770727rc.vrn
Prabhupada: So everything all right?
Yasomatinandana: Yes.
Prabhupada: So you are...
Yasomatinandana: How are you feeling?
Prabhupada: Not very good. Old man's disease. Bhaktivinoda Thakura said, vrddha kala aola saba sukha bhagala:(?) "When a man becomes old, all bodily comforts..." So it is not very good to live like an old man. It is troublesome. Body will be weakened, and all kinds of disease will be strong. Unless one is very strong in body, old age means suffering. So whatever Krsna-Balarama desire. Now it is up to you to maintain the Society very nicely. There is framework. There is idea. There is facility of everything. If you like, you can maintain work.
Yasomatinandana: They're having a very nice farm in Ahmedabad.
Prabhupada: That's nice.
Yasomatinandana: One hundred acres. It's all very nice level land, and we have planted crops in 150 bighas. That is about...
Prabhupada: So you give some... We are getting many other land. If your becomes ideal, you can teach them. People are coming for chanting?
Yasomatinandana: Yes. One grhastha is there, and the first week he went there, every night three hundred people were coming.
Prabhupada: That's it.
Yasomatinandana: And that was in the middle of the desert. Not desert, in the middle of like jungle, you know.
Prabhupada: That I want.
Yasomatinandana: It's fifteen minutes away from the...
Prabhupada: We don't want any profit. We don't want any profit. You produce. You eat. You chant. Organize. Don't go outside.
Yasomatinandana: Don't go to the cities.
Prabhupada: No. Be man of character. No illicit sex, no intoxication. Vaisnava. Eat sufficiently, dress sufficiently. Live very comfortably. Whatever profit is there, it should be invested again for books. That's... Because we are investing money, our land... Therefore we are not profited. Beneficiary, you. It is a cooperative society. You produce your needs, live comfortably, chant Hare Krsna. Our only interest is that you are taking interest in Krsna consciousness, working. Otherwise we don't want to exploit you. That is not... If there is no sufficient, you can... We help you manage it. You manage your own affair. We give you direction. Live happily, chant. This should be... Will not they agree?
Yasomatinandana: Yes, they will very much agree.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Yasomatinandana: They already like our program of chanting and dancing.
Prabhupada: That's all.
Yasomatinandana: Very much they love it. People come from distant villages in groups.
Prabhupada: Yes. Make them... In Gujarat it is very good. So you show an example that other camp will...
Yasomatinandana: This year we are taking some cash crops just to develop the farm.
Prabhupada: That's all right.
Yasomatinandana: But then, once we have developed, then we can have rice and wheat and then distribute free prasada to everyone. Because every inch of the land is cultivatable.
Prabhupada: I have given so much for... Try to repay.
Tamala Krsna: Prabhupada wants you to engage the local people in farming that land. Can you do that?
Yasomatinandana: Well, we are doing it as...
Prabhupada: Gradually.
Yasomatinandana: Gradually.
Prabhupada: Gradually.
Yasomatinandana: We are doing it, and we are hiring it. Because if we just give them away, they will spoil it.
Prabhupada: No.
Yasomatinandana: What we'll do is we'll grow the food and then distribute the food. And if someone is ready to come and live on the farm, then we'll give him the facility. Because Bhogilal's farm is just next door, and he's getting fifty mounds of rice in every bigha. Fifty mounds.
Prabhupada: Why not our farm?
Yasomatinandana: Just now this is the first year, and it has not been used for three, four... It is not that fertile. It is not too much fertile. For rice you have to prepare the ground. Some part of it is there. Once we develop, then we can develop it for rice. That area is doing maximum rice. Bhogilal's men grows fifteen lakhs' worth of crops every year. He has thousand acres, and most of it is even unfertile. Only in certain part of it, fifteen lakhs.
Prabhupada: So why not our farm?
Yasomatinandana: We cannot get that much. But we can easily go up to two lakhs.
Yasomatinandana: Per year. This is at least.
Tamala Krsna: And he donated it free. Yasomatinandana said Bhogilal will be coming here for Janmastami to be with you.
Yasomatinandana: We invited him for Janmastami. So he said, "If you come, I'll go." He wants me to accompany him.
Prabhupada: He's godly man. And he's religious, honest, ideal man.
Prabhupada: I talk with him as my brother.
Yasomatinandana: Only one thing is that the government has this Agricultural Land Selling Act, which prohibits any...
Prabhupada: Our Society...
