India, 1970
Yamuna: The two weeks we spent in Bombay were two of the most powerful weeks in my life because at this time Srila Prabhupada allowed us to taste kirtana in Lord Krishna’s Bharatavarsha. The center of our activity every day was nagar sankirtana. Our kirtana party was like a family, a tight family. We were shoulder to shoulder, just like godbrothers and godsisters, with so much affection and respect for each other. We felt that Srila Prabhupada was our father and we were his spiritual children.Kirtana was the life-giving aspect of our existence.
From Bombay Srila Prabhupada took his disciples throughout India to preach. One evening, when their train pulled into the New Delhi station for a twenty-minute stopover, a Mr. D. D. Gupta from Delhi, whom Prabhupada had corresponded with, met Prabhupada on the train. He wanted to help the preaching and invited Prabhupada to stay in Delhi. Prabhupada already had programs scheduled in Bombay but told Gurudasa, “This man is inviting us. Get down and see what you can do.” The train was to leave immediately; there was no time for discussion. Gurudasa agreed, and he and Yamuna and four brahmacharis got off the train to try to start an ISKCON temple in Delhi. Her few belongings beside her, Yamuna offered obeisances outside Prabhupada’s window and prayed for his blessings as the train pulled away.
From Bombay Prabhupada wrote to Gurudasa and at the end of the letter added, “My dear Yamuna, please accept my blessings. Practically you are the leader of the party. Please let me know how things are going. Hope you are all well. ACB” (November 7, 1970)
In their attempts to get things going in Delhi, Yamuna and Gurudasa met many Indian leaders, and Prabhupada wrote to them, “I am so glad to know that you are seeing all the MPs and officials in the government service and if you can make each of them a member of our Society it will be a great service. Try to do it to your best capacity. I am also very much pleased that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is now personally well known to you. For your presence only she has given special order for our devotees stay in Delhi. Certainly this is a good achievement.” (October 17, 1971)
Later, Gurudasa and Yamuna agreed to remain in Vrindavan to help build a temple there, and Prabhupada wrote them, “If you can construct a nice temple in Vrindavan for me in this way, I shall be eternally grateful. . . . Because you are sincere devotees of Krishna, He is giving you all strength and intelligence how to do it.” (December 19, 1972)
And to Gurudasa Srila Prabhupada wrote separately, “I am confident I have entrusted this Vrindavan project, which is one of the most important of our ISKCON, to the right persons, namely, yourself, your good wife, Yamuna Devi, and Kshirodakashayi Prabhu. . . . So far your question regarding women, I have always accepted the service of women without any discrimination.” (May 13 and 26, 1972)
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