Prabhupada’s anger increased, and he yelled at all the devotees, complaining of mismanagement. Those who could, kept their distance from Prabhupada’s fury. A tense discussion ensued and after discussion with Guru das, Surabhi and Yamuna, Prabhupada decided on Rama-navami in April for the opening.

Prabhupada had to take the burden and the agony for his disciples’ failure to do the job. He felt transcendental lamentation over his failure to open the Krishna-Balaram Mandir. Prabhupada wanted his disciples to help him with his projects to serve his Guru Maharaja—projects which, if successful, could save the world from misery.

The purchasing of cement was overseen by Prabhupada after the devotees had been cheated, and he talked about the shipment of cement as if it was a shipment of gold.

During February and March of 1975, Srila Prabhupada toured widely again, visiting Tokyo, Hawaii, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mexico, Caracas in Venezuela, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas and New York, all within a month of his departure from India. He also went to London, and Tehran returning to India on March 16. It was his eighth trip around the world in ten years.

Almost five hundred devotees from around the world gathered in Mayapur, and where ever he went, walking in the fields, entering the temple, lecturing, Prabhupada was the central attractive feature. Each morning after giving class Prabhupada would circumambulate the temple room followed by his disciples. When he passed the bells on either side of the altar he would ring them several times as he passed them to go around the back of the altar. The devotees would jump up and down close to him chanting, and Prabhupada, smiling with great pleasure, would continue this half a dozen times, then he would leave the temple coming into the bright morning sunshine to go to his room. The kirtana would continue to roar.

Prabhupada supervised the Governing Body Commission, GBC, meeting. By insisting the devotees participate in this annual Indian Pilgrimage, Prabhupada was solidifying the spiritual basis of ISKCON.

By April 16, when Prabhupada finally arrived in Vrndavana to conduct the opening of the Krishna-Balaram Mandir, he was pleasantly surprised to see three tall domes rising above the temple, and he agreed with one devotee who said “They are magnificent”. The domes could be seen for miles, and Prabhupada said to Surabhi, who had gone with little sleep for weeks, that he had heard how nice she was doing. “But I can’t say that. Only me—I am criticizing you, because that is my job. I have to always criticize the disciple”.

Also completed, during the eight months since his last visit, was the four-story international guesthouse, which was now accommodating many of the important guests in the 40 private rooms. No less than 600 devotees from ISKCON centres around the world had come. Prabhupada’s vision had finally come to pass. He had created probably the most beautiful and opulent temple in Vrndavana—certainly the one most alive with dynamic devotion and preaching spirit—together with one of the best local hotels. Prabhupada commented “It is heaven on earth. I think it surpasses all the temples in India.”

Prabhupada stood smiling before the tamala tree, in the courtyard with its dazzling clean marble floor. He had prevented the tree being cut down because the tamala tree is associated with the pastimes of Srimati Radharani, and are very rare. That the tamala tree was growing so luxuriantly indicated that the devotees were performing genuine bhakti (devotion).

Where there had only been an empty lot in Ramana-reti there was now a place of pilgrimage. Such is the power of the desires of the pure devotee.

While attending the 1970 Ratha-Yatra in San Francisco on July 5, 1970, Prabhupada was handed one of a half-dozen advance copies of Volume One of the seven-and-a-half by ten-and-a-half inch book, Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Prabhupada seemed especially pleased, admiring the front cover, with its full-colour picture of Radha and Krishna. It was a transcendental wonder in Prabhupada’s reverent hands.

Prabhupada promptly sold every book to people handing him ten-dollar bills, and begging for a copy, not even keeping one for himself.

Until one day in 1971 the devotees had tried selling the big hard bound copies of Teachings of Lord Caitanya, but the books simply remained in the centres where they were shipped to. An accidental discovery at a San Francisco service station, when the attendant took a Krishna book for payment, inspired the devotees to stand in front of a grocery store the next day where they sold two more books. Soon half a dozen men at the San Francisco temple were going from door to door selling books to people in their homes. Whoever tried it and sold a book became caught up in a euphoric excitement.

The young men and women beginning to distribute books in America knew that Srila Prabhupada, by giving them Krishna Consciousness, had saved them from hellish life, and they wanted to help him give Krishna consciousness to others. And such preaching, by distributing his books, was ecstasy, spiritual ecstasy.

By mid 1971 the temples were selling hundreds of Krishna books every week.

Source: Your Ever Well-wisher by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami.