufficient for you to stay. It’s very nice. Big rooms.

Prabhupada: So we shall go in October.

Saurabha: There’s three big wells available. Three big wells are there.

Prabhupada: Wells? Very good.

Saurabha: Three. And according to me, these people, they also want to invest money in that project. The people themselves, they also want to give money for developing. No?

Gopala Krsna: No. They want to turn it over to us…

Prabhupada: And that do.

Gopala Krsna: …if we give them guarantee that we will develop it.

Prabhupada: No, no, we shall do. You guarantee that. Decision is made. So you can take.

Gopala Krsna: And from what I’ve heard, this Malhotra is a very— Giriraja told me—very, very nice man.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Gopala Krsna: He is not going to… He’s a very, very rich man himself, so he’s not really trying to cheat us or anything.

Prabhupada: That decision is made. It is a very well known place, Mahabaleswar.

Gopala Krsna: Yes, Mahabaleswar.

Saurabha: Just on the other side of the plateau you have that RMA, ARA?

Prabhupada: Aurobindo?

Saurabha: No.

Gopala Krsna: I think Mahabaleswar is also the summer capital of Mahara… All the government ministers have been meeting there. And this Bhogilal Patel’s son, he was saying that he knows all the big people there. Sita, Rama, (indistinct) he’s the chairman of the local municipality…

Prabhupada: So we must have a big temple there.

Saurabha: MRA? It’s a moral institute. It’s very big.

Prabhupada: MRA?

Saurabha: MRA, yes.

Prabhupada: Moral…?

Gopala Krsna: Moral Re-armament.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Saurabha: It’s just on the other side.

Prabhupada: So it is still existing?

Saurabha: Oh, yes. The building is excellent, but nothing is going on. Only twice a year they have a meeting. But it’s very well built.

Prabhupada: Their propaganda is that “You do sinful. You do whatever you like. You simply admit. Confession. Then you’ll be…”

Gopala Krsna: Atone.

Prabhupada: This is morality. “You commit immorality as much as you like. You simply admit it. Then it’s right” (indistinct) This is their propaganda. They do not want to stop immorality. “You do, and don’t hide it—you admit.” But persons are so shameless that they will continually do, and they have no shamefulness to hide even. That is the Christian theory, that “Our religion is so… Maybe we are unable to remain without any sin. Christ will excuse us.” Is it not? This is going on. This is.

Saurabha: They’re also criticized a lot there. They have been criticized a lot there locally. People, they think they are CIA.

Prabhupada: Oh. Us?

Saurabha: No. The MRA. Because they have big meetings twice a year only.

Prabhupada: The MRA, they are Americans?

Saurabha: Yes. Most are Europeans, Americans.

Prabhupada: This movement was started by President Eisenhower with the help of a Christian priest.

Saurabha: Now the son of Gandhi, he is the main president…

Prabhupada: Who?

Saurabha: The son of Mahatma Gandhi.

Prabhupada: Shri Ramdal(?) Gandhi?

Saurabha: He’s the head man of that institute there. And then some very big European industrialist they are also involved. They’ve spent two crores of rupees on that complex. It’s very well maintained also. I went into the building. It’s excellent. But there is nobody.

Prabhupada: Eh? Nobody. [break] So it is immediately cut.

Mahamsa: The door is ready, so when you go for a bath…

Prabhupada: No, he can come.

Mahamsa: Now he can come?

Prabhupada: Yes. Mahamsa Swami is nicely doing (?).

Hari-sauri: He’s very sincere.

Prabhupada: And everyone likes him.

Hari-sauri: Yes. He’s very popular with the life members.

Prabhupada: He has no enemy. Nobody has complained against him.

Hari-sauri: He’s very even-tempered.

Prabhupada: (chuckles) Neither he has complained against anybody. He does not complain, and nobody complains against him. His mother was very much sorry. Now she is very happy.

Hari-sauri: He joined in the West?

Prabhupada: He is Parsee.

Hari-sauri: He’s not Indian.

Prabhupada: No, he is Indian. India, there is Parsee community. Indian Parsee means that originally they come from Iran. They are Iranian. But on account of Muhammadans forcibly standing within way… Aurangzeb came. Muhammadans they came, they fled from Iran and took shelter in the western part of India. They took shelter in Gujarat. Persia… I think Iran was known as Persia.

Hari-sauri: Yes. At least that area, anyway.

Prabhupada: Therefore they are known as Parsee. In their ritualistic ceremonies some (indistinct) do with women… (?)

Hari-sauri: Yes. I saw all the women, they keep themselves covered and everything.

Prabhupada: Sari?

Hari-sauri: Most of them were wearing trousers.

Prabhupada: No. Parsees are well known for saris.

Hari-sauri: In Iran, though, I saw most of the women wear… Under those black veils they were actually wearing trousers.

Prabhupada: Not wearing saris? (pause) We have no problems except this immigration.

Hari-sauri: Yes. That’s the main thing.

Prabhupada: Otherwise we have no problem.

Hari-sauri: By the time they’ve finished all their investigations, they’ll… Eventually they’ll have to let us come. At least maybe in Calcutta it will be easier. In Calcutta, with the authorities there, if we get this… If we start building Mayapura, then they’ll be a lot more lenient than they’ve been before.

Prabhupada: That is already…

Hari-sauri: Yes. They’ve taken the best area.

Prabhupada: I think this leg swelling is gone.

Hari-sauri: Yes. It only came when we were in Iran because of the altitude. Then, as soon as we left, it went away again. That doctor in New York, he said it was because when your blood pressure goes up, then it’s difficult for the heart to pump. So then fluid forms in the leg because of the bad blood circulation.

Prabhupada: That was his diagnosis.

Hari-sauri: Yes. So as soon as we came… Like in New Vrindaban, a little bit high, then again it changes over. But then, as soon as we left, then it stopped again.

Prabhupada: Then this Mahabaleswar will not be…

Hari-sauri: No. If it’s very high, the altitude will not be so good. As soon as we arrived in Iran, immediately the next day the swelling was there. I don’t know how high this will be, but New Vrindaban is not so high.

Prabhupada: Oh, yes? (?)

Hari-sauri: I think someone said about 1200 feet, not very much. But that may be because the atmosphere in the hills is a little rarified as well.

Prabhupada: I had vision of (indistinct)… More than going to the hill (indistinct). It is higher than sea level anyway… Therefore the northern portion of India is called upper. It is very higher than the sea level. It is called upper because it is much higher, very high from the ocean. But I was… Vrndavana is also that part of (indistinct). Only Bengal is not upper.

Hari-sauri: Yes, it’s low.

Prabhupada: It is near the sea, so… (end)