Caring for Krishna’s Devotees—Inauguration of the Mitra Program—with Mumbai Devotees

Giriraj Swami: Today is a very blessed occasion, a very joyful occasion for me because my desire that the devotees should be cared for is being fulfilled or at least a great step is being taken forward in the fulfillment of that desire for the devotees to be cared for which means not only will the present devotees be encouraged in their spiritual lives but it means that it will be easier for more and more new devotees to come and also feel encouraged and cared for in their spiritual lives and thus the family of devotees of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada will increase which will please them very much. 

It is also a great occasion for rejoicing because it has been a desire of mine based on a direct instruction from Srila Prabhupada’s that I write and specifically about the history of Juhu. On the night that the conveyance for the land was actually signed—that was also a major event—so afterwards there was a small celebration and a little feast. There were only maybe twenty devotees altogether—temple devotees and congregation—and at the end of it in his room Srila Prabhupada reclined against the bolster on his asana and he said, “It was a good fight.” And then he said, “Someone should write a book about it.” So I took it that I was meant to do that. Of course Satsvarupa dasa Goswami has done a wonderful service in Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta but even his main secretary, Baladeva Vidyabhusana dasa, after conducting many interviews with me and seeing the final version in Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, he also said, “You have to write your book because there was so much that couldn’t be told in Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta.”

Just three days ago His Holiness Radhanath Swami came to Carpinteria to visit me for a couple of days and His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu was staying with me now—he has been here for a week and he will be here for another week—and Bhurijana Prabhu mentioned how devotees don’t really know the sacrifice that the early devotees made to establish the facilities that they are now enjoying. They have no idea. His Holiness Radhanath Swami, he always asks me, and he asked. . . he already asked me what’s happening with the book about Srila Prabhupada and Juhu and then separately Bhurijana Prabhu mentioned how devotees have no idea of how the early disciples had to struggle to establish Krishna consciousness, to establish the facilities that they may take for granted. And then His Holiness Radhanath Swami said, “Yes, the Juhu book will help to educate devotees, make them aware of the sacrifice that the early disciples made. They can’t even imagine the austerities that the early disciples underwent.” 

So that is a very, very important service and it is one that I foresee taking up in Mumbai in Juhu but I can really only do it if I feel that my disciples and aspiring disciples are being taken care of otherwise I will be worried about them. I can’t really ignore their needs. I want them to be taken care of but at the same time how much can one person do. So it seemed that this system which we are calling the Mitra Devotee Care System was the solution. It was a way that devotees could be taken care of; they could be peaceful and happy in their spiritual lives; enthusiastic in their service which in turn will encourage me and at the same time I would have a free mind to work on this important service of writing about Srila Prabhupada in Juhu and other services for the benefit of the devotees, the benefit of the movement, the benefit of the world. So for me it is a milestone that we are launching this program today. 

I must express my gratitude and appreciation to Sridham and Kishore because they have also spent a lot of time helping to train devotees in the system of devotee care and in the role of being a mitra or a mentor or a counselor and of course the devotees themselves who were trained, they have also put in a lot of effort, and all of you who have come today and who will be participating in the program. This is really our test. As Srila Prabhupada said, “Your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate together.” So the mitra system will require tremendous cooperation. Cooperation is difficult. In that simple instruction, “Your love for me will be shown by how much you cooperate,” there is a deep meaning because usually we have difficulty cooperating because of false ego. Our false egos clash and so we get upset, we may want to withdraw, or we may want to take revenge—all sorts of things come up—which are really very serious obstacles in our spiritual lives, in our spiritual progress. So this system—and not only this system but Krishna consciousness in general—works when we are in the mood of being the servant of servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna: gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ. That is the only way that we can really make progress in devotional service and that is our constitutional position: jīvera svarūpa haya kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa’—we are servants.

When His Holiness Radhanath Swami was here earlier in the week he quoted a beautiful section from Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata where Vrindavan dasa Thakura says that there are different titles—king, emperor, perfect yogi, realized soul—there are so many different titles that we can give to a person but the highest title of all is dasa or dasi—servant. And he said that Srila Prabhupada gave us that title in our names—dasa—and that is the most exalted title that anyone can have, more than president, prime minister, king, or emperor. But he said although we have that title we are not really there. We have the title but we are not really there. We are not really fully in the mood of being servant. We still have those desires to be the master and control and enjoy and possess but that is the highest: dasa or dasi.

