Guest guest Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 The Temple Secretary Even before Srila Prabhupada arrived, I was not fully engaged as Jayapataka Maharaja's secretary because he was often away from Mayapur proper, busy buying land in the vicinity, for the future Mayapur city that Srila Prabhupada desired. Because he was away so often, and also because he thought someone might criticize him for having a woman secretary, Jayapataka Maharaja had made Pancaratna prabhu, a brahmacari, my connection for the typing work. Now both of them were busy with the construction of the Long Building and often didn't have time to keep me engaged in service. With time on my hands, I again wanted to type Srila Prabhupada's letters. I told Tamal Krishna Goswami, Srila Prabhupada's current GBC secretary, that I'd typed the letters previously in Vrindaban and Bombay, and asked if I could resume that service. He said, "I'll check with Srila Prabhupada." Later, he told me Srila Prabhupada's answer: "No. Why do I have a secretary if my secretary has a secretary?" Becoming Pisima's Personal Servant Becoming Pisima's Personal Servant Not long after Srila Prabhupada's arrival, his sister showed up. I was expecting a big competition among the ladies to become her personal servant. Surprisingly, I was the only one eager to do it. Even Palika prabhu, who had come to be Srila Prabhupada's cook, said she didn't want the post. Pisima wanted to live as close as possible to the ladies' bathroom on the first floor of the Lotus Building. She didn't mind living on the verandah, as she had during the Gaura Purnima festival. However, the temple authorities didn't want her living there. They promised her a guestroom on that floor in typical Indian fashion: "Just now coming," which means "wait." Meanwhile, we were given the use of the room next to the bathroom, the large GBC conference room. I moved whatever I needed from the ladies' ashram, and we lived in a corner of the room. I kept the room clean, washed Pisima's white widow saris and brought prasadam from the Big Kitchen for both of us to eat. Occasionally I massaged the tough soles of her extra-wide feet, extended from decades of not wearing shoes. I didn't know much Bengali, but we communicated somehow. Her knowledge of English consisted of: "one two three four five six seven eight nine ten," sounding like one word. She also knew "water" and "wash," which provided a clue into her mentality: she was very clean. As I saw previously, Pisima liked to douse the devotees with handfuls of water, especially on our beadbags. One of my main duties was to carry the bottle of this water. I'd refill Pisima's bottle of Ganga jal, Ganges water, from a larger bottle shekept in the room. She made her own arrangements to keep the large bottle filled, engaging the Bengali devotees in filling it when they bathed in the Ganga. She also had them supply her with Ganga mud, which she used instead of soap to clean her body. Someone gave her a bar of neem soap from the supply room, but she had no intention of using it. She stashed it away, to bring back to her family in Calcutta. It was modern, Western - and thus undesirable as far as she was concerned - but her family members would find it desirable for just those reasons. Pisima also kept a stock of gobar, or cow dung, which she used to clean the bathroom because it has antiseptic properties. She'd toss small clumps of gobar around the bathroom. After the first time she did this, I walked in and was taken aback by the little brown piles here and there on the floor. I thought, "Some Bengali children have passed on the floor, and their mothers didn't clean it up!" But on closer inspection I realized this was gobar - Pisima's doing! Just like at the festival, Pisima showed so much respect for Srila Prabhupada that she came to his Srimad-Bhagavatam classes. Not understanding English, she would nod out a bit. When she got up, she asked for the Ganga jal and washed the floor where she'd been sitting. Leaving the temple room, she threw water on the doorway. I saw her water-splashing as a symptom of humility. She was probably thinking she contaminated her sitting places or whatever she brushed against. Her policy seemed to be to leave every place cleaner than she found it, which is a Vaisnava practice. Some of the men, however, found her behavior extreme. Actually, Pisima was a Vaisnavi with many wonderful qualities. An austere devotee, she chanted japa constantly, and fasted completely on Ekadasis. Speaking with her in my broken Bengali, or "Benglish," or occasionally communicating through a translator, I especially appreciated that she was extraordinarily uncritical, saying positive things about everyone and everything. I felt fortunate to have her association. One of the first days she was in Mayapur, Pisima went into the Deity kitchen and cooked up a storm. She made a large quantity of dahl puris, a deep-fried whole wheat bread with a slight filling of spicy ground dahl beans. The Mayapur brahmacaris were in bliss as they lined up to get a crispy dahl puri. Apparently, knowledge of this unexpected handout reached Srila Prabhupada, and he squelched any repeats of the