Śrī Bajaj: (Hindi) Excuse me. We are just talking alone with him. (break)
Prabhupāda: "...after you, who will take the leadership?" And "Everyone will take, all my disciples. If you want, you can take also. (laughter) But if you follow. They are prepared to sacrifice everything, so they'll take the leadership. I may, one, go away, but there will be hundreds, and they'll preach. If you want, you can also become a leader. We have no such thing, that 'Here is leader.' Anyone who follows the previous leadership, he's a leader. 'Indian,' we have no such distinction, 'Indian,' 'European.' "
Brahmānanda: They wanted an Indian to be the leader?
Prabhupāda: Yes. (laughs) "Everyone, all my disciples, they are leaders. As purely as they follow, they become leader. If you want to follow, you can become a leader. You are Indian. But you don't want." I told them that.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, they probably wanted to propose somebody who would take over our movement.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Leaders. All nonsense. Leader means one who has become first-class disciple. He is leader. Evaṁ paramparā-prāpta... One who is perfectly following... Our instruction is āra nā kariha mane āśā **. You know this? What is that? Guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya, āra nā kariha mane āśā **. Who is leader? A leader, to become leader, is not very difficult, provided one is prepared to follow the instructions of a bona fide guru.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Why did they want us to leave the room? They wanted us to leave the room. They wanted us to go out when they were talking to you.
Prabhupāda: (laughs) They are going away. Now they are finished. One day... What they will talk? Who will hear?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They have nothing to talk. Prabhupāda, they said that you are on a coordinating committee. So they want a second person from our Society also to be on the coordinating committee, because you may not always be able to attend the meetings.
Prabhupāda: No.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We'll tell them, "No, Prabhupāda said only he alone should be on it."
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: (laughs) They'll like that.
Prabhupāda: I also do not want.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You want your name to be taken off?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Really? (laughs) They're very political, these people. He said to me, "Yes, you name another person. We can help you. We have big contacts with the ministers and others."
Brahmānanda: They mentioned Gopāla Kṛṣṇa, that they met with him about some problem with the government.
Prabhupāda: Yes.