Verse: Srila Prabhupada's Guidance
Date: August 21st, 2012
Transcription: Ranga Radhika dasi
Editing: Ranga Radhika Dasi
Soon after the Mayapura festival Prabhupada was going to Bombay because a big festival was arranged for a big program. It was arranged for Srila Prabhupada in Bombay, in Cross Maidan. So although Prabhupada's health was not very good, we started to travel and a small team travelled with him. My feeling was that I was going to travel with Srila Prabhupada but one day Bhavananda prabhu told me, "You have so much to do here, so I think you should just stay in Mayapura. You shouldn't go with Srila Prabhupada." Although my heart literally broke to hear that, but he had done so much for me, I just couldn't say no to him. And he had been so kind to me, so I accepted it. But in the back of my mind I was feeling really sad.
So the day before Prabhupada was to leave, Prabhupada just asked me, "Aren't you coming?" So I said, "No, Srila Prabhupada, Bhavananda Maharaja told me that service in separation is greater than service in union. Since I have so much to do here, he asked me to stay." And Prabhupada said, "That may be, but when your spiritual master wants you to come with him, then I think you should come with him." [cheers and applause from the audience] So I just ran to Bhavananda and I told him what Prabhupada said. He said, "Well, if Prabhupada wants that, what can I say?" And half jokingly I told him, "And Prabhupada said that you have to pay for my train fare." [laughter] So that gave me the good fortune of being with Srila Prabhupada again, continue to be with Srila Prabhupada.
We went to Bombay. When Prabhupada arrived in Bombay, Prabhupada's quarters were not complete. And Prabhupada insisted on staying in his quarters. His quarters were the twin towers in Bombay. Prabhupada was driven to his old apartment and Prabhupada asked, "What happened?" Then they said, "Prabhupada, we are taking you to [unclear]" He said, "No, I want to stay there." And they said that, "Prabhupada, your quarters are not ready as yet." Prabhupada said, "Ready or not, I will to stay there." And Prabhupada insisted on going there, so Prabhupada went. The things were not complete. The thing was, it was sort of ready, only few final touch-up work was not done, like the doors were not fitted. A few things like that. So Prabhupada just insisted on staying. And they said that it will be quite noisy because the workers will go on. But Prabhupada just was adamant, he wanted to stay in his new quarters.
Tamala Krishna Maharaja was actually such an amazing personality who knew Prabhupada's heart and he knew how to deal with Srila Prabhupada. So he came up with that idea and he presented to Srila Prabhupada that, "Prabhupada, you have to be in the city for the Cross Maidan program. And from here to the city is going to take you one and a half to two hours to drive. So why don't you stay in Bombay during this program?" So Prabhupada liked that idea. And so Tamala Krishna Maharaja, first he thought of one close acquaintance of Srila Prabhupada. He was a very wealthy person. I am forgetting his name. Anyway, so when he called he found that he was out of the country. So then it was arranged that Prabhupada would stay in the apartment of Kartikeya Mahadevia in the sea face. Sri Nathaji prabhu's house also used to be there. He used to be also on that side. That is the Mafatlal's apartments.
So Kartikeya Mahadevia's apartment was arranged for Srila Prabhupada. And they were very nice. Kartikeya Mahadevia was a very wonderful person who moved his family to another apartment and vacated the whole apartment for Srila Prabhupada. Three of us were with Srila Prabhupada serving him: Bhavananda prabhu, Tamala Krishna Maharaja and myself. At that time Hari Sauri prabhu had been just appointed as the GBC of Australia, otherwise he was Prabhupada's servant, but Prabhupada's service now was taken over by Bhavananda prabhu.
So we stayed there and Prabhupada used to go to the program in the evening. Prabhupada's health condition was very, very frail at that time. But still we would see that when Prabhupada would start to preach he was another personality. Like, he would go to the program very weak and he would sit there, kind of, you could see how weak he was. But as he would start to speak his body would become more and more erect and he was practically sitting at the edge of his seat, like very powerfully presenting Krishna consciousness.
I think it was one of the biggest programs that we had in Bombay. At least I have been told that the Cross Maidan program, it was a large pandal, and thousands of people came to attend the program. Every evening Prabhupada used to give lectures.
