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Hare Krsna

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Question: Why do some people commit horrible crimes without the slightest remorse? Do they have no conscience?

Answer: Our conscience is like our internal watchdog. It barks and warns us whenever the thief of immorality comes to plunder our integrity. Those who heed the watchdog's warning drive away the thief; they reject the immoral temptation by activating their intelligence. Others get so allured by the temptation tha

Devotees were interested to learn that Brian Dixon, the State Minister for Sport and Recreation, had been invited to speak with Srila Prabhupada. Many devotees knew him in his previous capacity as a famous Melbourne footballer, who rose to fame in the late '60s. The strongly-built man, who was accompanied by his attractive young secretary, was introduced to Srila Prabhupada by Sabhapati, who continued to successfully arrange all Srila Prabhupada's interview liaisons.

As the mid-

Later Prabhupada dictated a letter of encouragement and gratitude to his Australian disciples.

Melbourne,
23rd April, 1976
The Assembled Devotees,
Australian Yatra.



My Dear Sons and Daughters,

Please accept my blessings. I am very grateful for all your offerings of daksina to your spiritual master. This is the system. Now all of you must very sincerely follow the regulative principles. Four 'don'ts' and one 'do': No illicit sex life, no intoxication, no gambling, no meat-ea

Friday, 23 April 1976

The early morning was set aside for a ceremony in the temple. About a dozen young men and women were to receive initiation into the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. A few others would receive their gayatri mantra, enabling them to become brahmanas and worship the temple Deities. Prabhupada spoke on the significance of initiation.

"In the Caitanya-caritamrta, while teaching Srila Rupa Goswami, Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, ei rupe brahmanda brahmite kona

In the temple room packed with devotees and guests, Prabhupada continued to speak on Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 9, verse 3. Human life, he explained, was a junction between two destinations. One was to go back to home, back to Godhead and the other was to be involved in the cycle of birth and death. Prabhupada described how the Vedic literature, particularly the Bhagavad-gita, pointed out the correct path to be followed by human beings. The many branches of the Krsna consciousness mov

Thursday, 22 April 1976

Prabhupada was happy to find that local devotees with a talent for gardening had planted 5,000 carnation plants in the temple gardens. He told the devotees that this was a practical way of utilising the grounds. In the afternoon, Srila Prabhupada met with three guests, Michael Gordon, Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick. Doug and Brian were the owners of Ripcurl, a surf clothing company in the beach-resort area of southern Victoria. Michael was the edi

After another ecstatic evening kirtana in the temple, Srila Prabhupada continued speaking on Chapter 9 of Bhagavad-gita, verse 3

Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world.

Faith, Prabhupada pointed out, was a necessary prerequisite for learning. By nature, one had to believe his parents, his superiors and his teachers. If one did not believe in the wor

After Srila Prabhupada rose from his afternoon rest, Ugrasrava arrived with photographic slides of his recent tour with Yasodanandana Swami of the sacred temple sites in South India. Srila Prabhupada agreed to see them, and soon Ugrasrava was setting up a projector and screen in Prabhupada's main darsana room. It was quite a chilly evening, and on Prabhupada's request more heaters were brought into the room. Meanwhile, Prabhupada reclined on his chaise longue engaging in li

Srila Prabhupada had received a letter from Madhudvisa Swami indicating that he had arrived in New York and commenced his service as GBC. He invited Srila Prabhupada to attend the forthcoming Ratha-yatra there, and added that he hoped everything was going on nicely in Australia.

Prabhupada replied:

I have sent you, and I have experienced that you have done nicely in Melbourne and so you are the right one to organise the New York centre. I am here in your t

Wednesday, 21 April 1976

The morning walk on the perimeter road of the Botanic Gardens was animated. While discussing the attitude of Western religionists, Guru Krpa Swami gave the example that his father, although very sinful, would always say "The good Lord is protecting me". Prabhupada asked him: "Why is it that he will be protected and others not? When there is atomic bomb, would Krsna protect then?" He gave the example of Europe. There, he said, people were always af

Later in the afternoon, Tusta Krsna Swami arrived from New Zealand. He and his followers continued to practise Krsna consciousness separate from the Auckland temple. Giving Prabhupada a glowing report of the activities of his farm and city preaching in Auckland, he invited Srila Prabhupada to visit them when he came the following week. Prabhupada accepted his invitation.

In the evening, the devotees set up a television in Prabhupada's room for him to watch the broadcast of

Bhanu dasa, a Canadian devotee of Japanese descent, had been in Japan assisting in fund-raising and Deity worship. Guru Krpa Swami had brought him to Melbourne for a break. Bhanu, a fair cook, had been requested to regularly prepare Srila Prabhupada's lunch. Hari-sauri entered the room with prasadam. Srila Prabhupada stood and walked silently to the small brown marble table in the corner. Prabhupada took lunch without comment, but later sent a message to Bhanu through Hari-sa

Mike Barron and Carol Jarvis, a couple of reporters from two major Melbourne TV stations, came to see Srila Prabhupada at 11am. Prabhupada had been speaking to Pusta Krsna, Hari-sauri and Guru Krpa in his room about the frailties of modern science. The scientists, he said, were ignorant of the soul within the body. Despite their bold claims for creating life, they could not even create a tiny insect.

This theme carried over to Prabhupada's conversation with Mike Barron.

His Divine Grace is Here to Hound Us

A favourable news article appeared in The Age, reporting on the previous day's arrival press conference. Its headline read "His Divine Grace is Here to Hound Us", and displayed a large, smiling picture of Srila Prabhupada. It was an accurate report on the airport interview, particularly on his comments about what he called "the dog's mentality".

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement is here to save us fro

The temple kitchen had burnt down a few months before. Despite the inauspiciousness of the event, devotees had taken it as an opportunity to build a better kitchen in its stead. Since the new kitchen had not been completed, and its temporary replacement was very small, all of Srila Prabhupada's prasadam was being prepared in the kitchen on Sabhapati's travelling bus parked in the temple car park.

Prabhupada's servant Hari-sauri saw to the serving of his breakfast and lunch. Thus i

Sri Melbourne Mahaprabhu Mandir

By the time Srila Prabhupada's dark limousine pulled up outside the temple, the men were chanting on the grass verge. Ladies lined the narrow walkway from the front gate to "Prabhupada House", their hands filled with flowers and rose petals, hastily distributed from a basket. As Prabhupada slowly walked up the path, his silver-handled cane tucked under one arm, he cupped his hands and humbly accepted the flowers. Prabhupada crossed the courtyard, slipped off his br

At 7.30pm, Srila Prabhupada came down to the temple to give class. He sat on a large, colourfully embroidered sky-blue cushion placed between two large matching bolsters. Prabhupada asked the devotees which part of the Gita they would like him to speak on. Guru Krpa Swami suggested the ninth chapter. Turning to verse one, Srila Prabhupada commented that this chapter contained the most confidential knowledge of Bhagavad-gita. In his long and thoughtful class, Prabhupada drew a distin

When Prabhupada entered the temple room at 2.30pm, he smiled approvingly at the beauty of the Deities. He also noticed that since his last visit the marble and onyx floor had been polished to a mirror finish. Elegant gold leafing now adorned the Deity room gates and the wall separating the Deity room from the temple was now elaborately hand painted with various auspicious symbols, such as the conch, club, disc and lotus flower. Prabhupada noted that the time was lat