Montreal temple, established now for a year and a half, occupied a former bowling alley on the third floor of a building near McGill University. Although the gutters on either side of the eight bowling lanes had been filled in with wood, thus creating a smooth, level floor, the eight hardwood lanes were still prominent. An altar and vyasasana stood against one wall, and a temporary wall partitioned off the men's quarters. There was also a kitchen and separate quarters for the women. With difficulty Prabhupada would daily climb the two flights of stairs and enter the spacious temple room. On the day of his arrival in Montreal, several devotees had carried him up the stairs in a palanquin, but the winding staircase made that too difficult to do daily. So Prabhupada chose to walk.
The original Montreal devotee was Janardana, a Canadian attending McGill University. Janardana wore a beard and long hair, even after his initiation, and lived in an apartment with his wife, who was staunchly opposed to Krsna consciousness. Acknowledging Janardana as an intellectual, Prabhupada had written him long letters answering his philosophical doubts and requesting that he write essays and books on Krsna consciousness.
When the temple had first opened, the McGill Daily had given Janardana a full page to introduce Swami Bhaktivedanta and Krsna consciousness. The headlines had read, "Mind Expansion Under Spiritual Guidance." Montreal's French daily newspaper, Le Nouveau Samedi, interviewed Janardana and published an article: "They claim that the Hindu God Krishna is the Father of Christ and that the inhabitants of the moon are invisible."
About a dozen members had joined the Montreal temple, but so far they had done little to spread Krsna consciousness in Montreal. They had spent most of their energy maintaining themselves spiritually and financially. Although they had held some public kirtanas at the 1967 World's Fair, mostly they had concentrated on transforming the bowling alley, cleaning, cooking for Krsna, and meeting together for classes and kirtanas.
When Srila Prabhupada saw Janardana's academic studies distracting him from temple management, he asked Janardana to appoint a temple commander. One night when Prabhupada came to the temple for his lecture, as soon as he sat on the vyasasana, he looked out to Janardana and asked, "So, have you found a temple commander yet?"
"Oh, no," Janardana replied, "not yet."
Prabhupada then turned toward the altar and beheld the Deities. "That's all right," Srila Prabhupada said. "Lord Jagannatha is the temple commander. We are His servants."
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