One very wonderful incident happened at that time in that program. One day Srila Prabhupada noticed one Arab gentleman was standing in the crowd, at the edge of the crowd. Srila Prabhupada noticed that and he sent one of his sannyasis to get him. So he was brought on to the stage and Prabhupada made him sit next to him. And I heard a similar thing also happened with another wonderful personality, same in Bombay, also in Cross Maidan, that is with Radhanatha Maharaja. Prabhupada saw Radhanatha Maharaja in the crowd and he sent one of his disciples to call him on to the stage. That was the first encounter you had with Prabhupada, Radhanatha Maharaja? And Prabhupada made him sit next to him. That is also another wonderful reunion of Prabhupada's very, very wonderful associate: His Holiness Radhanatha Swami. I was fanning Srila Prabhupada and I saw some very wonderful exchanges going on between this Arab gentleman and Srila Prabhupada. This person who was dressed in typical Arabic attire, like the long white dress with the thing and the ring on top of his head, and the white scarf covering his head and a beard. He looked like a very high class gentleman. And it so happened that this person actually was the chief of police of Kuwait and he came to Bombay for treatment. And that was the first day he was allowed to go out of the hospital and he came out of the hospital to have a stroll, and then he saw this big gathering and out of curiosity he just happened to come there. And here Srila Prabhupada calls him right on to the stage. And it was such a wonderful sight: like here is one of the most prominent Indian spiritual leaders surrounded by his followers on the stage, attended by about ten thousand people, and next to him is a typical Muslim gentleman. And Prabhupada was having his exchanges. This is what this person actually told him, when Prabhupada asked him. And then he had a set of beads in his hands and he was just [unclear] with the beads. So Prabhupada asked him, "What is that?" So he showed that it is his beads and Prabhupada pulled out his beads and said, "I also have such a thing." And he said, "This is actually meant to count how many names of the Lord you are chanting." Prabhupada explained about the purpose of chanting on the beads and then Prabhupada told him, "See, this is a sacred thing. Therefore it should be kept very carefully so it doesn't become contaminated by dirty touch. Therefore we keep a bead-bag." So this is how Srila Prabhupada was: he saw every single opportunity to preach and took advantage of it to the fullest extent. So that was the wonderful thing about Prabhupada in that program.
After that Srila Prabhupada went back to the Bombay temple. By that time his apartment was ready.
So what should I do? It is already nine thirty. Anyway, I think I'll just carry on.
So Prabhupada, when he was in Bombay, anyway, I'll just try to be quick. Two important things happened at least to me. Like, those days one our god-sisters, Palika mataji, used to cook for Srila Prabhupada and I used to serve Srila Prabhupada. I used to take the plate and serve Srila Prabhupada. One day Palika became sick, so she couldn't cook. So another god-sister was asked to cook for Srila Prabhupada and when I served I could see that Srila Prabhupada was not able to eat. So I asked Srila Prabhupada, "Prabhupada, was the cooking alright today?" Then Prabhupada said, "No, she doesn't know how to cook." So I just blurted out, "Prabhupada, should I cook for you tomorrow?" Prabhupada said, "Yes, you can try." The next morning Srila Prabhupada called me and he showed me how to make one preparation. So I cooked and Srila Prabhupada seemed to like the preparation. Prabhupada took the prasada. I saw Prabhupada eating. So after Prabhupada finished his prasada I took the plates and I was washing the pots. And after eating, Prabhupada used to sit on his seat for a short while and then Upendra prabhu, who was Prabhupada's personal servant at that time, he used to come and take him to the bed. Prabhupada used to lie down for a while. So Upendra prabhu came running to me. He said, "Hey, what did you cook for Srila Prabhupada?" He wanted me to taste it. So I just offered it to him. So that day, in the afternoon when Tamala Krishna Maharaja went to Prabhupada with the letters to read out to him, at three o'clock Tamala Krishna Maharaja used to go to read the letters to Srila Prabhupada, Prabhupada told him also that he liked my cooking. Tamala Krishna Maharaja came and told me, "You know, Prabhupada really liked your cooking." But the next day I blew it. [laughter] I cooked and Prabhupada took a bite and Prabhupada was very upset. He told me, "You don't have any standard. For one day you cook so nicely and I praise you and then the next day you're gone." I was completely devastated. So the next day I was cooking, I was really praying to Krishna that today I can cook according to Srila Prabhupada's liking. And then when I served with a throbbing heart, I just was watching Srila Prabhupada and I saw Prabhupada eating. So when I saw him eating I got the confidence and I asked Srila Prabhupada, "Srila Prabhupada, is the cooking alright today?" Prabhupada said, "Yes, today it is alright." And then I told Prabhupada, "Prabhupada, I was so afraid and I was so much in anxiety while cooking." Prabhupada said, "That's good. When you are serving your spiritual master you should be afraid and you should be in anxiety."
