Morning Walk in Raṅga Gardens – April 7, 1976, Vṛndāvana

This nonsense should be stopped

Prabhupada: [Transl. …assembly hall?]

Indian man: [Transl. Yes, assembly hall when they come here for Mela.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. And upstairs?]

Indian man: [Transl. Upstairs is a place to live. He lived here on rent. One that Maharaja was there, he used to live.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Which Maharaja?]

Indian man: [Aside: [Transl. What was his name? Who now built his own asrama just in front? The one who built his own asrama?]

Indian man (2): [Transl. Jagadguru… He belongs to Sri Sampradaya, Maharaja. He used to live here on rent. Now it's vacant. There is water problem here. Otherwise it would have been taken on rent.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. How much is rent?]

Indian man: [Transl. Thirty rupees, Maharaja, per month.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Ahh. Problem of water?]

Indian man: [Transl. Yes, Maharaja.]

Indian man (2): [Transl. One has to fetch water from a distance. There are lots of wells around. Water has to be fetched from a little distance. Well is just outside of the door.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Can we take it?]

Indian man: [Transl. Sure, you can take it.]

Indian man (2): [Transl. Sure. Why not?]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Then arrange it for us.]

Indian man: [Transl. Yes. It will be done.]

Prabhupada: [break] ...dozen carts.

Pusta Krsna: It looks like it came from here. [break]

Prabhupada: ...cannot say Hare Krsna. There is such competition.

Indian man: [Aside: [Transl. Maharajaji is asking us to give that room upstairs to him on rent. And this garden he will fix it. I will talk to him about this. The garden will look nice. Why don't you talk to Babulalji.]

Indian man (2): [Transl. So how the rent will be….]

Indian man: [Transl. Just book that room on rent. The one at the back side where Raghunathacarya was living.]

Indian man (2): [Transl. Oh, Raghunathacarya. I see. [to Prabhupada: [Transl. Why do you want to take it?]

Prabhupada: [Transl. We have got so many people. There is not enough space there. For example, many times our devotees reside in Fogle asrama and other places. That's why.] I like this garden very nice.

Indian man: [Transl. We will keep our people in the other house and your people….]

Indian man (2): [Transl. No, I personally may live also.]

Indian man: [Transl. I see. Today I will talk to Manager saheb.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Yes, do it.] It is maintained very nicely. We can get flowers. [Transl. These flowers can be offered to our Krsna Balarama and your Raṅganathaji as well.]

Indian man: [Transl. Very good idea. [aside: He is saying that the garden is beautiful and lots of flowers in it.]

Prabhupada: Water is supply there? [Transl. Is there a well? Is there a well here?]

Indian man: [Transl. Well is there. A motor is fitted to pump out water. Two wells are there. Farming is done here also. There are two gardens. One is wet garden for farming and the other is dry garden for flower. Two gardens. One is here and the other is adjacent to it.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Oh, next to this.]

Indian man: [Transl. There is one well here and another one is just in that corner.] The river is very near. Just after that garden, Yamuna.

Prabhupada: [Transl. I believe the water here is sweet.]

Indian man: [Transl. Yes. Sweet water, very good.]

Indian man (2): [Transl. Sweet, but not so good. It used be good before, but now it has become somewhat salty.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. I see. We have 400 people.]

Indian man: [Transl. 400 people?]

Prabhupada: Yes.

Indian man: [Transl. Really?]

Prabhupada: [laughs] [Transl. Therefore accommodation facility is not adequate.]

Indian man: [Transl. So arrangement must be made.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. We are acquiring more land to build houses. But just now it is not possible.] These people, they like Vrndavana.

Indian man: [Aside: [Transl. These people like Vrndavana very much.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Like very much. That's why we want that…]

Indian man: [Transl. Vrndavana is such a dhama that nobody can dislike it. [laughs] It is like that only.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Yes. Ramya kascid upasana. [Caitanya-Manjusa] Vrndavana dhama.]

Indian man: [Transl. You are leaving on 11th for America?]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Yes.]

Indian man: [Transl. So it will be very difficult to confirm in four days.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. No. If you decide it then our men are here and they will do the needful.]

Indian man: [Transl. What is your telephone number?]

Prabhupada: What is our telephone number?

Aksayananda: 178.

Indian man: 179.

Devotees: 8.

Pusta Krsna: Vrndavana 178.

Indian man: 178. [Transl. Actually the Manager has to consult with the trustees. There is a trustee.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. I am familiar with the trustees. That Mr. S. K. Somani.]

Indian man: [Transl. Well, that Gadadhara Somani has already passed away. He is no more.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Who is there now?]

Indian man: [Transl. His brother is there. His name is Vamsidharaji. He had a cousin brother named Vastavaji. So, both of them have left this world.]

Prabhupada: So they are not trustee.

