Śrīla Prabhupāda Visits the Sākṣi-Gopāla Temple

A lwAys E mbr A c E d by K åñë A

mükaà karoti väcälaà paìguà laìghayate girim yat-kåpä tam ahaà vande çré-guruà déna-täraëam

“Then the dumb can become eloquent speakers of the Veda and the crippled can climb mountains, by the mercy of Guru and Gauräìga.” It is so powerful.

He Is so Sincere

Deva-dharma dasa: Çréla Gour Govinda Swami led the evening kértanas. On one occasion, Çréla Prabhupäda, in his room in his hut, sat back and listened to the kértana. He asked his disciples who were with him, “Who is chanting?” They responded, “Oh, that’s Gour Govinda Swami.” To this Çréla Prabhupäda replied, “Oh! Gour Govinda Swami. He is so sincere!”

Only Two People Were Enthusiastic About the Bhubaneswar Project

Nimäi Paëòita däsa: Guru Mahäräja, Hari Çauri däsa sent me notes from his diary that he made when he was here. In them he said that when Çréla Prabhupäda was here in Bhubaneswar, there were only two people who were enthusiastic about this project, that was Çréla Prabhupäda and you, Guru Mahäräja.

Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: Yes, he said that, “You should have your own men, and you should accept disciples, you should train them. You should have your own men; otherwise, how can you manage?” I said to Prabhupäda, “I do not want

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to be the head; I want to be the tail.” But Prabhupäda replied, “I want!” And I said, “All right!” I know that to become the head means so many beatings; blows will come. But Prabhupäda said, “I want!” “When you [Çréla Prabhupäda] want, I should accept all these head beatings. All right, very good; it is pleasing to my guru.”*

Orissa Is a Very Poor State

Çréla Prabhupäda wanted Çréla Gour Govinda Swami to be the head of the temple and assume the responsibility of taking disciples,** but Çréla Gour Govinda Mahäräja did not want to accept that responsibility. Çréla Gour Govinda Swami recalls the following conversation between Çréla Prabhupäda and him in Bhubaneswar, 1977. Bearing in mind no tape player was on and all discussions between Çréla Prabhupäda and Çréla Gour Govinda Swami were in private. Çréla Prabhupäda entrusted the entire project to Çréla Gour Govinda Swami, knowing full well that he would stay and see the project through. When Çréla Gour Govinda Swami explained to Çréla Prabhupäda that Orissa was a very poor state, and a significant amount of money could not be collected there, Çréla Prabhupäda said in Bengali, “Gour Govind, ämi jäni – Gour Govind, I know it.”

There Was Only One Amount Paid

Çréla Gour Govinda Swami: Prabhupäda made one arrangement at that time. He told me, “Gour Govind, I will give 50%, and you will give 50%, matching grant.” First, he

* conversation in Bhubaneswar, 1992. ** There is much more to this story, as I have previously written. However, I will not present that information as it may offend some, due to their preconceived/ sectarian ideas, and it may shock some of you. Our beloved Gurudeva spoke more on this topic in 1991 after the deities were installed in Bhubaneswar, to only a very few followers and no tape recorder was present.

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gave 50,000 rupees. I deposited it in the Punjab National Bank. Then he told, “You fill in, whatever you give, I will give the same amount: You provide 50% and I will provide 50%; whatever you collect for the project, I will match it.” He did this for Orissa, not for any other place. But as soon as Prabhupäda disappeared it stopped. There was only one amount paid. The grant would come from the MVT, Mäyäpura Våndävana Trust. But the devotees who were handling it did not listen to me. “No, no, no. If we will give such money then the fund will be exhausted. You should take a loan.” “But I cannot take a loan. I have no money. How can I pay it back? Prabhupäda has said so.” They answered, “No, no, no.” Then Tejas däsa took some loan of some two lakhs of rupees or like that from them. He was collecting funds so he could have paid it back, but he is now no longer here. But they were just calculating: “Now with compounded interest, from two lakhs it is ten lakhs.” I said, “How can I pay it back? I cannot pay it back as I have no money. Rather you should pay me money. Anyhow, you can go on calculating. I cannot pay it. I have no money. I need money. You should help me.” Prabhupäda had said, “These people will help you. Cooperate and tolerate.” And I was doing that: That Bhägavata däsa, Tejas däsa [will help you]. I tolerated very much, always remembering what my Guru Mahäräja had said: “Tolerate, tolerate, co-operate.” I said, “Alright, you put a thunderbolt on my head, I will tolerate.” Anyhow, by his mercy now it is going up, and his desires will be fulfilled. When a pure devotee of Kåñëa desires, it must be fulfilled, sooner or later.20

India Has Spiritual Vision and the West has Money Together They can Function Nicely

Jayadharma däsa: At that time, in Bhubaneswar, Çréla Prabhupäda was saying that India was a lame man, he had

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no money, he was limited, but India had the vision, spiritual vision. In contrast, the West was like a blind man; he had money but no spiritual vision. So now if the West can pick up the lame man, who can see, then they can help each other. So, India or Kåñëa consciousness has spiritual vision and no wealth, whereas the West has wealth but no spiritual vision. If you combine the two, the blind West can carry the lame India and together they can function nicely. Çréla Prabhupäda liked this concept very much, and the money collected was to go to the preaching in India. In Bhubaneswar, Çréla Prabhupäda was very enthusiastic about preaching in India; all India (Kåñëa consciousness) needed was lakñmé.

January 24

“Bhägavata däsa arranged for Prabhupäda to have his walk at the local zoo. When we arrived, we went first into the big cats’ section where there were two cages side by side with lions in them. A whole family was in one of them. From Prabhupäda’s reaction it was obvious he was not so happy to see them locked up in their tiny cells and he did not linger long. After that, he completed his walk around the zoo and then we drove back to our land. As the car neared the entrance, he asked us, “So what is the lesson from this visit to the zoo?” Getting no reply, he said, “The lesson is that the lion is a prisoner, therefore, however strong one may be, there is always some greater control.” Again, the program was nice and went on in the usual fashion. Gargamuni came back and having arranged for Prabhupäda to visit Puré tomorrow, the 25th.” (From Hari Çauri däsa notes.)21