event. Those who received prasadam cooked by Pisima felt lucky indeed. Whenever Srila Prabhupada didn't give the Srimad-Bhagavatam class, the GBC conference room was used for the English class, even though it was also Pisima's bedroom. She didn't mind when the devotees filed into the room, asking, "Pisima, it is all right if we have class in here?" She'd gesture, as if to say, "Go ahead," and would sit there trying to chant japa, while nodding out. Continuing from "Srila Prabhupada Is Coming!" by Mahamaya Devi Dasi... Taking Pisima to Evening Darshans If there was any need for a reason on my part to go to Srila Prabhupada's evening darshans, once Pisima arrived I had the perfect excuse: I had to help her up the stairs and carry her bottle of Ganga jal. Pisima often wanted to go early to Srila Prabhupada's room. It was such a struggle for her to climb stairs, so we usually started early and arrived first. The devotee guards would be lenient because she was Srila Prabhupada's sister. Coming inside, we'd offer obeisances on the straw mat in the doorway and then sit on the white sheets covering the cotton mattresses. We'd always sit in the same place, in a corner. Even though we were at the furthest point away from Srila Prabhupada, still we were just a few yards away from his low desk. It was an intimate setting. Srila Prabhupada usually spoke in English at darshan, but there were occasions when the guests spoke Bengali or even Hindi. Whether or not I could follow the conversation, I relished sitting at Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet, though when I didn't understand the language, it was difficult indeed to stay awake. At those times I sympathized with Pisima's struggle to stay awake in the Srimad-Bhagavatam classes. One day I remember trying to stay awake while hearing a long Bengali conversation. I preached to my mind: "For so long, you wanted more of Srila Prabhupada's association, and now you have it. Devotees all over the world would give a fortune to be where you are, right now, sitting at Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet. You are so fortunate! You'd better be attentive, so you can share the nectar of Srila Prabhupada's darshan with others!" Ghost Puja Three sastris, men learned in the sastras, had joined the movement some months back, but only one - Anantarama Sastri - stayed. He, Jananivasa prabhu, and several helpers did puja every evening to get rid of ghosts. Also the clouds of incense smoke drove away mosquitoes. And, as Srila Prabhupada once explained to Jananivasa prabhu, it created an atmosphere conducive for spiritual understanding. Anantarama either loudly blew the conchshell or chanted the "Purusa- sukta" prayers. As he and his group walked slowly throughout the Lotus Building as the sun was setting, because ghosts appear at dusk. He had a unique ability to blow the conch nonstop, somehow breathing in through his nostrils while blowing out. And he was creating the most beautiful sounds! Some days Jananivasa prabhu blew the conchshell. Although he couldn't perform the feat of ceaseless blowing, still he blew the conchshell wonderfully - the tones and rifts were just incredible! One helper rang a bell and carried a handful of burning incense sticks. Another carried a brass holder containing burning charcoals, to which he periodically added frankincense. He waved a bamboo fan over the charcoals to cause the smoke to billow everywhere. Someone else splattered spoonfuls of water from a brass achman cup on the doorways, windows and floor. Everyone chanted the "Purusa-sukta" prayers. Srila Prabhupada's darshan was going on, and we would hear the puja approach from a distance. The sounds grew louder and louder as the group came from the roof and worked its way down. Arriving at Srila Prabhupada's room, all conversation halted. The pujaris reverently walked into the darshan room, filling it with smoke and transcendental sounds, toured Srila Prabhupada's bedroom and then exited, continuing their rounds. Srila Prabhupada sat peacefully throughout this nice interruption, chanting Hare Krishna while his fingers twirled his beads. If the lights were out due to a power cut, as happened frequently, it would be even more transcendental. Once, when Anantarama entered Srila Prabhupada's room, he stood stationary blowing the conchshell, seemingly without cessation. We were all wondering if he was ever going to stop. Finally, Srila Prabhupada said, "O.K., enough!" The Nitai Pada Kamala Boat Some time previously Visnujana Swami had tried to bring a boatload of devotees to the Mayapur festival. Unfortunately, the boat got stuck on a mud bank. Still, Srila Prabhupada was very pleased with his endeavor. Afterwards, Jayapataka Swami became inspired to start a regular program of traveling by boat down the Ganga to preach. He discussed the idea with Bhavananda Maharaja, his fellow co-director of Mayapur, who, amazingly enough, had just dreamed about the same thing! It was decided: they would buy a boat. They allocated some money for the purchase and, cash in hand, went shopping for a boat at a busy port. Prices were sky high, because of "skin tax" - extra amounts added on for white