April 18
Before going to Europe, Prabhupāda responded to an invitation from his devotees in South India to attend a three-day paṇḍāl festival in Hyderabad. No sooner did he arrive at the airport in Hyderabad, however, than a group of reporters asked him for a press conference.

Prabhupāda consented, and a reporter opened with a technical philosophical question, inquiring whether Prabhupāda’s philosophy was advaita or dvaita. South India was so steeped in the ancient philosophical debate between the Vaiṣṇavas and the Śaṅkarites that here an ordinary news reporter was concerned with comparative philosophies.

Prabhupāda scoffed at the question. “What is the point of discussing such things,” he challenged “ – whether one is dvaita or advaita? Kṛṣṇa says, annād bhavanti bhūtāni. Anna means ‘grains.’ The people have no grains. Grains are produced from the rains, and rains from sacrifice. So perform sacrifice. You have to divide the society into four orders. You may be dvaita or advaita, but you need grains.”

Prabhupāda’s secretary wrote to Bhagavān in Paris, keeping him informed of Prabhupāda’s location and schedule.

You can contact us here until the 29th or 30th of April after which we will be back in Bombay. Your idea for festivals sounds nice. Here they had a three-day pandal. Last night about a thousand people came, sat very silently through his whole lecture, and then pressed forward to receive blessings from Srila Prabhupada. Devotees had the Deities on stage and a vyasasana and lots of prasadam for the guests.

April 25
From Hyderabad Śrīla Prabhupāda flew to Tirupati. There in mountainous Tirumala stands the richest temple in India, where a Deity of Viṣṇu known as Bālajī resides.

The temple managers respectfully welcomed Śrīla Prabhupāda and his party, providing them with two cottages on the mountainside. According to the temple policy, people usually have to wait in a long line before seeing the Deity – since fifteen thousand people enter the temple daily – and they are given only a brief darśana. Non-Hindus are usually not allowed. But Śrīla Prabhupāda and his disciples received the special honor of a private darśana of Bālajī.

At the end of a long inner sanctum, its entrance guarded by two large figures of Jaya and Vijaya, the gatekeepers of Vaikuṇṭha, the Deity was enthroned. The only light in the inner sanctum came from flaming torches affixed to the walls or held by the pūjārīs. When approaching the Deity in the hallway, many pilgrims would traditionally call out, “Govinda!” But as Prabhupāda entered, he sang, “Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi.”

Later in his cottage Prabhupāda remarked that the millions of people going to see Bālajī were proof that the masses are still attracted to God, despite government propaganda. Although most people may go to the Lord for alleviating material distress or for getting money, still they called out the holy name, “Govinda!”

A devotee asked Prabhupāda why the Deity was called Bālajī. “Bālajī,” Prabhupāda said, “means ‘child’ – Kṛṣṇa as a cowherd boy, not in His Vaikuṇṭha aspect.”

Prabhupāda was pleased to stay in the cottage and take the Deity’s prasādam. He suggested that in New Vrindaban they build cottages like this and that ISKCON build temples like the temple of Bālajī, with its gold dome and extensive facility for visitors.

One day an official of the Tirupati temple, while visiting Prabhupāda, mentioned that their collection was about forty lakhs of rupees per month. Prabhupāda inquired how the temple’s income was being spent. When the priest indicated that most of the money went for renovation of the buildings, Prabhupāda replied that temple renovation was good, but propagating the message of Kṛṣṇa all over the world was better. “Bālajī is Kṛṣṇa,” Prabhupāda said. “His message should be spread. He descended as Caitanya Mahāprabhu to teach us.”

Prabhupāda told the priest of how so many old churches in London were not being used. “How will the spirit of the temple be maintained without preaching?” Prabhupāda asked. The priest then boasted that they were building another temple and installing pañcopāsanā (five deities recommended for worship by the impersonalist Śaṅkarācārya). Prabhupāda was surprised. “Your leader is Rāmānuja,” he said. “He never recommended pañcopāsanā!”