So this system is meant to encourage that mood of service—gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ—-and in that mood the system will work beautifully and our spiritual lives will develop wonderfully. So the mentor, he is in the mood, he is the servant of the servant, and the mentees are also in the mood, being the servant of the servant, and Sridham Prabhu and Kishore Mataji who are helping guide us in this effort, they are also in the mood of being the servant of the servant, and I am trying to be in the mood of being the servant of the servant of the servant, and in that mood our hearts will be purified. All of our activities of chanting and hearing, everything will become relishable when we are in that mood of being the servant of the servants of servants because we won’t be committing offenses. 

The reason we get stuck and don’t make advancement is because we are committing offenses. Of course some people may just have busy lives and not be able to chant their sixteen rounds and read Srila Prabhupada’s books and attend the morning program or have a morning program at home, but even devotees who do chant sixteen rounds and read Srila Prabhupada’s books and attend the morning program at the temple or have a morning program at home, they may also not develop properly because of committing offenses. But if we develop that mood of being dasa, dasi, dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ, then we won’t commit offenses and our hearts will be clean. We will be peaceful and we will be able to chant and hear nicely and preach nicely and bring others to Krishna consciousness and help them along the way.

So what Srila Prabhupada has given us appears very simple and in a way it is simple. To chant is simple, to read is simple, to dance, to take prasāda, these activities are very easy to perform and they are enjoyable but to really get the full benefit we have to be in the proper mood of being the servant of the servants of the servants and be free from offense especially offending devotees. That is the worst offense, vaiṣṇava-aparādha. It is a mad elephant offense; it creates havoc with our devotional creepers.

I am very encouraged. As I mentioned, Sridham Prabhu and Kishore Mataji and the other devotees involved in the effort have put in a lot of work. We have a Mitra Devotee Care manual that we have prepared for you. Bhakta Carl and I have worked on it many, many hours. We have considered very carefully each and every word in that manual but the manual is just a brief description of the program—there are so many details—but each and every word has been considered with great care so that it really expresses what we want to say in a way that you can understand it and implement it. In this effort we will become a very close family and that is what people want, they want a sense of family, they want a sense of belonging. As Kali-yuga progresses and as Kali. . .Kali means quarrel; Kali-yuga means the age of quarrel. Quarrel is so prominent that it enters everywhere. It enters in families. There is quarrel between husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters—it is everywhere. It can even enter into religious institutions. But that can be overcome by constant, attentive chanting, and hearing, and service in the mood of being the servant of the servant of the servant. And then when we have that beautiful family atmosphere everyone will want to join because that is what everyone is looking for. 

I remember in an early discussion I had with His Holiness Radhanath Swami when there were at that time a dozen counselors and everyone in the congregation knew everyone else and he said that his main focus is to give people a good experience of Krishna consciousness. Of course we can get their names, their phone numbers, their e-mail addresses, and phone them and write them and encourage them to come again, but if they have a wonderful experience when they come then they themselves will want to come again. And he said that one of the main motives, one of the main things that people are looking for, if not the main thing, is something that they can all do as a family that will keep them together as a family. And he said when they come the temple and they can see that this is something that we can all do—the children, the parents, the grandparents, they can all chant Hare Krishna, they can all join the kirtan, they can all see the Deities, they can all hear the lecture, they can all take prasāda—it is something they can all do together and be happy together as a family. And that family happiness of the individual family expands in the association of devotees and the whole society of devotees becomes like a family and that is really what people want so much and that is also Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission that the family of devotees should increase. 

So this system. . . of course this system is not automatic. This system will work according to how devotees who are working within the system are sincere and dedicated and intelligent and selfless in their mood but it is a format that will allow the best in each of us to come out. It will encourage the best in each of us to come out. 

And there are problems. We are in the material world and there are always problems and we need help, we often need help to solve our problems. We may need advice how to approach a situation or we may need practical help. I wanted to take care of my disciples and aspiring disciples but I needed help and so Sridham Prabhu and Kishore Mataji and the different devotees who have undergone the training they came forward to help me. So we all need help and that is the meaning of cooperation; we help each other. 

