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Prabhupada: [laughs] So similarly, if one is giving very important service, then even there is some faulty thing, excuse. Service is so important. So in the Western countries the woman can give very good service. Api cet sudaracaro bhajate mam ananya-bhak sadhur eva sa mantavyah [Bg 9.30]. This book distribution is the most important task in our Society. Therefore I am giving so much stress and I am working so hard on this. Because this is my life and soul according to the order of my Guru Maharaja. And by his grace it is to some extent successful. And I took it seriously.
I take it seriously still now. That is my life and soul. I never tried in India to construct big temples, or even in your country we didn't. I never tried. But I was selling personally books. That is the history. Sometimes they are criticizing, "What kind of sannyasi? He is doing book business." [laughs] The other day that..., what is his name? Bachu Bhai came. Bachu Bhai Dresswalla.
Prabhupada: You know him?
Giriraja: I know one Madanlal Dresswalla.
Prabhupada: I think this is... There are two, three Dresswalla in Bhubaneswar.
Giriraja: Yes, he's also in Bhubaneswar.
Prabhupada: Maybe their father. In the beginning I had no place, so I was staying with..., what is that? Prem Niketan?
Giriraja: Prem Kutir.
Prabhupada: Prem Kutir. So they received me very nicely. So I was going to sell my books. So some of them were criticizing, "What kind of sannyasi? He's making business bookselling." Not the authorities, but some of them.
Prabhupada: Hmm. I was writing book also there.
Giriraja: I saw the rooms.
Prabhupada: You have seen? [Srila Prabhupada chuckles] Who showed you?
Giriraja: Harekrishnadas Agarwal.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes. He was very friendly. Actually, he is the organizer, main person. He showed that "Here, Swamiji, you are cooking." [laughs] Yes. I was guest for fifteen days, that Dalmia. Not this Jaidayal, his big brother, Ramkrishna. He asked me that his family... He wanted to construct a little cottage in his house: "You can live here. I'll give you a nice cottage." I thought, "No, it is not good to be patronized by a visayi." This is not good. Fully dependent on a materialistic... And he's first-class materialist.
Giriraja: Yes. He's very notorious.
Prabhupada: [laughs] Actually, I thought he's good man, but after woman.
Prabhupada: That is Ramkrishna, he's a big brother.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes. He's of my age. Not less. But he's after three, four wives. His business is to go from one wife's house to another wife's house, and each wife's house, expenditure ten thousand rupees per month. [chuckles] He's a very funny businessman. He has made his wife director, and they take money. So to avoid income tax... So, huge expenditure. Each, one house. Income tax cannot say, "Why you are maintaining?" [indistinct] That is not their business. It is company's name. Just like Bhogilal, he's maintaining big, big establishment.
So I became his guest for fifteen days. He wanted to stay. I stayed for fifteen days. I first..., my requisition was that "You must give me exclusive typewriter for writing my books." So he gave me. And if I would have asked for typewriter, he would have given. But I was working with my broken typewriter. I went to our Tirtha Maharaja in Mayapur, that "You give me a room [Srila Prabhupada taps on table] and a typewriter, [tap] and print my books. [tap] Give me some sannyasa [tap]. I join you."
Prabhupada: He did not say no, but the printing of books, that was difficult task for him. He had no money. He's hardly collecting for maintaining. And India, printing of books is a big job. There is no guarantee of sale.
Prabhupada: He's head man. "All right. I shall join you."
Prabhupada: In 1953. Before going to America. Two years before.
Giriraja: '63.
Prabhupada: '63, yes.
Prabhupada: No. '63 I was in Vrndavana. Before that.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes. At that time I was not sannyasa. That means it was before '58. Somewhere in '57 or... So I tried my Godbrothers, that "If they give me facilities for this, then I shall join. Otherwise, I will work independently." So nobody was able to provide me with this.
Prabhupada: Well, they had no money. It requires money, printing of books.
Prabhupada: Donation. This Dalmia, Jaidayal, he gave me about four thousand.
Prabhupada: That was through Hanuman.
Prabhupada: No, actually, these Dalmia started with four thousand rupees.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes.
Giriraja: I met two of them. They were...
Prabhupada: He gave me twice funds. Four thousand once, five thousand. Five thousand he gave me when I went to America for the second time.
