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March 20, 1976 : Haridaspur

Hari Sauri: Before the festival a man named Prabhu Svarupa came to Mayapur to see Prabhupada. He requested ISKCON's involvement at a place called Haridaspur, just on the border with Bangladesh. Srila Prabhupada agreed to visit there with his foreign disciples, and so today he left by car in the early morning, a drive which took three hours.

Haridaspur is named after Haridasa Thakura, the great acarya of the holy name, to commemorate his stay there.

The man's asrama turned out to be a small cottage situated on six bighas (two acres) of land, on the outskirts of the village, with a small, run-down shrine to Thakura Haridasa.

Prabhupada spent four hours in a derelict, single-room, brick building with only gaping holes for a roof, door, and windows and an uneven, overgrown, earthen floor. We had to hang our chaddars over the openings to give him some privacy while he took his breakfast, massage, bath, and lunch, all in the same place. After his lunch, Prabhupada gave a brief, fifteen-minute speech to the small crowd, comprised mainly of our own devotees. Then he left.

Despite the inconvenience, the poor reception, and the long drive, Srila Prabhupada had no complaints. He was merciful and kind to Prabhu Svarupa and asked him to work with Jayapataka Swami to let us gradually help to develop the place.


Reference: A Transcendental Diary Volume 1 - Hari Sauri Dasa