Yamuna dasi recalls that in 1972
Vrindavana Memories
Yamuna dasi recalls that in 1972, when she first came to VÂnd‰vana with «rÈla #Prabhupada, Ramana Reti was considered a remote place. The local police provided only sporadic protection here and it was known to be a place frequented by dacoits. There were practically no buildings and where the temple now stands was a vacant field where a ferocious bull lived under the Tamal tree. He was the terror of R‰maÎ Reti and it was purported that he had maimed eleven saints, and was hence known as the ìS‰dhu-killerî. Fearlessly he used to graze in R‰maÎ Reti and at night rest under the Tamal tree.
In those days the early disciples resided in two rooms above Srila Prabhupadaís quarters in Radha-Damodara. Yamuna fondly remembers the intimacy of Prabhup‰daís service in separation and the strong feeling of family unity among his disciples. Whenever Prabhup‰da ordered something via letter, each took it as their personal responsibility to carry it out. They collectively shared the burden of his orders and applied themselves fully to execute the tasks at hand.
While preaching to his first disciples in San Francisco, Prabhup‰da strongly expressed his desire to establish a center in Vrindavana. After having personally experienced the austerities of preaching in the West, he knew that such a temple would go a long way to refresh, reward and inspire his army of young preachers when they visited here. Now, his preaching in VÂnd‰vana included requesting respectable persons to donate land for a temple. When the Saraf family offered Prabhup‰da a place in R‰maÎ Reti, he was very pleased and immediately accepted it. He ordered his disciples to go to the site daily and perform harÈ n‰ma saÏkÈrtana. They started on the half-hour march with kartalas and mÂdaÎga. When they got near the land however, they were met by the anger of the Sadhu-killer bull. With flared nostrils a low rumbling roar rose from his barrel chest. His great front hooves alternately scourged the earth and flung clouds if dust into the air. The wide woolly hump on his back jutted upwards as he lowered his massive frowning head and threatened the saÏkÈrtana party with dueling horns. When he charged there was no choice but to scatter and hope the next day would be a different matter.
Prabhupada said that the sound of the kÈrtan would certainly annoy the bull and if they persisted, he would soon change his residence. So everyday, despite the danger, Gurudas, KÒirod‰ksayi, Sac-chit-ananda, Caitya guru, and Yamuna, inspired by Prabhup‰daís orderÇ ventured to Raman Reti in kÈrtan, and soon Prabhup‰daís words came to pass. Within a fortnight the ìSadhu-killerî left the site, and the devotees were free to begin preliminary construction of an office and barbed wire fence.
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