Sukadeva prabhu held up the end of his dhoti for Prabhupada to wipe his hands on.

Due to crossing the international date line, we arrived in Honolulu at 7:00 A.M. on the same date we left Fiji. Pushta Krishna Maharaja and I were careful to avoid the same mistake we made coming into Australia, so we assigned all the baggage to our own arrival cards. Srila Prabhupada was thus able to proceed directly through U.S. Customs without problem. Sukadeva dasa, the president, Siddha-svarupananda Maharaja and a small group of devotees met him outside, draping him with fragrant garlands of frangipani. Some young children eagerly stepped forward with offerings of fresh fruit. One young fellow clutched a whole papaya, which Srila Prabhupada received with a bright smile and "Hare Krishna!" I had considerable difficulty with customs and was unnecessarily harassed by an overly-detailed inspection of my baggage and distinctly unfriendly officers. I found out later that Gurukripa Maharaja, whose Nama-hatta party travels with gorgeously worshipped Gaura-Nitai deities, once had all the Deity jewelry, worth many thousands of dollars, confiscated here. Customs had accused them of smuggling and demanded penalties. A few other fringe devotees have been caught with other types of genuine contraband, and thus the officials specifically target all Hare Krishna devotees. The temple is an impressive, two-story, wooden mansion, situated on about an acre of land. On permanent loan to ISKCON from Ambarisha dasa, the great-grandson of auto-magnate Henry Ford, its location about halfway up into the picturesque Honolulu hills provides an unusual blend of simultaneous rain and shine; high up in the hills it rains a lot, and down on the ocean front it is always clear and sunny. Here, the Deities and the devotees enjoy the best of both. A majestic banyan tree dominates the back garden. The devotees grow their own vegetables around the grounds, and flowers, mangoes, pineapples and dabs (young coconuts) seem abundant. Outside the front entrance to the building are the biggest tulasi plants I have ever seen?they stand at least seven or eight feet tall. Our Hawaii yatra was the first to successfully cultivate and worship Srimati Tulasi devi, thanks to the sincere efforts of Govinda dasi, one of Srila Prabhupada's earliest disciples. Upon arrival Prabhupada went into the temple room to see the beautiful Panca-tattva Deities, the only ones in the Movement. About three feet tall, They are fashioned from papier-m?che, again the product of Govinda dasi's devotion. Handing his cane to Siddha-svarupa Maharaja, Prabhupada stepped forward and offered his prostrated obeisances before Their Lordships. Bharata dasa then offered him caranamrita, and because there was no towel, Sukadeva prabhu held up the end of his dhoti for Prabhupada to wipe his hands on. After a lively kirtana and reception from the excited devotees, Prabhupada gave a very short talk from the second verse of Sri Upadesamrita. He complimented the devotees on their enthusiasm and assured them that if they follow the regulative principles as given by Srila Rupa Gosvami, their lives would be successful. He also stressed the value of his books. "I'll speak something, you may forget; but if you read from the book you will get good opportunity to understand the philosophy. So our principle is to study the books as well as to distribute the books. People will be benefited and their life will be successful. This is Krishna consciousness movement. Thank you very much." He then retired to his quarters. They are directly above the temple room, and are lightly furnished, well-lit and spacious, with polished wooden floors and wood panelled walls creating an old-world elegance. A sun deck, built atop the carport over the front entrance, adjoins the bathroom, making an ideal spot for Prabhupada's massage. Govinda dasi and a few others accompanied Prabhupada in. She told him that her husband Gaurasundara dasa, another of Prabhupada's first disciples, who with Govinda dasi initiated the preaching here, now has an asrama on the island of Hawaii, where he lives with a second wife. Govinda dasi asked Prabhupada if he would see him and try to heal the rift that had developed between Gaurasundara and ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada immediately agreed, and will send him an invitation.