Srila Prabhupada and Calcutta

Giriraj Swami: It’s a great honor and privilege and pleasure for me to be here with all of you today in this holy city of Kolkata.

We’ve heard about the different incidents in Srila Prabhupada’s life in Calcutta. And how he left Calcutta on August 13th, 1965 with the impossible mission of spreading the same kirtan movement of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in America and throughout the world, and Srila Prabhupada was successful. After spending about five years in America, he decided to return to India.

One disciple asked Srila Prabhupada that your Guru Maharaja ordered you to spread Krishna consciousness in the English language throughout the world. So, now why are you returning to India? And Srila Prabhupada replied, “I’ve already executed the instruction of my Guru Maharaja, and now I want to do something for the people of India.”

He had a specific strategy. He said “the Indians are very eager to imitate the Americans. So, if they see that the Americans have taken to their original culture of Krishna consciousness they may imitate that also.”

So, Srila Prabhupada set sail again—not by steam ship but by airplane. And, the first place he arrived was Calcutta. And Srila Prabhupada wanted each temple, and there were about fourteen centers in the United States then. So, he wanted each temple to contribute one person, generally the number two person in the center. And that group arrived in Bombay. Srila Prabhupada came from Calcutta to Bombay. And in Bombay, Shyamasundara Prabhu, and other disciples then put on a very big pandal program in downtown in Bombay. After the tremendous success of the pandal program in Bombay, Srila Prabhupada wanted to put on a similar program in Calcutta.

So, he sent Tamal Krishna Goswami and me from Bombay. And when we got to Calcutta, Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “You raise the money and I will spend it.” So, I said alright. Now at that time Calcutta was very much in the grips of communists and Naxalites. And there was a lot of opposition to the idea of the pandal program.

When Srila Prabhupada arrived, he had a press conference for him. There were many challenging questions. In fact, just before the press conference Srila Prabhupada had received a threat by mail—"Fly or Die.” But Srila Prabhupada kept his faith in his spiritual master and Krishna and did not fly.

So, at the press conference some of the reporters challenged Srila Prabhupada; “What is the use of spending so much money on this big arrangement? You could be using the money to help poor people. What is the purpose?” And, Srila Prabhupada replied that, “The purpose is to give people a chance to hear.” He said “this whole huge arrangement that you are seeing has come just from hearing. I went to America and spoke the message of Krishna, and some young men and women heard. And just by their hearing now all of this has happened.”

So, the pandal was held at Chowringee Maidan. The first evening, thousands and thousands of people were streaming into the pandal. Even more than in Bombay—at least 20,000 people during the week, and 30,000 on the weekend.

Now it was the regular practice in pandals that the central area would be covered with daris. And, as our advisors informed us and as we did in Bombay, other sides we had chairs. And the chairs were reserved for life members and donors, or anyone who is willing to pay one rupee; one or two.

So, a gang of Naxalites came, and they wanted to disrupt the pandal program. And they started to take issue that why some people get to sit on chairs and other people have to sit down on the daris. I suppose they wanted that everyone to sit down on the daris. So, they took chairs, they were folding chairs and they pulled them and started clapping them together and making a very loud noise. And we were on the stage, it was a very tense moment. And we were all looking towards Srila Prabhupada to see what he would do—and he cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone, and he sang into the microphone govindam âdi purusham tam haṁ bhajami. He began to sing the Govinda prayers. And, I thought Srila Prabhupada has so much faith in Krishna, and in the transcendental sound vibrations of Krishna’s name. And I looked in the section where there were the chairs, and where the Naxalites had been making a disturbance. It seemed mystical, they put the chairs down very neatly and quietly walked away. And from then on there were no disturbances. And as I mentioned 20,000 during the week, 30,000 on the weekend people came.

But, Srila Prabhupada was very concerned that we should have literature in Bengali. So, he asked me to put an ad in the newspaper for a Bengali translator. But, it was a special type of ad or special type of engagement because Srila Prabhupada did not want us to pay anything. He said that if we don’t pay them then only someone who has real feelings for the cause will take up the work.

So, one man came named Mr. Ganguly, and we had him translate some samples and sent it to Srila Prabhupada. And Srila Prabhupada said its 90 percent perfect. He is good enough. So, he translated the first Bengali Back to Godhead or Bhagavad Darshan. And then Srila Prabhupada, because he left after the first pandal, he came again and we had the second pandal at Deshapriya park.        

Now, around that time my parents came to visit me. And, I was a very strict brahmachari and I didn’t have any idea how I was going to deal with my parent’s visit. And, Srila Prabhupada, they were mine, so he said, your parents are coming, you should spend time with them, it’s your duty. So, I spent time with them, we visited different places and I introduced them to different friends of ours. But finally, it came to the point where they wanted to meet Srila Prabhupada and come out with their real desires.

