Last year when I came, I prayed to Krishna, 'Let us have these two places: Detroit and here.' Krishna is so kind, both the places He gave.

We arrived in Toronto at 6:30 P.M. and had our most disagreeable encounter with customs officials yet. I accompanied Srila Prabhupada, who carried his soft, red vinyl hand bag, while Pushta Krishna Maharaja remained behind to bring the luggage through. On the other side of a glass wall next to the customs counter a large number of devotees, many from the Indian community, expectantly gathered. As soon they saw Srila Prabhupada they cheered, "Jaya Prabhupada! Haribol!" There were two customs officers. One of them, tall, with an unpleasant demeanor and a slight sneer on his face, asked Prabhupada to open his bag. Then, slowly, with exaggerated attention, he searched every single item. Before leaving Bombay I had sealed several new tins of snuff with hot wax. Prabhupada uses it to gain relief from high blood pressure. The official insisted on breaking each seal to check inside. At the end of his fruitless search he turned to his fellow officer, looked askance at Srila Prabhupada, and in a most demeaning way said, "So this is what all the noise is about." I flushed with anger, but bit my lip. Srila Prabhupada seemed utterly indifferent, appearing not to have noticed their obnoxious attitude at all. He quietly shut his bag and proceeded on with a bright smile and a wave to all the assembled devotees. They received him joyously and presented him with many garlands including ones from GBC representative Jagadisa dasa, the Toronto temple president Visvakarma dasa, the Montreal president Nandikesvara dasa, and leading members of the Indian community. ISKCON Radha-K-iracora-Gopinatha Temple, 243 Avenue Road, Toronto Prabhupada visited this yatra last year and told them to buy a very big church in a prominent position in the city. The devotees have fulfilled his order successfully and he was now returning in triumph. Despite the former owner's threat to burn it to the ground rather than see it in the hands of ISKCON, the church has been transformed into a monumental home for Lord Krishna and His devotees. A middle-aged Indian devotee, Subhavilasa dasa, was instrumental in the purchase, which cost $400,000. We pulled in front of the main entrance of the grey, Kingston limestone block building. As Prabhupada stepped out of the car devotees offered more garlands and sprinkled rose petals at his feet. Several young Indian boys eagerly crowded forward and bowed down on the pavement while Prabhupada patiently stood, allowing them to touch his feet. Making his way steadily up the dozen or so stone stairs unaided except for his cane, Prabhupada entered a wide hallway and then continued into the temple room. The temple is cavernous, hundreds can enjoy darsana of the Deities. A mezzanine floor, replete with steeply banked seating, runs around three sides. Against the back wall, resplendent on three custom built altars, stood Sri Sri Radha-Ksiracora-Gopinatha in the center, flanked by Their Lordships Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai carved from neem wood, and Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra, who, at about one foot tall, are the smallest of the deities. Prabhupada prostrated himself before each of the three altars. After taking a sip of caranamrita he walked to the colorful flower-bedecked vyasasana, mounted the two marble steps and sat to face his small, but attentive, audience. Srila Prabhupada thanked the members of the Indian community for securing the building for Krishna's use. He is conscious of the fact that they probably give us more support here than anywhere in America, and he clearly wants to encourage them. Referring to the two Christian ministers whom he had met with in Detroit the previous evening, he stated that the Krishna consciousness movement is the true basis for uniting different nations, because it goes beyond the bodily platform and addresses spiritual needs. He said that Krishna consciousness means krishna-tattva, the science of Krishna. The United Nations have struggled for some forty years but still there is no worldwide unity, because they do not know this science. "So we have come here in Toronto to open this center to give this enlightenment to everyone. It is not meant for a particular nation, particular religious system; it is a science. Suppose if we say that you become peaceful, you become honest, you become wise. These instructions are not meant for East or West; it is meant for everyone. So our, this Krishna consciousness movement is to educate people how to become wise, honest, truthful, believer in God. So we think that you shall take seriously this Movement. Actually, this is the platform of united nations, or united living beings. And we are not simply talking, this science is being discussed in volumes of books. We have already published about fifty-four books. These books are selling very nicely. It is not sentiment, it is a science. So we request the people of this nice city, Toronto, to take advantage of this Movement, come here, read our books, make your questions solved, and you'll be all happy. It doesn't matter whether you are Canadian or Indian, it doesn't matter. Thank you very much." He asked for questions, but there were none. Visvakarma prabhu then escorted him upstairs to his quarters which are to the side of the main church. These consist of a reasonably sized sitting room and a small bedroom with attached bathroom to the side. It also has some offices next door, where I am sleeping. Pushta Krishna Maharaja reorganized Srila Prabhupada's sitting room a little, bringing in a more suitable desk for him to work from. I ran around, setting up his dictaphone and unpacking paraphernalia while Prabhupada sat and allowed some of the leading devotees to enter, a large plate of maha-prasadam placed before him. After tasting a morsel, he handed out small portions to everyone, making sure no one was missed. He sat back and grinned. "Last year when I came, I prayed to Krishna, 'Let us have these two places: Detroit and here.' Krishna is so kind, both the places He gave." Everyone laughed in pleasure to hear his intimate confession. Prabhupada went on, "They were trying for this place for several years. When Krishna desires, it can be successful." According to one of the devotees, construction of this building was started in 1896, the year of Srila Prabhupada's birth.