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October 17, 1976 : Chandigarh

Hari Sauri: Srila Prabhupada and his disciples were all invited by Puri Maharaja for a program and feast at the Sri Caitanya Gaudiya Matha in Sector 20.

By the time Prabhupada arrived, a large crowd was already gathered in the nearly complete kirtana hall. Prabhupada smiled broadly and recalled the reaction of some of his Godbrothers in 1965 when they heard he was planning to go to the West to preach. It would be too difficult for him to create Vaishnavas there, they had said. Bon Maharaja had gone and had failed, so they advised him not to go. Fortunately for us, he had ignored them. Prabhupada laughed and said, "So here is the result, what you are seeing now."

Then he was taken over to the main building where he was served prasadam, while the devotees took theirs in the courtyard. The prasadam was excellent, and Srila Prabhupada complimented them on their expertise in cooking and distributing prasadam. He ate an unusually large amount, even calling for seconds. He was happy to visit and pleased with his reception and their arrangements. All the Gaudiya Matha people here are friendly, and Puri Maharaja seems a very able, active preacher and a good man. It is one of Prabhupada's longstanding desires that there be cooperation between him and the various branches of the Gaudiya Matha, so today's program was a source of great satisfaction.


Reference: A Transcendental Diary Volume 5 - Hari Sauri Dasa