Room Conversation
with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
January 24, 1977, Bhubaneswar

(loud kirtana in background)

Prabhupada: The small Deity?

Gurukrpa: Yes.

Prabhupada: He was carried with me. So he was taking care of the Deity, giving massage and keeping… Devananda also doing that. The rascal gone, left, hippie, doing…

Gurukrpa: Yes, smoking ganja.

Prabhupada: And no, he was very good boy, doing everything.

Gurukrpa: Before him I think was Karttikeya.

Prabhupada: Eh? Yes. Karttikeya was also doing that. What can be done? I was carrying that Deity, you know?

Gurukrpa: In Calcutta. They are now in Calcutta.

Prabhupada: Yes. That’s it.

Hari-sauri: They’re in Calcutta now?

Gurukrpa: They’ve been in Calcutta.

Hari-sauri: Somebody told me that They were the small Deities in New York.

Prabhupada: No.

Hari-sauri: The brass ones.

Prabhupada: That is different. That was…

Gurukrpa: They’re in Calcutta.

Prabhupada: In my Los Angeles room there is Deity room?

Hari-sauri: Gaura-Nitai.

Prabhupada: No. There is simhasana, now there is a picture, London Deity. Formerly the small Deity was there.

Hari-sauri: In Los Angeles.

Prabhupada: My personal room.

Hari-sauri: They have some Gaura-Nitai Deity there now.

Prabhupada: Gaura-Nitai is there, but in the simhasana…

Hari-sauri: Oh. There’s just a picture now. Yes.

Prabhupada: That is London picture.

Gurukrpa: They are in Calcutta temple.

Prabhupada: Maybe Calcutta.

Gurukrpa: They’re very nice.

Satsvarupa: Srila Prabhupada, there is one man here. We knew he was supposed to come from something, “Cultural Affairs of Bhubaneswar.” He was here earlier today and then later today.

Prabhupada: All right, let him come.

Hari-sauri: When he came this evening you were taking prasada, and then immediately after was the lecture. [break]

Guest (1) (Indian man): …cultural affairs, Orissa government. Here there is a large stack of palm leaf manuscripts. Palm leaf manuscripts. We are editing the Sanskrit manuscripts, correcting them and publishing them.

Prabhupada: Sanskrit?

Guest (1): Sanskrit.

Prabhupada: It is published in Sanskrit?

Guest (1): Yes.

Prabhupada: Palm beach?

Guest (2) (Indian man): Palm leaves.

Hari-sauri: Some manuscripts on palm leaf.

Prabhupada: Oh, palm leaf.

Hari-sauri: They’re translating and publishing. So he is the editor in charge of all that for the government.

Guest (1): What is the…?

Prabhupada: What is the sastra?

Hari-sauri: What is the name of the sastra?

Guest (1): Sastra. I told yesterday Bhakti-bhagavatam of Kavisurya Baladeva(?).

Prabhupada: Oh, yes, yes.

Guest (1): And acarya, there is one… (quotes long Sanskrit verses) This is one Radha-Krsna lila by Kavisurya Baladeva of Orissa.

Prabhupada: Baladeva Vidyabhusana?

Guest (1): Baladeva Vidyabhusana who commented on, wrote Sri Bhasyam.

Gurukrpa: That’s the same one you just quoted? By who?

Guest (1): Baladeva Vidyabhusana.

Gurukrpa: The one you just sang.

Guest (1): No. This is Kavisurya Baladeva.

Prabhupada: Baladeva Vidyabhusana, different.

Guest (1): Different.

Prabhupada: Baladeva Vidyabhusana belonged to Orissa or Bengal?

Guest (1): Yes, Orissa. And he has clearly mentioned that near Tilika, Tilika Lake he was born. It is clear mentioned.

Prabhupada: But he used to live in Balasore.

Guest (1): Yes. He used to live in Balasore, and then went to Bhastrana,(?) where he wrote Bhasya on Vedanta-sutra and Gita.

Prabhupada: Vedanta-sutra, Govinda-bhasya, he wrote in Jaipur.

Guest (1): Jaipur. Yes, last time, Jaipur.

