January 21, 1976 : Mayapur
Hari Sauri: As we walked this morning, Prabhupada discussed plans for the new temple and the proposed exhibitions it's to house. It will be a cultural center as well as temple. His idea is to have displays depicting various levels of material existence. The exhibition is to begin on the lower levels by depicting hellish regions and lower planetary systems. As the visitor ascends the interior of the dome by escalator, various levels of material existence will be revealed, gradually rising to the abodes of the demigods, then Satyaloka, and the Vaikuntha planets. At the very top will be a dazzling display of Krishna's own transcendental planet, Goloka Vrindavana.
In the evening Saurabha Prabhu showed Prabhupada the preliminary plans for the new temple. Saurabha's drawings revealed magnificent plans for an entire city, centered around a huge temple structure. It will be surrounded by satellite temples, a gurukula campus, a commercial area, bathing ghatas, and other facilities. The whole area will be protected from flooding by a latticework of canals. The main feature is to be a gigantic planetarium within the dome of the main temple. Srila Prabhupada was extremely enthusiastic about the plans. He wants the planetarium to demonstrate the Vedic alternative to modern scientific cosmological propaganda, illustrating the structure of the universe as described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Prabhupada always thinks big; And for him no vision is impossible, because it is for Krishna.
Reference: A Transcendental Diary Volume 1 - Hari Sauri Dasa
Memory of the Day
Gour Hari das: So this area is known as Hippy Hill in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Almost every day everyone would gather at Hippy Hill, and sometimes the devotees would come and chant.
This particular day was like any other day there, but I remember entering the park and what attracted me was the beauty in the sound of the…I didn’t even know at that time was the Hare Krishna mantra. People had been chanting all around the Haight-Ashbury area for months and months prior to this. The idea that Srila Prabhupada was there that particular day just captured me through his sound vibration. He just reached into me, reached into my heart and somehow or other said, “This one is mine.” It wasn’t maybe a year or so later that I had actually started to join the temple.
Anecdote of the Day
Sridhar Swami : In Calcutta, Prabhupada would meet his disciples in his office. Since I was the president, theoretically I should have been sitting at his feet in the center of everything, hearing all the nectar. But I was shy, and I thought, "Let me go out and make more Life Members. Prabhupada is here. I should make an extra effort." From my position in the background, I could see how Prabhupada was giving out Mayapur-Vrindavan fund money to leaders such as Jayapataka Maharaj, Bhavananda, Tamala Krishna Goswami, Giriraj, and Gurudas, who were all coming to Calcutta. Prabhupada didn't favor a project.
He wanted to see how enthusiastic the devotee was about his project and if he was prepared to organize and manage it well. On that basis he would allot funds. It really depended upon the individual's enthusiasm for a particular project. In the "World of Hare Krishna" video, Tom Hopkins noted how Prabhupada once told a devotee, "Go out and start a magazine." The devotee didn't know anything about starting a magazine, but Prabhupada said, "Krishna will help you." I saw that also. He would look for enthusiasm, for a spirit of depending on Krishna, and he would respond to that.
Reference: Memories-Anecdotes of a Modern-Day Saint by Siddhanta Dasa