Yasomatinandana: No, even the societies are not exempt. Only one gosala trust is exempt. So they're registering as a gosala trust, but there are some limitations because it had to be registered before. So they are now moving in that way at least, to show that...
Yasomatinandana: Yes. So there is one member of Parliament in Gujarat who belongs to the party of the Home Minister. He was the chairman of party Lok Dal. It was Charan Singh's party. And he... I met him, and I explained to him that we wanted some citizenship for some devotees or something like that, and he mentioned it to Charan Singh when he came back from Delhi. And Charan Singh said that if it was... There's discussion, then definitely... I mean if there's no legal hitch, he will certainly help. Then I said but they want to come and meet you also. So he said, "Yes, you can bring them." So tomorrow... I came this week, and tomorrow the member says that we can meet him. Now I just heard that there was some news yesterday? So that... We will have to make two applications, one to clear up that incident...
Yasomatinandana: Yes, if I bring him he'll come.
Prabhupada: Not bad.
Yasomatinandana: But he might not come immediately.
Prabhupada: No, no. Don't go to him. This Mayapura incident is a handling of the Communists.
Yasomatinandana: Now there is Communist government there.
Prabhupada: Please try to... Just try to understand. There is a story that a thief entered in a room, and the proprietor, he was in the other room. As soon as there was some sound, he inquired, "Who is there in that room?" The man said, "No, no, I am not stealing." You see? That means he is thief. So this voting board raised the question, "How they are getting visa?" In the Parliament also they are raising the same question. That means it is Communist manipulation, the Mayapura affair. They put forward some Muhammadans because there are many Muhammadan Communist also. They wanted to give a communal color. But the whole thing is Communist plan. And their aim is to wipe out any religious movement. That is their open declaration in other Communist...
Yasomatinandana: This prabhu, Rama-Krishna Prabhu, is very respectable gentleman. So if I take him to see the Home Minister...
Prabhupada: Nice.
Yasomatinandana: That will be very nice.
Prabhupada: Why not? Let him.
Yasomatinandana: Because he can say he has five companies; now he has given his life to Prabhupada.
Prabhupada: But I am sure this Mayapura incident is a Communist plan. That is...
Yasomatinandana: Yes, that is sure.
Prabhupada: There is no doubt.
Prabhupada: Has he brought some books?
Yasomatinandana: I think he has brought First Canto, Part Two, Hindi.
Prabhupada: He is very slow, printing.
Abhirama: Srila Prabhupada? If this point was raised in Parliament, then that man could not be Jyotir Basu. That would be Jyotirmoy Basu. He is M.P. from West Bengal.
Prabhupada: So whatever it may be, it is Communist plan.
Abhirama: But he is expected to make such statements. He is always making so many statements, and no one listens, again and again and again. It is his style. They expect him to...
Prabhupada: So they are their party men.
Tamala Krsna: But we should take advantage of this and say, "Oh, there is an issue there? Then let us investigate." We should take advantage of this.
Prabhupada: Yes. The party should take very serious investigation, and if possible, suspend government for the time being.
Prabhupada: So that will be nice step.
Abhirama: So we should challenge these Communists.
Prabhupada: What you'll challenge? They will challenge. Don't talk of... They say also, "Close this temple."
Tamala Krsna: Yeah. One of the things they raised was they should close this... "This is said to be a temple of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, but actually it is the base of the CIA, American CIA in India, and now it should be closed." And in one newspaper we read that they're proposing that if it's closed, they can use it as a hospital and school. Prabhupada said actually this is their intention, to drive us away and to take the buildings and use it as hospital and school. So they want to kill religion in Bengal. The Janata party is for religion. At least they say so.
Yasomatinandana: This Prabhudas Patwaria is just now in Delhi. I can go today. He already told me that he will take me to the Prime Minister, because he has very good relation with Prime Minister. And he was reading your books in the jail. Prabhudas Patwaria was framed by Indira Gandhi in the dynamite case of George Pramanas. And the George Pramanas was also in same room with him, and he was also reading books.
Yasomatinandana: George Pramanas is minister of railway. And he was with Prabhudas. Prabhudas Patwaria can be a great help now. He's coming here on 30th.
Yasomatinandana: Yes. I'll come with him.
Yasomatinandana: No, I won't go back. I think we should move on these matters. We should do something.
Tamala Krsna: Srila Prabhupada? It seems like there's three things that we're... I'm just wondering... Here's Gopala.