This is such a deep experience of working together in that mood of cooperation of being the servant of the servant of the servant for the pleasure of guru and Gauranga and the other Vaishnavas and Krishna, Radha-Rasabihari, Radha-Gopinatha, Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra, Gaura-Nitai. This is our real life and it is eternal. It is not that, “Oh, well, I have to be the servant of the servant here but then when I get to the spiritual world I become the master.” This is our constitutional position. What we are doing here is going to continue in the spiritual world. We are practicing being the servant of the servant here but when we are in the spiritual world, guess what, we are going to be the servant of the servants of the servants there. And not only that, but the same people who are in the room right now who we are viewing spiritually or materially to different degrees, those very same people if they are successful in Krishna consciousness and we hope that they will be and we expect that they will be, guess what, the very same people that are in this room now are going to be in the spiritual world with you. If you don’t like some of the people in the room, that could be a real problem because you may have to be with them eternally. So it is better not to see them in a conditioned way or in a mundane way but to see them in their true essence which is servants of the servants of the servants of Krishna and specifically in the line of Srila Prabhupada and our Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradāya.

So yes, it is not that okay we are in the system now and then we are going to graduate. Yes, you will graduate in the sense that you will come to more purified levels of service but the activities will be the same. We are still going to be chanting and hearing about Krishna, glorifying Krishna and serving Krishna and His devotees. It will be the exact same activities only the consciousness will be more purified and we’ll feel ecstasy in being the servant of the servant of the servant in giving pleasure to Krishna and His devotees by being their humble servants.

Again this is an occasion of great joy for me. I see so many of Srila Prabhupada’s desires on the threshold of being fulfilled; his desires that all of you progress together as a family based on love and trust and his desire that someone write a book about him and the struggles in Juhu and his desire that more people will come to Krishna’s family to the family of devotees in ISKCON and so it is a great occasion for celebration.

Hare Krishna.

Do any of you have any questions or comments?

I could add one thing and that is that in the Mitra training course there were devotees who were trained but for different reasons were not ready to take up the role of mitras now but they can continue their training and in the future they may take up the role of mitras or some other role in the system that will be very valuable to the devotees and similarly there are other devotees who are not in the initial training perhaps because they were burdened with other responsibilities and commitments otherwise they are certainly worthy candidates to be trained and engaged in the system. And so as time goes on so many of the mentees will in turn become mentors but of course it shouldn’t be a matter of personal ambition—that is not the idea to climb the ladder and get to the top but the idea is to go lower, become more and more and more humble, more the servant of the servant of the servant and that will be our qualification.

There is one story about Srila Prabhupada in Mayapur that one disciple came to meet him and the disciple was complaining about the management, just complaining about the way things were being done in Mayapur. So it appears that Srila Prabhupada told him, “Well, if you think you can do better, why don’t you do it.” And somehow the disciple came out of the meeting with Srila Prabhupada and told the devotees that, “Srila Prabhupada wanted me to become the temple commander,” and so he started to boss around all the other devotees, giving them orders. So then some of the other devotees went to Srila Prabhupada and complained that, “This person says you made him the temple commander. Now he is bossing us all around and shouting orders at us.” And Prabhupada said to that devotee that, “First you become the servant of everyone then you become the temple commander.” 

So rising up if you want to use that term, rising up in Krishna consciousness means feeling oneself to be lower and lower and lower, the servant of the servant of the servant—the last one at the bottom—the servant of all.

Once Srila Prabhupada gave a talk on varnashrama-dharma, it was I believe in the context of a press conference but in any case a reporter asked Srila Prabhupada that, “Okay, you have been talking about these higher and lower categories so what are you? I suppose you are at the top,” like he was promoting a system that would allow him to be at the top of it. “So what are you? I suppose you are the highest.” And very humbly Srila Prabhupada looked down and he said, “I am the lowest. I am the servant of all of them.”

So that was Prabhupada’s mood, that is the mood of a Vaishnava and that is the mood we want to develop and in that mood we can do real service to guru and Krishna and Vaishnavas and make real advancement. And in that mood of service, if we really want to serve the devotees, Krishna will fulfill our desires, we will get more and more service, more and more responsibility, and we may get some designation like mitra or mentor or counselor but the highest designation is dasa and we should always keep that in mind. But on a practical level we want all of you to come up and take more responsibility and be trained and share what you are learned from others with newer devotees or even peers. 

