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Appendix 1 307

they would discuss while coming home, and they would
go to bed remembering that. So they would sleep also
Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata, and dream also Rāmāyaṇa
and Mahābhārata. (Lecture, 31 May 1972)

In India the principles of this science were followed
strictly. Even fifty years ago I saw in the villages of Bengal
and the suburbs of Calcutta, people engaged in hearing
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam daily when all their activities ended,
or at least in the evening before going to bed. Everyone
would hear the Bhāgavatam. Bhāgavatam classes were held
in every village and thus people had the advantage of
hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which describes everything
about the aim of life: liberation, or salvation. (Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam 7.14.2)

Temples

In India, especially in Viṣṇu temples, the system is that
apart from the big Deity, who is permanently situated
in the main area of the temple, there is a set of smaller
Deities which are taken in procession in the evening. In
some temples it is the custom to hold a big procession in
the evening with a band playing and a nice big umbrella
over the Deities, who sit on decorated thrones on the cart
or palanquin, which is carried by devotees. The Deities
come out onto the street and travel in the neighborhood
while the people of the neighborhood come out to offer
prasāda. The residents of the neighborhood all follow the
procession, so it is a very nice scene… .When the Deity is