Remembering Srila Prabhupada - Why Haven't You Brought Me What I

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Why Haven't You Brought Me What I Want?

 

 

Srila Prabhupada always accepted food cooked by his

sister Pisima, even though he knew that the oil and

spices she used made him sick. Because she was very

devoted to Srila Prabhupada, he ate her cooked

offerings of food as if it were ordained by Krsna.

But sometimes he would confide to others that he

shouldn't eat what Pisima cooked. One time in Mayapur

when Prabhupada told his disciple Palika that he did

not want to eat Pisima's cooking, Palika tried to

satisfy Prabhupada by bringing him what he wanted.

When Palika brought in Prabhupada's lunch and he saw

that it was made up exclusively of offerings by

Pisima, he became angry.

"Why haven't you brought me what I want?"

"Pisima was there," said Palika. "What could I do? She

hid the dal."

"All right," said Prabhupada, "try tomorrow. I'll tell

you what I want and you cook it."

But the next day it was the same thing. Pisima was

using chilies and spices, and Prabhupada was actually

beginning to get sick from them. Palika tried hiding

the chilies, and Pisima hid Palika's vegetables. Soon

there was no communication at all between the two

women.

Prabhupada's Bengali disciples Bhakti-caru and

Nitaicand were brought in to make peace between Pisima

and Palika, but Pisima wouldn't discuss a thing. She

said that whatever she cooked was what Prabhupada

wanted. She had been cooking for him for seventy years

and she knew what he wanted. There was no way in the

world she was going to cook anything else.

The devotees told Prabhupada what Pisima said and he

replied, "All right, let her cook something, but

Palika should also cook some things that I can eat."

After that the two women cooked in separate places.

Pisima would make some preparations and put them on

the plate, and Palika would also put her preparations

on the plate. Then one day, Pisima decided that Palika

shouldn't cook at all. So Pisima cooked everything.

When Palika tried to enter the kitchen, Pisima raised

her spoon and shouted in Bengali until Palika

retreated from the door.

That day when Palika took the plate up to Prabhupada

and he saw that everything had been cooked by Pisima,

he said, "What is this? I cannot eat this!" Prabhupada

then smashed his fist on the desk and repeated, "I

cannot eat this! She knows I cannot eat this! I will

become sick if I eat this!" Prabhupada sat staring at

his food for a few moments, while Palika stood

fearfully in the corner. Then Prabhupada said, "But it

is Krsna's mercy. Therefore I will eat it." Of course,

Prabhupada knew that all he had to do was ask, and

twenty devotees would have rushed down to the kitchen

and cooked him whatever he wanted. Yet he declared

that Krsna had given him Pisima's prasadam, and so he

should eat it. That night, however, after eating a

full lunch, Prabhupada became sick. For the next two

days he did not take anything except hot milk and

medicine.

 

Nandarani-devi dasi, interview.

 

- From the Prabhupada Nectar by HH Satsvarupa dasa

Goswami Maharaj

 

 

 

 

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