Prabhupāda: So let us artificial activity. I think this is a now hopeless . . . (indistinct)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Upendra and I could see it for the last . . . (break)
Prabhupāda: And nobody is going to disturb you there. Make your own field and continue to become ṛttvik and act on my charge. People are becoming sympathetic there. The place is very nice.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah. He says: "The introduction of Bhagavad-gītā has been translated into Tamil, and I will have the second chapter done next. Then publish a small booklet for immediate distribution."
Prabhupāda: Very good.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says, "I have also found a young man to translate Sinhalese language."
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "This coming weekend we have a two-day festival in Colombo. We expect about two thousand people per night."
Prabhupāda: Oh!
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "The Sunday feast here has become so popular that whereas before only fifty people would come, now at least three hundred came yesterday."
Prabhupāda: Very good.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "And all of them got full prasādam—halavā, purīs, samosā, sweetballs, sweet rice, rice, vegetables . . ."
Prabhupāda: I want to eat, but I cannot. Very good. Very good. Although I cannot eat, simply hearing the names I am satisfied. Very good. He's doing nice.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says: "However, the collections are poor. Only sixty-five rupees. I was wondering if we could also get some of the Food Relief money being sent to India to Sri Lanka."
Prabhupāda: Why not? Oh, yes. America's money collect and send. So that is my proposal—American money and give this culture. They are squandering so much money. Channelize to spend through this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Their money will be properly utilized and our Kṛṣṇa consciousness will be spread.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "People say they have never had such wonderful tasty food. If we can get money from Food Relief, it should be sent directly here."
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. First thing is you get ghee.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. We are already giving him one fifth of what Hari-śauri sends. "The newspapers gave some account of an incident in Māyāpur. When asked to make a statement to the press, however, I do not know what happened. Please let the secretary inform us." I made a copy of Jayapatāka's report, and I made five copies of it, so I'll send him one. I did it for this reason.
Prabhupāda: That's good.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Then . . . "I hope this letter finds Your Divine Grace in good health."
Prabhupāda: It doesn't depend on my good or bad health. It is all spiritual news. Spiritually I become very much enlivened.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Should I tell him what you're thinking about going to the West?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: When that news goes out . . . whew!
Prabhupāda: All right, don't say now. It will be known automatically.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's his letter. Then . . .
Prabhupāda: Three hundred people coming, newly opened. It is not joke. And he's feeding sumptuously.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What?
Prabhupāda: Feeding sumptuously.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Feeding sumptuously. Here's a . . . this is a thing called the "Bhakta Program Newsletter." Just like you have a saṅkīrtana newsletter, this one reports how many new devotees are joining. So the top temple in the world for making new devotees last month was Rome. Second was the Bhaktivedanta Manor. That's where you're going next. Then Sao Paulo, Brazil; then Honolulu, Hawaii; then France, and like that. (temple bells ring)
Prabhupāda: Jaya Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma!
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: (indistinct background conversation) Then another letter came from . . . this is becoming more and more prevalent. It's called the "Parents' Newsletter."
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "The International Society for Krishna Consciousness Parents' Newsletter—ISKCON New York." Put out by Śravaṇānanda's mother. "Ratha-yātrā '77 is Coming." It tells all the parents that they should come to Ratha-yātrā. Then there's an article, "The Roots of the American Krishna Movement."
Prabhupāda: Who has written?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: By a brahmacārī named Tattvavit dāsa brahmacārī. Because you said just like they have an American Christian movement, now we should be known as the American Krishnas. So he wrote, "The American Krishna Movement." Then the public likes it: "Oh, it's American."
Prabhupāda: American . . . (indistinct) . . . is nice.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It says: "The Society's founder is A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. He left India at an advanced age aboard the merchant ship Jaladuta with only seven dollars and a trunk containing scriptures he had translated into English. The ship's captain became Śrīla Prabhupāda's friend and purchased the first books distributed in the US. Śrīla Prabhupāda had been instructed by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, his spiritual preceptor, to broadcast Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the English language. That request was made in 1922. In the years that followed Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote an English commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā and started an English magazine in 1944, which he wrote, printed and distributed himself. He arrived in America in September of 1965, and by July of '66 he had formed ISKCON Incorporated. Historically, this corporation is part of the spiritual tradition whose followers preserve the pure teachings of the scriptures such as Vedas, Upaniṣads and Purāṇas. The tradition . . ." He goes on and on. Should I read on?
Prabhupāda: Hmm!