Question by Nagari d.d. : Could you briefly describe the history of Gurukula?
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: It was started by Srila Prabhupada in 1973-74. And it started in bhajan-kutir. Have you taken darshan at Bhajan Kutir? So there is a pharmacy and behind the pharmacy there are all those houses, that used to be Gurukul that time. And there were few Nepali Brahmans who were teachers, I don'r remember who were the principles before HH Bhaktividya Purna Swami Maharaja, but I think it was after Srila Prabhupada left there were five or six different principles who were responsible for the Gurukula, and then finally they gave the responsibility to HH Bhaktividya Purna Swami Maharaja. And then eventually Gurukula came on the second floor of the long building. Quite few rooms were there. From there it shifted next to Goshala, presently it's the SMIS ashram, boys' ashram, that used to be our school. And in the year 2001 we moved here. The reason we moved here is because the TOVP was supposed to be built near, so we would be very close to temple. So we moved here. And when were next to Goshala all the educational system was under Bhaktividya Purna Swami, then at one point we divided the karmi education and the Vedic education, that was the beginning of Sri Mayapur International School and Bhaktivedanta Academy. Before it used to be called "Bhaktivedanta Gurukula Village". And then once Bhaktivedanta Academy was created under that school we have few more schools: Sri Rupanuga Paramatmika Vidyapitha, main program,  Sri Sandipani Muni Ashram, for the boys living in the asram, Sri Yajna Varaha Vidyakshetra, that's where are the boys who are studying the yajnas and pujas, so there are the schools under the brand of Bhaktivedanta Academy. This is in brief. 
Nagari d.d. : Initially which meaning, or foundational ideological concepts, that Srila Prabhupada envisioned in Gurukula? 
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: There are many things that Srila Prabhupada mentioned, wrote about regarding to Gurukula. Among them there was that the boys should be literate and numerate, should be able to count. They should be able to read and write. And he wanted them to come out as the leaders of the society. So they should be trained under brahmana, ksatriya, vaishya practices. They have to follow brahmacarya ashram, studying of the Vedic scriptures, our Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya philosophy. There were the ideas of Srila Prabhupada. Then he wrote many details within these, how should they be taken care of, what are their needs.
Nagari d.d. : As far as I understood it was proposed previously that the education will be free, but now there are some fees, what are the fees?
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: At the present moment we have 8 000 Rs/monthly fee. Then there is 4 500 Rs/yearly health ensurance. And there is 25 000 Rs/admission fee. So admission fee is one time.
Nagari d.d. : Why is there a need for such amounts?
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: Because we don't have sponsors for the school. Previously it was sponsored but then Gurukula then stopped for years and years and years, but now we don't have sponsores who could maintain, our monthly expanses are about 7 lack. So what we have done because according to Vedic principle education should be free. So whatever school fees we collect from the boys it goes directly into the boys. Their clothes, their food, their education, maintenance of the school, but teachers are not paid from the school fees. Teachers maintenance or the construction of the school, there things we collect separately. So as a principle since teachers are not paid by students, in principle of the education is still free. 
Nagari d.d. : But this deprives many aspiring students from the opportunity to become students here.
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: This also depends on the character of the child. Because we do have many students who are paying less and we have few students who are not paying anything, because we don't want to make this into a business. You know, so we take whatever is required to survive and then we see if there is some child, a brilliant child, from a nice background, we try to accomodate as much as possible. 
Nagari d.d. : So such a child may come here and approach you for admission?
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: Yes.
Nagari d.d. : How does the school cooperate with the government  politic, as the school isn't officially credible.
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: Yes, we are independent. We have nothing to do with the government.
Nagari d.d. : So no need for examinations, because in Russia it's mandatory, even if children are studying somewhere, they must come to take final examinations at the general educational school. Here it's not like that?
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: One thing, Mataji, is that the purpose of Gurukula is to create leaders of ISKCON. So we are creating those boys who want to fully dedicate themselves for free-time service to the mission. That's why we don't issue any certificates that they can get a job somewhere out in the world. We openly tell the parents that this is the purpose we have in Gurukula, if you want to serve Srila Prabhupada and mission, this is the place. If you want to become a doctor, engineer, we don't have that facility. 
Nagari d.d. : And usually what are the occupations of the graduates?
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: From the previous generations, way before my generation, three of them are on the GBC level. We have a lot of devotees who are temple presidents, sankirtan leaders, a lot of head-pujaris, but big quantity of our boys are running restaurants. 
Nagari d.d. : [laughing] Because they are learning to cook here? And cooking wonderfully! 
