The death of Dindayal prabhu (ACBSP)

[Guest guest]

Dear Maharajas and prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. all glories to srila Prabhupada.

It is a sorry matter to hear of the demise of Dindayal prabhu (ACBSP). I used

to work with him in 1969 in the San Francisco temple. His associate, Bhaktajon,

was also in San Francisco in those days. I was a young restless person as a one

year devotee. Having gone to school at the University of California, Berkely, I

thought that that intellectual university city would be a good place to open a

preaching center, so I saw an opportunity to dovetail my adventurism. The

temple president told me I could go to Berkeley to open a preaching center, but

I had to take someone with me. That person was Dindayal. I met a person

favorable to Krishna consciousness in Berkeley who was interested in helping

the preaching work. This was an "older woman"--probably about 40 years (I was

about 22) who volunteered to lend her house as a preaching center headquarters

for Berkeley. We used to go out every day doing Hari Nama Sankirtan on the main

street, Telegraph Avenue. I would make some "simply

wonderfuls" and sell them on the street for about 25 cents to get up enough

money to buy bhoga, making prasadam to distribute on campus at a park. Tamal

Krishna Maharaj came to check out the program and liked it immensely. He wrote

about it in his memoires. There was a friendly university student named Howard

that I used to meet on Telegraph Avenue, and I would preach to him. Dindayal

helped me arrange two programs in Berkely for Srila Prabhupada to appear at the

YMCA and a prestigious intuition called International House. I invited Howard

to come to the programs, which he did, giving him the opportunity to meet Srila

Prabhupada in person. Srila Prabhupada danced ecstatically at those programs.

It seemed as though he were leaping three feet into the air! As a young man, I

could not keep up with him! Howard was struck with wonder by Srila Prabhupada.

He later took initiation, becoming Hridayananda Maharaja.

Things didn't go so well for Dindayal. He was bothered by his mind. Although

our modest preaching effort was reasonably successful, Dindayal was not happy.

I remember seeing him sitting at an old clunky type writer (computers weren't

really available yet). He wrote to Srila Prabhupada at least twice from our

preaching center house, complaining about his disturbed mind. He was writing

about giving up the preaching work we were doing, and this was very painful to

witness. I felt very sorry that he was writing to Srila Prabhupada in this way.

Perhaps he was suffering from chronic depression even as far back as 1969.

Anyways, finally he vanished. He was a very emotional person, and very private,

rather high strung. I never knew where he went. The preaching work caught on in

Berkeley, with Bahulasva and Hansadutta taking over the mission , along with

about 25 devotees, including Lochan, the famous artist. We all stayed in a

garage, since my prior hostess was not willing to take on so many

devotees in her house.

It comes as the first news to me since 1969 that Dindayal later went on to do

preaching in Greece and to live in West Virginia, getting married, etc. I agree

with the prabhu who said that Krishna will remember his sincere service, even

though he came to a sad end.

Respectfully submitted by your eternal servant,

Makhanlal das Gauravanachari

 

 

 

 

Makhanlal Das