A Memo to All Centers

A Memo to All Centers Repeatedly Srila Prabhupada says, "I only want my disciples to take this Movement seriously." So, the punch line is that Prabhupada wants to initiate the following schedule: 1. Reside four months in India, four months in Europe, and four months in the USA out of each year. 2. See or speak to no one except very important visitors wherever his is staying. 3. Be completely relieved of managerial affairs and have full time for translating. What this means to us is the following: 1. Don't ask Prabhupada to come to our Temple. 2. Solve all problems amongst ourselves and don't burden Prabhupada with them. 3. Continue to advance dynamically in Krishna consciousness by keeping all our principles very strictly, and vigorously preach and propagate the movement around the world. Now we have the GBC, the sannyasis, the presidents, and so many qualified devotees. We have to give up the habit of placing everything on Prabhupada's shoulders. We must be responsible, mature, steadfast, and convinced. Wherever Prabhupada is staying he will deliver morning lectures. Presidents, etc., may visit there and go on the walks with Prabhupada. Other than that we must take care of all affairs. Enough said. The rest is up to us. Haribol. Your servant, Karandhar das Adhikari APPROVED: A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. So many devotees have come to Los Angeles now that Prabhupada is here. One day, Vishnujana Swami arrives at the temple. He has left the brahmacaris in Miami to renovate the new bus. As soon as he arrives, Maharaja manifests his former position as the inspirational leader of New Dwaraka. On morning walks a lot of 'sticks' accompany Prabhupada, like a forest of dandas. Vishnujana Swami is also on the walks. As Prabhupada returns from his morning walk, Vishnujana grabs a mridanga and leads kirtan when Prabhupada enters the temple for darshan. Then Maharaja leads the guru puja kirtan. Pandu is back in New Dwaraka. His service is taking out the daily sankirtan party to downtown Los Angeles. The party comprises 10-15 new devotees who go out with Pandu to chant the Holy Names and distribute prasadam sweets. But with Vishnujana Swami back in town, the sankirtan party now swells to over 200 devotees because everyone wants to go out chanting with Maharaja. On Friday nights the party goes to Hollywood where the tourists gather. As the kirtan party chants down the sidewalk, passersby are pushed back against the shop windows. Restaurant diners stop eating to look up and stare in wonderment. Vishnujana is so immersed leading kirtan that he attracts everybody's attention. On Saturday nights, sankirtan is in Westwood. There's a large open area in front of the Bank of America that can accommodate hundreds of devotees. With Maharaja leading kirtan, every devotee takes advantage of his association to chant and dance with abandon as crowds stop to watch. At the temple, Vishnujana stays in one of the small rooms that Karandhar has fixed up underneath Prabhupada's quarters. Srutakirti is up the stairs in the servant's quarters at the end of the hallway next to Prabhupada's rooms.

Srutakirti: Vishnujana Swami had an incredible voice, and I heard him preaching to a college girl in one room below Prabhupada's quarters. I thought this was unusual for a sannyasi. It caused conversation! Sannyasis didn't associate with women in private areas, that's why it was like a shock. Even Prabhupada would call me in and make me sit down if there was a woman in the room. Vishnujana is not conscientious about how others view his position. He is more like an avadhuta and his concern is spreading the Holy Name as prophesied by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He openly preaches to whoever is interested in Krishna consciousness. He seems to lack the social awareness that a sannyasi can't preach to women the same way as to men. This mentality is disturbing to some devotees, and especially to Karandhar. Another thing that disturbs some devotees is that Vishnujana Swami dozes during japa. Never mind that he is awake doing full-out service without any rest. But this further agitates Karandhar. Although fully dedicated to his spiritual master's mission, Karandhar is struggling with his senses. This leads to a fault-finding mentality. Eventually, such a state of mind results in a fall-down. Prabhupada has a deep love for Karandhar and appreciates Karandhar's integrity and honesty about his situation. Although they say sex is for procreation only once a month, many devotees are beginning to take license with that. But in these early days nobody talks about such things, and nobody reveals their mind in confidence. Some devotees notice Karandhar's attitude towards Vishnujana Maharaja, but few take it seriously. Karandhar's wife, Sacidevi, however, can't help but notice the change in her husband and the change in Vishnujana Swami who, years earlier, had inspired her to become a devotee.

Sachidevi: There was something personal going on between the GBC, Karandhar, and Vishnujana Swami, who felt oppressed. That was the feeling I got. I sensed that there was a lot of envy. No one ever validated that; it was just my personal view. Karandhar was down on him, and me. It's painful to remember it, but I think things were going on ' politics. It was discouraging to him and it kind of diffused his bhakti. There was a 3-way thing there. Prabhupada made a lot of comments that Karandhar was too heavy on him.