Prabhupada: (laughs) So I thought that unless he brings some book, he won't come. Because every time I criticize him, "Where is the book? Where is the book?"
Prabhupada: Yes. Very nice. So you are being recognized. You are doing good, so he's doing good.
Yasomatinandana: I have got four or five books in Gujarati ready.
Prabhupada: Why not print them?
Gopala Krsna: We're printing them. I was in Ahmedabad last week, and we finalized plans to print those books.
Prabhupada: Print.
Prabhupada: Yes. Oh, yes. Use government paper.
Gopala Krsna: We are going to sell it for sixteen rupees or twenty rupees. Actually our life members love these books.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Gopala Krsna: I was in Calcutta. Adri-dharana Prabhu told me that the Marwaris love it, even in Bombay.
Prabhupada: Yes, the ladies can read at home.
Gopala Krsna: Also, Srila Prabhupada, the cover for First Canto, Part Three, is already printed. I'm going to take 1.3 now, but we've already printed the cover. This is 1.3.
Prabhupada: This I want. Books are coming.
Gopala Krsna: And 1.3 will be ready before the end of August. The cover is already done. The inside end leaf is done. I just have to send...
Gopala Krsna: Well, there's no need at the moment because we print these by offset. If we need more we can...
Prabhupada: All right. Whatever manuscript you have ready, print.
Gopala Krsna: Because it blocks up too much money otherwise, because we don't have much money, and we're going to print five books in Gujarati now, so we just invest the minimum.
Prabhupada: I want to see, whatever manuscript is ready, they should be printed.
Gopala Krsna: Also, Srila Prabhupada, we've come out with Diwali cards this year. These are going to be very, very big. Inside is a message. We are selling hundreds of these. On this BBT will make a very big profit plus the temples will make a profit. We are selling these exclusively to our life members. And on the back is the maha-mantra. I brought you a package with me. This is another sample.
Yasomatinandana: This is going to be very profitable business.
Yasomatinandana: We'll sell it for two rupees to our men.
Yasomatinandana: We'll sell for two rupees.
Prabhupada: Thank you very much.
Gopala Krsna: These are all from your books, and this also advertises your books because on the back it's written, "Painting from..."
Prabhupada: Such and such book.
Gopala Krsna: Yes. I thought that by coming out with these Diwali cards, each temple will make an extra thirty, forty thousand per year, because the BBT will make about a lakh a year extra. It's new income. This is a little start.
Prabhupada: Yasomatinandana will order that set. You can sell.
Gopala Krsna: Yes, each temple I've given them a quota of one lakh cards. I wrote a newsletter to all the temples, and they must do minimum one lakh cards. Plus we're going to export these to New York, London, Los Angeles. They're all interested in these.
Prabhupada: The printing is first class.
Prabhupada: I think the Diwali greeting card dealers also will accept.
Gopala Krsna: Yes, but we are keeping it... Srila Prabhupada, I studied the whole market. It is to our advantage to restrict the sale, because when we deal with dealers or distributors we have to sell them at half the price and allow them to keep their profit. But we want to make this exclusive for life members. Otherwise, if anyone can buy it in a market, it's not such a great prestige.
Prabhupada: No, no, no. You keep...
Gopala Krsna: So this we are showing, as if we are doing the life members a favor. These are just some advanced samples that are printed just to get orders. And plus, anyone who orders more than hundred cards, we will print their name and message inside. And plus, there's a maha-mantra on the back of every... Hundred cards is the minimum order.
Prabhupada: So both consulting, you can see.
Yasomatinandana: Oh, yes, I can sell. I think this will be very successful.
Prabhupada: So far the printing is concerned, there is no question. First class. Very nice.
Prabhupada: Whatever it costs, I don't mind. You make some profit. That's all.
Gopala Krsna: Yes, and actually, all these books that I'm now printing in Hindi, I'm all printing these from the profit of this export order. Even though I have...
Prabhupada: So you have sent the export books?
Gopala Krsna: Yes. I shipped 26,000 books this month. That's why I got delayed. We shipped 21,000 books to Australia and 11,000 to England.
Prabhupada: Bhagavad-gita is...
Gopala Krsna: They got it, and I have a bill of lading. That was a completely bogus letter. I have all the evidence with me. Yes, I've got a bill of lading to show you. Fiji, Mauritius, they've all gone. Plus, I also wrote up a small catalog. This is a very cheap catalog, not like the American. A lot of people write to BBT for brochure or catalog. So this is costing us only about twenty-five paisa but advertises all your books.
