Not Rolling stonesFriday, 23 February 1973Srila Prabhupada was happy with the progress that Tusta Krsna Swami had made in establishing Krsna consciousness in New Zealand. The large, sturdy temple building was a great improvement from the small weatherboard cottage in Mount Eden.Yet there were things that had disturbed Srila Prabhupada. During his stay in Auckland in 1973, Srila Prabhupada heard of a bizarre plan: the devotees had decided to modify the altar so the top part of the throne could revolve, "lazy-susan" style. Furthermore, the bay windows behind the Deities would be adapted to opening doors, so that in the summer months the Deities could swing around, allowing the devotees Their darsana in the garden. Radha and Krsna, they had reasoned, would also like to see the nice garden. Without firm grasp of the seriousness of the process of Deity worship, the idea sounded harmless enough. When Srila Prabhupada was told the idea, however, he was very grave. He spoke disapprovingly. "The Deities," he said, "are not rolling stones".Reflecting on Prabhupada's comment, some devotees had thought Srila Prabhupada was referring to the popular group, The Rolling Stones, whereas others presumed that Prabhupada was referring to the axiom, "a rolling stone gathers no moss". Either way, Prabhupada had made it clear: the Deities were neither "rock and roll" idols nor stone idols, meant for whimsical gratification. The Deity was Krsna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the devotees were His servants. Their business was to serve the Lord strictly according to the rules and regulations of the scriptures, and not according to their concocted imagination.- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu
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