December 1, 1975 : Kurukshetra
Hari Sauri: In Kurukshetra, Gulzarilal Nanda received Srila Prabhupada at a nearby guest house. They took breakfast together, then Nandaji took him on a tour of the area known as Brahma-sarovara. Nandaji took Prabhupada around to one end of the tank where he pointed out some plots of land that were available for development, as well as some land along the side of the lake. It became clear he wanted Srila Prabhupada to purchase a parcel of land. He declined to give any immediate decision on the land purchase but assured Nandaji that he would be in touch with him in the near future.
Prabhupada decided to visit another, less developed, area of Kurukshetra called Jyotisar. This area has not been within the focus of attention of Nandaji's Manava Dharma Trust, although it is reputed to be the actual place where the Bhagavad-gita was spoken. Prabhupada walked about and gave the entire area a thorough inspection. After ten minutes he asked us what we thought about it. Harikesa put it very succinctly. "The other place was like the heavenly planets, but this place is Vaikuntha!" Prabhupada smiled and said that we should build a temple of Krishna and Arjuna here.
At Brahma-sarovara he suggested that another temple could be built for Krishna, Balarama, and Subhadra, because They went there to bathe during the solar eclipse. Caitya-guru was chosen to negotiate with Nandaji for the land. Prabhupada also requested him to try to get land donated at Jyotisar. On the way back, Prabhupada candidly remarked about the Kurukshetra development. "They call it manava-dharma [religious actions for humanity]; I call it pasu-dharma [animal life]. One-and-a-half crores of rupees spent, and they erect a big statue for birds to pass stool on. But they have installed not one single Deity."
Prabhupada decided to visit another, less developed, area of Kurukshetra called Jyotisar. This area has not been within the focus of attention of Nandaji's Manava Dharma Trust, although it is reputed to be the actual place where the Bhagavad-gita was spoken. Prabhupada walked about and gave the entire area a thorough inspection. After ten minutes he asked us what we thought about it. Harikesa put it very succinctly. "The other place was like the heavenly planets, but this place is Vaikuntha!" Prabhupada smiled and said that we should build a temple of Krishna and Arjuna here.
At Brahma-sarovara he suggested that another temple could be built for Krishna, Balarama, and Subhadra, because They went there to bathe during the solar eclipse. Caitya-guru was chosen to negotiate with Nandaji for the land. Prabhupada also requested him to try to get land donated at Jyotisar. On the way back, Prabhupada candidly remarked about the Kurukshetra development. "They call it manava-dharma [religious actions for humanity]; I call it pasu-dharma [animal life]. One-and-a-half crores of rupees spent, and they erect a big statue for birds to pass stool on. But they have installed not one single Deity."
Reference: A Transcendental Diary Volume 1 - Hari Sauri Dasa
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