720909 - Conversation - Pittsburgh

Conversations by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

720909R!-PITTSBURGH - September 09, 1972 - 08:53 Minutes

Yaśomatīnandana: We got garlanded every block, so many garlands were there it was hard to redistribute again.

Devotee: If you need help. (laughter)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: How many people live in Surat, approximately?

Yaśomatīnandana: Seven, seven I mean (break) . . . five . . . but it is getting bigger and its bigger than Baroda. It's larger than Baroda in population.

Prabhupāda: . . . so it is bigger than in population? Than Baroda.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: And I like that river.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: What is that river?

Yaśomatīnandana: Tāpi.

Prabhupāda: Tāpi

Yaśomatīnandana: Tāpi. Tāpi.

Prabhupāda: Very nice river.

Yaśomatīnandana: It's very nice river.

Prabhupāda: By the riverside there are so many lands.

Yaśomatīnandana: Uhu, yea, but the thing is that Prabhupāda that this river is sometimes very dangerous.

Prabhupāda: Ah, over flooding?

Yaśomatīnandana: Now I think, I don’t think it will over flood because they have got so many projects, dams and things like that but it used to over-flood very often. Every five or six years . . . (indistinct) . . . But that over flooding would affect the whole city, so it doesn’t matt . . . head out the other bank of the city . . . that the waters would rush into the whole city and.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: How many miles away from Bombay?

Yaśomatīnandana: 150.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: 150 miles?

Yaśomatīnandana: 150 miles.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: It's far.

Yaśomatīnandana: Surat is developing also, in other ways also like aerodromic industries.

Prabhupāda: It is a rich city.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes . . . actually.

Prabhupāda: We went to Bardoli.

Yaśomatīnandana: Bardoli?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Yaśomatīnandana: Oh, my, actually my native place belongs to Chaltan. It is only 5 miles from Bardoli.

Prabhupāda: Bardoli is also very nice place.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes . . . I have always felt that the people of Surat district have . . . (indistinct) . . . than most of the people, you know I have seen . . . they have been very friendly and simple mostly.

Prabhupāda: I think that in Gujarat there are two or three cities, Baroda, Surat, Ahmadābād. Is that?

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes these are the three major cities . . . Rājkot, Dvārakā, Porbandar, Jāmnagar . . . but they are not very big cities . . . in Śaurāṣṭra.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: There are a lot of Gujarati's here in this country.

Prabhupāda: Oh yea, all over over.

Yaśomatīnandana: Now all over . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Gujaratis and Sindhis first, first Sindhis.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Then Gujaratis, then Punjabis and then all others. Bengalis . . . (indistinct) . . . Sindhis they can go any part of the world.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes, they have become more adventurous now.

(laughter)

Prabhupāda: Not all . . . but all are allowed. There are.

Yaśomatīnandana: . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Therefore they are very rich communities.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yea.

Prabhupāda: Next to Sindhi, I think Gujarati.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Next Punjabi.

Yaśomatīnandana: . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Sindhi's and Gujarati's they go mostly for business.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Punjabis they go. Part, part . . . partly for business partly for working.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes. Have you ever been to London ghettos? London Indian ghettos? Near London. They say they are living very bad, in London, near London.

Prabhupāda: Yes, London there are many Indians, although they are in London they live like Indians. (laughter)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, very similar. In Russell Square there is one hostel called, "Indian Students Hostel".

Prabhupāda: You have been in London?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. And there, (laughter) Oh, we stayed about, about a couple of nights called, "Indian Students Hostel". That is for transit passengers who just stopped by in London for a couple of days, and then. So we stayed there for. And we were served the . . . all the our Indian reception.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: It was very nice.

Yaśomatīnandana: But.

Prabhupāda: There are many Indian hostels, many.

Yaśomatīnandana: It is so surprising, that I met a girl in . . . who was married to an Indian boy. She stayed there for 17 years, and she did not know a word of English. She was.

Prabhupāda: Yes there are many.

Yaśomatīnandana: So.

Prabhupāda: I know one Maharashtrian lady she is running one hotel for the last 22 years, no 22 years was in 1968, must be 25 years. She invited me I went to her house, she is running one Maharashtrian hotel. She does not know English, she does not know. A little, little." . . . "Yes . . . yes no, very good." That's all. (laughter).

Devotee (2): Śrīla Prabhupāda, excuse me what would you like for lunch?

Prabhupāda: Dal and capātīs, would be nice.

Devotee: You will be going back to India soon?

Yaśomatīnandana: Uh? (laughter) if Prabhupāda wants me to go . . . I want to work for a while so that I can have enough money, to start.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes get some money.

Devotee: If he needs a sannyāsī, I will go.

Prabhupāda: No.

(laughter)

Yaśomatīnandana: . . . (indistinct)

Devotee: To Surat?

Prabhupāda: We require many men.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Hundreds and thousands to make this propaganda all over the world.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Unlimited number we want. It is so important moment. Any number of men we cannot imagine.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: We should take over the world . . .

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Yaśomatīnandana: Jaya.

Prabhupāda: Maṇipur . . . centre . . . (Hindi).

Svarūpa Dāmodara: (Hindi) nagalok. There was a mistake in our dealing with the our leaders. They did not even allowed to come to the house, such a mistake. So they became all Christians.

Prabhupāda: No, they may not be allowed to enter the house but why they should not be elevated?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. This was a mistake done by the . . . our leaders.

Yaśomatīnandana: Śrīla Prabhupāda, I heard that in south India the Christian missionaries, even the brāhmins are converted into Christians and how, you know, that the Christian priest would go into the house of a brāhmin and put a block of bread into his well and then the brāhmin would be debarred from his caste because the brāhmins were, you know.

Prabhupāda: (indistinct) . . . also.

Yaśomatīnandana: So that is why he was forced to accept Christianity because he would not have any position in his camp. (cut) (end)