Fw: SO THEY MAY KILL ME ALSO

[Guest guest]

Hare Krsna prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Amidst all this back and forth I thought I might submit a little something for

your collective pleasure. One prabhu has been very tenacious about this

particular subject with me for some time. I am not certain why but here is my

response. A little nugget of nectar that His Divine Grace spoon fed us in

Hawaii many years ago.

Ever your loving brother and servant

Praghosa Das

 

 

Patrick Hedemark <praghosa (AT) datastar (DOT) net>

Mukunda dasa. PSS. <hear1prabhupada (AT) connect4free (DOT) net>

Thursday, January 27, 2000 7:10 PM

Re: SO THEY MAY KILL ME ALSO

 

 

Hare Krsna Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to His Divine Grace Srila

Prabhupada.

I believe I gently explained to you that it is not going to be possible for me

to share in this particular fantasy with you. My own experience with his

Divine Grace which was sufficient enough simply would not permit me to ignore

what I know. In June of last year I had an incredible dream with His Divine

Grace in which he confirmed my conclusions very clearly and very simply and I

have learned to respect that particular form of transcendetal association every

bit as much as my association with him through his books and his devotees. I

do not share that type of experience with just anyone, as nothing I could or

would conclude from such an exchange with His Divine Grace is verifiable.

However I will say this much, based upon all my experience with His Divine

Grace Srila Prabhupada, both during my nearly 5 years with him before his

departure and the last 23 years trying to serve him in some capacity in

separation, the enormity of my own personal realizations completely refute this

speculation as irrelevent, offensive and without merit or purpose.

 

The only reason I share this bit of information with you, knowing full well the

possibility that you may ridicule that or dismiss it for the above mentioned

reasons is to help you understand specifically why I may appear so immovable by

your attempts to move me in the direction of your particular conclusions as

regards this issue.

 

Why bother discussing this issue with me at all. Certainly you have found the

area that we most certainly do agree upon - The transcendental benefit of

hearing from His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada of the transcendental pastimes

of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krsna! Always remind me of the

benefit of such hearing and chanting! That will always be accepted by me. And

let us not forget Kirtan.

 

I will share with you a most imtimate pastime I was permitted with His Divine

Grace. In 1974 I was personally brought to Hawaii by HH Sudama Swami to

distribute books there for Srila Prabhupada. During that time Srila Prabhupada

came to Hawaii to visit and preach. I was given the chance to go on a number of

morning walks with Srila Prabhupada during that visit! Pure Nectar!.........But

before I tell you about that visit I need to back up just a minute.... because

the story actually begins in Detroit in 1973 during my first visit to the old

temple on East Jefferson Ave.............

 

It was a very cold night in Detroit. My most trusted lifelong friend (if 20

year olds can be said to be life long!) Randy Cieslak now known as Udayananda

Das, was finally able to drag me to the temple for the first time. I was

reluctant to go as I had already read three of Srila Prabhupada's books and

could tell that my material aspirations and desires were being "poisoned" by

the philosophy of Krsna Consciousness and I was a little concerned for my

material future if I became too intimate with the devotees. (Little did I

know!) My fiance was terrified that I was going to renounce our plans to marry

and I would be captured by the rascal cowherd boy Krsna! I assured her, prior

to going that night to the temple that I was a big boy and could "handle"

myself as a self proclaimed "Free Thinker". (Little did I know!) "Don't worry"

I said, "I'm just going in order to satisfy Randy and my own curiosity!" So I

was confident when I entered the humble temple on East Jefferson Ave that

inspite of the exotic scent of incense and tumeric, the sounds of the Holy

Names floating through the air, and the quiet attractive serentiy of

theVaisnavas, my fiance was secure and my material future was safe from harm!

(Little did I know!) We sat there in the vestibule - on the floor - for nearly

5 hours talking with a devotee named Dharmaraja Das. He was very kind to remain

with us long into the night and answer what must have seemed to him, almost an

endless stream of questions. Near the end we were all tired but I was weakening

with each passing hour. Finally at one point I said to him, in a somewhat

agitated state of mind, "Listen, you keep saying - Krsna Says this - or Krsna

Says that - or Krsna did this or Krsna did that. Well I must be honest - it all

seems a little fantastic! I mean if Krsna is God and you relate with him so -

as a person I mean - Well just what the heck does this Krsna actually LOOK

LIKE!?" At this Dharmaraja smiled and pointed to a beautiful painting on the

wall behind me - (it measured approximately 4 feet wide and 6 feet high) and

said "Oh Krsna - well that's Krsna right there - in that painting - that's what

he looks like". I turned to view the original painting, by I believe Yadurani,

of Lord Krsna standing before the lovely Srimati Radharani- holding his flute

and smiling at her most playfully. Radharani was kneeling before Him holding

some beautiful flowers and looking at Krsna with an amazingly beautiful face!!