As mentioned in my letter and has been mentioned in discussions, we need all sorts of nourishing relationships. One sort of nourishing relationship is with a more senior devotee, a more advanced. Like I am a mentee and someone is my mentor—that is a very important relationship—but it is also very important that we have nourishing relationships with peers, with our fellow god-brothers and godsisters. And it is also important that we extend ourselves to help those who are more junior. Those relationships are also nourishing. So we need all of those different types of relationships and again the Mitra Devotee Care System will provide that opportunity for all of us. So it is a really, really very well designed system. It is not static—it is dynamic or it should be ecstatic—and don’t be caught up with designations but appreciate the inner mood of being the servant of the servant of the servant and trying to help all the other devotees in their service whatever it may be. Hare Krishna.

Any other questions or comments?

Hari-priya dasi: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja. Guru Maharaja, first of all it is so wonderful to have this launch of this new program which as you mentioned you had originally wanted it to happen and actually for us also it is like a dream come true. Many of us always wanted that this should happen and somehow or the other it wasn’t happening. So by your mercy it has happened today; it just started today by your mercy. We want it to be a very, very successful program. We have understood today by your talk and more we will know by the manual. I guess it will be distributed to us after some time but we understood the significance and the importance of this program but could you give us a little idea of how exactly it will function.

Giriraj Swami: I think what I will do is there is basically the general idea which I have explained the general purpose and then within the system there will be mitras. As you know mitra means “friend” or in one place Srila Prabhupada translated it as an “affectionate benefactor.” So there will be mitras and there will be mentees. Mitra means “mentor” and mentee means one who is being mentored. Every two weeks there will be a meeting with the mentor or mitra with his mentees and there is a specific format for the meeting. I can actually read it to you.

Begin with kirtan or bhajans. Then one of the mentees, like each meeting the mitra or mentor will assign a mentee a topic to give a short presentation on in the next meeting. So that is very good, everyone will be given that chance or responsibility to prepare a presentation which will give them experience in studying on the topic and it will also give them experience in speaking to an audience—not a big audience but speaking to an audience.

So then there will be sharing of the mentee’s realizations and then there will be a discussion—this is very important—a discussion on chanting, sadhana, service, and Vaishnava etiquette. So there will be training. 

I remember again very early on when maybe there were a dozen counselors at Chowpatty, I attended one of the meetings of the counselors and in that meeting it came out that their main purpose was to help the devotees in their japa. That was their main goal and so they discussed how to help the devotees with their japa and of course now the subject of chanting attentively has been discussed more widely than it had been then but even then they were discussing, “Well, some of the counselees chant their japa while sitting in front of the television or some of the counselees chant their japa while doing housework,” and they were saying it is very delicate subjects sometimes to bring up these topics. “We don’t want to offend anyone or upset anyone but at the same time we do want to tell them what the standard is and help them come to the standard.”

So there was that discussion. That was their main focus how to help the devotees with their japa and in broader terms with their sadhana, with their service, and in Vaishnava etiquette. And then a discussion of non-personal problems. Say someone has a problem with their japa or someone has a problem in their service which wouldn’t involve discussing personal things about individual devotees, so those can be discussed. Like how to find time to chant my rounds in the morning. That could be personal or not depending on how specific it is. Or just different questions. And then kirtan. 

And then those meetings will last about an hour and a half. Prasāda can be served after that, one and a half hours, and it can be. . . those programs can be held by turn at different mentees homes. So different mentees get the chance to host the program and that is the mentee meeting.

But then apart from that there will be personal one-on-one counseling of the mitra or mentor and mentee. So that is sort of the basic idea. There is a section in the manual called Frequently Asked Questions and I think there is a couple that I think will be very helpful. It will be a little repetition but it is okay because it is new.

What is the role of a mitra?

A mitra is an individual who selflessly assists and guides another person’s spiritual development. A mitra can act in many capacities including as role model, guide, tutor, coach, or confidante. Mitras enrich lives by listening, by sharing their experiences, by giving advice, and through examples from their lives.

How Does It Work?

Up to twenty-five devotees meet as a group with their mitra every two weeks and they also meet with their mitra individually. The mitras meet as a group once every month. The fortnightly meeting between a mitra and his or her mentees is known as a mentee meeting which I just described and the monthly between mentors is known as the mitra group meeting.

