Prabhupada had been kind and encouraging to him, gently coaxing him to again take up the role, and dress, of a sannyasi.

Since Prabhupada?s visit to New Zealand in 1973, Tusta Krishna Swami had left ISKCON and was heading up his own group outside the jurisdiction of the local temple. Adamant that he would neither move back in the temple nor work co-operatively with ISKCON, he had given up the sannyasa dress and grown his hair. However, Tushta Krishna had recently arrived in Melbourne and had visited Prabhupada a couple of times. Srila Prabhupada had expressed his appreciation for Tushta Krishna?s service, especially his time spent in Bombay and his opening of the Auckland centre. Prabhupada had been kind and encouraging to him, gently coaxing him to again take up the role, and dress, of a sannyasi. In the evening, Tushta Krishna again visited. He had been making genuine attempts to take Prabhupada?s instructions to heart and had cut his hair short. Prabhupada appreciated Tusta?s attempts but didn?t let up in his preaching to bring Tushta back to full spiritual health. Tushta Krishna sat with a few other devotees as Prabhupada spoke about the need for following rules and regulations.