Parikramā on the Way to Gokula

[in bus, arriving; kīrtana outside]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: …take the karatāls. [break]

[on the walk]

Devotee: …is that behind us?

Prabhupāda: Nanda, Nanda Mahārāja left Gokula and came here because the demons were disturbing Kṛṣṇa. They decided to change.

[break] [kīrtana]

[break] [a vrajavāsī explains something about the temple in Hindi]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What did he say, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: [to vrajavāsī] You explain in English. Explain in English.

Vrajavāsī: Nanda Mahārāja ki jaya! Yaśodā-māyi ki jai!

Prabhupāda: Explain in English!

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Explain in English what he said.

Vrajavāsī: About the Deity?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: When the curtain opens?

Vrajavāsī: Ha.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Ah, Prabhupāda. What is the name of this temple? Nanda-grāma?

Prabhupāda: [to vrajavāsī] You cannot explain? You can explain what he has said?

Vrajavāsī: I will explain. When the curtain opens, I will explain.

Prabhupāda: Ha.

[curtain opens: obeisances]

Vrajavāsī: The statue, this one, with the turban, that is the Deity of Nanda Mahārāja.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Nanda Bābā.

Vrajavāsī: Nanda Bābā. And on this side in yellow sārī, that is Yaśodā Mātā, you see? And in between Yaśodā Mātā and Nanda Bābā there are Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, both brothers. Kṛṣṇa is on the side of Yaśodā Mātā, and Balarāma is on the side of Nanda Bābā.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Younger brother.

Vrajavāsī: And in that corner on the left-hand side you see Rādhārāṇī, there in that corner. And in the extreme right, there are these two, they are friends of Lord Kṛṣṇa—Prema-sukha and Man-sukha[?].

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Kṛṣṇa’s childhood.

Vrajavāsī (2): Prema-sukha, Man-sukha[?] ki jaya!

Prabhupāda: [to Tamāla Kṛṣṇa] You place one rupee here. [Hindi]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Now he gives prasāda?

Prabhupāda: Distribute this prasādam to all.

[Hindi conversation—laughter]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So fortunate.

Vrajavāsī: [Hindi conversation] Put it there.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I'm just taking a little?

[breaks] Everybody got prasāda?

[much Hindi and obeisances in background]

[breaks]

Prabhupāda: …doing these same things.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Ah.

Prabhupāda: [kīrtana in background; Hindi conversations between Prabhupāda and Indian men] …and you can go there or come here also. [break]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Dīnanātha and Pitāmbhara, they are still coming. Dīnanātha and Pitāmbhara. [break]

Prabhupāda: They have not come? We are late. Why they did not come?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They did not ask my permission. They just went. One man got a shoe[?]. He had to go back to get a shoe[?].

Prabhupāda: Oh, he’ll go back there? [indistinct conversation]

[break] Not possible to see the Deity there.

Devotee: What time do they close the Deity?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Eleven.

[Hindi background conversation] [loud car horn sounding]

This old man should not be allowed. He cannot walk. [break] Come on, come on. Now let us go.

Devotee: Deity closes in another ten minutes.

[bus starts; Prabhupāda leaves in bus; obeisances ] [break]

[in another location; Hindi conversations]

Dr. Kapoor: Shall we bring a chair for you? [Hindi]

Śyāmasundara: What is the history of this place, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: This is Rādhārāṇīs father's place.

Śyāmasundara: Ah. [break] [kīrtana]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupada, have you ever gone to this temple? [break]

Dr. Kapoor: And Her marriage was near about, Nanda-grāma. [Hindi with Prabhupāda] [break]

Prabhupāda: He will take us to [indistinct].

Śyāmasundara: Our guide. Where is our guide?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What is happening now? [break]

Prabhupāda: …not available; then they can go. I can sit down. My first time. Where is that guide? Where is that man?

Śyāmasundara: They say he went to get the palanquin. He is coming down. [break]

[in another temple location; kīrtana]

Devotee: Okay. Wait a minute. Stop.

Prabhupāda: Make it here. We can walk.

Devotee: Okay. Stop here.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Down. Down, down, down.

Devotees: Jaya. All glories to Prabhupāda!

Prabhupāda: Jaya!

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's this way, I think. It's a little wet here, Prabhupāda.

Devotees: Jaya! [obeisances]

[background conversation between devotees] [kīrtana] [break]

Prabhupāda: [Hindi with Indians]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: All right, just… [break] One rupee? One rupee.

Prabhupāda: [Hindi with Indians] Now let us go.

Devotee: Prasāda. Let us go.