So the mitras, they also get together once a month to share their challenges, realizations, successes, and to help themselves.

Sridham dasa: Sorry to interrupt you, Maharaja, but Vrindavan Bihari’s mother is leaving her body at any time. So his wife Prema Manjari just wants to speak with you and she will have to leave because his mother is in the hospital leaving her body any time.

Giriraj Swami: All right.

Prema Manjari dasi: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja. I just got a message, my husband is in the hospital and he said that I can come and visit her for the last few minutes. So I would like to take your leave and sorry for the inconvenience.

Giriraj Swami: You can take your leave and we will all pray for your mother. I think it is very auspicious. She will get the benefit of the whole group’s prayers.

Prema Manjari dasi: I think it is a very auspicious situation that she is leaving at this time.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. After we speak a little more we will sing the Nṛsiṁha prayers especially for her and Hare Krishna maha-mantra especially for her. I remember your mother’s departure—that was very auspicious, extremely auspicious—and that was really instrumental in bringing your whole family closer together with us and Krishna consciousness.

Prema Manjari dasi: It is all by your mercy, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: All right. My blessings and best wishes to her and to all of your family. Hare Krishna.

Maybe we should sing those Nṛsiṁha prayers right now. I think that is important.

Devotee: We will call Vrindavan Bihari Prabhu and he can put his phone on speaker so he can hear.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, and I will speak with her too.

Hare Krishna Mataji. It is Giriraj Swami. We understand that you may be preparing to leave and we are very hopeful that your transition will be smooth and you will go to a better place where you can serve Krishna and Radha. You have led a full life but most important you have a wonderful son like Vrindavan Bihari and wonderful daughter-in-law like Prema Manjari or Vasant and Puja as you have probably been calling then for a long time. And your whole family is filled with devotees and Krishna consciousness and so your duty as a mother has been fulfilled because so many of your family members have become Krishna conscious. It is also auspicious that our spiritual family of disciples and aspiring disciples and very dear friends like Sridham and Kishore, they have all gathered to institute a devotee care program and so all of us here are praying for you and now we will sing some prayers to help fill your consciousness with thoughts of Krishna and invoke the mercy and blessings of the higher authorities of our gurus, of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, of Radha and Krishna, and Nṛsiṁha Bhagavān who removes all obstacles and gives all protection to devotees.

[Sings Nṛsiṁhadeva prayers and Hare Krishna maha-mantra]

Giriraj Swami: I will just say a few more words to Mataji. 

Devotee: Mataji is chanting.

Giriraj Swami: Perfect. You are doing exactly the best that you can do is just chant Hare Krishna and let Krishna take care. Krishna will take care of everything. You have done a beautiful job as a mother, as a wife, as a daughter, and now just leave everything in the hands of Krishna and give yourself fully to Krishna and absorb yourself fully to Krishna. He will take care of everything and those of us here, you have nothing to worry about, Krishna’s taking care of us and we will also take care of each other and you can be free just to absorb yourself in Krishna. And we will continue chanting and praying for you. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja. So Vrindavan Bihari just spoke to me. He said that his mother is in the ICU and doctors are working with her and all of them are outside the ICU now so he said he will call you later.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. We will continue our meeting. That was very auspicious, really.

I don’t know if I have really answered Hari-priya’s question but that is the basis idea: there are mentors and mentees, and one mentor will meet with his mentees twice in a month as a group and then in addition to that he will be in communication with them on an individual basis. And then the mentors themselves or the mitras they will meet together once in a month and have their own meeting. And then even the mentors they have their own mentors and so at least once in three months the mitra will meet with his or her mentor. So the idea is that everyone is accountable to someone. To give shelter you have to have shelter. So everyone has to have shelter in order to give shelter. So even the mitras they have their mentors, they have their support group, and it is the basic idea.

Hari-priya dasi: Apart from all of this, will we still combine meeting of all the disciples? Will there still be those?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. That will not stop. Not at all. Very good.

Hari-priya dasi: That will be wonderful.

Giriraj Swami: Any other questions or comments?

Devotee: Maharaja, if there are questions, you think it is the right time to inaugurate this manual because we have not received it yet?

Giriraj Swami: Wow! That is looks pretty nice.

