Tamala Krishna Maharaja : During installation of Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara, with a last great surge of devotion, the devotees stayed awake day and night, working to complete the preparations for the grand opening. Finally, on the morning of December 14, the day on which Srila Prabhupada had invited the public, everything was just barely finished.
The night before, Shyamasundara had collapsed in exhaustion, with the altar still to be built. I had had to drag him out of bed, and by my pleading, praising, and cajoling, he had somehow or other completed the job. The temple room, with its curved ceiling and paneled walls, all constructed of thick redwood beams Shyamasundara had brought with him from San Francisco, looked like a replica of the ancient Ajanta Caves of India, after which it had been designed.
Before a crammed room of mainly Indian guests, Srila Prabhupada performed the abhisheka ceremony, installing the first large Deities in ISKCON. Once They were established on Their altar, Their appearance was breathtaking. (Throughout the next week, sitting on his vyasasana, with its shiny copper base, Srila Prabhupada would look lovingly at the beautiful forms of Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara, praising Their superexcellent qualities.)
The London Indian community, which outside of India was the largest in the world, came in great numbers to partake in the week-long festival of taking darshana of the Deities, hearing Srila Prabhupada lecture, and enjoying the delicious feasts. On Prabhupada’s order, the Deities were kept awake for darshana throughout the day, with only a brief resting period at noon, and full prasadam was available at any time a guest would come.
Prabhupada had been in London for nearly four months and had accomplished the purpose for which he had come. He had established a permanent base for Krishna consciousness in England, and the movement could gradually be spread to the other European capitals and important cities as well.