Prabhupada: Oh. No, they are sympathetic.
Prabhupada: No, if we want management of that Janmabhumi they can give it.
Prabhupada: I can take it.
Prabhupada: Diversion.
Gopala Krsna: So Prabhupada, I was just finalizing today this year's festival when the devotees come. I think instead of having a festival, a pandal in Delhi like we had last year.... We had one in Ludhiana and Mathura. In Ludhiana Caitya-guru promises that he can raise money for the whole thing. Our devotees won't have to spend a penny. In Delhi if we do a pandal it will require an investment of at least twenty thousand rupees. If we do our festival in Ludhiana, book distribution I calculated will be as good...
Prabhupada: That's all right.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Prabhupada: Fifteen to twenty minutes.
Prabhupada: That we went round-about way.
Prabhupada: You said that today we'll get another book?
Prabhupada: What is that book?
Gopala Krsna: Easy Journey to Other Planets. They finished printing it yesterday, and they're binding it together. One or two days, it always happens. When I give a date, I mean, sometimes it gets delayed. So I figured the distribution of Hindi books will be very good, Ludhiana and Mathura, and also not much investment will be required. It's very common, devotees go every year, and they are tired of it. So this year we should concentrate on book distribution. If we have a pandal in Mathura every evening starting at six o'clock.... If we can reach Mathura at five for book distribution, it will be nice. Actually, I was also thinking of having a three-day pandal in Agra. Because...
Prabhupada: Agra is very good.
Prabhupada: Nearby cities we can...
Prabhupada: Away from Vrndavana.
Giriraja: There's that one man, he was very enthusiastic there, Mr. Bansalji.
Prabhupada: Bansalji.
Giriraja: Yes.
Prabhupada: Tire merchant?
Giriraja: I don't remember. But Hamsaduta and I went way in the beginning, and later on he came during the Delhi pandal. He met you, and he wanted us to open a center there.
Prabhupada: Yes. Agra is a very good place. Very nice place. There are devotees. [indistinct] goes there.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes.
Prabhupada: Preaching must go on vigorously.
Prabhupada: Yes. Preaching means book distribution. Now utilize here this flag ceremony.
Giriraja: Yes.
Giriraja: On the tenth. Procession is on the tenth.
Prabhupada: Do in such a way that that Shyam will feel something.
Prabhupada: No, no. They can go after tenth.
Prabhupada: By fourteenth or by thirteenth.
Prabhupada: It takes only one night from here to Allahabad.
Prabhupada: I think Allahabad takes twenty-four hours.
Prabhupada: Twenty-six hours by train?
Prabhupada: And Calcutta?
Prabhupada: Another ten hours.
Prabhupada: [japa] Preach as much as possible, by saṅkirtana, big saṅkirtana. Big saṅkirtana is book distribution, and small saṅkirtana is with mrdaṅga. Big saṅkirtana is going on all over the world; small saṅkirtana locally. Overflood the demons' godless civilization. Our declaration of war against this godless civilization.
Giriraja: I met a very, very nice boy yesterday. His father is a Life Member, but he's studying in Boston at MIT.
Prabhupada: Oh, technology.
Giriraja: Very superexcellent student. But he was so submissive and inquisitive that he could really... And because he lives there...
Prabhupada: He qualified? No.
Giriraja: He's finishing his Ph.D.
Prabhupada: Oh. So he's very qualified.
Prabhupada: Where he is now?
Giriraja: He's in Bombay, so I invited him to meet you. Actually, he was so interested that the father became scared at the end. He said... You know, at first he was encouraging me to influence the boy, but then at the end he said, "Don't make him a sadhu."
Prabhupada: [laughs] Now he has opened his mind.
Giriraja: Shah.
Prabhupada: Gujarati.
Giriraja: His father is associated with Bhogilal. He's a sharebroker, but he's also a director in some of Bhogilal's company.
Prabhupada: That Jain?
Giriraja: Yes.
Prabhupada: Shahs are mostly Jain. Jains are useless. [laughs]
Giriraja: Oh, yes. The father is useless. Every few sentences the father would start to break in with some speculation, and the son would say, "Please be quiet. I want to hear." [end]
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