My FIRST meeting with Srila Prabhupada in 1967

June 7, 2008

PART VIII SwamijiCHAPTER 80: SwamijiAs we enter through the back gate I can already see Swamiji standing and talking with some bald-headed dude wearing a bed sheet. I learn later his name is Keith Ham.Wow! I can't believe how small and fragile Swamiji looks. Mukunda introduces me as Rick. I offer my hand and the Swami shakes it. He has a weak smile, a sly grin. Like maybe he knows something that I don't. Swamiji welcomes me and offers a place to sit. The floor.Mukunda swears on a stack of Gitas that I'm worthy of initiation. I'm thinking, how do you spell "enityaton"?Swamiji sits down on a bed with his back to the window overlooking the ocean. I'm sitting on the floor at his feet. He begins chanting silently on red-painted wooden beads, which will be for

me to use.Oh yeah, I'm ready!Looking intently at Swamiji, Mukunda and Keith sit behind me and chant on rosary beads, watching the simple ceremony. I look into Swamiji's face, so grave and serious and kind, his lips moving in slow motion. "So, your name shall be, ah, Hrisikesh! Please chant "Hare Krishna" Hrisikesh das!"I'm thinking, "Hrisikesh?" Hey, that's me!"Do you know the meaning?" Swamiji grills me."Of Krishna?""Of your name, Hrisikesh, it is name of Krishna! It means, Lord of the Senses.""H R I S I K E S H, Hrisikesh! Yeah, I heard that somewhere before. Suddenly a chill runs up my spine as I utter the name a third time. "Hrisikesh!" Whoa!"Thank you, Swamiji!" I tell him sincerely. "I'm so happy to meet you."I hate to bother Swamiji with my problems but Mukunda did say that he could solve them, so I continue: "I have to tell you that I've run away from the Vietnam War

draft and don't know where to go. I can't ever go back home. I'm a fugitive now."Swamiji looks deeper than the center of the Earth. "Hmmmm?""Mukunda said you could guide me!" I say, with the guilty grin that only a person who looks, tastes, smells, and feels AWOL can possibly muster."Hmmm! Then you should come to live in Vrindavan."I'm like, "In India? Can I go with you? I don't have a passport Swamiji!""Don't worry," my new guru replies. "Chant Å“maha-mantra! Krishna will help you! Please believe in Krishna! He will save you and help you reach Vrindavan. It is the most holy place on Earth. You can join me there as soon as possible. The address of Radha Damodhar Temple is inside my book, Srimad Bhagavatam. Please come."Hey! I got my answer."Yes, Swamiji! I'll go as soon as I get a passport and ticket."He looks mercifully upon me. Yeah! As I offer my obeisances at Swamiji's feet, I'm

thinking, how to spell "obaysanseys"?---The NEXT time I meet Prabhupada is 7 years later. And the conversations, mostly in Bengali, were quite different after 7 years. That for later posting.Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.