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: And recently, last year I met one devotee, he is a masseuse and teaches yoga, I met few astrologers, I met one devotee in South India, he has 100 gold jewellery showrooms all over South India. I heard of one devotee in Canada who has 19 pharmacy channels. There is one boy who did double PhD in mathematics, he is on his path for becoming a scientist. You may know Sri Prahlad Prabhu, he is from Gurukula. Veda Sarva Prabhu is the temple president of Los Angeles, in America. The GBC of China is Chandrashekhara Prabhu. Our CEO in Mayapur is Naru Gopal Prabhu. All their education is from here. From my batch those boys who graduated from my generation one boys right now is a preacher in China, one boy was preaching in Russia, there's a sankirtana party which goes around the country, you know about that? One of our boys is there. One boy became a representative of Deity Worship in Deity Ministry of ISKCON, he became representative for Malaysia and Canada, we have three boys now preaching in Australia, one boy is a personal servant of HH Niranjana Swami, we have one boy who is the head of the department for the maha-prasadam shop. We have few boys who are doing services in Mayapur. We have few grihasthas who are running their own businesses. So that's how they maintain.
Nagari d.d. : This is a social aspect, and in the personal way, how the boys, graduates from the school, how are they different from modern educated people outside. 
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: See, in a general level I can say they are well-disciplined, they are hard-working, they are sense controlled, they know the philosophy very well. Because from what I see nowadays people don't have these qualities. Especially people sense controlled. 
Nagari d.d. : As I understood you joined the school as the student and now you're a teacher, were there any changes that took place while you were in the school? Towards which direction  the school is developing?
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: When I joined it was under Priti Vardhana Prabhu, Maharaja has not been involved in the administration long before I joined. Priti Vardhana Prabhu was the dean of the school and now in two-three years he'll be taking sanyasa. So it was in a very good hands of a strict follower. Then I think just few months later the school was under Sri Madhava Gauranga Prabhu. The difference with him was that he joined Gurukula at the age of four. So he had been through the whole system of Gurukula, so when he came and he became the dean of our school, he has been though everything that we were going to, it was very easy for the boys to interact with him. And I firmly believe that in order to have a successful Gurukula, you need to be a person who have lived through this school. So when he came they were a very small group sitting in the middle of nowhere. But because he's been through all the good and the bad sides of Gurukula, he started to develop the good side and correct the negative sides. And now we are doing quite good. So devotees also, seeing the boys, how they are, more and more devotees are getting faith in the system of Gurukula. Last year was the first year when we've got a big group of 5-year olds. Before that we always had 12-13-15-18 years olds. Now it looks like devotees are having more faith. Technically speaking we can say that last year we had the first proper group of boys. Otherwise before we were always working on rectifying the character of the boys. Because when a 13-15 year old comes he brings all the anarthas with him. So we were always working on cleaning it up.
Nagari d.d. : What kind of anarthas?
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: Bad language. They have seen in the movies, especially russian ones, cause I've heard in russian they have a dictionary for just bad words. You know, so they come and bad-mouthing, no proper behaviour, too much ego, and now since we have many 5-year olds, we don't have that problem.
Nagari d.d. : Another question is that you mentioned devotees are becoming interested in Gurukula, even though Srila Prabhupada instructed devotee to train boys Gurukula and girls at home, still many devotees are sending their children to karmi schools, what is the source of fear in those parents?
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: From what I understand it's a lack of faith. Mahaprabhu says Krishna will always protect. If Krishna wants to kill you nobody can save you, if Krishna wants to protect you nobody can kill you. But devotees are always looking for "Oh,  my child will become an engineer, a doctor, a lawyer", not many devotees are thinking that "Oh, my child should, let's say, live the life of a brahmacari and become a sanyasi, even as a grihastha he should serve in the movement and mission of Srila Prabhupada." Not many devotees have such strong faith.
Nagari d.d. : Last question is that there are not many Gurukuls as well. 
Krishna Caitanya Mahashay: Yes, because, now it's coming up slowly. It's not a branch  of our school, but  HH Bhakti Vikas Maharaja, he is making one in Hyderabad, he has two Gurukuls in South India and he has one Gurukul in Gujarat, so he loves our school. He is working on that. Now just day before yesterday a group of HH Radhanath Maharaja's disciples came here, they want to make one Gurukula in Pune. With the same system that we have here. And the system of Gurukula is such that when the boys grow and they feel they wish to develop it in their own countries they will open and thus it will spread. So now we have few boys who wish to start Gurukuls in their countries, but they are still very young, they want to explore the world. So right now they are doing travelling and preaching. Once they settle down a little more then more Gurukuls will come. And we are not very much into spreading now, we are more into the quality of it. 
Nagari d.d. : Thank you so much!