The Leaders of India

JAYADVAITA DASA: How did the temples here in Vrndavana and Mayapur first get started?

TAMALA KRSNA GOSVAMĪ: At that time, I remember-it was about three or four months after we came to India-Prabhupada was searching for land in Mayapur. "I came to get land in Mayapur." [Sridhama Mayapur is the birthplace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the original father of the Krsna consciousness movement.] We had tried to go to Mayapur to look for land when we first came to Calcutta, but we couldn't; the flood waters stopped us from crossing the Ganges to go. So Prabhupada was thinking, "Maybe Lord Caitanya doesn't want me to establish a temple in Mayapur." So he sent me to Vrndavana, but we didn't get any land in Vrndavana either. He kept saying to us, "You have to establish yourselves and do something tangible. It will not do if you are simply known as dancing white elephants. 'They came, sang, danced-and left.' You must do something substantial so that they will say, 'The Westerners have come, and this is what they have done.' " So Prabhupada was trying for some land, and somehow we finally got this land in Mayapur and began construction. Then again someone gave us land here in Vrndavana, so we began constructing a temple here also. Then we got land in Bombay. The land in Mayapur is in the best location. You've seen it now. It's centrally located on the main road, between all the temples. The land in Vrndavana is on the main road, bordering on three different roads, and it's in the most serene and respected area of spiritual importance, where all the asramas are located. It's the best location. The land in Bombay is now said to be worth four times what we paid for it. It's said that this area will become like the Miami Beach of India, visited by millions of people, and we have five acres. In Hyderabad we were donated land directly in the center of the city, like Times Square and 42nd Street. And at least 1,000 to 2,000 people come to the daily noontime service, without any advertising.

So we have very nicely situated land, and the leading men of India have enrolled as members of our Society. Prabhupada has always stressed, "Get to the leaders of India." And we have. We count among our life members the leading industrialists, politicians and professionals of India, about three thousand of them. We're establishing different places with guest houses for them to stay in, as well as guest houses for tourists from abroad.