Prabhupada: I have dedicated my Bhagavad-gita to Baladeva Vidyabhusana.

Guest (1): Baladeva Vidyabhusana? Following Baladeva Vidyabhusana?

Hari-sauri: He dedicated it. Yes, this is… Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana.

Guest (1): I am glad to talk with Pradyumna Maharaja. He’s good Sanskrit scholar. And I also a Sanskrit teacher for ten years in a Sanskrit school with my postgraduate from this, (indistinct) University.

Prabhupada: What you are doing now?

Guest (1): Duhkhi-sampat-nyaya.(?)

Prabhupada: No, what is your occupation now?

Guest (1): Occupation? Government service editor. Editor of research publications.

Prabhupada: That’s nice. So take little prasadam here. Pradyumna, give him little prasada.

Pradyumna: Bring here?

Prabhupada: All right, bring it

Guest (1): (Bengali or Oriya:) Sorry if Prabhupada was taxed by that man. He did not understand…

Prabhupada: No.

Guest (1): …and started arguing. He’s not in a mood to understand.

Prabhupada: Where is dvaitavada, advaitavada, in Bhagavad-gita? Mamaivamso. Amsamsi—dvaita. Aham bija-pradah pita. Pita-putra, dvaitavada. Bahuni, janma, janmani tava carjuna. Arjuna and Krsna— dvaitavada.

Guest (1): Virudavali should also be translated.

Prabhupada: Virudavali, Baladeva Vidyabhusana’s?

Guest (1): No, Rupa Gosvami.

Prabhupada: Oh, Rupa Gosvami, yes.

Guest (1): (quotes long Sanskrit verses from Virudavali)

Prabhupada: Very good. These are for higher devotees, not for the neophytes. For neophytes we have translated Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Nectar of Devotion. You have seen our books?

Guest (1): Yes, I have seen some. [break] …lucidly and so much correctly brought out that I’m surprised to see these books, that how in a foreign country these books are so correctly brought out. Even we fail here to bring out these books correctly.

Satsvarupa: As research editor, you could write a nice review of Srila Prabhupada’s reviews. We have many reviews. All the big Sanskrit scholars.

Guest (1): Yes, I will write. Actually if I get a small literature about Prabhupada I will write an article in newspapers. People of Orissa could not know that an international figure came to Orissa, and they could not avail of the opportunity.

Hari-sauri: That would be very nice. International.

Gurukrpa: Interplanetary.

Hari-sauri: These are appreciations from all over the world, France…

Guest (1): Pradyumna Maharaja put some pertinent questions on Bhagavata when he came to know that I am Sanskrit scholar. [break]

Prabhupada: …Leyland.

Gargamuni: Yes, Leyland(?) Bank.

Prabhupada: Yes. “Our Guru Maharaja went to America with this hope—that Indian culture and American money combined together will save the world.” That’s a fact. Everything requires money, but we are securing money with hard labor. If money little easily comes, we can make very nice program.

Gargamuni: Yes. I told him that “If you can finance some of our programs, we can hold huge pandals.”

Prabhupada: American government can finance to any point. The present president is religious temperament, so why not arrange a meeting with him?

Gargamuni: Yes.

Hari-sauri: And his wife is very inclined towards India.

Prabhupada: His wife.

Hari-sauri: Yes. She worked here for several years.

Prabhupada: No, no, his mother.

Hari-sauri: I think it was his wife.

Prabhupada: No, mother.

Gargamuni: No, his mother came here. She worked as a nurse in Bombay.

Hari-sauri: Oh. That was it.

Prabhupada: Mother Theresa or something like that.

Hari-sauri: No, no. She has nothing to do with…

Gargamuni: No.

Prabhupada: Oh.

Gargamuni: She worked in some hospital for a few years in Bombay.

Hari-sauri: She was a relief worker. Was it his mother or his wife?

Prabhupada: Mother Theresa, no?

Gargamuni: No. It’s his mother. I’m sure because I read the article. I did. I read. It was in the Illustrated Weekly.

Hari-sauri: And the Americans very much want to make friends with India, very much.

