As he walked Gopala Krsna told Prabhupada that Sri Laksna Pandit, the sister-in-law of one of our western devotees and a famous actress and singer, was scheduled to sing bhajanas at our pandala tomorrow. He wondered if that was all right.
"Yes," Prabhupada told him. "Before Deity one can do. Before Deity one can show devotional activities, but not otherwise. Otherwise it will be sense enjoyment."
Just to make doubly sure, Gopala said, "In Vrndavana once you told me not to have the rasa-lila by these professionals also."
"No, before Deity everything," Prabhupada told him.
Acyutananda Maharaja also had a question about a program involving outsiders. "We're invited to do kirtana to inaugurate a Bhagavat-saptaha and the Dvaraka Sankaracarya will be present." He said that since Sumati Morarji is the patron of the event, he assumed it would be a Vallabhacarya sect function.
Prabhupada was agreeable. "No, no, we have no objection with Vallabha."
Then he mentioned the letter he had recently sent to Sumati Morarji from France. "About that Vallabhacarya, she wrote me letter, I've replied it."
"Yes, Giriraja told me," Acyutananda said. "I never mention those ..."
"No, don't mention it," Prabhupada said.
Acyutananda explained, "Their history is that Vallabhacarya had the dream and discovered at Govardhana the Sri Nathaji, Gopala Deity, and there was no Madhavendra Puri."
Srila Prabhupada gave a little look of surprise. "Accha? But in the court it has been established. One lawyer in Delhi, he told me that this Deity belongs to the Gaudiya-sampradaya."
"How did it come to them?" Acyutananda asked.
"Somebody delivered to Vallabhacarya. Madhavendra Puri is not possible, somebody else." Then Srila Prabhupada asked, "Dvaraka Sankaracarya, he's a Mayavadi, and he'll give Bhagavata?"
"No," Acyutananda told him. "He's just going to give blessings to the ... He's presiding, I guess."
Apparently satisfied, Srila Prabhupada walked for a few minutes. But then he brought the matter up for discussion again. "Bhagavat-saptaha, it is not authorized," he said.
"No," Acyutananda Maharaja acknowledged. "But in some editions of Bhagavatam they have a Bhagavata-mahatmyam. And there's a story about bhakti and jnana and vairagya and Narada Muni."
Prabhupada shook his head disapprovingly. "That no acarya has mentioned."
"That's Gita Press again," Harikesa Swami said.
Acyutananda added, "They say how this is the instructions for how Bhagavata should be read in seven days up to this canto."
Prabhupada dismissed it. "Gita Press was Mayavadi."
- From "A Transcendental Diary Vol 4" by HG Hari Sauri Prabhu
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