Dr. Kapoor: The guide was telling Prabhupāda that we can go straight over. [Hindi with Prabhupāda]

[break] [background conversation among devotees] [break]

Prabhupāda: [Hindi with Indians]

Devotee: ...if they get hold of the tape recorder, they'll steal it. [break]

Prabhupāda: [Hindi with Indians]

[kīrtana—Govindam prayers]

Prabhupāda: Jaya.

Dr. Kapoor: She's gone to Rādhā's village. That's why. But...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's closed.

Devotee: Open it up. [discussion about opening Deity doors]

Devotee (2): It's too late.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Maybe they won't open them.

Prabhupāda: Not very important. Jaya.

[Hindi with Indians]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda, Gargamuni says there are very beautiful paintings inside. Do you want to see them? On the walls.

Prabhupāda: On the wall? All right. If you like, you can see.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No…

Prabhupāda: We can go and see. Come, I shall sit down. Go and see.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Ah, well if…

Dr. Kapoor: Four o'clock...

Prabhupāda: No, no. Not four o’clock. There are some paintings he wants to see… [Hindi] All right, Śrīla dāsī. Parikramā.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We’ve come so far, we should see something. [background conversation]

Prabhupāda: Nice building.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Can I build such a building in New York?

Prabhupāda: You can build, but it will be very expensive.

Indian devotee: All stone, Prabhupāda.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda, many of these things seem to be the way you describe for Māyāpura temple.

Prabhupāda: Yes. We have got our plan in this way. Inside, we have got our plan like this.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Ah.

Nara-Nārāyaṇa: Twice as high, and three times wider.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Ah. This seems to be the kind of siding that you describe, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This grating.

Prabhupāda: Yes. [background conversation]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Everything is impermanent.

Devotee: That’s what Prabhupāda says.

[various people describing what they are seeing in the paintings]

Prabhupāda: [Hindi]

[break] [Prabhupāda coughing] Can you give me a little water?

Devotee: Water.

Indian man: Pāṇi, pāṇi. [people go to get water; Hindi discussion]

Prabhupāda: Bās, bās. [Hindi]

Devotee: Too much water here.

Devotee (2): Too much water.

Prabhupāda: Keep it.

Devotee: [indistinct] keep it. [break]

Prabhupāda: Chelo.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Chelo. [break]

[in different location; kīrtana]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This is beautiful here. Look at the paintings. Rādhārāṇī was born here?

Prabhupāda: Rādhārāṇī was born there.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And Kṛṣṇa was born in… He was raised in Nanda-grāma.

Prabhupāda: Gokula. We shall go tomorrow.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Kṛṣṇa, He lived in Nanda-grāma?

Prabhupāda: Hah?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He lived in Nanda-grāma when He was young?

Prabhupāda: Yes, when there was too much disturbance of the demons, Nanda Mahārāja’s elder brother decided that "We cannot live here. Let us leave this place." He has given that picture, and there is a cart, a bullock cart.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Then they moved to Vṛndāvana?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee: Prabhupāda? And Vasudeva took Kṛṣṇa across the Yamunā all the way up to this hill up here?

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Devotee: Very long walk.

Prabhupāda: Not here; on the other side.

Devotee: On the other hill.

Prabhupāda: Gokula. And when He was three, four years old, then He was brought to Nanda-grāma. [break]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: …place to live is the highest spot. That is the nicest place?

Prabhupāda: Yes. The whole world may be inundated. [break] Royal palaces were made on the hills. Not only…

[aside:] Be careful; you are going…

[break] …it is like this. Thousands of miles—stone, stone, stone. I have traveled from Jammu to Pasmin[?] by bus. And hundreds and thousands of miles, only stone like this.

Devotee: They put. They put it there.

Prabhupāda: Don’t go there. Why you are going by that path?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupada? Govardhana is stone?

Prabhupāda: Yes, one thousand stones.

[break] To ride on this palanquin is very comfortable, [laughter] at the cost of others. [laughs]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We should construct one, Prabhupāda, for the remainder of the trip.

Prabhupāda: It is better than any other vehicle. Formerly, kings were being carried by palanquin. They did not like carriage. Carriage… Palanquin was transformed to carriage first in England—palanquin-carriage, drawn by horse.

[break] How much fine work in marble stone. This is the spot…

Devotee: This is the spot?

Prabhupāda: …where Rādhārāṇī was born.

Devotees: Oh, wow. Right there?

Prabhupāda: Rādhāṣṭamī. Fifteen days younger than Kṛṣṇa. [break] [at another location] [Hindi] Cow dung, they use for fuel.

Devotee: They dry it for chips?

Prabhupāda: Yes… No, they dry it for using as fuel.

Devotee: Yes. It has a very, very nice fragrance.

Prabhupāda: Mm. [break] Cow, anything of cow is useful: urine, dung, everything. Skin, hoof, horn, milk—everything.