So, they came into Srila Prabhupada’s room at the Albert road. And Srila Prabhupada dealt with them so expertly. He began by talking about his previous life; when he had a pharmacy in Allahabad. And one of his customers was Motilal Nehru. And he said that “Motilal Nehru was a made in England man.” And Srila Prabhupada said if he had the exact same medicine manufactured in India, the exact same medicine, but if Motilal Nehru saw the one made in England, he would pay twenty times the cost just because it was made in England. And, then he said that Gandhiji wanted each family to contribute one son to the freedom movement. So, Motilal Nehru said he had one son who was so useless, he was thinking of giving him. You know who that was. . .

Now in a very captivating way Srila Prabhupada was working on my father’s prejudices. He was probably like that; made in England, made in America is better. And, he probably though oh Prime Ministers must be a very wonderful, great person. And the whole conversation was very fascinating; I mean my parents were just captivated. And then, I’m not sure it was this time or another time but he said that it was a matter of great prestige for an Indian to have a British servant. So, at great expense Jawaharlal Nehru maintained the British servants when he was there. And Prabhupada said, and “I have thousands of English and American servants, and I don’t pay them anything—they give money to me.”

So, the talk was going on, and then my father sort of brought up the point that they wanted me to come back to America. So, he said we want to establish a trust for Giriraj, or Glenn, with a million dollars in it, and we want him to come to America to sign the documents. And as you’ve heard million dollars then was like fifty or a hundred, fifty million now. So, Prabhupada said “yes, you can send the documents, and he will sign.”

So, at this stage, my mother started to feel sad because as a mother she was concerned about me, and she was concerned about my health, because I had gotten jaundice, I had become very thin. So, she was concerned as a mother about my health. And in those days people had the idea if you didn’t eat meat you couldn’t get enough protein. So, she was saying that I should come home and get my health back.

So, Srila Prabhupada usually kept some sweets in a jar on his table; usually sandeśa or rasagullā. So, I think to try to make everyone feel better—so he had his sister Pishima who was there, give these sweets to everyone. And he said, “these are made of cheese. They are very high in protein.” And then he turned to me and said, “you must eat two dozen rasagullā and sandeśa every day.”

So, my father was becoming very enlivened actually by Prabhupada’s association, my mother was still sort of anxious and feeling sorry. So, then Prabhupada really reassured her as well. And, he said you leave Giriraj with me, this was around October; If you leave Giriraj with me, I’ll take personal care of him. And then in April when I go back to America I’ll bring him with me. I was also enlivened and I said to my parents, “just see how intelligent Srila Prabhupada is—when it’s cold in America and pleasant in India, he stays in India. And when it gets hotter, when it gets too hot in India and it’s pleasant in America, he goes to America.” And my father, he also is getting very enlivened.

So, he said actually your master is very intelligent. And Prabhupada said “that actually your son is very intelligent because he has understood my strategy.” My father he was a very intelligent person. He was a leading lawyer and later he became a judge. And, he said that Prabhupada actually “you are very intelligent.” And Prabhupada said, “well I guess I must be intelligent, otherwise how I could attract so many intelligent young men like your son.”

So, it was sort of settled that he would take personal charge of me until April, and then in April he would bring me with him to America. My parents ate their sandeśa and they were happy. And, as we were walking out of Srila Prabhupada’s room my father said something very significant. He said, “I can say two things about your master; he is a brilliant organizer, and he really knows how to deal with people.”

Devotees: Srila Prabhupada ki jaya

Giriraj Swami: And in my father’s value system those were the highest compliments he could say anyone.

So, of course there is so much to say about Srila Prabhupada in Calcutta, but our time is up. I’ll just say at one note to the story about the meeting with my parents.

A few months later I went to Madras. I was the first ISKCON devotee to go to Madras. And, we arranged a program for Srila Prabhupada, he came. Now, in Madras I was eating very well. Lots of nice idlis, dosas, sambhar, chutney. And I put on weight. And, Srila Prabhupada said I should take a picture taken of me and send it to my mother. So, he remembered.

So, a great man’s movement as Srila Prabhupada started is actually made up of many individuals and interactions with individuals. And each of us also has been touched, somehow or other, our hearts have been touched.

And so, out of deep gratitude and appreciation for all that Srila Prabhupada has given us, we should dedicate ourselves and rededicate ourselves to the service. And, especially as we are entering this 50th year since his departure from Calcutta for America, we should work together to spread Srila Prabhupada’s glories and mission. As he said “your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate together for the sake of this mission.”

I’m very glad that I could be with you all on this occasion in this holy place of Calcutta with all of you dhamvasis. I hope I’ll be able to come again and again.

Devotee: Haribol! Can we clap please, Haribol.

Devotee: What about the festival, August 30th?

Giriraj Swami: I wish you all success.

Devotee: Haribol, Haribol, Haribol

Devotee: Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada ki jaya, I am sure it will be a great success.

Devotee: Nitai-Gaura premānande Haribol.