Remembering Srila Prabhupada - Realizations

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Realizations

 

 

There is a devotee in Vrndavana named Visala who is

sometimes a source of comic relief because he has some

humorous character traits. One time I saw how Visala

became like a little boy in front of Srila Prabhupada

and pleased him.

 

On one particular day, Prabhupada was having darsana

with a room full of Indians. Visala suddenly walked in

along with his wife. Although Prabhupada was

preaching, Visala entered with such a commotion that

Prabhupada's conversation came to a halt. Some of the

people in the room looked at Visala as a source of

disturbance, but Visala went ahead and paid his full

obeisances to Prabhupada in a very loud voice: nama om

visnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhutale srimate

bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine.

 

As Visala became the focus of the room's attention, I

was thinking, "Boy, this guy is really something!"

Then Visala sat up and walked right up to Prabhupada's

table. He was carrying a little wicker basket covered

with a cloth, and he placed this in front of

Prabhupada, pulled the cover off, and said to

Prabhupada, "My wife made some simply wonderfuls for a

simply wonderful spiritual master!" Visala said it

with a total, big smile, and Srila Prabhupada also

smiled back in a complete way.

 

Then I began to think, "Now that is the kind of thing

I would like to do in front of Prabhupada one of these

days. I would like to be able to be so unattached, so

uninhibited, just once to go in front of Prabhupada

and be able to glorify him. If I could only say

something praiseworthy of Prabhupada." Because usually

there was a big debate in my mind going back and

forth. I would think I will go ahead and say this to

Prabhupada, but then I would think no, that's not

worthy enough. Then I would think well, what about

this? And then I would think no, that's not good

enough. I usually ended up not saying anything. There

would be a long silence. Then whatever opportunity I

had to praise Prabhupada -- which is the disciple's

duty -- would slip through my fingers. Yet Visala had

come in and he just did it in a fling, unabashed.

 

When Prabhupada smiled, the whole roomful of people

felt relieved. At first, when Visala had come in,

everything had become quiet and heavy because he had

interrupted. Now, because Prabhupada was pleased,

everyone else was pleased.

 

Then Visala did another fascinating thing. He turned

around and faced the entire room, reached into the

little shoulder bag he was wearing, and pulled out

some Back to Godhead magazines. He started preaching

about Prabhupada and Prabhupada's books and Back to

Godhead, and he just went ahead and distributed them

to all the people in the room. The thing was done so

nicely that he had the whole room completely charmed

and friendly. Prabhupada just sat back, and you could

see that Prabhupada was pleased with him. Visala went

on glorifying Prabhupada's books and told how

professors in the West had reviewed the books. Many of

the Indians in the room didn't even speak enough

English to follow all of what Visala was saying, but

because of his mood, everyone became relaxed.

 

Then to end the whole thing, Visala did something else

that really blew my mind. He turned to Srila

Prabhupada and said, "Srila Prabhupada, my beloved

spiritual master, I have read all of your books except

for one. I haven't read the Madhya-lila, Volume

Three." At that time, the Madhya-lila had just come

out, and the only person in Vrndavana with a copy was

Prabhupada because a copy had just been sent to him

from the West. After a silent pause, Visala said,

"Srila Prabhupada, may I borrow your copy?" The

devotees in the room were stunned at this boldness,

but Prabhupada simply called Nava-yogendra forward and

said, "Give him the Madhya-lila, Volume Three."

Visala, very pleased, took the book and exited after a

wonderful exchange with Prabhupada.

 

-- Kundali dasa Adhikari

 

 

 

A devotee took me to see Srila Prabhupada -- it was in

Los Angeles in 1968 -- and I went into his room. When

I first saw him I thought, I should be nice to this

old man and say something nice. The first thing I

asked him was, "How are you feeling, sir?" Srila

Prabhupada immediately pointed to his Deities. He

said, "With Radha and Krsna here, how could anyone not

be well?" I didn't understand what he was speaking

about or what the Deities were. I just sat there and

then he started talking to me. After receiving his

darsana, I had become very impressed. I had some money

in my pocket and I thought I would like to give him an

offering, so I took out the money, about a hundred

dollars, and I gave it to Prabhupada. He embraced me

and touched my head, and at that moment I felt that I

had found my true father.

 

When I left Prabhupada's room I kept walking down a

long road, and all I could think about was how I was

going to stay with Prabhupada. I had no conception at

all of what Krsna consciousness was or devotional

service, but Prabhupada was such a wonderful person

that by visiting him for an hour, my heart was totally

captivated.

 

-- Dinanatha dasa Adhikari

 

 

 

When I first met Prabhupada I was eight years old. The

first time he said something to me personally was on a

morning walk on Venice Beach. I ran up to Prabhupada

and said, "Prabhupada, I have found these shells. What

should I do with them?" Srila Prabhupada looked at me.

He put his cane in the sand, and he said, "Put them

down and wash your hands." It was just a little

instruction, but I felt so happy that Prabhupada told

me to put down the shells and wash my hands. I

immediately ran back to the water, put the shells

down, and washed my hands. Then I came back and

followed Prabhupada.

 

It wasn't so much the things that Prabhupada did, it

was Prabhupada himself that made them wonderful. Just

to be next to him was not only an honor, but it was a

pleasure. You wanted to be near him, to hold his feet,

to hear from him. You wanted to see him. Just like at

kirtana, the devotees would crowd around Prabhupada

and there would be bodyguards to clear a way for him.

The wonderful thing was the way that he did

everything."

 

-- Raghunatha dasa

 

Kundali dasa, interview; Dinanatha dasa, interview;

Raghunatha dasa, interview. Kundali's reminiscence

about Visala dasa is perhaps a first of its kind in

Prabhupada Nectar. It is a memoir not of a devotee in

his direct relationship with Prabhupada, but of a

devotee appreciating another devotee's relationship

with Prabhupada. It would be nice if more devotees

came forward with such reminiscences to help us expand

the genuine, essential stories for Prabhupada Nectar.

This is also in the parampara tradition, just as in

the Caitanya-caritamrta devotees give their

reminiscences of other devotees in relation to Lord

Caitanya. Krsnadasa Kaviraja, for example, tells of

the special relationship Raghunatha dasa Gosvami had

with Svarupa Damodara and of how Lord Caitanya

reciprocated with Raghunatha through Svarupa Damodara.

Some devotees are reticent to speak of their

relationship with Prabhupada, yet other devotees will

be more willing to recall the memories and even to

sometimes better appreciate Prabhupada's features of

mercy as displayed toward all his disciples.

 

 

- From the Prabhupada Nectar by HH Satsvarupa dasa

Goswami

 

 

 

 

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