[break] Small pieces. [Hindi conversations] [break]

Devotee: Take it. Take it. [break] [Hindi conversations] [break]

Prabhupāda: …one rupee. Give me one rupee. [leaves in bus]

Devotee: Yes, it's true. Vṛndāvana is like everywhere, because it's been like this all my life, Śrīla Prabhupāda. [break]

Prabhupāda: [Hindi] Distribute one thousand rupees, still… This is the position of [indistinct]. [break]

Dr. Kapoor: Prabhupāda, shall you take the prasādam before or after? [Hindi] [break]

Devotee: There's that man [break]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: She's just getting on now, taking... I don't know why she took so long.

Why they are taking so much time? Sit down, sit down. Chelo. [break]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: [in bus] That old man is there, that old man at the Dāmodara.

Prabhupāda: Why that old man gets down? Huh?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The old man should stay here now.

Prabhupāda: No, he cannot. [break] …never come to these places, only for business.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I see.

Prabhupāda: I know. Only bothering. Only bothering.

Devotee: In this way Vṛndāvana is everywhere. This has been like it all my life. [break]

Prabhupāda: [indistinct Hindi saying] [indistinct] go to the pilgrimage, that is simply laboring. [indistinct] Mistake of the mind. He did not like to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa at that place.

Devotee: Is Rādhākuṇḍa like this also? [break]

[Hindi in bus]

Śyāmasundara: Is that Govardhana Hill right there?

Devotee: No, that’s part of it there.

Śyāmasundara: That’s Govardhana Hill right there? It’s so small! There’s Govardhana Hill!

Devotee: The cows are still taking shelter.

[arrival at next place—Hindi greetings]

Prabhupāda: [to devotee] You are taking a bath?

Devotee: In the morning. Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I took mine at three o’clock.

[Hindi] That's all right. [break]

[background discussion in Hindi]

Prabhupāda: I may not take bath.

Devotee: I'll ask, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: [Hindi discussion] You can take a bath if you like. I shall stay here.

[background discussion among devotees about bathing]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Said something about that we should take bath here. If we don’t want to take bath, where shall we stay?

Prabhupāda: Somebody may remain here.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I’ll stay here.

Prabhupāda: He will stay, and others can see.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I’ve seen it before.

Prabhupāda: You have seen.

Devotee: I have seen also.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What is happening? It's a bathing ghat?

[more discussion among devotees] I think everyone's a bit tired.

Prabhupāda: Let them take rest,

Devotee: Take prasādam and rest.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee: Is that Rādhākuṇḍa? No.

Prabhupāda: No, Rādhākuṇḍa is...

Devotee: Coming.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Now we can see the value of hearing about the holy places. Visually is nice, but hearing—perfect.

Prabhupāda: So, somebody may come with me.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Rohiṇī. Rohiṇī.

Prabhupāda: You take this water; let us go.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We'll stay here. [break]

[kīrtana]

Prabhupāda: You give him money, one rupee.

Devotee: Someone have a rupee? Just one? One rupee here, and one here.

Prabhupāda: Give one rupee.

Devotee: One rupee. Viśāla?

Śyāmasundara: What are these places, Prabhupāda? What are these temples? Anything special?

[break] [Hindi]

Prabhupāda: Give him four, five rupees. [break]

Śyāmasundara: Viśāla? Five rupees. It's all right. [break]

Devotee: …I mean these kuṇḍas, Rādhākuṇḍa and Śyāmakuṇḍa. What is the history of this?

[break] [kīrtana] [break]

Śyāmasundara: ...Śyāmakuṇḍa and Rādhākuṇḍa—what is that?

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī, They would take bath.

Śyāmasundara: Ah.

Prabhupāda: And meet.

Śyāmasundara: Ah.

Devotee (2): This bathing ghat? [break]

Devotee: …Śyāmakuṇḍa, together?

Prabhupāda: Because Rādhākuṇḍa was discovered by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. [break]

Śyāmasundara: What is tomorrow morning's program? [background discussion among devotees about Ekādaśī and engagements] [break]

Prabhupāda: …place, long ago. So he asked me, "Swāmījī, why you have selected Vṛndāvana as your headquarter?"

Dr. Kapoor: Hmm. [laughs] It should be Bombay or Calcutta.

Prabhupāda: No, he had some this bad experience of Vṛndāvana.

Dr. Kapoor: Ah. I see. [break]

Prabhupāda: [in bus] …living condition is not that. In Western country, especially America, is going on.

Dr. Kapoor: Yes. It is the most affluent country. The problem there now is affluence, not poverty. They don’t know what to do with their money.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Here there is no money. And there is so ample money, they do not know how to use it.

Dr. Kapoor: Affluence has its own problems. Perhaps more problems than poverty. [laughs]

Prabhupāda: [Hindi] [break] [end]