For the two days in Tirupati, Prabhupāda went three or four times daily to see the Deity of Bālajī. And whenever he went, the pūjārīs would clear the inner sanctum of all other visitors and allow him a private darśana for as long as he liked, standing in the torchlight before the mystical, bejeweled form of Bālajī.

Bombay
April 29
Although in a few days Prabhupāda would be leaving for Rome, a problem now faced him and the management of his Indian projects. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami was requesting that Prabhupāda allow him to go to America; after four years of management in India, he was eager to try a different kind of preaching. His Godbrother-friend Viṣṇujana Swami had pleased Prabhupāda with his bus-touring in America and had convinced Tamāla Kṛṣṇa that this was the most opportune preaching. Śrīla Prabhupāda had accepted the proposal, although reluctantly. Certainly it would be good for the preaching in America, and it would be good for Tamāla Kṛṣṇa. But what about India? Once again Prabhupāda was faced with the fact that the only manager for ISKCON in India was himself.

Carefully he reviewed a recent report of the spending and accounts in Māyāpur. Concerned that all money be handled very carefully and spent exactly for the purpose it was intended, he had written to Jayapatāka Swami,

Money for the land must be spent for land purchase; if I send money for constructing of a kitchen it must be spent for that.

Also, if you purchase land it must be properly utilized. … And if you actually produce some grains and vegetables, then where is the necessity for further money for maintenance. For maintenance we require 100 rupees per head without any risk for purchasing lands and cultivating the same. I understand there are only 20 men there at present, so utmost 2,000 rupees is necessary for maintenance. I am not competent to understand everything concerning what you plan to do, but that is my rough estimate.

You have tried to explain by long letter which I have not gone through yet. In the meantime go on the above principle: money spent must be used for that purpose intended. That will keep it very clear.

From a previous letter from Śrīla Prabhupāda, Bhavānanda and Jayapatāka had become a little despondent, thinking that they may have displeased their spiritual master. But Prabhupāda reassured them,

I know you are working hard and sincerely. I have no business to criticize but as head of the institution or your spiritual master, it is my duty to find out your faults. Even Caitanya Mahaprabhu presented Himself as faulty before His spiritual master. To remain faulty before the spiritual master is a good qualification so he is subjected to rectification. But if one thinks he is all perfect then there is no scope for rectification. Don’t be sorry when I find fault. That is my primary duty. Canakya pandit says one must find fault with disciples and sons, it is good for them.

Prabhupāda also scrutinized the finances in Vṛndāvana, where Gurudāsa was president and Tejās, in Delhi, was financial supervisor. Reviewing Tejās’s latest request, Prabhupāda wrote back,

I am enclosing the list of checks requested by you by Registered post except I am not sending one check for Rs 3,000 for Deity clothes to be paid to the tailor Lalit Prasad of Vrindaban. Deity paraphernalia is supposed to be collected separately by Gurudasa and Yamuna, not come out of the construction fund as you have requested. Besides, I have advised Gurudas not to pay any tailor but to make clothes by our own devotees for the deities.

Prabhupāda also found a serious inconsistency in the accounting, which he pointed out to Tejās for correction.

According to my check book, after writing the last check for Rs 17,6000.00 there is a balance of only Rs. 18,745.81. But you are indicating a balance of Rs. 100,313.64. Where is the difference? Send me a complete statement of account.

Gurudāsa and Tejās had assured Prabhupāda that the Krishna-Balaram Mandir would be ready to open by July l974. Prabhupāda designed the invitation cards himself and asked that they be printed and sent to important persons.

The founder-acarya and the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness request the pleasure of Mr. and Mrs.____’s company to visit the installation ceremony of the Krishna-Balarama temple from August 8 to 10 and accept prasadam.

Guru dasa Adhikary A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Local President Founder-Acarya

Surabhi dasa Adhikari
Secretary

With only three months left, Prabhupāda’s plans were to travel from May through July. Giving permission for transferring funds from Delhi to Vṛndāvana, he left. He would return in three months for the grand opening.