Srila Prabhupada’s Bombay Pastimes with Bhakti Charu Swami and Tamal Krishna Goswami—Part 05

Giriraj Swami: So, one chapter of the history of Srila Prabhupada in Bombay that was not really covered is the fight for the permission to build. After Srila Prabhupada succeeded in getting the land, transferred it to the name of ISKCON, there was still another major fight to get the permission to build, because Mr. Mhatre’s friend, who was the municipal councilor for the Juhu area, Mr. Mhatre; Srila Prabhupada said that he harbored a very deep grudge against us because he also wanted the land. And when in the end we got it, he was extremely angry and he was determined to give us as much trouble as possible, give Srila Prabhupada as much trouble as possible.

So, we’ll read some poems by His Holiness Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, and then we’ll comment. It’s called, The Fight for the Permission to Build.

One battle won,
another followed
You owned the land
But could not build
The police commissioner said,
“They will grant permission
as soon as the city agrees,”
and the city said that
they were waiting to hear
from the police.
Devotees went from one to other,
sometimes held for three hours in the waiting room,
before being given
another non conclusion.

There are so many government departments. So, the municipal corporation said that they will only give permission if we get a no objection certificate from the police. And finally, the police refused to give the certificate, and the police commissioner sent a letter, giving the reason that the kirtan which had been a nuisance in the past would continue to be a nuisance.

Srila Prabhupada actually got the news at the time of the Mayapur-Vrindavan festival, and he was furious that the police commissioner had called the kirtan a nuisance, and every day, he talked about it on the morning walk and in his room. And seeing all the devotees who had come to India for the festival, he decided that they should all come to Bombay and we should have a massive protest against the police commissioner.

So, after the Vrindavan part of the festival, Srila Prabhupada brought all the devotees to Bombay, and he was saying, “We will do a protest.” In India, they have one form of protest called satyagraha, where they sit down outside the officer’s office and maybe sing songs or whatever, they don’t move. And Srila Prabhupada was saying, “We will do satyagraha,” and that the real problem is that the people are not Krishna conscious. So, he said, “We should have festivals in every part of the city of Bombay and make the people Krishna conscious. And when the people see how nice Krishna consciousness is, how beneficial Krishna consciousness is, then they themselves will protest back to the police commissioner.”

So, Srila Prabhupada was very inspired to protest and preach. But when the time came and he discussed this subject on the morning walk, he raised the point, “We are in a foreign country and if the government doesn’t like us, they can ask to leave,” and then he quoted the saying, “Do not pick a fight with a crocodile while in the jurisdiction of the water.” In other words, the crocodile is at home in the water, and if you try to fight with the crocodile in the water, his position is strong and your position is weak. So, he was saying that we are foreigners in India, so if they don’t like us, if they think we are causing too much trouble, they can just ask us to leave.

So, Srila Prabhupada modified his position, but he still wanted us to preach and have programs, and he was very concerned that all of the devotees should be engaged because he brought so many devotees. So, he said, “All day long, the devotees should sit in the temple and sometimes do kirtan, sometimes read from one book, then do bhajans, then read from another book. And in this way, they should be constantly engaged.”

So, at the end of the first day, Srila Prabhupada called the leaders, maybe Tamal Krishna Goswami, and he said, “So, how was the program in the temple?” And Tamal Krishna Goswami replied, “Well, frankly speaking, Srila Prabhupada, hardly any devotees came.” Then, Srila Prabhupada said, “No, this is not good. Everyone must be engaged. Tomorrow, they must attend the programs in the temple. They should spend the whole day.”

So, the next day, we announced that Srila Prabhupada wanted everyone to be engaged. He wanted them to be in the temple and sometimes discuss his books and sometimes chant Hare Krishna. So, a few more devotees came, and at the end of the day, Srila Prabhupada asked for the report, and again, we had to give the report, “Frankly speaking, Srila Prabhupada, not so many devotees came, and many of the devotees that came left after some time, and many of the ones who stayed fell asleep.”

So, Srila Prabhupada became very concerned and he said, “You tell them tomorrow that I want everyone to be fully engaged all day, and if they aren’t proper, if they can’t chant and hear in the temple, never mind. Let them admit that they are sudras and let them work in the garden all day. But everyone must be engaged.”

So, we met some of the government leaders, we had some programs, we gathered some support, but ultimately, Srila Prabhupada didn’t want to leave the devotees in India any longer, so he let them return to America and the places they had come from. Then, Srila Prabhupada drafted a letter to the police commissioner, and he wanted it to be signed by us, and the letter was brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

And Srila Prabhupada wrote to the police commissioner, “Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ, Bhagavad-gītā recommends that there should always be kirtan. But, somehow or other, some people consider that kirtan is a nuisance. And who are these people?” Actually, it was the police commissioner, but he was writing to the police commissioner [Unintelligible 00:24:13], and he was asking the police commissioner to give us protection from such people.