Devotee: We would like to offer it to you, Maharaja, first.

Giriraj Swami: I am putting it on my head and offering it to Srila Prabhupada. Nice. Very nice.

Sridham dasa: Maharaja, it is a very auspicious beginning, the care started right away taking care of Vrindavan Bihari’s mother.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: I think it is a fabulous beginning.

Giriraj Swami: It is perfect.

Sridham dasa: Maharaja, before you called there was a lot of thunder and lightning happening outside and it is raining and we are under Giriraj mountain. We are under the shelter of Giriraj Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Very nice. Kuldeep put in a lot of effort. 

Maybe someone can send some back. Wonderful. 

Sridham dasa: Maharaja, they are all reading the manual now so maybe if there are any queries from the manual we’ll have. . . 

Giriraj Swami: You mean we take a break now and give them some time and then I come back on?

Sridham dasa: We can do it later. Maharaja, but now in the next few minutes we will be asking Sri Vallabha to distribute the preference form.

Giriraj Swami: So I will stay here. You do your business and I will watch you.

Sridham dasa: As it mentioned in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad that one bird is observing whatever he is doing. [laughter]

Giriraj Swami: I will just be back in a moment.

Svetasvatara: Maharaja, there is a question from Nama-cintāmaṇi that you mentioned that the mitras also have their mentors so that discussion needs to be discussed on a separate forum. Is that right?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. In other words, the mitras will meet together and in their meeting they will help each other and that is also an important point that although you have your individual mitra but the mitra group itself is really responsible for everyone and so they will all cooperate together to help all of the mentees. But as far as the system by which the individual mitras will get their personal guidance from a mentor that we are going to work out those details after this meeting, but in a way, but in a general sense Sridham Prabhu and Kishore Mataji are there for all of the mitras but there will be another system that we’ll define in the next days.

Kishore dasi: Actually it is important to mention here that each mentee is not [?] each mentee []. The goal of mitra is actually they speak one language. That is what they are praying for. It is not that you go to one mitra and you want a particular answer and they don’t give you that answer so you go to some other mitra who will give you another answer. 

Sridham dasa: Maharaja mentioned the point of cooperation and that is a very crucial aspect of this so that we can function in that way.

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, the mentors and the mentees will be meeting once in a fortnight. If we all want to have a meeting together like a disciples’ meeting together, so if that is once in month, I don’t know if we can do that—it may be too much then—so if we do that once in a month is that all right, can we do that once in a month?

Giriraj Swami: Once in a month sounds like it might be too much. Maybe once in two months or even three months. Maybe every second one I could address you like when you had the program for Mother Arca Vigraha’s disappearance day at Advaita and Sita Thakurani’s place, I joined you. So it could be like that that maybe every two months you have a meeting and maybe every second meeting I can join you. Krishna willing, I will be spending more time in India and in Mumbai so we could have one or two with me when I am in India.

Devotees: Haribol!

Giriraj Swami: But I also want you to participate in the temple programs. This shouldn’t take the place of your attendance at the temple programs. You should still attend the temple programs, do service at the temple, and then this will also continue. Hare Krishna.

Again I am very, very grateful to all of you and I really look forward to your progress individually and collectively and to finding a very congenial and hospitable atmosphere for my service when I return to India. I think this could be a good example for others and from that good example others will also get inspiration and imbibe that mood of serving the devotees and finding practical ways by which they can actually help the devotees. I am very encouraged and I look forward to seeing you soon. We can definitely have a disciples’ meeting before I leave America and I can speak to you all on Skype again.

Sridham dasa: Maharaja, in a week’s time we will send across the consultative list and the choices for you to go through it and then you can finalize and announce. And a lot of the mentees, their service can start by end of next week.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful. Yes, I will be happy to assist in that effort so that everyone has a mentor and we can begin the program.

Sridham dasa: So basically Kishore and myself along with Sriji the secretary, we will compile the whole thing and send it to you.

Giriraj Swami: In other words, if it is clear that someone can get their first choice, wouldn’t it be better what’s clear you deal with that and then there will be two categories. You send me the ones that are clear, your recommendations, and if there are any specific questions you can point them out. That will be fine.

Sridham dasa: Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari ki jaya!

Hare Krishna.

Thank you very, very much and we will see you very soon.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!