Gargamuni: But I think if we can convince the American government that we can stop Communism in India by this movement, because the people will see… They tried to do it with the priests.

Prabhupada: Simply prasadam distribution—bas. We shall stop them with hari-sankirtana, village to village.

Gargamuni: Yes, cause they frankly admit, the Americans, that they planted CIA agents in the priests to try and convince the people and change them. But they failed because these CIA agents became detected. So I told them that actually also this Christianity, the Indian people cannot accept, the mass of people. Maybe a few. But they can accept our movement.

Prabhupada: No, that is in lower class, not brahmanas.

Gargamuni: Yes. No. They will not accept. But they can accept this movement.

Prabhupada: This movement will accept because there is prasadam, teaching, and actual behavior, Vaisnava.

Gargamuni: And they’ve been brought up in it thousands of years. They will accept it. “And it’s coming from America. Therefore you should support it.”

Prabhupada: Yes.

Gargamuni: I told him this. He was interested. He was. But he told me, “Under the present…” The CIA used to give money to certain groups to stop Communism, he said, but recently they have been under investigation for this, so he said it would be very dangerous for them to do such a thing now. But he said he would talk it over. Since then, though, I have not met him. This was at the time when we were called CIA in Calcutta, when it came in the papers. I went to them for advice because they also became very much upset because just before that, the Consulate with his wife came to Mayapur and saw all of our activities. They were very impressed. And they printed this in the newspaper, trying to show that the Consulate General was also an agent along with Bhavananda. So he became very angry. He became very angry that they should try to make this up. He said, “Actually I had personally… My wife wanted to come, but I was not so much interested. But because my wife came, I came also. But I don’t see why they are trying to link me along with your society as CIA.” He said, “This is very bad.” And from what I know, they made a formal complaint to the Home Minister of West Bengal, the Home Secretary.

Prabhupada: That is good.

Gargamuni: ’Cause his assistant, Mr. O’Neil, told me that they received a telex from Washington saying that formal protest should be made that ISKCON is not part of the CIA and also they are not funded by the government of the United States.

Prabhupada: People can say anything. But if there is officially protest, that is…

Gargamuni: Yes. He said. [break] …there at Puri, yes. In our sampradaya these—Mayapur, Puri, and Vrndavana—are most important.

Prabhupada: Hm. Now if we revive, just like Panihati…

Gargamuni: Yes, and Panihati also.

Prabhupada: Haridasa Thakura had part. Here, at Siddha-bokula. Siddha-bokula, Gambhira—if you try, you can get.

Gargamuni: Yes. And this Remuna maybe.

Prabhupada: Remuna.

Gargamuni: Yes. This Gopinatha. Ksira-Gopinatha.

Prabhupada: Accha?

Gargamuni: There may be a chance in the future.

Prabhupada: So we shall be very glad to develop this. This is very… Did they speak anything like that?

Gargamuni: Well, it’s in the government hands now.

Prabhupada: Oh, oh. So why government? We can take charge.

Gargamuni: Yes. See, whenever the government takes these temples, it’s a burden for them.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Gargamuni: So why not we will take and we will take care?

Prabhupada: Yes. So this is under…

Gargamuni: I think they should be approached.

Prabhupada: …Orissa government?

Gargamuni: Yes. I think so.

Prabhupada: And why not?

Gargamuni: I’d have to inquire, but I’m pretty sure it’s managed by the government, because they’re allowing us to enter the temple. There’s also a place being offered in West Bengal. I personally went there and took photographs. It’s in Kharampur.

Prabhupada: Kharampur.

Gargamuni: Yes. It’s near the Bangladesh border. It’s about 80 kilometers north of Krishnanagar…

Prabhupada: Oh.

Gargamuni: …near the Bangladesh border. It’s five miles… In fact, we took the wrong road and we almost went over the Bangladesh border.

Prabhupada: Accha?

Gargamuni: We went through the border almost by mistake, and the guards came with their guns. Our driver took the wrong road. But it’s five miles from the Bangladesh border. And the property… There’s a temple there of Gaura-Nitai. (end)