View source for You know, Prabhupada, I really feel like I should concentrate lot of my preaching here in New York… What do you think?

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{{terms|"What do you think"|"You know, Prabhupada, I really feel like I should concentrate lot of my preaching here in New York"}}
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[[Category:Questions asked to Srila Prabhupada]]
[[Category:Questions asked to SP... 1976]]
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<div id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="section" sec_index="5" parent="compilation" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
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<div id="1976_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="9" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1976 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1976 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="RoomConversationJuly181976NewYork_0" class="quote" parent="1976_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="220" link="Room Conversation -- July 18, 1976, New York" link_text="Room Conversation -- July 18, 1976, New York">
<div class="heading">Do that... Oh, yes. Preaching is required, here or there... Money is not our aim. Our aim is how people will understand Kṛṣṇa.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Room Conversation -- July 18, 1976, New York|Room Conversation -- July 18, 1976, New York]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Hari-śauri: 7-UP? We'll have to send someone out for it.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: So, so far I was there, it was successful. What was the next?</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We were selling prasādam. I think we must have made somewhere between five and ten thousand dollars so far from prasādam sales. That's in addition to the free feast. We served a free feast to five thousand people when I left.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, you did not stay there?</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, still, it's so big. I estimated that through three to four hours there were thirty to forty thousand people that went in and out of that park.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Still they are eating?</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They're still eating. Every piece of burfi we sold cost one dollar.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: What is that?</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Just a piece of burfi...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Burfi?</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, they were charging one dollar for one square.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: (laughs) That is good.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And they were paying. Watermelon, for one slice, half a dollar.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Fifty cents. (laughs)</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Fifty cents. The whole watermelon only cost one dollar. We got about thirty slices out of it. And books...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: People, they are simple here. They are not, about money matters, so much attracted. They have got enough money. They don't care. They want it is good taste, that's all. And why they did not give prasādam to that boy who was crazy?</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He got. I'm sure he must have gotten. Everybody was given free feast. Feast was very good. I tasted it, nicely prepared.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: How many preparations were there?</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: Very hard to estimate.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: How many preparations in the feast? There was halavā, sabji, very good sabji by Ṛṣi Kumāra, rice, sweet, lemonade, popper-six preps. And puri, seven preps.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Very nice. Very good preps, sumptuous.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: Oh, yes. Besides that, we had booths with watermelon, lassi and burfi.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Lassi was selling very big. We could not supply it fast enough.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: We could not... All the time, those booths, there was a line.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Because this was our first year, we were not expecting such a big turnout, so we did not have sufficient stands to meet everybody's needs.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: And the police officer has approved.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, the policemen sat down at the end of the park later on.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: You gave them prasādam?</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I don't know.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Why?</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I'm not sure. I didn't deal with them. They were dealt with by Toṣaṇa Kṛṣṇa. We'll bring them some present tomorrow. But they made the statement that "If every parade was so beautiful and so nicely orderly, we would be very happy."</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They said it was very orderly.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: And that cannot be expected from any other group, only in this group. Such a huge crowd, and there was not a single instance of violence.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Except that one tie. One boy was punched out.</p>
<p>Hari-śauri: (referring to 7-UP) I sent someone out.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The procession was very well attended.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Television.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: Oh, yes, ABC, CBS, and Channel Five.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: All of the GBC men said it was the biggest single festival ever held in ISKCON's history. They all admitted that there was no festival ever held anywhere, even in India, no single festival in India. There was not any one day at any pandal where there was that many people who took prasādam and who attended such a long procession for two hours.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: I think in the beginning... (microphone rattling) You were there.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I was there. Yeah, that was pretty big. In 1969, that was gigantic.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That was also very big. And there was also a crazy man.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, that's right. We didn't give any invitation cards to our temple here, but we were making announcements. But I think people will come, anyway. They'll find out where our Hare Kṛṣṇa center is.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: They were distributing books, magazines.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Books and magazines were given, but we didn't give any free cards. Usually we give free cards, but there was so much...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: What is that? They'll come and take. That's all.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They'll come here, anyway. We didn't give any address card. Do you think people will come anyway?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Even without getting a card.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, this is better, to give a card. Many Indians were standing when I came.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: Did you see the Indians?</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I think at least three thousand Indians attended, minimum. A huge crowd of Indians, but the big thing was not the Indians, it was the American people.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's a good location for the festival, very important place, Washington Square Park. It's the center.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Best thing would have been to keep the Deities for a week there.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That would not have been permitted. They only permitted us legally two hours for everything. That's why we were rushing everything. We only had two hours legally for the whole program.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes, then there is no need.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I heard people say "We've never seen such a festival, never seen such a parade." I heard these comments. One man said... Someone said, "What's going on?" and he said, "Oh, they have so many things going on here." They were very appreciative. And actually we could not put our full energy into it this year because we were so busy preparing the building simultaneously.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: And above all, the atmosphere, the weather, was very nice.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: Oh, yes, Kṛṣṇa has blessed us.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. (laughs) The breeze was there. We did not feel any...</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No discomfort.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: ...fatigue.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And there was nearly four hundred to five hundred devotees there.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. They will stay in the temple?</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, they've been staying here.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That's nice.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: There's no difficulty to accommodate them.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes, Nārāyaṇa told me.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You know, Prabhupāda, I really feel like I should concentrate lot of my preaching here in New York.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Do that.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What do you think?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Preaching is required, here or there.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You once said, "A good businessman, if he knows how to do it, he can make more money sitting in one place..."</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, no, no. Money is not our aim. Our aim is how people will understand Kṛṣṇa.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: He is just using that as an analogy for preaching.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That if you have a good place, many people can be attracted, as many as moving around to many places.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: My Guru Mahārāja was in favor of preaching in the city because you can get many men.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But do you think I should travel a lot, or what is the best thing?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Both things should be done.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Both. So if you... We were hoping that you could give us another chance by coming back next year.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, I'll come.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But you do say that to a lot of different temples, but we will try to make this doubly big.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Always, so long I live, I must come.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Really?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: If we get on Fifth Avenue, you'll come again?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But we will double the amount of people, promise.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: And double the prasādam.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We will double everything if you are here, Prabhupāda.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That's all right. I can stay here also. I like especially New York, because I started the movement here. And because there are so many branches, if I go they become enlivened.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, right, just like we are enlivened.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Everyone wants.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Everyone wants you to come.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That is natural.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Question of love.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: New York was your second home after India.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes, I say fatherland. India, motherland; this is fatherland.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: It is so nice that now in New York they are receiving you so nicely, this parade. Everyone is turning out to greet you. You are like the local boy who made good. So now they are receiving you very grandly.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes, continue this program. People will be attracted.</p>
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