Indian man: [Transl. Gadadharaji has already gone.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. I had very good acquaintance with him.]

Indian man: [Transl. Gadadharaji was a very nice man. He practically helped build the Raṅgaji mandir.]

Prabhupada: ...are agreeeable. Whatever you think, as you like, we can agree. [break]

Indian man: [Transl. I will talk to them on phone. [break] …devotees give donations like that.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Give some monthly donation.]

Indian man: [Transl. Yes. Monthly donation. Also some income from the buildings-room rents.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Nowadays there is hardly any income from the room rent.] [laughs]

Indian man: [Transl. Besides, these are old buildings.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. The mandir is very beautiful.]

Indian man: [Transl. Very beautiful. Sometimes you kindly come here on the Navami: the nineth, day. We will have fire sacrifice etc at noon time. You please come at noon on Navami day.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Navami is tomorrow.]

Indian man: [Transl. Navami is day after tomorrow. If possible…There will be recitation of goddess Candi, and other prayers too. You please come at that time during noon we will be glad.] [break]

Tripurari: [laughter] I can remember from Caitanya-caritamrta, one devotee of Lord Ramacandra was always chanting the name of Rama, but Lord Caitanya convinced him to chant Hare Krsna.

Prabhupada: [laughs] There is competition like that. One will say "Hare Rama." Another will say "No, Hare Krsna."

Pusta Krsna: He was very obstinate.

Hari-sauri: Or that man in Delhi.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Hari-sauri: That man in Delhi thought we had something against Lord Ramacandra.

Prabhupada: [laughs] There are many versions like that. Somebody will say, "Your Ramacandra may be very important person, but when Radharani goes to Krsna, Lord Ramacandra becomes His [Her] guard with arrows." [laughter] When Radharani goes to Krsna, and Ramacandra has to serve Radharani with arrows and bows.

[pause]

Prabhupada: This is Garuda.

Pusta Krsna: Srila Prabhupada?

Prabhupada: Hmm.

Pusta Krsna: What is that six-pointed star significance?

Prabhupada: Cakra.

Pusta Krsna: Oh.

Hari-sauri: What is the symbol on the right-hand side, Srila Prabhupada?

Prabhupada: I think saṅkha.

Hari-sauri: Is that the conch, is it? [break]

Aksayananda: ...thread from the Deity, the old sacred thread, and they tie it on their wrist. They tie it here.

Prabhupada: Who?

Aksayananda: Some of the devotees have started to do that now.

Prabhupada: Why?

Aksayananda: I don't know. It's just like wearing beads. The sacred thread from the Deity, after replacing, they take the old one and they wear it here.

Prabhupada: Who has told them?

Aksayananda: I don't know.

Prabhupada: Then why you...?

Aksayananda: Well, I told one boy to stop it, and because I couldn't quote any authority, he keeps wearing...

Prabhupada: No, no, there is no author... Where is his authority?

Aksayananda: Yes.

Prabhupada: This nonsense should be stopped.

Aksayananda: Yes, I thought it was wrong. That's why I mentioned it. I wanted to make sure.

Prabhupada: Stop this.

Aksayananda: Okay. Sure.

Hari-sauri: I think their idea is that because it's prasadam, it's from the Deity, that they're able to wear it like that.

Prabhupada: That is another concoction. The sacred thread is not used like that, in the hand.

Aksayananda: I thought it was wrong. It seems like some kind of fashion or something, concocted fashion. [break]

Hari-sauri: ...small black beads that the devotees are wearing from Radha-kunda. They have a string of beads made of clay from Radha-kunda. Are they...?

Prabhupada: Radha-kunda clay is not bad.

Hari-sauri: So it's all right to wear them?

Prabhupada: Not very constantly.

Pusta Krsna: Sometimes I think, Srila Prabhupada, that you're worried that one thing will lead to the next. Actually, all we have to do is follow your example.

Aksayananda: Yes, we don't have to add anything. What can we add?

Pusta Krsna: What is the use of it?

Aksayananda: What can we add?

Prabhupada: There is a proverb in Bengali that the crows, they eat stool. But when the crow is very young, he eats more stool. [break] ...tendency always, how to become hippie as soon as there is little opportunity.

Aksayananda: Yes, it's something we have to guard against very carefully.

Prabhupada: Don't allow them. Don't allow all these.

Aksayananda: Even in India people say like that: "Oh, you are hippies?"

Prabhupada: As soon as you become hippie, immediately your all prestige will go.

Aksayananda: Finished, yes.

Prabhupada: Very carefully.

Hari-sauri: The thing is, a lot of the devotees, they're not very much conscious that they're being watched by the..., very carefully by the public. [break]

Prabhupada: [bird is singing nearby] Bird of paradise? No.

Hari-sauri: No, the bird of paradise is different.

Prabhupada: Different. [end]