It is Vaikuntha

In early May a few of the San Francisco devotees drive down to see Prabhupada and imbibe the new standards. Among them is Lochan dasa, whom Prabhupada has invited to Los Angeles to do some sculpting work for the sanctuary.

Lochan dasa: I was driving down from San Francisco to see Srila Prabhupada for the first time. We got there at 1:30 in the morning, and Vishnujana had stayed up until we got there, just to be able to receive us nicely and make sure we got bedded down for the night. I was actually very moved by his warmth and wonderful mood to host and receive us.

When the East Coast temple presidents come to sunny California to observe the model temple, they are able to experience what they had only heard through the grapevine that the kirtans in Los Angeles are the best in the country. The temple president from Washington DC is especially impressed.

Damodara: Vishnujana was the sankirtana leader. I talked with him and went out with him. I remember his charisma and personal magnetism. Incredible. Everybody looked up to him. He was no dictator by any means; he just had such a feeling of goodness, charm, and power. Not power over people, but the power that comes from within out of love for Krishna, Prabhupada, and devotees. He was amazing. I remember putting washers on his fingers and wrapping adhesive tape around them so that he could play mridanga for five hours straight without his hands bleeding. The parts that weren't taped usually ended up bleeding a little bit anyway. His determination and energy were incredible. He had a good voice and a wonderful musical sense. His party was always swaying around and catching attention. He had a good show. I guess I was as taken by him as anybody. You couldn't help but really like him. One tune of his I brought back to Washington and we kept singing it, the Vishnujana tune. We sang it a lot out on sankirtana. It had a hypnotic effect.

Rupanuga: I was in the garden with Srila Prabhupada and a few others doing japa. Vishnujana was in the temple leading a kirtan. There was a side walkway along the edge of the building, and a door was open into the temple room. You could hear the kirtan very clearly coming out the door with Vishnujana singing. Srila Prabhupada looked up and said, "It is Vaikuntha." At that moment we were all overwhelmed with this feeling of ecstasy. As soon as Srila Prabhupada said it's like Vaikuntha, the sound from the temple turned into a tangible feeling. A wave of music and ecstasy came out the door and rolled down the side of the building, down the walkway, and enveloped us all. We were all under this sea of blissful sound. We didn't say anything. We just quietly sat there and continued chanting japa very softly, but we were all ecstatic. When Prabhupada said it was Vaikuntha, it turned into a Vaikuntha feeling.