Then it was Yogesvara's turn. He had questions about a preaching opportunity in Thailand. Presenting Srila Prabhupada a parcel of Thai silk, Yogesvara said that it was a gift from Mr. Jootee Boonsoong, a Thai multimillionaire. The man's former secretary is now a devotee here in France. From her preaching Mr. Boonsoong has taken a strong interest in Krsna consciousness, offering now to help establish ISKCON in Thailand. Yogesvara claimed the man owns one third of all the land in Thailand. He has given us the use of a beautiful house in the center of Bangkok and has invited Yogesvara prabhu to go there in October to meet with the Prime Minister and has hinted at a possible meeting with the King.

Yogesvara asked Prabhupada on what level he should present Krsna consciousness. "On the level of Bhagavad-gita," Prabhupada told him. "God is the supreme controller. And we have to learn how to remain peacefully under the supreme controller, just like citizens and the government. Good citizenship means one who lives under the control of the government. Similarly, a good person is one who is God conscious and lives according to the instruction of God. So there is instruction of God, we are presenting this all over the world."

Yogesvara wondered how the center would be managed. Prabhupada told him some men from India could be sent, since it is nearby. He was also confident that local men would soon join. "When there is rice thrown, the crows will come," he said humorously. "If there is no rice, how the crows will come? This is the philosophy. If there is living place then many crows will come." Prabhupada wanted to know if Mr. Boonsoong had received any books, and Yogesvara assured him he had. Prabhupada said that formerly Thailand was known as Siam, which means "Syama," a name for Krsna. "So they are devotees originally," he said. He also mentioned that they manufacture very nice murtis of Radha and Krsna. Since Thailand is now predominantly Buddhist, Yogesvara wondered whether they might object to someone preaching what they may construe to be Hinduism. "Don't establish Deity," Prabhupada told him. "Talk on philosophy." "God is the supreme controller," Yogesvara repeated. "Yes," Prabhupada said. "We accept Lord Buddha as incarnation of God. Show in our books that we have got all respect for Buddha. We do not disrespect Lord Buddha, neither go against him. Anyway, if we get one house to live and a supporter, a big supporter, then our position will be secure. And if our cause is honest, then nobody can check." Srila Prabhupada also dictated a letter to be sent to Mr. Boonsoong. After first thanking him for his gift and his interest in Krsna consciousness he told him, "This Krsna Consciousness Movement is based on the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. We have attempted to present this great philosophy to the world in a pure way, without material motive, and by the grace of Lord Krsna our effort has come out successful. People everywhere are taking to Krsna Consciousness, following the simple principles, and becoming happy. At least no one has ever seen such high character as in our boys and girls. And thoughtful men like yourself are appreciating. Again, my thanks for your consideration."

Rajni dasi wrote a four-page report on her efforts to establish Krsna consciousness there. She said she had written several times before but had so far received no reply so it is likely those letters were sent to different addresses and have not yet caught up with Srila Prabhup?da on his travels. The former secretary of a Thai multi-millionaire, Mr. Jootee Boonsoong, Rajni has gone there recently with his help to establish an ISKCON center. In late July Yogevara prabhu had informed Srila Prabhupada that Mr.Boonsoong was willing to help us. He offered a house and had promised to arrange a meeting for him with the King. Now, from Rajni's letter it is apparent he has delivered on his promise. She had a meeting with a member of the royal family, Princess Poon Pisma Diskul who is the President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists. The princess travels to many different countries speaking on Buddhism and had just returned from Russia. According to Rajni she believes Lord Brahma and Lord Buddha to be God. The princess had asked about Rajni's understanding of Buddhism, nirvana, brahmaism and Hinduism. She explained to the princess that we are not presenting these things, but only about Lord Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. She told the princess how Lord Brahma is born from Lord Vishnu and that he dies, and she also informed her that Lord Buddha is an incarnation of Lord Krsna. Neither of these facts were accepted by the princess but the meeting was friendly. Mr. Boonsoong also arranged for Rajni to meet with a prominent advisor to the King. The advisor she said, though externally humble and religious, had no real knowledge of God and she felt wary of speaking too much to him. "I did not talk much with him because I was not sure if it was the right occasion to talk much about our dear Lord's message. I was afraid to commit the offences by glorifying the holy name to a faithless person." On the whole she thought these leaders of society to be lacking any real understanding of God but to be pious and respectful to religion. Thai people in general she observed, are also pious but are being strongly influenced by western materialism. She also mentioned that a recent change in government has brought some stability after a lot of political unrest but a midnight curfew is being strictly imposed after many students were killed during the upheaval. But she reported some progress. "With your mercy," she told Srila Prabhupada, "everything in ISKCON here is going well. We have two boys, one girl and one old lady. We have set up a sign board and registered the place and also decorated a bit in the house. The kids are going to university but they also engage in devotional service." Since there is already some plan for a senior devotee to go to Thailand to help Rajni set up, Prabhupada didn't comment about her preaching strategies but choose to stress the importance of keeping our standards. "Please be sure that anyone who comes to live with us there follows strictly the four regulative principles and chants a minimum of 16 rounds daily. Try to distribute my books as much as possible, as this is the best method of giving a chance to the conditioned souls to understand Krsna consciousness."

Devotee (1): People in Thailand are quite pious.
Prabhupada: Yes. They are Indian culture. Their original culture is Indian. It is called Siam. (pronounces like Syama) Krsna's name. And they have got the airplane, Garuda. ( Garuda is the carrier of Lord Visnu )
Devotee (1): Yes. Garuda Airlines.
Prabhupada: So they are devotees originally, all Krsna devotees.
Devotee (2): The king is speaking Sanskrit.
Prabhupada: Yes. It was known, it has been changed now. Formerly, it was known as Syam state, Siam. Syam is the name of Krsna. Whole state was named under Krsna. So, and they manufacture very nice idol of Radha-Krsna. They're accustomed.
Devotee (1): They have a very strong Buddhist influence there now.
Prabhupada: Huh?
Devotee (1): Buddhist.
Prabhupada: Later on, they became Buddhist, but originally they were Vaisnava.

Please accept my best wishes. I am sorry I am not able to come but I must remain here in Bombay for some pressing matters. So I am sending my secretary His Holiness Brahmananda Maharaja who will represent me. The Krishna Consciousness mission is not sectarian. We want to do what the United Nations has failed to do. The human form of body is an opportunity for solving all the problems of life. Through evolution we come to the human life for solving this problem. The real problem is the repetition of birth, death, disease, and old age.

But there is another status of life where there is no birth, death, disease, and old age. The Krishna Consciousness movement is the means for promoting the human being to that status. This is a great science, and it is elaborately explained in the Bhagavad-gita.

So our mission is to give this benediction to all humanity. Let us cooperate together on this basis so that it will be a more effective United Nations, We shall be united on the basis of the prime need of human society, spiritual life.

But my policy, as you know, is not to import devotees, but to create devotees out of the local men. That will be better. I did not import any Indian devotees when I first came to your country. Print as much as you can into the Thai language. That will be a great asset.