Remembering Srila Prabhupada - Hold Out Your Hand

[Guest guest]

Hold Out Your Hand

 

 

In 1972 Atreya Rsi dasa arranged for Bob Cohen (later

Brahmatirtha) and his wife to have a private darsana

with Srila Prabhupada. Bob Cohen's wife had been

coming to the temple for several months, and she was

determined that no one was going to make her chant

Hare Krsna. She only went to the temple because her

husband went. The devotees would say, "Hare Krsna,

Barbara," and she would reply, "Hi."

 

It was only her and her husband and maybe eight or ten

sannyasis in the room that day. Bob offered prostrated

obeisances and Barbara only bowed her head. Srila

Prabhupada looked at her and said, "So you are

interested in Krsna consciousness?" She didn't

understand a word he said. Everything had to be

translated for her. Srila Prabhupada spoke for maybe

an hour, and Barbara was impressed by him, although

she didn't know exactly why. She asked Prabhupada a

few questions, but was too new to really appreciate

Krsna consciousness at that time. Srila Prabhupada was

merciful to her. Later he passed out rasagullas. "Hold

out your hand," he said to Barbara, and he placed a

rasagulla in her hand.

 

Then it was time for him to leave. Bob Cohen was going

to be driving Srila Prabhupada to the airport and

everyone else was leaving the room. Barbara lingered

around the room until everyone was out, and then she

turned to Prabhupada, folded her hands, looked him

right in the eye, and very deliberately said, "Hare

Krsna." With an _expression of welcome, Prabhupada

replied, "Jaya!" Somehow, Barbara was sure that Srila

Prabhupada knew she had never willingly chanted Hare

Krsna before and that this was the first time she had

really chanted. This knowing and personal

reciprocation seemed very wonderful to her, and she at

once became determined to try and become a devotee.

 

Bhakti-devi dasi, interview. This anecdote given by

Brahmatirtha dasa's wife is a case where the devotee

is aware that Srila Prabhupada knew her mind even

though she did not speak it. In writing Prabhupada's

biography in the Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta, I followed

the standard rules for biography and always refrained

from attempting to read Srila Prabhupada's mind. This

is not only a matter of the science of biography

writing, but it is also the Vaisnava's attitude toward

the spiritual master. Vaisnavera kriya mudra vijneya

na bhujaya: "No one can know the mind of the pure

devotee." But in reviewing interviews from devotees,

we find again and again incidents where devotees have

very strong impressions that Srila Prabhupada knew

what they were thinking. There are too many incidents

like this to simply categorically reject them all. One

can say that these are subjective impressions, but in

the lives of devotees there sometimes are such strong

impressions that they are significant in keeping a

devotee fixed in Krsna consciousness. Why should we

deny that Prabhupada had the potency to know the mind

of his disciples? Therefore, from time to time we

shall also present such anecdotes in this series.

 

- From the Prabhupada Nectar by HH Satsvarupa dasa

Goswami Maharaj

 

 

 

 

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