Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Our sankirtana party had been going out daily, pushing Back to Godhead distribution and holding kirtanas throughout the city. The small house which we had rented was easy to maintain, and the low rent allowed us to save a major part of our collections. Prabhupada had discussed with me the possibility of a world tour beginning in Europe, and I had been saving money with this in mind. Our days were free of worry as we concentrated all of our energy on developing the preaching. As for the temple, that was a concern for the local devotees. We were Prabhupada's personal sankirtana party, and we preferred to remain separate. But Prabhupada had a different idea. Sitting in the bare, unfurnished room set aside for his use, Prabhupada explained that the temple was not being properly managed. It was the largest building in ISKCON, and yet it had the fewest devotees. Dayananda was sincerely trying to do his best, but it was not possible for him alone. Prabhupada spoke of the great potential for spreading Krsna consciousness in Los Angeles and revealed how he envisioned having a first-class temple and big festivals to attract the people of the city. "Now is the proper time for you to move in and organize things here with your party. This will be a real challenge," Srila Prabhupada said. Prabhupada knew that I would be hesitant to accept his proposal. When Dayananda had first found the building, Prabhupada had asked how much our sankirtana party could contribute toward the rent. We had only offered to pay one hundred dollars, and Prabhupada had had to personally pay the difference from his book fund.
"But Prabhupada, you told us that you wanted us to go to Europe and all over the world. If we move in here"
Prabhupada interrupted. "No, no. This will just be for a short time." In this way he gradually induced us to take responsibility for organizing the temple.
The brahmacaris took up the task of renovating the temple with the same enthusiastic spirit with which they performed sankirtana. Now, instead of mrdangas and karatalas, we wielded brooms, paint brushes, and hammers. Within days, the building began to take on the atmosphere of a regular ISKCON temple. Every room was given a fresh coat of paint, and in the main chapel an altar was constructed over the stage. Nara-Narayana immediately set to work building Prabhupada a beautiful vyasasana. The alcoves of the meeting hall were converted into an art studio, a puppet-making area, and a sewing room. The women were relocated together in one room, and they helped by sewing curtains for the many windows as well as preparing Prabhupada's personal room. In this way, each part of the building was designated for a specific use. When all the arrangements were complete, I brought Prabhupada to the temple. He walked from one room to the next, inspecting the ceilings, the walls, the floors. Everything was clean and shiny. All of the devotees had been following him around as he made his tour, and now he led them into his room. Sitting on the new cushions that had just been sewn for him, he appreciated the endeavour which we had made-"Now it is a real temple"- and Prabhupada explained how our next engagement should be to arrange for a press conference, so that the public would come to know of our activities. Paid advertisements would be too expensive, and the public would never seriously accept statements we printed about ourselves. It would be better to invite reporters to come and let them write articles describing our movement and its activities. Prabhupada planned out a large feast and asked one of the brahmacaris, Dina-dayalu, to take charge of organizing the whole event.
Biographies and Glorifications of Srila Prabhupada-Servant of the Servant-The West Coast Days-Intimate Encounters-Tamala Krsna Goswami
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