Remembering Srila Prabhupada - on Cheating

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One afternoon, when Prabhupada's cook brought him his

prasadam, Prabhupada did not like the look of the

potatoes.

"Why are they pinkish?" he asked.

"I don't know, Srila Prabhupada," the girl replied.

"They are rotten," said Srila Prabhupada. "They put

them in cold storage and they are rotten. Everyone is

cheating. The whole world is cheating. This material

world is rotten."

Later in the afternoon Srila Prabhupada talked further

with the devotees about the rotten potatoes and how it

was an indication of the material world's cheating.

 

 

Srila Prabhupada was anxious when he discovered how

the devotees were being cheated in different ways by

the contractors in the construction of the

Krishna-Balaram temple. One morning Prabhupada was

examining the outside of the building, where there was

an unusual mixture of patterns. Prabhupada decided

that the stone patterns were another form of cheating.

"They have given you rejected stone and made this

arrangement," said Prabhupada.

One of the devotees argued, "But Prabhupada, actually

it is a pattern. They had to turn here in the wall, so

they made a different pattern."

Prabhupada said the explanation was nonsense and that

it was not a pattern. The contractors had given them

rejected stone and charged them for good stone.

The devotee, however, persisted in his explanation:

"But Prabhupada, it is a pattern. Actually it's a

pattern."

"Yes, it is a pattern," said Prabhupada. "It is a

clown's pattern and you are a fool for thinking it is

a pattern."

 

 

During a Sunday feast in Hyderabad, Prabhupada asked

for a sample of the prasadam being served to the life

members. When the prasadam was brought, Prabhupada

said it was terrible and he was infuriated. Prabhupada

asked his disciple in charge, Mahamsa Swami, about the

cook. Mahamsa explained that the man was hired, but

was a brahmana cook, and he even wore a thread.

Prabhupada only became more angry and began to

criticize Mahamsa.

"But Prabhupada," said Mahamsa, "he's chanting Hare

Krsna."

Prabhupada was so convinced that the so-called

brahmana chanter was bogus that he fired the cook on

the spot.

 

 

One of the devotees distributing books to libraries in

India informed Prabhupada that a professor in Aligarh

was willing to donate his Bhagavatams to Prabhupada.

Prabhupada wanted these books for his translation work

because they contained different commentaries from the

acaryas. Prabhavisnu was sent to get the books with

the understanding that the books would be given free.

When he arrived at the man's house, however, the man

said that the books were worth 3,000 rupees and that

he wanted to become a life member in exchange.

Prabhavisnu replied that he would have to ask his

authorities, but he supposed it would be all right. He

then took the books back to Vrndavana and gave them to

Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada said the books were only worth a thousand

rupees. He said that the man could pay the balance if

he wanted to become a life member. Prabhavisnu then

wrote back to the man and informed him of this. The

man never paid further, but Prabhupada kept the books.

 

Morning walk, March 25, 1976, New Delhi; Dhananjaya

dasa, interview; Ramesvara Swami, interview; Sivananda

dasa, interview; Ananga-devi dasi, interview; Sridhara

Swami, interview; Prabhavisnu Swami, interview;

Rupa-vilasa dasa and Candrika-devi dasi, interview;

Prabhavisnu Swami, interview.

 

 

- From the Prabhupada Nectar by HH Satsvarupa dasa

Goswami Maharaj

 

 

 

 

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