Another incident that happened in Bombay was, one day Srila Prabhupada wanted some orange juice one morning. And there was no orange in the kitchen and I went to the devotee kitchen, the Deity kitchen, there was no orange. So finally I decided to go to the market. Those days in Bombay near our temple there was nothing. So the shop was far away. So I got the oranges, came back and I started to make the orange juice. At that time the bell rang. Prabhupada used to call us by ringing one bell. It was an electric bell, it used to ring outside. So I ran to Prabhupada's room. He said, "What happened to the orange juice?" So I said, "Prabhupada, just bringing it." So it was taking me some time to make the thing. So the bell rang again, but this time the bell just kept on ringing. And by the sound of the bell I could understand the state of Srila Prabhupada's anger. So I quickly finished the orange juice, collected the orange juice in Prabhupada's silver cup, took it on a tray and ran into Prabhupada's room. As I opened the door, it sounded like a thunderbolt. Prabhupada was telling me that he didn't want the orange juice. I could take it away. But I could not retreat. At first I didn't know what to do with the tray in my hand, but I just kept on moving towards Srila Prabhupada. And then I came in front of Srila Prabhupada and I held it in front of him. At first Prabhupada wouldn't pick it up. For quite some time Prabhupada didn't pick it up. Then finally he took the cup and he started to drink. So when Prabhupada was drinking the orange juice, then I realized that in a hurry I forgot to bring a bowl of water for Prabhupada to wash his mouth. So I ran to the kitchen, I got a bowl of water. And when Prabhupada was rinsing his mouth, then I realized that I forgot to bring the napkin. So I didn't go back to the kitchen. I just ran to Prabhupada's wardrobe and pulled out a small towel and brought it to Srila Prabhupada. So at that time Prabhupada just told me, "You see, you try to serve me so nicely, but I am just chastising you. Please don't mind." He said, "When one becomes old, one becomes short tempered." Now when Prabhupada chastised me I didn't mind, but when Prabhupada started to speak like that, I felt as if my heart was breaking. I tried to tell Prabhupada, "Prabhupada, please don't speak like that", but my voice was choked. Then finally I could get myself together. I told Srila Prabhupada, "Prabhupada, please don't speak like that. I make mistakes and if you don't correct me what will happen to me?" And then Prabhupada stopped. This is how we can see how kind Srila Prabhupada was, how soft-hearted he was. He would chastise but the next moment he would feel so bad for chastising.
Then one day, two very important personalities came to meet Srila Prabhupada. They were the ex-governor of Madras, Sriman Narayana, and his brother-in-law, the chairman of Bajaj Industries, Ramakrishna Bajaj. They were very respectful and affectionate towards Srila Prabhupada, so they were really concerned about Srila Prabhupada's health and they suggested to Srila Prabhupada that Prabhupada went to Hrishikesha. On the bank of the Ganges probably Prabhupada's health would recover. And Prabhupada liked the idea immediately. He said yes, he wanted to go to the Ganges. And he admitted that he really wanted (?) to go to Hrishikesha, so he liked the idea of going to Hrishikesha.
