After garlands were given by leading citizens, local children performed a lovely rasa-lila dance. It was pure and simple, and Prabhupada enjoyed it
In mid-afternoon Karttikeya Mahadevia drove us in his old American limousine for a program in another nearby town called Bavala (pop. 20,000).
Along the way Prabhupada incited our enthusiasm for the village preaching programs. He told us that in the 1950s he had made plans to travel all around India, hoping to gather up a force of brahmacari preachers. Somehow it never happened, for he had neither men nor money. And Krishna had another plan for him preaching in the West. He said that now Krishna has sent him so many nice young men to help fulfil his long-cherished vision.
Jasomatinandana eagerly offered to organize a program in a different village every day, and Karttikeya even offered his car if Prabhupada wanted it.
Prabhupada encouraged Hamsaduta take up this engagement, declaring that he would personally travel with the party. It was such an exciting concept, and Prabhupada was so enthusiastic, the fact that such a program would be almost physically impossible for him wasn't even mentioned.
For Prabhupada, preaching means that there is no consideration other than spreading Krishna consciousness, whatever the cost.
In Bavala, like Sanand, thousands of people turned out to greet him. Taken first to a small house and worshiped by local brahmanas, he later boarded a camel cart for a procession through the main streets. There were four or five camel carts, many bullock carts, and many, many thousands of people practically the whole town.
Prabhupada was perched up on a high seat covered with white cloth, and I sat in front of him on the deck. Hamsaduta stood directly behind Prabhupada. This was a little troublesome for Hamsaduta because every time the caravan stopped the camel pulling the cart behind us would inch forward so close that he was literally breathing down Hamsaduta's neck.
We stopped once at a Swami Narayana Temple and then went on to a meeting hall. After garlands were given by leading citizens, local children performed a lovely rasa-lila dance. It was pure and simple, and Prabhupada enjoyed it. He then led a kirtana and gave a fairly short English lecture on Bhagavad-gita (3.14), about food grains being the result of the performance of sacrifice.
About three thousand noisy, but respectful, people packed into an open area to hear Prabhupada tell them not to grow jute and tobacco but to produce food grains, chant, avoid the four aspects of sinful life, and please Krishna by their work. His lecture was brief, but direct and to the point. After explaining that the purpose of life is simply to please Lord Vishnu, he outlined the process of work by which this can be achieved. "It is not possible that we can give up sinful activities by our own endeavor, because in this age, Kali-yuga, everyone is addicted to some sort of sinful activities. But if we surrender to Krishna as He is instructing, fully, without any reservation, He will help us to become free from sinful reactions."
Immediately after the close of the lecture, as the excited towns people clamored around, he climbed back into the car and returned to Sanand. Upon arrival, he went straight to the pandala where he gave another lecture, this time in Hindi. It was after ten o'clock when we arrived back at the palace.
Reference: Transcendental Diary Volume 1 by Hari Sauri Dasa
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