people. By evening they were discouraged, but after dark they approached one more boat-owner. Speaking in Bengali, Jayapataka Swami struck up a conversation and then asked him, "Do you have a boat for sale?" Not noticing that Maharaja, speaking impeccable Bengali, was a foreigner - because it was too dark to see his skin color - the man answered, "Yes, this one is for sale. It's six thousand rupees." "We'll take it!" It was the exact amount they had with them! Neem-wood Deities of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda were obtained with great effort from Ekacakra, Lord Nityananda's birthplace, a five- or six-hour drive from Mayapur. Omkara dasa and Nirmala dasi, his wife, made the Deities' first few outfits, choosing Srila Prabhupada's favorite color combination, yellow and silver, for Their installation outfit. Srila Prabhupada oversaw an elaborate fire sacrifice in the temple room to install the Deities, whom he named Gaura-Nitai. At the same time, Harikesa and Viraha prabhus also accepted the sannyasa order. Early the next morning the Deities were brought to Their boat, which Srila Prabhupada named Nitai Pada Kamala, docked at Hular Ghat. Srila Prabhupada rode in the temple jeep, while us devotees - men, women and children - ran wildly down the road, trying to catch up with him. Fearlessly climbing onto the upper deck of the small launch via a narrow, rickety plank, Srila Prabhupada sat down in a chair. There he was offered guru-puja. In course of time the Deities became popularly known as Nitai Pada Kamala Gaura-Nitai because They traveled extensively up and down the Ganga on Their boat. This successful preaching program reached many remote villages, easily accessible from the Ganga, giving the residents the benefits of chanting the holy names, taking Nitai Pada Kamala Gaura-Nitai's maha-prasadam and acquiring Srila Prabhupada's books in Bengali. I and a few other ladies hankered like anything to go on this traveling party, but we were barred: "Sorry. Men only." "The Matajis of Mayapur" Swati and Kamadhuk prabhus were following the Indian standard of not going into the temple on the days they were "off the altar" - devotee terminology for menstruation. It affected me when these ladies started insisting that we all follow their example. That sparked a debate among the ladies on this topic. I decided to ask Srila Prabhupada to settle the issue. On behalf of the ladies, I wrote a brief, polite letter, signed "The Matajis of Mayapur," and gave it to Hari-sauri prabhu. Later, he told me Srila Prabhupada's solution: We could come to the temple in silk saris when we're "off the altar," but we shouldn't perform Deity worship. The ladies got to hear Srila Prabhupada's daily lectures and do little drops of personal service for him, which satisfied us. We didn't feel Srila Prabhupada gave us less mercy because we were women. In fact, Srila Prabhupada was the only person who truly saw us as spirit souls and aspiring servants of Krishna. Thus he encouraged us equally to perfect our human lives and go back to Godhead. The New Mrdanga The New Mrdanga Sudama Swami, who came to spend a few months in Mayapur to get spiritually rejuvenated, was privileged to present Srila Prabhupada, at darshan, with a new, devotee-made mrdanga, recently transported from California. With theatrical flare, Sudama held the mrdanga high in the air, to catch everyone's attention. Then he dropped it. Everyone gasped, "Ohhh!" So many fragile clay mrdangas were hand-carried out of India at great inconvenience, only to break once when they were dropped even slightly. But this mrdanga fell and didn't break. It bounced on the floor and was fine. How was this possible? Sudama said, "Look, Srila Prabhupada, this mrdanga is made of fiberglass." Srila Prabhupada was very pleased to see the first Balaram mrdanga, made in Los Angeles, by Isana dasa and others. The long-awaited drum had arrived and more would be produced. They were unbreakable, as Sudama Maharaja demonstrated. No more anxieties when someone accidentally dropped a mrdanga! Srila Prabhupada did not seem to mind Sudama's theatrics in dropping Sri Mrdanga on the floor, though normally that would be irreverent. He played it briefly, then asked someone else to play. For the remainder of the darshan we had kirtan, chanting Hare Krishna to the beats of the new, fiberglass Balaram mrdanga. Discussing Gurukula When Dayananda and Nandarani prabhus, senior devotees serving at the Dallas gurukula, arrived in Mayapur, Srila Prabhupada dedicated one entire evening darshan to discussing the gurukula system with them. "The Texas government is giving the Dallas gurukula a hard time," they told Srila Prabhupada. "Among other things, the officials disapprove of the children sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags, and insist we buy beds." "We teach the children that austerity is fun," Srila Prabhupada said, "but their idea is to teach them to enjoy sense gratification." While discussing the students' academics, Nandarani prabhu asked, "What should the girls learn?" Srila Prabhupada responded, "They should learn three things: cooking, sewing and cleaning." "But Srila Prabhupada," Dayananda