Free to Preach 

Room 307 at 72^nd Street was never meant for use as a residence or ashram or lecture hall.  It was only a small, narrow office without furniture or a telephone.  Its door held a large pane of frosted glass, the kind common in all offices; above the door was a glass-paneled transom.  Prabhupada placed his blankets on the floor before his metal foot locker, which now became a makeshift desk where he wrote.  He slept on the floor.  There were no facilities here for cooking, or even for bathing, so daily he had to walk to Dr. Mishra’s apartment.

When he had lived in Room 501 at Dr. Mishra’s yoga ashram, Dr. Mishra had financed his needs.  But now Prabhupada was on his own, and whatever he could raise by selling his books, he would have to use for his daily maintenance and for the monthly rent of seventy-two dollars.  He noted that for a little powdered chili, the West End Superette charged twenty-five cents, ten times what he would have paid in India.  He had no guaranteed income, his expenses had increased and his physical comforts had reduced.  But at least he had his own place.  Now he was free to preach as he liked.