Srila Prabhupada's mercy in a lopsided relationship

May 5, 2006

Srila Prabhupada must have many friends in the spiritual world with whom he

can eternally enjoy happy and carefree days. Yet being extraordinarily

merciful he chooses to be here among us. Although the most exalted

personality, he appears to like nothing better than to be with his

disciples, foolish and neophyte as we are. He gives the impression there is

no one in the world he would rather be with and nothing he would rather be

doing than sharing whatever he has with us, although we have nothing to give

him in return that could possibly be of interest to him. It seems a lopsided

relationship, but Prabhupada doesn't mind. He is not looking for anything

for himself, only to see what he can give us. As a result, we have obtained

more than any of us can ever have hoped for.

from "Transcendental Diary" by Hari Sauri Prabhu

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stonehearted · May 6, 2006

Thank you, Maharaja, for sharing that. What a sweet observation! I remember that, after things fell apart in Hawaii in 1973, my wife, one Godbrother, and I had a private meeting with Srila Prabhupada in his room in Los Angeles. He apparently cleared his schedule for the three of us, and he excused everyone else from his room, asking them to close the doors behind them. We were with him for perhaps an hour and a half, maybe more; he seemed in no hurry at all, seemed to have nothing else to attend to, and he was very relaxed, sitting with one knee up, his toes on the other foot wiggling from time to time. We were his first priority even though weren't "bigs"; we weren't names at all. We were his disciples, and that was all the impetus he needed to see how we were and how he could encourage us. He also invited us to come spend time with him the following day, which my wife and I did. It was indeed a lopsided relationship.