So, he wrote, “Bhagavad-gītā is accepted by every human being, and Bhagavad-gītā says satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ, that one should always do kirtan. But some people are saying that kirtan is a nuisance. Who are such people?” Then, Srila Prabhupada quoted Bhagavad-gītā,

TEXT 15

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
prapadyante narādhamāḥ
māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ

COMMENT

So, he said, “The fools and rascals, they don’t surrender to Krishna, and they don’t like Krishna kirtan. But you are like the king.” He was addressing the police commissioner, and the police can, in the ideal position, which he should actually occupy. And then he said, “Traditionally, the administrators and government would give protection to the innocent citizens from such fools and rascals. So, we are appealing to you. We are humble devotees. We are appealing to you to please give us protection from all such fools and rascals and allow the kirtan to go on in the temple.”

Srila Prabhupada had us sign the letter and deliver it to the police commissioner’s office. There was no reply from the police commissioner, so after some days, he asked us to meet the police commissioner’s secretary and find out. So, we went, and we inquired, “Did you give our letter to the commissioner?” And he said, “Yes.” Then, he said that the police commissioner considered it to be the best letter he had ever gotten. He was impressed and he said that he had never received such a letter before. But still, he wasn’t giving the permission.

Then, by Krishna’s arrangement or by Prabhupada’s will, His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami came to India as GBC, and he and I started working on getting the permission, and we were meeting one politician after another, one government officer after another, and we were not getting any help, not getting any help at all.

Then, one life member told me, “By the way, the mayor of Bombay had been speaking very favorably about you. And we also heard some reports that the Chief Minister,” which is the highest position in the state, “Had been asked about you by the press.” Because alongside the political war, there was also a propaganda war, and Mr. Mhatre was making so much propaganda against us, and getting articles published, and so on. So, one newspaper reporter asked the Chief Minister about the Hare Krishna movement, and he said, “People say so many bad things about them, but I don’t believe what they say. I think they are good people.”

So, we became very encouraged and we decided to go straight to the Chief Minister, and he received us in his office very graciously. He got up from his chair, he offered us seats, he was very receptive and respectful. [Unintelligible 00:29:11] and he said, “Don’t worry, I will help you.” Then, overnight, literally overnight, the news went out that the Chief Minister was in favor of us. And from top to bottom, the attitude of everyone in every department completely changed. All the people who were so mean and nasty to us suddenly became nice.

And it turned out that above the police commissioner is the Inspector General of the police. And the Inspector General of the police comes in the home department, and the head of the home department is the home secretary. So, because now we were at the top with the Chief Minister, the Chief Minister called in the home secretary and said, “What is this?” Then, he said, “Well, we have reports they are CIA. We have reports that they are going to store bombs in the basement of the temple,” and so many absurd complaints. The Chief Minister became very angry. And the home secretary said, “They are accused of so many things.” And the Chief Minister said, “Let us see who is accused of what.” Anyways, he said, “I don’t want any more nonsense. I want the commissioner to be corrected.”

Then, now that the door was open, it turned out that Mr. Mhatre was himself clever enough. Although he was just a municipal councilor in the city government, he became very close to the chief secretary to the whole state of Maharashtra, and he was only filling his ears with bad propaganda against us. Anyway, the Chief Minister was convinced, and eventually, the permission to build was granted, the construction began.

Srila Prabhupada said he wanted the temple built in six months. Anyway, finally, it was completed in about two and a half years, which by ordinary standards is a miracle. Nobody can believe that such a huge complex, which had very special architectural features, could be completed in such a short time, and also within such a small budget. So, by Srila Prabhupada’s potency, so many things were done in a very fast time, in a very wonderful way.

Then, you heard how after Gaura-purnima, in 1977, Srila Prabhupada wanted to come to Bombay to preach. And when he arrived at Hare Krishna Land, His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami was with Srila Prabhupada when Srila Prabhupada had arrived. So, now we shall hear him say.

So, very quickly, the devotees cleaned the quarters and made it livable for Srila Prabhupada, but it wasn’t really finished. And in the meantime, we had arranged the program in Azad Maidan in Downton Bombay. So, Srila Prabhupada said that he can’t really go from Juhu to Bombay every day, so he will stay at [Unintelligible 00:37:01] house during the duration of the pandal, and at the end of the program, he will come back, and in the meantime, they can complete the quarters. So, he did so. Actually, the pandal was quite popular, in a way, and we extended it. Finally, Srila Prabhupada came back to Juhu, and the quarters were quite renovated.

I just want to tell one anecdote about how merciful Srila Prabhupada was, how kind Srila Prabhupada was, because [Unintelligible 00:37:45] has told how Mr. Sethy has encouraged the devotees in the beginning by organizing hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, and prasāda, and so on. And then, when we actually got the land, Mr. Sethy built some quarters for the devotees on the land. He added one floor on top of each of the buildings at the back of the land, which were occupied by tenants.

So, when the additional floor was almost finished, Mr. Sethy took Srila Prabhupada on a tour, and Srila Prabhupada liked the quarters very much. He said that every morning, brahmacharis should wash everything off the floor, and they should wash the floor with water. He gave some advice, and then he told Mr. Sethy, “Just as you are building these rooms for my disciples here, Krishna is building your room in Vaikuntha.” So, Srila Prabhupada had a very wonderful relationship with Mr. Sethy.

