by Swami B.G. Narasingha
“Hotel Prabhupada - Non Vegetarian!” was written by Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja under a pseudonym in March 2003 for VNN. Mahārāja brings the readers attention to the newly constructed Hotel Prabhupada in Purī, which has a deity of Śrīla Prabhupāda in the foyer, and serves non-vegetarian food.
After the wonderful Gaura Pūrṇimā utsava at Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha in Śrī Māyāpura Dhāma we went to Śrī Kṣetra, Jagannātha Purī to take darśana of the Lord of the Universe and of the holy places associated with Śrī Caitanyadeva and His nitya-pārṣadas.
One evening after leaving the śrī-samādhi-mandira of nāmācārya Haridāsa Ṭhākura mother and I took a pleasant walk along the sea shore. After a distance or so we saw a group of hotels facing the sea and in the middle was a sign that read “Hotel Prabhupāda.” As we approach the large building I said to mother that it must be an ISKCON guesthouse or hotel because no follower of Śrī Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta would name a hotel after our Founder-ācārya.
As we approached near to the entrance we saw yet another sign board that read, Hotel Prabhupāda Non-Veg. For a moment I thought I was dreaming until mother remarked, “What is this nonsense – non-veg!” and pulled my hand to go away. But I stopped and said we should go in and see what this is all about. It looked like a nice hotel. Mother never goes in a non-veg establishment and so she waited outside.
When I entered the lobby of the hotel, I saw a life size mūrti of ISKCON founder-ācārya Śrīla Swami Mahārāja Prabhupāda. He held a japa bag in his right hand and his eyes were turned upwards. He did not look very happy! What this place was took me sometime to figure out. It was not an ISKCON establishment although I was informed that the proprietor was a life member of ISKCON. I took a few pictures otherwise who would believe that such an establishment could exist. First a McDonald’s in Vraja, and now a Hotel Prabhupāda Non-Veg in Purī. What next?
I honestly felt that not only the followers of Swami Mahārāja but all the members of the disciplic succession of Śrī Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta would feel offended to see a non-veg hotel in the name of “Prabhupāda.”
Here is the fax number of the Hotel Prabhupāda if anyone wants to send a letter and request the owner to change the name of his hotel or to do away with the non-veg restaurant on the premises.
More Articles by Swami B.G. Narasingha
Guru-pādāśraya
“Guru-pādāśraya” was written by Śrīla Narasiṅgha Mahārāja in 2018 in response to questions from a devotee regarding guru-tattva. He deals with the absolute and relative statements of the guru, guru-niṣṭhā, and losing faith in the dīkṣā-guru.
Kathakali & Sacred Dance
"Kathakali & Sacred Dance" was written by Swami B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja for Clarion Call magazine (vol.2, issue 4) in 1989. This article gives an overview of Classical Indian dance, and focuses mainly on the styles of Kathakali and Bharat Natyam.
Danger!
“Danger!” was written by Śrīla Narasiṅgha Mahārāja for narasingha.net on June 9th 2011, wherein Mahārāja talks about his recent travels in Europe and Mexico where it seems the Grim Reaper is following his every move. He questions if it is his ‘bad luck’ or is the world inherently a dangerous place?