So the arrangement was made for Prabhupada to travel to Hrishikesha and they arranged a house. At that time that was the best house, best building in Hrishikesha called Ganga Darshana, right on the bank of the Ganges. So Prabhupada went there with three of us travelling with him: Tamala Krishna Maharaja, Upendra prabhu and myself. Already Trivikrama Maharaja, Pramana Swami and Viraha Prakasha Swami were there. Then Pradyumna prabhu joined us. Pradyumna prabhu was Prabhupada's Sanskrit editor. Yadubara prabhu also joined us at that time. He was filming Srila Prabhupada. When Prabhupada was in Hrishikesha, one day there was a big storm. The electricity got cut and there was a terrible storm, few trees got uprooted and the wind was blowing with such tremendous roaring sound. So it was quite ominous actually. There was no light. There was a strong storm and rain. It went on like that for two days. The second day at night, you see at night all of us used to be with Srila Prabhupada all the time. My shift was from twelve to two, I used to be with Srila Prabhupada. One of us always used to be with Srila Prabhupada and used to stay awake all the time. So at about one o'clock Srila Prabhupada called me and he told me that the time has come for him to leave his body and he wanted to leave his body in Vrindavana. So we should make arrangements to take him to Vrindavana immediately. What Prabhupada said was so shocking that I immediately ran downstairs, woke up Tamala Krishna Maharaja and told him what Prabhupada said. Tamala Krishna Maharaja ran upstairs, he came to Srila Prabhupada and asked him. And Prabhupada said the same thing to him: the time has come for him to leave his body and he wanted to leave his body in Vrindavana.
So that night only we packed everything and the next morning we left. Actually, initially we thought we would take Prabhupada by train because we thought that travelling by train would be more comfortable for Srila Prabhupada. But anyway, there was no train available. Not a single seat was available in the first class compartment. So then we decided to take Prabhupada by car. Prabhupada's car was there on the other side of the river. And we went and drove to Delhi. The next day Srila Prabhupada arrived in Vrindavana. '
When Srila Prabhupada came to Vrindavana, the news already spread that Srila Prabhupada was going to leave his body. Actually, when Prabhupada was in Delhi, Tamala Krishna Maharaja called up Adikeshava prabhu, who was the GBC of New York at that time, and told him to inform all the devotees, all the leaders around the world, inform them that Prabhupada went to Vrindavana to leave his body.
So when Prabhupada arrived in Vrindavana, after the darshana of the Deities, Prabhupada went to his room and all the devotees entered into his room with big excitement and anticipation, Prabhupada came back all of a sudden. It was such an occasion of joy, but when Prabhupada went to his room, he actually declared why he came to Vrindavana. And immediately the ecstasy turned into agony. The devotees were completely heartbroken. Then Prabhupada told them, he quoted that verse, dehino 'smin yatha dehe, and he explained that this body is temporary but the soul is eternal. The changing body is just a natural phenomena, so we should dhiras tatra na muhyati: one should not lament over the changing of the body. And Prabhupada explained that the important thing is to follow the instructions. The spiritual master's real aspect is his vani. The vapuh is important but vani is more important.
And then when all the devotees left Srila Prabhupada called me and he told me not to cook for him, not to force him to eat. He said, "What's the point in eating when there is no appetite?" And I could see that Prabhupada was now preparing to leave his body. Like, he just stopped eating and then he stopped [unclear]. So I went and told Tamala Krishna Maharaja. Tamala Krishna Maharaja also felt so frustrated. He said, "What to do? Like when he says not to force him to eat then don't force him to eat." But then, in a few days time, in a couple of days time many devotees came to Vrindavana and they all got together at a meeting. In that meeting they decided that they cannot let Srila Prabhupada go. And Kirtanananda Swami was the spokesman, they all came to Srila Prabhupada's room, and he told Prabhupada about the meeting and in the meeting that they decided that they cannot let Srila Prabhupada go. Prabhupada is like the father and if Prabhupada leaves they will become orphans and their spiritual life just began. They're just little children in their spiritual life and if Srila Prabhupada leaves them at this time, what will happen to them? While speaking like that, Kirtanananda Swami just broke down crying. And then Prabhupada told them, "Okay, if that is what you want, I will stay." And then Prabhupada wanted to have a glass of fruit juice. Every few hours I used to get some fresh fruit juice, in anticipation that Prabhupada may want to drink something. So I immediately gave him a glass of white grape juice and green grape juice. And Prabhupada drank it. Then I started to cook for Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada also started to eat.
Then one day, after Srila Prabhupada took his prasada, he asked me whether I knew where Gopinatha Bazar was. This was my first visit to Vrindavana. I didn't step out of the temple. So I told Prabhupada, "Prabhupada, you just tell me what you want. I can find out." And then Prabhupada said, "Go to Gopinatha Bazar. In Gopinatha Bazar there is an Ayurvedic doctor called Vanamali Kaviraja. You tell him about me and tell him that I want him to treat me."
