Question: What is more important in developing one’s taste and understanding – preaching or association of devotees – when living in a place where we cannot have both?

Jayapataka Swami: I cannot understand why you cannot develop a taste or why you cannot preach? Like except maybe in the desert or something. Anywhere you are, there are people, right? And you can preach to people. And wherever you are, you can chant Hare Krsna, take Krsna prasadam, read Srila Prabhupada’s books, and develop your taste and your Krsna consciousness. I cannot imagine where you will be where you cannot do both.
Devotee: Wanted to clarify this person lives in a place where you can preach because there is lot of opportunity to preach, because there are no devotees. Either stay in a place where you can preach or move somewhere close by where there are lots of devotees, but not many opportunities to preach.
Jayapataka Swami: Now is the internet era. So you can also hear people give classes. I give class every day, somehow or another, almost every day. And one can hear classes or download Srila Prabhupada’s classes and listen, So you know maybe you are in some place without much devotee association, you can go sometimes and have the association like we have in Atlanta they have the Panihati Festival, in Alachua they have the Kirtan Mela. So visit sometime and then on internet you can hear classes, you can associate with devotees and talk to people and same thing you can preach. As far as what is better, how to say? I still like both! Srila Prabhupada was saying that if we are staying in Mayapur, eventually the people will come. Now you see at Mangala Arati, there are thousands and thousands of devotees in Mayapur. Like the Bhagavatam class, 500 to a 1000 for the English class, you have Russian class, Bengali and Hindi class. So we have the Mayapur TV and they have different temples around the world. But which is better? We have to kind of see what consciousness. Preaching, when I grew up, there were three temples in Iskcon – New York, Montreal and San Francisco. So, there wasn’t much association and I was busy going places and opening new temples. I helped open the Toronto temple, I opened the Chicago temple with Bhagavan das, I opened different temples. I was the first president of Calcutta, and then I went to Mayapur, and have been there ever since! When we came there was not much association in Mayapur, but now there is so much! So someone has to be a pioneer. So if you find it difficult then maybe you have to go where there is association. But if you could do that, you would rather want to give association and take it through the internet, through the phone, through hearing, reading. That is also very nice! You have to see how your consciousness is! If it is getting weak then look for some place where there is association. But even if you are in a place where there is association, some people don’t take it. I am sure that although there is lots of association in Alachua, there are some people who are very strong, probably there are some people are very weak. So it is not just the association, it is how you take it. We have some people in Mayapur – they don’t go to Mangala Arati and some people they go everyday!
26-NOVEMBER-2019 NEW PANIHATI DHAM, ATLANTA, USA