The guru's personal presence and continued guidance are absolutely essential for establishing ideal spiritual communities and sustaining Krishna consciousness.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
[kīrtana] [whispering] Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. Prabhupāda: What meeting is going on? Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We had two meetings today. One meeting was the BBT meeting for the completion of the Bombay project. And then another meeting was about our community Gītā-nagarī, describing how it will be... Dhṛṣṭadyumna Mahārāja has come with his brother, who's the architect.
And we're having a meeting for planning this ideal community very exactly, everything. The people present at the meeting are Bhavānanda Mahārāja and Paramānanda, Vāmanadeva, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Mahārāja, Tripurāri Mahārāja, Balavanta, Rūpānuga. All of these people have experience with..., you know, like Bhavānanda in Māyāpur. Balavanta has two farms; Rūpānuga, all of these people.
In other words, we're just trying to plan out... And Surabhi Mahārāja. And Dhṛṣṭadyumna Mahārāja's brother is an architect. In fact I've just been told that his architectural firm is the same one that's designing the...
What is that? Designing a big thing in Tehran for the Shah of Iran. It's a very big architectural firm. So we're just trying to plan a very ideal community.
We don't want to make a hodgepodge of it. I mean, it should be so ideal that it becomes one of the most wonderful preaching tools for our movement, to show that "Here is an ideal community based upon Vedic principles, and it's perfect in every respect." So it takes a little cooperative thought and planning. That's why we've invited so many people to sit in the meeting. Prabhupāda: I was very happy when I heard, respectable gentlemen, out of love they are washing dishes. You know that? Ātreya Ṛṣi told me. Hari-śauri: Yes.
In Iran. Some important people in Iran, just out of some..., to do some service, they're even going in the restaurant and assisting by washing the dishes, and they're bringing things here and there. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Phew. It's really devotional. Prabhupāda: They are so gentle. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's what we're feeling with this community also, that actually people will become so much impressed with this wonderful way of life that they'll want to take part voluntarily. If something is done very nicely, if Kṛṣṇa consciousness is presented very nicely, then any gentleman will want to take part. Prabhupāda: Hmm.
That is good. That's all. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Many people will come to this community to see how it is done. I think it will become very, very important in many different respects—for farmers, for people who are interested in designing ideal communities, for so many people who would like to live an ideal life, for people who want to come and see a unique place to visit—because there will be a temple of Kṛṣṇa-Arjuna there, a doll exhibit. I think it can be a wonderful preaching opportunity.