In the background were the barely discernable faces of a few lucky gopis who

were able to witness this transcendental vision! I WAS STUNNED! "That's Krsna?"

I asked. "Yes - indeed it is" said Dharmaraja, smiling like someone who just

revealed a very important secret! My first words were "He is really beautiful!

Who is the girl?" Never could I have imagined the course my life would take -

and all on account of the conviction and attraction I imbibed from one long

glance at the beautiful form of Lord Sri Krsna and His eternal consort depicted

in that incredible painting! ........Little did I know!......

 

Now flash forward to that beautiful morning in the enchanted island of Oahahu,

Hawaii one year later......I had just handed His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada

a small hand corsage of flowers I had picked throughout the neighborhood just

prior to the walk. We proceeded for some distance and I finally mustered up the

courage to address Srila Prabhupada directly. "Srila Prabhupada, may I tell

you about an incident that occurred yesterday while I was out on Kalakaua Ave

distributing Krsna Books?Hmm" was all he said as he looked at me with

affection. "Well Srila Prabhupada, yesterday a young man from the US Navy

approached me on the street accompanied by a friend, in a very excited state!

He called out to me, "Hey you Krsna, Hey Hare Krsna! Do you have any of those

Krsna Books?" At this His Divine Grace's eyes lit up and he smiled broadly! I

took that as permission to go on! "Yes I do" I said and prcoceeded to hand him

the 2nd Volume of Krsna Book. He skimmed through it's pages but he appeared

frustrated. "No -No" he said. "Not this one. I want the one with Krsna standing

there with the flute and the girl is sitting in front of Him - holding the

flowers! That's the one I need! Now Srila Prabhupada is smiling and looking

around observing everyone else enjoying the story. It was becoming delightfully

initimate! I said "Srila Prabhupada at this point I handed him the 1st Volume

and he immediately opened it to the picture he had sought - found it - and

excitedly showed it to his friend. Then he said "There see? See what I told

you? That's Krsna! That's God! That's what he looks like!" At that he slammed

the book shut - handed it to his friend and said "Take it. Now give the man

ten dollars and buy the book! "He did so immediately" I said to Srila

Prabhupada. Now by this time Srila Prabhupada is listening most intently and

smiling so dramatically that we were all becoming totally captivated. He just

stood there for a moment - nodded his head a couple of times - turned and

slowly started walking. We were all silent, not knowing what to say. Suddenly

he stopped and turned to us and quietly drew us close to him. "You know" he

said, looking around as if he was about to reveal a great secret, "That picture

- Krsna - He looks like that! It is almost like a photograph! We all stood

there with our mouths open! At that moment we knew Srila Prabhupada had DIRECT

spiritual perception and we had just been blessed with a tiny drop of his

overwhelming devotion (PREMANJANA CHURITA BHAKTI ) At that instant, I

remembered my first glimpse of Lord Krsna - revealed in that very painting, in

the vestibule of the mandira of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Kunjabhihari on

East Jefferson Ave in Detroit only one year earlier! Truly - Little did I know!

 

 

Srila Prabhupada is my Divine master - I am his eternal servant - His coming

and going are not subject to our puny imagination! I humbly beg you one last

time - do not send me any more of this fantasy. Now I have asked you very

nicely and will always be happy to share with you any wonderful thing from His

powerful and wonderful association I have been granted. I only ask that you

only share with me such nectar also. Is that all right?

All Glories to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada! All Glories to His dedicated

and loving Disciples and Granddisciples! Hare Krsna!

 

Ever your loving brother and servant

Praghosa Das

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mukunda dasa. PSS. <hear1prabhupada (AT) connect4free (DOT) net>

Undisclosed Recipients <Undisclosed Recipients>

Thursday, January 27, 2000 2:59 PM

SO THEY MAY KILL ME ALSO

SO THEY MAY KILL ME ALSO

Prabhupada: This is our position. Gradually they will show Hare Krsna

movement. In India also, although India's... They will want to crush down this

movement. So this will be up to Him. Krsna or Krsna's movement, the same thing.

And Krsna was attempted to be killed by Kamsa class of men and his company, the

demons. So it will be there; it is already there. Don't be disappointed,

because that is the meaning that it is successful. Krsna's favor is there,

because Krsna and Krsna's movement is not different, nondiff..., identical. So

as Krsna was attempted to be killed, many, many years before He appeared... At

eighth child, if the mother produces child yearly, still ten years, eight years

before His birth, the mother was to be attempted to be killed. So there may be

attempt like that. And Lord Jesus Christ was killed. So they may kill me also.

(S.P.Room Conversation May 3, 1976, Honolulu)

Note: Srila Prabhupada says there may be an attempt to kill him or his

movement. If we look earlier in the conversation he actually says the attempt

will be there