Prabhupada: Hindi?
Gopala Krsna: It's in English. Yes. Because a lot of people write to BBT to "Send us your catalog," and if we do a big one, American one, that's very expensive. We can't give it out free. So I wrote a small sixteen... This is for free distribution.
Gopala Krsna: It advertises all your books. Plus, Srila Prabhupada, I had signed a contract with the biggest mail-order house in India, called Mail Order Sales. And this week their full-page advertisement on the Bhagavad-gita is reaching 25,000 households. Their ad wasn't ready, but they are sending it to me in few days. It's a very beautiful ad. They have a monthly newspaper called Mail Order News, and that they've given a whole page. But they pay for it. We give them a straight commission on sales. Just like in America you have Book of the Month Club and selling books by mail. This is very big. Plus we are now doing the Bhaktivedanta Encyclopedia of Vedic Knowledge. We are preparing a brochure just like this. This is a Brittanica Encyclopedia advertisement. So we're going to have your nineteen or twenty Bhagavatams here. The artists are working on it and this is going to be sent to about thirty thousand households. These are just for households, not libraries or anyone, just as selling to businessmen and executives.
Gopala Krsna: Mail Order Sales. It's a company that specializes in mail orders. This will be very good.
Prabhupada: Everything you do, it is... Now, utilize. So one book has come only.
Gopala Krsna: I've got three books. Two you can keep. One... I'll give one to Prem Yogi, Bhakti-prema Maharaja.
Prabhupada: (Hindi) Translator? Anyway, it is the teachings.
Yasomatinandana: (reads Sanskrit verse, Hindi translation)
Prabhupada: Very nice.
Gopala Krsna: Plus, Srila Prabhupada, we're getting ready to print the Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil Gitas. We're going to do the color plates together.
Prabhupada: Next you make Gujarati.
Gopala Krsna: Yes, we're doing the Gujarati Gita. We have five books ready, and London has already ordered five thousand copies.
Prabhupada: So why not print?
Yasomatinandana: Just we have to... The titles are being printed in Bombay.
Prabhupada: That's all right. (indistinct) And Bombay is not far away.
Yasomatinandana: We have Teachings of Lord Caitanya ready, Nectar of Devotion is being ready. Perfection of Yoga is ready.
Prabhupada: Gujarati books will sell very nice all over the world. Gujarati people are all over the world.
Prabhupada: Everywhere they have made colonies. So I am getting very good news, book distribution, from Europe and America.
Prabhupada: And Communist country wonderfully.
Prabhupada: Caitanya-caritamrta. They have sold at least thirty to forty lakhs' worth Caitanya-caritamrta.
Prabhupada: Bengali's price.(?) Still, they are purchasing. This is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy.
Gopala Krsna: It's been raining very, very heavily in Bombay. Because of this, all the ships, everything, have been getting delayed. It's very heavy rainfall. Last seven days it's raining continuously, day and night.
Prabhupada: That is Bombay. Three days, four days raining continually, that is not unusual in Bombay.
Gopala Krsna: We are now printing the small books for Australia also. Hari-sauri just sent me an order for twenty thousand Raja-vidyas...
Prabhupada: Just see.
Gopala Krsna: ...which I'm going to ship by third week of August. August we'll ship thirty thousand small books to Australia.
Prabhupada: No, give first attention to the question, printing.
Prabhupada: Other things you can do, but you... This your only main business. Now do it very pleasingly so that you can... So whatever you have done, it is very pleasing.
Gopala Krsna: Also we are now going to have big distributors who are ready to take on our books, and we're going to have them distribute our Hindi, Gujarati books all over India. Plus, you know, those railway stands? We're going to come out with a plastic, small bag type, with six pockets in it, and it's going to say, "Bhaktivedanta Yoga Library." We're going to have Beyond Birth and Death, Perfection of Yoga, in Hindi, and in Gujarati areas, Gujarati books. We'll have a complete selection of yoga books. I've been speaking to many distributors, and yoga books are very popular in India. I was also thinking, I have this book all ready, The Scientific Basis of Krsna Consciousness. I wanted to change the name to The Scientific Basis of Bhakti-yoga in Hindi. Just by replacing "Krsna Consciousness" with "Bhakti-yoga," the appeal will broaden because people are buying books just...
Prabhupada: You can.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes.