interjected, "the girls are learning all the academics, even Sanskrit, along with the boys." "Oh? That is very nice," he said, "but it is not required." Because Dayananda and Nandarani would be staying in Mayapur for a while, Srila Prabhupada engaged Dayananda in his personal service. Dayananda became Srila Prabhupada's temporary secretary and met with me, the temple secretary, to give me a ledger that Srila Prabhupada wanted to start using to record every incoming and outgoing letter. I took up this service. Srila Prabhupada let his authorized representatives, such as the temple presidents, manage everything in the West, but in India he managed - down to the smallest detail! Srila Bhaktisiddhanta's Appearance Anniversary The cooks made an auspicious number of items - a hundred and eight preparations - for the Deities' noon offering, plus a nice large feast on the appearance anniversary of Srila Prabhupada's spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. I was told that Srila Prabhupada expected the temple managers to invite all his Godbrothers in the area and as many guests as possible, but somehow or other they failed to do this. No one was invited, so no one came. In his lecture His Divine Grace talked about developing Mayapur: We have got great ambitions to develop this place nicely and gloriously, and fortunately we are now connected with foreign countries, especially with the Americans. Bhaktivinode Thakur's great desire was that the Americans would come here and develop this place and would chant and dance along with the Indians. . . . Then Srila Prabhupada spoke about publishing books, and quoted his Guru Maharaja: Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada . . . continued that "There is no need of establishing many temples. Better we publish some books." He said like that. He said that "We started our Gaudiya Matha in Ultadanga. The rent was very small, and if we could gather two-hundred-fifty rupees, it was going on very nicely. But since this J. V. Datta has given us this stone, marble stone Thakurbari [Datta donated for a marble temple], our competition between the disciples has increased. So I don't like any more. Rather, I would prefer to take out the marble stone and sell it and publish some books." So I took that point, and he also especially advised me, "If you get money, you try to publish books." So by his blessing it has become very successful by your cooperation. Now our books are being sold all over the world, and it is very satisfactory sale. So on this particular day of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur's advent, try to remember his words - that he wanted many books published about our philosophy, and it should be given to the English-knowing public especially, because English language is now world language. We are touring all over the world. So anywhere we speak English, it is understood, except in some places. So on this day, particularly on the advent of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, I'd especially request my disciples who are cooperating with me that you try to publish books as many as possible and distribute throughout the whole world. That will satisfy Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as well as Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur. I had never heard Srila Prabhupada so fiery - practically yelling. Perhaps he was in such an uncharacteristic mood because his Godbrothers had refused to work together or cooperate with him to spread Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada was the only disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati fulfilling his guru's desire to print many books in English. Srila Prabhupada had preached all over the world and transformed thousands of Westerners. Now his disciples were his instruments, and they were performing harinam sankirtan and distributing millions of books about Krishna consciousness. Not only that, Srila Prabhupada had returned to India, where he built marble temples in Mayapur, Vrindaban and some major cities. Thanks to Srila Prabhupada, now in the East and the West "Hare Krishna" was a household phrase. Sharma dasa Sharma dasa, a black American devotee, walked out on his managerial duty as a temple president in Africa and came to Mayapur. Wanting to live as a renunciant, he stayed at the cowshed and chanted a huge number of Hare Krishna mantras on his beads. Being extra austere, Sharma prabhu would eat only the devotees' remnants left in the prasadam pavilion. I heard that Srila Prabhupada had instructed Sharma to return to his important service in Africa, but Sharma refused. He said he just wanted to hear and chant. Srila Prabhupada acceded to Sharma's desire for austerity, but Srila Prabhupada was skeptical Sharma could maintain this program. One day I saw him talking to Srila Prabhupada in the temple room. Just watching his body language, I could see he was groveling too much - it was "humble pie," not real sincerity. Sure enough, Sharma soon left Mayapur and blooped. An Acyutananda Swami Impersonator The discussion at darshan one evening was about an Indian man going around telling people he was Acyutananda Swami, from