Initial day struggles

Gargamuni Dasa: So when Prabhupada arrived in America in 1965 in September, late September, he arrived in Butler, where he preached for three weeks. He preached for three weeks, and his accommodation was very simple. Actually, for the first ten months, Prabhupada was homeless, at that time. He didn't have a fixed residence, which Prabhupada was never used to, because he always had a fixed residence. Even as a sannyasi, he stayed at various places in Vrindavana, at Keshi Ghat, and then Radha Damodara where he ended up. And even in Delhi when he was printing the books, he was at Chippiwada temple. He always had accommodation, a fixed residence, but this is the first time that he had no fixed residence. He didn't know where he was going to sleep, didn't know where he was going to cook and eat, because Prabhupada wouldn't eat without himself cooking. So they put him, the Agarwals - Sally and Gopal Agarwal - put Prabhupada in the YMCA.

The YMCA is sort of a hostel where students stay. Very simple, very inexpensive, maybe at that time five dollars a day, in today's money 300 rupees a day, a very simple accommodation. It was called the Young Men’s Christian Association, YMCA, where students could stay - any denomination. Although it was a Christian enterprise, anybody could stay. But it was very simple because the Agarwals had no space in their apartment for Prabhupada to stay. But Prabhupada would come there and cook for the family, and especially he cooked for Gopal.

Gopal, there was one thing that he greatly missed, which he, his wife couldn't make. And that was chapatis. Prabhupada used to make chapatis for Gopal, which Gopal greatly appreciated, as well as cook on his three-tier cooker, which I explained before. He would make the sabji, the dal, and the rice. He would cook for the Agarwal family and they supplied the vegetables and everything. And then, of course, Prabhupada had to go back to the YMCA in the evening times.