Thursday, 22 April 1976
Prabhupada was happy to find that local devotees with a talent for gardening had planted 5,000 carnation plants in the temple gardens. He told the devotees that this was a practical way of utilising the grounds. In the afternoon, Srila Prabhupada met with three guests, Michael Gordon, Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick. Doug and Brian were the owners of Ripcurl, a surf clothing company in the beach-resort area of southern Victoria. Michael was the edi
All Posts (35223)
Sort by
After another ecstatic evening kirtana in the temple, Srila Prabhupada continued speaking on Chapter 9 of Bhagavad-gita, verse 3
Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world.
Faith, Prabhupada pointed out, was a necessary prerequisite for learning. By nature, one had to believe his parents, his superiors and his teachers. If one did not believe in the wor
After Srila Prabhupada rose from his afternoon rest, Ugrasrava arrived with photographic slides of his recent tour with Yasodanandana Swami of the sacred temple sites in South India. Srila Prabhupada agreed to see them, and soon Ugrasrava was setting up a projector and screen in Prabhupada's main darsana room. It was quite a chilly evening, and on Prabhupada's request more heaters were brought into the room. Meanwhile, Prabhupada reclined on his chaise longue engaging in li
Srila Prabhupada had received a letter from Madhudvisa Swami indicating that he had arrived in New York and commenced his service as GBC. He invited Srila Prabhupada to attend the forthcoming Ratha-yatra there, and added that he hoped everything was going on nicely in Australia.
Prabhupada replied:
I have sent you, and I have experienced that you have done nicely in Melbourne and so you are the right one to organise the New York centre. I am here in your t
Wednesday, 21 April 1976
The morning walk on the perimeter road of the Botanic Gardens was animated. While discussing the attitude of Western religionists, Guru Krpa Swami gave the example that his father, although very sinful, would always say "The good Lord is protecting me". Prabhupada asked him: "Why is it that he will be protected and others not? When there is atomic bomb, would Krsna protect then?" He gave the example of Europe. There, he said, people were always af
Later in the afternoon, Tusta Krsna Swami arrived from New Zealand. He and his followers continued to practise Krsna consciousness separate from the Auckland temple. Giving Prabhupada a glowing report of the activities of his farm and city preaching in Auckland, he invited Srila Prabhupada to visit them when he came the following week. Prabhupada accepted his invitation.
In the evening, the devotees set up a television in Prabhupada's room for him to watch the broadcast of
Bhanu dasa, a Canadian devotee of Japanese descent, had been in Japan assisting in fund-raising and Deity worship. Guru Krpa Swami had brought him to Melbourne for a break. Bhanu, a fair cook, had been requested to regularly prepare Srila Prabhupada's lunch. Hari-sauri entered the room with prasadam. Srila Prabhupada stood and walked silently to the small brown marble table in the corner. Prabhupada took lunch without comment, but later sent a message to Bhanu through Hari-sa
Mike Barron and Carol Jarvis, a couple of reporters from two major Melbourne TV stations, came to see Srila Prabhupada at 11am. Prabhupada had been speaking to Pusta Krsna, Hari-sauri and Guru Krpa in his room about the frailties of modern science. The scientists, he said, were ignorant of the soul within the body. Despite their bold claims for creating life, they could not even create a tiny insect.
This theme carried over to Prabhupada's conversation with Mike Barron.
His Divine Grace is Here to Hound Us
A favourable news article appeared in The Age, reporting on the previous day's arrival press conference. Its headline read "His Divine Grace is Here to Hound Us", and displayed a large, smiling picture of Srila Prabhupada. It was an accurate report on the airport interview, particularly on his comments about what he called "the dog's mentality".
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement is here to save us fro
The temple kitchen had burnt down a few months before. Despite the inauspiciousness of the event, devotees had taken it as an opportunity to build a better kitchen in its stead. Since the new kitchen had not been completed, and its temporary replacement was very small, all of Srila Prabhupada's prasadam was being prepared in the kitchen on Sabhapati's travelling bus parked in the temple car park.
Prabhupada's servant Hari-sauri saw to the serving of his breakfast and lunch. Thus i
Sri Melbourne Mahaprabhu Mandir
By the time Srila Prabhupada's dark limousine pulled up outside the temple, the men were chanting on the grass verge. Ladies lined the narrow walkway from the front gate to "Prabhupada House", their hands filled with flowers and rose petals, hastily distributed from a basket. As Prabhupada slowly walked up the path, his silver-handled cane tucked under one arm, he cupped his hands and humbly accepted the flowers. Prabhupada crossed the courtyard, slipped off his br
At 7.30pm, Srila Prabhupada came down to the temple to give class. He sat on a large, colourfully embroidered sky-blue cushion placed between two large matching bolsters. Prabhupada asked the devotees which part of the Gita they would like him to speak on. Guru Krpa Swami suggested the ninth chapter. Turning to verse one, Srila Prabhupada commented that this chapter contained the most confidential knowledge of Bhagavad-gita. In his long and thoughtful class, Prabhupada drew a distin
When Prabhupada entered the temple room at 2.30pm, he smiled approvingly at the beauty of the Deities. He also noticed that since his last visit the marble and onyx floor had been polished to a mirror finish. Elegant gold leafing now adorned the Deity room gates and the wall separating the Deity room from the temple was now elaborately hand painted with various auspicious symbols, such as the conch, club, disc and lotus flower. Prabhupada noted that the time was lat
Brainwash movement?
A notable feature of the 1976 Ratha-yatra parade was the presence of angry demonstrators. This type of animosity, of course, was not a new thing; angry Christians had tried to disrupt the Melbourne Ratha parade in 1974. Yet the latest opposition was far more organised and vehement. This time angry Christians were joined by a band of disgruntled parents. This particular group, calling themselves The Anti-Krishna Movement, followed the procession carrying banners announcing that
Srila Prabhupada's young disciple Hari-sauri had left Melbourne some months after Srila Prabhupada's May 1975 visit in search of a change of service. While in India, Hari-sauri was greatly fortunate to become Prabhupada's personal servant. His tenure began in late November 1975, and after five weeks of travelling with His Divine Grace, the party arrived in Bombay on the second-last day of December. Upon arrival in his room at Hare Krsna Land, Srila
Hare Krishna! Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
On eve of disappearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, we are happy to announce the release of a new website that will inspire you to do what was very pleasing to Srila Prabhupada – book distribution.
Please visit www.iskconbookdistribution.com
Some devotees in Sydney, Madhudvisa explained, had been propagating the theory that since no one falls from Vaikuntha, the conditioned souls must have fallen from the Brahman effulgence.
When I arrived here in Sydney, I was asked the same question that Subal Maharaja asked you, and I proceeded to answer in your like fashion. This caused some disturbance amongst all the devotees, for previously Mohanananda, Upendra and others were teaching something else. That is, we never had an active relationsh
