1. Srila Prabhupadha and Jaipur
Objectives :
Objective 1: To learn about the origin of the Radha-Govinda Deities at ISKCON New York and describe their connection to Srila Prabhupada’s 1972 visit to Jaipur and the shared devotion between ISKCON devotees and the people of Jaipur.
The Radha-Govinda Deities at ISKCON’s temple in New York City were presented to Srila Prabhupada by the queen of Jaipur in 1972.
In 1972, when His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, traveled to Jaipur with some of his Western disciples, Govindaji was still being worshiped by thousands of devotees, Srila Prabhupada and his followers were happy to see this. Thus, there was a mutual exchange of love between the inhabitants of Jaipur and the ISKCON devotees, for these devotees were also worshipers of Lord Govinda, or Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Just as Srila Prabhupada’s American and European disciples were moved to see a living legend of Krsna consciousness in Jaipur, so the queen of Jaipur, Maharani Gayatri Devi, was moved by the devotion of Srila Prabhupada and his followers. To show her appreciation, she offered Srila Prabhupada a pair of large marble Deities of Radha and Krsna, similar to the original Radha-Govindaji Deities. Srila Prabhupada accepted the Deities and immediately shipped them to his ISKCON center in New York. The Deities, he said, would be known as Radha-Govinda.
Objective 2: To know about Srila Prabhupada’s 1972 visit to Jaipur and to explain the warm reception he and his disciples received from the local community.
An excerpt from Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta
January 12, 1972
Some of Jaipur’s prominent citizens had devised a plan to share expenses and responsibilities in arranging a pandal program . … At Srila Prabhupada’s request, devotees from Delhi and other Indian centers came to Jaipur to join him.
Prabhupada took a small room within the Govindaji temple compound, and his disciples moved into a nearby house. …
Throughout the week-long festival large crowds continued to come for Prabhupada’s morning and evening lectures. Prabhupada would chant prayers from Brahma-samhita and then lecture in Hindi. Not only did the citizens of Jaipur honor Prabhupada, but they honored his disciples also. Here, more than in most other Indian cities, the devotees were treated not as foreigners or outsiders but as sadhus.
“This whole city is made of devotees of Radha-Govindaji,” Prabhupada commented.
“இந்த முழு நகரமும் ராதா-கோவிந்தஜி பக்தர்களால் நிரம்பியுள்ளது,” என்று ஶ்ரீல பிரபுபாதர் குறிப்பிட்டார்.
The police chief, who visited often, was cordial and respectful. As Srila Prabhupada and his disciples went from place to place in Jaipur during the day, policemen would salute them, halting traffic to let them pass. People invited Srila Prabhupada to their homes, and they treated him like a king.
