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First authorised Parampara edition of Bhagavad-gita

In early February 1970, Bali-mardana arrived in Sydney -- Australia's largest city -- with practically no money and only a few Back to Godhead magazines. The young couple with whom Bali-mardana had corresponded picked him up at the airport and accommodated him for a few days in their house in an outer Sydney suburb. They were friendly and willing to help, and although not really interested in Krsna consciousness, had helped him so far. Bali-mardana asked the couple where they suggested he go -- some central spot in Sydney. They suggested Kings Cross, which from their description sounded to Bali-mardana like the "Greenwich Village" of Sydney.

Next day, Bali-mardana moved to Kings Cross where he found a cheap room and stayed for a week to become familiar with the area. Having distributed the few Back to Godhead magazines that he had brought with him from Japan, Bali-mardana, on an off-chance, contacted Macmillan Books in North Sydney and found that they had a stock of Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-gita.

The Macmillan company had recently finished printing 1,500 hard-bound copies and 35,000 paperback copies of Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Although Macmillan had abridged the original Gita manuscript more than 50 per cent, Prabhupada still considered it a victory -- "the first authorised Parampara edition of Bhagavad-gita in the West", he had said. Bali-mardana purchased all that the Sydney branch of Macmillan had in stock and started to distribute them. He was confident that they were a powerful tool for spreading Lord Krsna's teachings throughout Australia.

- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu

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