Srila Prabhupada wanted to show that people can live very simply and happily chanting Hare Krishna. Modern society is destroying the qualities of human beings. So Srila Prabhupada wanted that devotees, who have a higher philosophy will demonstrate this in life by living very simply together and not having so many [useless things].
Lecture on “Simple Life on Farm Communities” (Pula Farm, Croatia, 20 October 2000)