ISKCON. Not knowing that Acyutananda Swami is a white American, some people believed this Indian impersonator was him. He convinced them to become life members, but kept their money. When these people came to know they'd been cheated, they were upset. Srila Prabhupada wanted the devotees to catch this culprit, and somehow they did. He begged for forgiveness and asked to be allowed to become a devotee of Lord Krishna. Srila Prabhupada allowed him to stay in Mayapur to practice Krishna consciousness. Soon, however, he was caught sneaking out the front gate with his belongings, proving his insincerity. He was promptly handed over to the police. Tolerating a Tale about the Philippine Dog-eaters Tolerating a Tale about the Philippine Dog-eaters Traveling from the Philippines, Sudama Vipra Swami, a follower of Siddhasvarupananda Swami - formerly Sai, from Maui - visited Srila Prabhupada. At the darshan, I got the feeling that he wasn't in good standing, and I felt uncomfortable the entire time. He dominated the conversation, telling Srila Prabhupada about the weird practices of Philippine natives - and in particular how the people eat dogs. Srila Prabhupada sat quietly chanting on his beads, not making one comment. Sudama Vipra Swami didn't get the hint that Srila Prabhupada didn't want to talk about this. It seemed improper to tell this repulsive story to one's spiritual master, especially within a holy dhama. Srila Prabhupada was tolerant and just let this wavering devotee speak without interruption. Tasting Homemade Sugar-cane Gur Some of the Bengali devotees were producing sugar-cane gur. This was another cottage industry along with the handloom department. During sugar-cane harvest time, they rented a manually operated sugar-cane- juice extractor and placed it in our field. On the spot the juice was cooked down on makeshift mud stoves to produce gur. Normally the Bengali devotees didn't come to darshans, but one night a group of these Bengali men and their wives came to offer Srila Prabhupada the first gur of the season. The ladies had put peanuts in it, turning it into a type of sweet. After they explained that they had produced the gur themselves, Srila Prabhupada appeared pleased. And after tasting some of the gur candy, Srila Prabhupada asked someone to distribute a piece to everyone present at the darshan. Krishnadasa Comes to Darshans Krishnadasa, Omkara prabhu's six-year-old son, was one of the few Western kids in the gurukula. He'd sneak away from his school dormitory to come to Srila Prabhupada's evening darshans, usually bringing along one or two other kids. If there were any local guests in the room, Srila Prabhupada would immediately tell them, "This little French boy speaks Bengali." Duly impressed, the guests would then ask Krishnadasa simple questions: "What's your name? How old are you?" Krishnadasa would answer in Bengali and delight the guests. However, Krishnadasa and his friends wouldn't stay long. As they rose to leave, Srila Prabhupada would tell his servant, "Give them sweets." The servant lifted the lid on the glass jar containing coconut-gur sweets and handed each boy one, as they happily left the room. Often, Krishnadasa would return a few minutes later with other kids, stay for a while, get another sweet and leave. Although Krishnadasa came because he wanted sweets, Srila Prabhupada didn't mind and he enjoyed introducing Krishnadasa to his guests. What child wouldn't have done the same thing? Those sweets were absolutely delicious, and at the end of every darshan Srila Prabhupada made sure everyone received one of these yummy Bengali specialties. The Ulu-Ulu Sound and Dandavats Two years had gone by since Pradyumna prabhu delivered the message in Los Angeles: "Srila Prabhupada wants the ladies to ululate." Now that I was in Mayapur, I could scrutinize the Bengali ladies' method of doing it. They moved the tongue quickly side to side while wailing in a high-pitch. Once I got it down as well as them, I saw many surprised faces staring at me - especially Bengalis. I was glad to acquire this feminine skill because I wanted to please Srila Prabhupada. As much as I liked ululating, I never did it alone. Therefore I was surprised when one Bengali brahmacari's mother visited Srila Prabhupada one evening and ululated alone. She placed a plate of sandesa (a milk sweet) on Srila Prabhupada's desk, offered prostrated obeisances, stood up and ululated three times, loud and clear. In the temple room when one Bengali lady started ululating, it was a cue for others to join in. In Srila Prabhupada's small darshan room, no one joined in, however. That didn't deter her in the least. Of course, it forced the on-going conversation to a dead halt. Srila Prabhupada tolerated the interruption with equanimity. This lady's offering her full obeisances, dandavats, also surprised me. Years before, when ISKCON ladies were told not to offer prostrated obeisances any more, the supposed reason was that it wasn't part of Vedic culture. Yet here in India I was seeing the ladies behave in many ways that did not fit our stereotyped idea of a shy, submissive lady. On the contrary, they were far pushier than any Western