Battle for the Juhu Property

Srutakirti Dasa : When I was Prabhupada's servant, I didn't know much about what was going on in the Society. I did my service and I wasn't interested in hearing so many things. But I saw that Srila Prabhupada was determined to develop the land in Juhu. I was massaging Srila Prabhupada in New Zealand. (The reason so many of my remembrances are of when I was massaging him is because if I wasn't massaging Srila Prabhupada then I wasn't with him. That's why it sounds as if I was always massaging Srila Prabhupada.)

Anyway, at this time we received a call from Bombay to inform us that Mr Nair had died. Mr Nair was a big demon that had put our beloved Srila Prabhupada through much anxiety. And now he was dead. I told Srila Prabhupada, and then I went behind him and started massaging him again. Srila Prabhupada put up his hands and said, "Thank you, Krishna."

In my foolishness, I thought, "That's not a nice reaction when somebody has died," but Prabhupada was glad, so I didn't touch it. I just kept massaging. Prabhupada said, "He was such a demon, he created so many difficulties for me." When Srila Prabhupada thought about experiences it was like he relived them. It seemed as if everything was happening as he thought about it. Prabhupada said, "Even Prahlad Maharaj says that it's good when a snake or a scorpion is killed. Mr. Nair was a great snake. The last time I saw him I noticed he had a limp. Mr. Nair was a robust, energetic man, but when I saw that I thought, 'he's going to die.'"

When Prabhupada was in Bombay he would speak to Mr Nair cordially, calmly, and casually, but he was happy to see him die. As the great kshatriyas would battle in the day and would speak together cordially in the evening, so that's also how Prabhupada battled. So I was massaging Prabhupada as he talked and relished the moment. Then I got into it a little.

I said, "Srila Prabhupada, you said Nair was a great demon. Does that mean that Krishna killed him?" He said, "No, he was not that great of a demon. It was difficult for me because so many of my disciples didn't understand. They thought, 'Why is our spiritual master so attached to this piece of property?' In truth, we could have bought property anywhere. We didn't need that piece of property. But as soon as we bought the property and built the temple, as soon as Krishna was there, I could not allow Him to be removed. I didn't need anything for myself."

At that moment everything came together for me. The battle over that property went on for years. Devotees would come from the West to battle for the Juhu property and before long were licking their wounds, devastated and wanting to leave India. Just being in India was difficult in the early '70s and dealing with this problem in Bombay was impossible. I remember Bhagavan coming to Srila Prabhupada one day saying, "I'm here, Srila Prabhupada. I'm going to take care of this." Bhagavan always dressed neatly in silk. I smiled to myself and thought, "I wonder how long he's going to last here." In India, we had a pessimistic outlook on everything. But sure enough, after a few days, Bhagavan's nicely groomed hair was all over, and he became another war casualty.