Preface

This fourth volume of A Transcendental Diary details Śrīla Prabhupāda’s return to India after his final sojourn around the world lasting four months. The last leg of his world tour took him to remote Teheran, then still governed by a monarchy, to encourage the small band of disciples struggling to establish Kṛṣṇa consciousness in one of the most difficult cultural environments in the world. 

From Teheran he returned to Bombay, the point of origin of his tour, and after a brief stay, he proceeded on to Hyderabad in the south. There he opened the new Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Madana-mohana temple complex on Janmāṣṭamī and celebrated his 80th birthday. He also had important meetings with the highest ranking government officials of Andhra Pradesh, dispensing advice on the running of India’s richest temple at Tirupati, and how to save India’s spiritual culture. 

He then headed north to the capital and stayed for one week at the newly-established ISKCON temple in Lajpat Nagar III. There he discussed with two important members of the central government how to counteract a rising clamor by atheistic elements aimed at blunting the progress of his movement in his home country. 

The day after Rādhāṣṭamī, Śrīla Prabhupāda traveled to Śrī Vṛndāvana-dhāma. Rather than enjoy a much need respite, he spent five weeks delving into every aspect of local management, resolving disputes between his leading managers and responding to the defection of a senior disciple. 

Throughout this period his health remained poor, yet his energy for preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness remained undiminished. As he said in his arrival address in Vṛndāvana, “Never mind we die by preaching. Still it will be glorious.” As time goes by, we appreciate more and more that Śrīla Prabhupāda’s life of preaching was the most glorious.  

This presentation of A Transcendental Diary is a humble attempt to expand our understanding of the phrase, “All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!”