From my book I’ll Build You a Temple: The Juhu Story:
On August 15, Indian Independence Day, some of the tenants assembled in the garden at noon, stood in silence for a minute before the small statue of Gandhi, and then proceeded with their annual celebration—garlanding the statue, hoisting the flag, singing the national anthem, and distributing sweets.
“Where is the question of independence?” Prabhupada challenged as Hari-sauri gave him his massage on the balcony adjoining his bedroom. “We are all dependent at every step on Krishna’s mercy. The Indians struggled to become independent of the British, but who is independent of the laws of material nature?”
Prabhupada cited the ongoing drought in England, which was afflicting many people: the vegetation was drying up, animals were being killed prematurely because there was no fodder, factories in Wales were closing, and there was talk of importing water. “No one can do anything about it, and they think it is all happening by chance,” Prabhupada said. “There is not a single person in the whole world who actually knows anything.”
“No one except you, Srila Prabhupada,” Hari-sauri commented.
“Is that just flattery, or do you actually acknowledge that?” Prabhupada asked, smiling.
Hari-sauri assured him that it was not just empty praise and, as he related in his diary, “Prabhupada accepted it with pleasure as a heartfelt submission.”
