Simple Dining, High Thinking

[Guest guest]

> I was listening to this Room Conversation - December 10, 1976, Hyderabad

> the other day, and Prabhupada made it absolutely clear that the prasadam

> should be very atractive, and why:

 

This was a very interesting visit. Srila went down to Hyderabad to

inaugurate the Hyderabad farming project as our first varnasrama project in

India. He spent over two weeks there advising how it should be set up. One

of his main goals was to attract the local farmers to move onto our land,

continue farming but become devotees as well. So he started an evening

pandal program -- a small affair but with the essential elements of kirtan,

short pravacan, and afterwards some nice prasadam. Here's what I recorded in

my diary:

 

December 9th

 

Again although Prabhupada walked, it was a short one. We went out

along a path and in the middle of a field there was a Banyan tree.

Prabhupada headed for that and sat under it for a while whilst Hansaduta

lead kirtana and then we returned. As we neared the buildings Prabhupada

again mentioned not to sing `Baja' in front of the maha mantra.

 

In the center of the compound there is a large tree with a circular

concrete base around it and the devotees place Prabhupada's vyasasana on it

and do Guru-puja. When he came to step up onto the base he saw they had not

cleaned it from the night before and it had prasadam and leaf plates etc.

scattered on it. He was very angry and made them cleanse it as he watched.

He said the managers here were all rascals and in his room later he told me

privately that he did not feel he could rely on anyone here for anything. He

has very little confidence in the local men to manage these big projects

therefore he has thought to bring in senior men like Tejiyas. I also had

asked a boy to clean Prabhupada's brass buckets which he uses for bathing

and today they are still dirty.

 

In the evening we were sat in Prabhupada's room and he was telling

us about intelligence and he told the story of Columbus and friends.

Columbus and friends were all seated together and they were jokingly

criticizing him. He should not try to claim credit that he was the

discoverer of America they said because after all the land was already there

and by chance he just happened to be the one to sail there and find it. He

argued back that `no it actually takes some intelligence'.

They would not accept so he decided to prove it. Taking one egg he

challenged them, `make it stand on it's end on the table'. None could do it

so he boasted that he would now show them, but if he did they would have to

give him credit for discovering America. `Alright' they agreed, so he

promptly took the egg, tapped the end till it flattened and then stood it up

on the table.

They all chided him and protested "Well anyone could have done

that".

He replied, "Well, the egg and the desk were there - you could not

do it but I did. Similarly America was there; you could not find it but I

did".

The purport then, Prabhupada concluded, is that everything requires

a little intelligence for success, even if all facilities are available.

 

He dictated a short speech to Tejiyas to translate into Telugu and

read out tonight to the visitors. "Everyone is thinking that to accept the

existence of God is optional, but it is not optional, it is nature's way.

Either you go back home back to Godhead or you stay and suffer in the cycle

of birth and death and rot in this material world".

As it turned out the program didn't go too well. Only about half the

number of people came and the kirtana was poor and unorganized. Tejiyas gave

his talk in Telugu and afterwards the prasadam was served.

Prabhupada decided he would like to try the prasadam although he

never eats so late in the evening so some was brought into his room for him.

It was just a large lump of rice and as soon as it touched his lips he spat

it out. "This is poison" he said angrily and demanded to know who had cooked

it.

I went out and looked around and then came back and gave my report.

Large numbers of our guests were standing around and no one would touch the

prasadam and in fact had thrown it on the ground. It was so inedible that

even the dogs were refusing to eat it. Enquiry revealed that the man who was

cooking, whom I saw with a bidi [cheap Indian cigarette] in his mouth as he

stood over the pots, was the same man who swept the grounds in the mornings.

He had been engaged by Mahamsa Swami but no one knew where Mahamsa was - he

was apparently in Hyderabad.

Prabhupada was absolutely furious. He called in Jagadisa, Hansaduta,

and Tejiyas and demanded to know who was responsible for the bad program. He

told them, "The poison which was not fit for dogs to eat, we are giving to

human beings. We are trying to attract them to come and live here with us

but once coming they will never come again. They are coming for the tongue,

not for hearing your sweet voice. If they want sweet voice they can listen

to some woman, so your kirtana will not attract them. They are coming for

the prasadam and you are giving them poison cooked by a sweeper. Materially

it is impossible to eat and spiritually it has no value."

He was extremely annoyed with Mahamsa because he still had not

returned from Hyderabad and now it was ten o’clock. "When I was at the

temple they said he was at the farm. Now I am at the farm they say, `Oh he

is at the temple'. And when I ask why these things are going on, no one but

Mahamsa knows." After a half hour of strong rebuking, Prabhupada sent

everyone out and took rest.

Mahamsa eventually arrived after 11 p.m. and brought with him

Harikesa Swami who has arrived from Germany and has come for three days to

see Hansaduta Swami about the German court cases. It is due very soon and he

is busy preparing for it.

 

December 10th

 

Today is the Disappearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati

Gosvami Prabhupada and we are observing a half day fast.

Early in the morning at 6 a.m. Prabhupada called in Mahamsa along

with the other senior men. He preached to him that things must be organized

in a proper fashion otherwise everything will be a failure. He told him, "I

am not prepared to invest anything here if things continue as they are. You

must make immediate plans for irrigation and vegetable and sugar cane

crops."

Then he took up last night's disaster and told him that no one will

come here because we are allowing a sweeper to cook. He told him very

gravely, "It has shocked my heart that you can allow a sweeper to cook and

then offer such things to Krsna. We say that you must be second initiated,

but you are allowing a sweeper to cook. This means that after seven years

you are still mleccha. We are saying, `Radhikara paka anna vividha byanjana'

-- Radhika and her gopi friends are personally cooking and making such nice

arrangements for giving very palatable foodstuffs simply for pleasing Krsna

-- and you are offering things cooked by a sweeper."

He also told them, "You are all dead men. Dead men cannot preach.

Whatever preaching there is will be all finished. The first principle of

preaching is `utsahan', enthusiasm, and without this enthusiasm nothing will

go on." He was referring to last night's lethargic program and pandal. Then

he dropped the whole thing and changed the subject."

 

Your humble servant,

Hari-sauri dasa