So, finally, when Srila Prabhupada’s quarters were finished, nicely furnished and decorated, Mr. Sethy came to see, and Srila Prabhupada said, “Just see what my disciples have done for me. Such beautiful quarters and beautiful furniture.” He was showing all the special features. And then, he said, “Mr. Sethy, I was always asking you to come and join me, and you are always saying that you cannot accept so much austerity. So, I think now, you should come and stay here. You should come and stay in my quarters, and I will stay somewhere else.” Then, Mr. Sethy said, “No, no, Srila Prabhupada. They have made these for you. You should stay here.” Then, Srila Prabhupada said, “No, no. I am a sannyasi. I can stay anywhere. You should stay here.”

So, Mr. Sethy was part of the regular saṅkīrtana group, and they would meet every Sunday, and for twelve hours, they would chant Hare Krishna kirtan from six in the morning to six in the evening. And then, from about six in the evening to eight in the evening, they would sing songs about Radha and Krishna in Vrindavan. All the songs were about Srimati Radharani.

So, during Srila Prabhupada’s last visit to Bombay, they did kirtan in the small temple, and Srila Prabhupada was so pleased with the kirtan. He was listening, and the devotees in the kirtan were just thinking of Srila Prabhupada. They were singing for him, and Srila Prabhupada was just thinking of them. And they wanted to come and see Srila Prabhupada, but the lift was not working and they couldn’t miss the kirtan. And Srila Prabhupada wanted to come and see them, but he was too ill and the lift was not working.

So, they kept singing louder and louder with more and more feelings of love for Srila Prabhupada. And he also, from his heart, was reciprocating, but he couldn’t do anything to meet them. Then, Mr. Sethy suggested, “Why don’t you come to the balcony? Then you can give them darshan from the balcony.” So, he came to the balcony, and they all stood up from the temple and came under the balcony and Haribol! Haribol! And it was wonderful. Then, after some time, Srila Prabhupada went back and they continued doing kirtan.

And then, in the end, after the Hare Krishna kirtan part, one lady wished to sing this famous song about Radha and Krishna at the end, and Srila Prabhupada was just sitting and listening, and tears were streaming from his eyes as he was listening. Then, the next day, Srila Prabhupada told Mr. Sethy, “I want them to always stay here and sing Hare Krishna. I will build accommodations for all of them, and I will take care of all of them, whatever they need. But they should simply sit down and chant Hare Krishna all day long.” Then, Mr. Sethy said that they are householders. Prabhupada was so pleased to have them there.

Then, the next morning, he called me and said, “So, what did you think of the kirtan?” I said, “Very nice.” He said, “We should do this every day, at least twelve hours continuously. Every devotee should just sit in the temple and chant Hare Krishna.” So, I said, “Srila Prabhupada, the devotees have so many other duties. I don’t think they can sit in the temple all day, every day.” But I said, “I think they can do it on Sunday.” Then, immediately, Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, every Sunday, they should have no other work. They should just sit in the temple and chant Hare Krishna.”

Later on, in Srila Prabhupada’s last days in Vrindavan, I learned from Tamal Krishna Goswami about transcendental bargaining. I wasn’t able to know it myself, but His Holiness explained it to me, and he said, “Sometimes Srila Prabhupada will ask for more than he actually wants or expects, so that we will offer more than we might have offered if he has asked for less. And thus, by transcendental bargaining, he will get us to agree to what he wants.”

So, when Tamal Krishna Goswami explained this to me later, I thought that probably, Srila Prabhupada just wanted us to do continuous kirtan on Sunday, but if he would have said, “Just do continuous kirtan on Sunday,” then I might have said, “Well, we have so many other duties, and this and that. We will do it for two hours.” But instead, he said, “You should do it for twelve hours every day.” Then, I said, “Not twelve hours every day, but we can do it on Sunday.” Then, immediately, he agreed.

So, anyways, Srila Prabhupada was in his new quarters in March and April. Then, as you know, Ramkrishna [Unintelligible 00:46:06] came and suggested that he go to Rishikesh. And initially, his health seemed to improve, but then, it seemed to get worse. And it was a very stormy night, something like today, and many inauspicious omens.

Then, finally, Srila Prabhupada decided that he is not going to live much longer, and he wants to go to Vrindavan and spend his last days in Vrindavan. After some time in Vrindavan, His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami suggested Prabhupada should go to the West, and Prabhupada agreed, and he went to London. And he was supposed to go to America also, but in London, he developed the desire to return to India. So, His Holiness Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Swami Maharaja came, and Srila Prabhupada confided in him, he said, “I want you to help me. I want you to take me back to India, back to Bombay.”

So, another time, Srila Prabhupada was offering very feeling prayers to the Deities in London, and one devotee asked him, “Srila Prabhupada, what were you praying?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “I was praying to Sri Sri Radha-Londonishwar to engage me in the service of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari.” So, he wanted to come back to Bombay, he wanted to see the temple open, and so the devotees brought him back to Bombay.