Jayapataka Swami: Prabhupada was so happy that we had cows. He said, “This is very auspicious.” He said, “If the cows are grazing on the land where we’re going to build the temple, then by passing cow dung and walking over the land it’s going to make it very auspicious for the temple.” Prabhupada wanted us to feed the local villagers.
So even before we had a building, we had a big pot for cooking and distributing prasadam. Prabhupada used to go on walks, and he liked to walk along the pathways in between the fields. He called these the little highways. As he would be walking them, the villagers would offer him respect and pay obeisances. It was a very informal, friendly environment with all the local villagers. Prabhupada would walk out in the fields and then he would look and say, “Here there will be a spiritual city one day.”
Reference: Following Srila Prabhupada-A Chronological Series by Jayapataka Swami