women, capable of plowing through hordes of men to get a good view of the Deities in the temple room. This simple village lady was uninhibited in offering dandavats, and it was nice seeing a lady doing what her heart dictated without restriction. Having offered prostrated obeisances myself in the early days, I knew it felt right, and it seemed more complete than simply falling on one's knees. The point was to feel the greatness of the Lord and to show respect for the Lord's devotees. The Srimad-Bhagavatam mentions this in several places. Moreover, Srila Prabhupada sometimes told his female disciples to offer their full obeisances. The Generator Since India's electric power supply was so sporadic, the temple owned a generator to supply our power when the electricity went off. But it was rarely turned on. One day Srila Prabhupada complained about this to the managers. "You have this generator. Even I'm here, and you still don't turn it on. If you don't turn it on for me, for whom are you going to turn it on?" They started turning it on when the electricity went off - sometimes! The Round Bathroom During a morning walk Srila Prabhupada stopped at the round bathroom near the Big Kitchen. Stepping inside to inspect it, he was astonished to find the unlocked toilet stalls piled with stool. Some devotee explained, "The Bengalis don't know how to use toilets." But Srila Prabhupada didn't accept this excuse and faulted the devotees for not training the Bengalis to follow Western standards of cleanliness. I appreciated Srila Prabhupada's giving us some credit for cleanliness. The Vrindaban brahmanas at the opening of the Krishna- Balaram Mandir had criticized Srila Prabhupada's Western disciples, but here was Srila Prabhupada expecting them to "toilet train" the Indian devotees. It was a real turnaround. Srila Prabhupada extracted the best from any culture. Although usually the Westerners had abominable habits, once surrendered to Krishna they could use their ingenuity and ambition to improve even Indian standards. Reading to Pisima Once, Pisima and I got to the darshan earlier than usual. We sat down on the verandah opposite Srila Prabhupada's room and waited for him to come down from the roof. While waiting, I silently read the volume of the Caitanya-caritamrta I was currently reading. I'd brought it along just to give Srila Prabhupada the good impression that I was reading his books. I thought, "This book is in Bengali. I'll read the verses aloud to Pisima." I don't know if she understood, but she seemed to be attentive. After a while Srila Prabhupada came down the stairs, and both Pisima and I offered obeisances. Immediately she started telling Srila Prabhupada that I had been reading Bengali to her - I knew enough Bengali to understand her. Hearing this, Srila Prabhupada turned to me with such a beautiful smile on his face. Happily he asked me, "Oh, you are reading Bengali?" I must admit that the thought flashed through my mind: "Can I say 'Yes' and get away with it?" But I had to admit, "No, Srila Prabhupada. I'm reading the transliterations." He looked less happy about that and walked into his room. I had to tell the truth even though I may have disappointed Srila Prabhupada because he expected those of us living in India to learn the local languages. The irony was that I was going to try to impress Srila Prabhupada that I was reading his books, and it backfired! I learned we can't plan to artificially please the spiritual master. It takes a lot of real hard work, nothing less. No shortcuts. Remembering New York Pancaratna prabhu had just returned from a trip to New York and came to a darshan to tell Srila Prabhupada about it. Srila Prabhupada was so happy to hear that the devotees had moved into the new temple in Manhattan. He asked question after question, wanting to know all about the physical details of the building and how it was being used. After he was satisfied, Srila Prabhupada started reminiscing about New York. He remembered Times Square and many other landmarks. No other subject except New York was discussed that evening. I was in bliss at this darshan. Since I was a New Yorker, I could relate to all the locations Srila Prabhupada talked about, including the new temple. Captain of the Ship I walked up to the second floor of the Lotus Building one morning for some reason. There were no guards around to stop me. Looking down the verandah, I saw Srila Prabhupada standing alone, leaning against the banister across from his room, looking out across the fields. He didn't notice me, so I stood there and drank in the lovely vision before my fortunate eyes. Srila Prabhupada's saffron silk dhoti and kurta were billowing in the wind. An image of Srila Prabhupada as the captain of the ship presented itself so clearly that I could practically see a wheel in his hands. That experience had a mystical, dreamlike quality. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are d to the Google Groups "ISKCON - Hare Krishna - Nectar of devotion group" group. To post to this group, send email to nectarofdevotion (AT) googl (DOT) com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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