Gopala Krsna: I have it all ready. So all I have to do is just change the front page, The Scientific Basis of Bhakti...
Prabhupada: You consult among you. So I want to see simply distribution of books in any language. That I want.
Prabhupada: Gujarati. Gujarati you can send anywhere. It will be... Any outside, in outside, outside India, any country, Gujaratis are thereAfrica, Europe, America. Africa is Gujarati country. England. England also. All the guests we receive from pandals.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Prabhupada: Eighty percent, they're from Gujarat.
Yasomatinandana: One boy just came from Toronto, and he said that now they have a team of Indian people. They get on the phone. They have one festival every month. And these five or six Indian people call up all the Indian people, and one thousand people gather every festival. And it is just one little town.
Prabhupada: They have got life now. The Indians, on account of this movement, they have got life. They were forlorn, completely cut off from Indian culture. Now they have got it.
Gopala Krsna: Srila Prabhupada, I was in Ahmedabad last week. The farm that Bhogilal Patel gave, it's beautiful.
Prabhupada: Yes, he has made this.
Gopala Krsna: Very beautiful. I think it's even more beautiful than Hyderabad. It's hundred acres compared to six hundred acres, but all hundred acres is cultivable. And secondly, it is not far from the city. It is only like from Juhu to Churchgate. It's even less than that.
Yasomatinandana: Eight miles.
Prabhupada: It is nothing.
Gopala Krsna: Nothing. It took us fifteen minutes by scooter to get that. So I suggested to Yaso that we should make that farm like New Vrindaban. Let us build a temple there...
Prabhupada: Yes.
Prabhupada: No, city should be... Make there.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes. There is no need of... City does not need temple. If there is a good temple fifteen miles, that is...
Prabhupada: Yes.
Prabhupada: Yes. They will pay for that.
Yasomatinandana: Two, three members already told me.
Prabhupada: Three, four rooms, one cottage. They will come and live comfortably.
Prabhupada: So Krsna has given this facility.
Prabhupada: It is not at all. It is within city. Eight miles is within. If you go to see some friend, you have to go eight miles.
Prabhupada: This farm...
Prabhupada: Very good.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes. Prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama. There is no distinction that you have to make in the city. Nagaradi grama. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's...
Yasomatinandana: And it is our experience that in the city hardly fifteen, twenty people come. But in the village, hundred fifty, two hundred come, even though the temple is...
Prabhupada: You can make an ideal place. Very good.
Gopala Krsna: Yes. Very good temple. And actually the farm is worth five or six lakhs' rupees. All surroundings all good. And another good thing I found was in Hyderabad the neighboring villagers were against us when we went there, but here they're all favorable. They all say "Hare Krsna." When you walk, they greet you enthusiastically.
Prabhupada: Gujarati people are Vaisnava by nature.
Yasomatinandana: One boy that is there, they invite him for prasada, and then they fan him.
Prabhupada: Do it nicely. All facilities will come.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Prabhupada: Weekly visitors. Two-rooms cottage.
Prabhupada: And it will cost not more than fifteen thousand, two-room cottage.
Yasomatinandana: Now we will organize. Just now we had to rush everything.
Prabhupada: No. No, no. Don't make it a rush.
Yasomatinandana: Because we had no facilities there.
Prabhupada: No, you can prepare bricks. By brick... Make in such a way that we get local supplies.
Prabhupada: Bricks and tiles... Local potter can make that round tile. Make a brick that... And you have got bamboo. Take local supply as far as possible.
Gopala Krsna: Only thing is if we put some electricity there. But after this year's crop they're going to do it, because...
Prabhupada: Government will help you.
Prabhupada: No. It is complete government.(?) Where is that book? Very nicely done.
Prabhupada: Nobody can say it is Indian.
Gopala Krsna: You can't say it's printed in India. Actually even our export quality now is very good. Actually there's a plastic coating on the top.
Prabhupada: You cannot imagine that India has published.
Gopala Krsna: The First Canto Bhagavatam which you printed in India were... Also we are keeping the cost low. This is very, very important. This whole book, Srila Prabhupada, we've done within eight rupees, fifty paisa, which is quite reasonable. (end)
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/conversations/1977/jul/vrndavana/july/27/1977 Previous: Room Conversation Gaurasundara, Dr. Kapoor -- July 26, 1977, Vrndavana Next: Meeting With Governor of Tamil Nadu -- July 31, 1977, Vrndavana
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