Ragavindu: I was Hrdayananda's secretary in Los Angeles so I saw Vishnujana Swami with the GBC men and other sannyasis. Everyone was different in private than they were in public. I could tell Vishnujana was having a hard time. We would all chant japa in the sannyasi quarters, and he was falling asleep practically every bead. He was expressing that he was having a hard time. He wasn't trying to be humble. But he didn't explain what it meant to have a hard time. Karandhar was the GBC, and he was anti-sannyasi. He wanted to kick all the sannyasis out of where they normally stayed when they came to the LA temple. Everyone thought Karandhar was nuts or something. No one took it seriously, but Hrdayananda Maharaja was especially angry. Although Karandhar continues his inimical mood, Vishnujana Maharaja tries to remain neutral. Sadly, only a month later Karandhar resigns his GBC post due to having an affair with another woman. A few days before Christmas eight devotees arrive from Venezuela to take initiation. On the morning of December 25, initiations are held and Srila Prabhupada motions to the new devotees from his vyasasana. "So come on. Chant the mantra, then I will give the names. I am not asking individually about the four principles. I suppose you know this. But I was just explaining, sat and asat. These two things are side by side. Just like there is darkness and there is light. You'll see, one side is light, and one side is dark. Similarly, sat and asat, they are existing side by side. If you don't remain this side, then you come to this other side. So it is my choice." "So this Hare Krishna is the bright side, and the other things, material activities, and sinful activities, meat-eating, intoxication, gambling, illicit sex, is the dark side. So it is your choice. If you remain on the bright side, then your progress is certain, and if you fall down again on the dark side, that is your misfortune. So you should always remember that. Come on."

One by one the six men and two ladies from Venezuela, along with two ladies from Los Angeles temple, come up to accept their beads and their new names from Srila Prabhupada. Later that afternoon, one of the Venezuelan initiates, Virabahu, is eager to attend the sandhya-arati kirtan. The temple room has very thick doors and the kirtan can't be heard through the closed doors, so as not to disturb the neighbors. As he opens the doors there is a blast of sound so powerful that it just sweeps him away, pulling him into the kirtan. He barely has time to offer his obeisances to the Deities, as he is just swept up in the kirtan.

Virabahu: Vishnujana Swami was leading the kirtan. Everybody was dancing ecstatically and I was jumping and dancing in ecstasy all through the kirtan, right to the end of the prema dhvani prayers. I didn't stop dancing the whole time. I was dancing like a madman jumping up and down. The other Venezuelan devotees are surprised to see their rather grave and sedate godbrother dancing like a madman. Another thing that surprises the Venezuelan devotees is that the Los Angeles devotees are taking around a petition on a big piece of cardboard, which states that the LA community of New Dwaraka wants Vishnujana Maharaja to stay in Los Angeles. They want everyone to sign the petition. Nobody wants Maharaja to leave because they love him so much. The Venezuelan devotees are impressed by this mood of affection. Never have they seen such a thing, that the devotees love Maharaja so much that they circulate a petition to persuade him not to leave. Tripurari: We sent a petition around, and every devotee signed it, to have him stay in Los Angeles as the resident sannyasi. But he wanted to travel and not be tied down to any particular place. He was a very popular person. I heard the story how his bus blew up and he saved the Deities himself, carried Them off the bus, and hitchhiked with Radha-Damodara and some brahmacaris. He was, in a word, blissful. A similar situation had occurred in 1970, when Tamal Krishna wanted Vishnujana to come to London. He had several devotees petition Prabhupada to send Vishnujana to London because they felt that he would ignite a Krishna conscious explosion in Europe. But Prabhupada was adamant that Vishnujana couldn't leave Los Angeles. He wanted the devotees in London to become enthusiastic on their own by following the process of bhakti-yoga that he had taught, because they were all senior men.

Karta dd: I went back to Caracas and somebody sent the Radha-Damodara TSKP tape. I was on the altar and I hear this song sri-rupa-manjari-pada... This was the first time I was struck deeply by a particular bhajan. I thought, this is Vishnujana Swami again. He was so far into the vanguard. We didn't know what he was singing about but the way he was singing it! At that time nobody could figure out top from bottom, side to side. Nobody knew anything. But he was already who knows where' It was extraordinary, like a mystic power. You see so many people now and they're good kirtaniyas but this man had a special shakti. It was his internal thing; something from inside. On the last day of 1973, there's a lively discussion on the morning walk. "Now, if you analyze the present human society," Prabhupada explains, "you will find there is not a single human being. All animals. Not a single human being. People do not know what is the aim of life. That is the difficulty." "Yes. From childhood they are taught sense gratification," Vishnujana adds. "They do not know that for sense gratification enough facility is there in the animal kingdom. So if you want to give facility for sense gratification, does it mean that you want to become more than or less than animal?" "They want dog's life," Vishnujana says. "They think a dog's life is good life. They have to work hard and the dog stays at home all day and enjoys their nice big house. So they think I would be better to be the dog." "And so they have become," Prabhupada agrees. "But when he becomes street dog, That means he has to depend on good master. Big apartment for dog means he belongs to the master. So he has to find out a good master. But if he fails to find out a good master, then he's a street dog. Dog's life is good, provided he gets a good master. So therefore we have decided to become the dog of Krishna, the best master." Everyone laughs at this remark. "And the master says, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayishyami masucah, [Bhagavad-gita, 18.66] 'I will give you protection.' So why not become the dog of Krishna?"