So I went to Gopinatha Bazar and found this person, Vanamali Kaviraja. He was very old. At that time he was 92 years old. And I told him that Prabhupada wanted him to treat him. And he said, "Well, in that case he has to come here." I said, "Prabhupada cannot come here. So why don't you come?" He said, "Look, I don't go anywhere. From my home I just come to this dispensary and that's [unclear]. So I begged and begged and finally he agreed to go. I took him in a riksha. The ride was difficult for him. He was very old and you know how the rikshas in Vrindavana were. The roads were not very smooth. He was complaining.
And immediately he treated Srila Prabhupada and then after that he told me that the medicine that he would prescribe, that has to be made freshly. So I told him, "Why don't you stay here? We will arrange for you in our guesthouse." And he declined, "No, I can't stay." So then I gave him the second proposal, "Why don't you teach me how to make this medicine?" He liked the idea, so he took me to the field, showed me two different herbs and how to make the medicine, how to make the extract from the herbs. And then he gave two different salts: one was red and one was white. I remember the red one was actually sodium nitrate and the white one I forgot. And he told me.
So I started to give the medicine and every day I used to go and bring him to bring to Srila Prabhupada. I used to take the car and bring him in the car and drove him back in the car. And he also became quite interested in seeing Srila Prabhupada because he was Prabhupada's old acquaintance. He knew Prabhupada since a long time. And Prabhupada's health condition started to improve, but when Srila Prabhupada's health condition improved, Prabhupada wanted to go to the West. So then when I told the doctor, Vanamali Kaviraja, the Ayurvedic doctor, he told, "Please don't let him go now. The medicine is working and in winter I will give him Makaradhvaja, which is like a tonic." And he said, "That will rejuvenate him." But unfortunately we couldn't stop Srila Prabhupada. I told Tamala Krishna Maharaja and Tamala Krishna Maharaja told, "See, when Srila Prabhupada decides something it is very difficult to make him change his mind."
But I wish that I was more insistent, but I couldn't. At that time I also gave up, thinking that Prabhupada wanted to go to the West. And Prabhupada, as you all know, Prabhupada came to London. Prabhupada's plan was to go from London to New York, from New York to Gita Nagari, to Los Angeles and then to Hawaii. And in Hawaii Prabhupada wanted to stay and translate there. But when Prabhupada came to London his health condition deteriorated and he went back to India.
So, well, I'll stop now. At ten o'clock we can have a little kirtana. I thought of speaking about the instructions, anyway, maybe just briefly I can mention that also.
Three instructions from Prabhupada I consider to be most important. The first one is: no matter whatever happens, don't leave ISKCON. The second one is: your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate with each other. And the third instruction is: consider the GBC to be the ultimate managing authority. Just abide by them. Personally I think these three instructions to be most important and after Srila Prabhupada left the planet, personally I've gone through various turmoils, but these three instructions have saved me in the greatest of difficulties.
Also Prabhupada explained why it is so important, the concept of collective management. Prabhupada once told me what actually happened in Gaudiya Math. That soon after Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura left, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura's instruction was to collectively manage the society. And because Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura knew, to effectively spread Krishna consciousness all over the world, an institution is essential. Without an institution the continuity of spreading the movement will not happen. In order to put the institution together there is a need for collective management. That is what Prabhupada pointed out, the mistake that they made in Gaudiya Math: instead of collectively managing the institution through a governing body as instructed, they appointed one guru. Consider how a spiritual organization can go on without a spiritual head? How can a spiritual organization be managed by a group of managers? Therefore there is a need for an acharya and they appointed an acharya. And when that acharya fell down, the structure collapsed. And then, instead of collectively pushing on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura's movement, the institution that he created, they became the acharyas of their small, small temples. And as a result of that, the preaching, the effectivity of the preaching was lost. And Prabhupada emphatically told, "Don't make the same mistake that my god-brothers made after Guru Maharaja's disappearance." So in one way this is one thing what I understood from Srila Prabhupada about the importance of an institution and how to have a concept of collective management in order to continue this mission. So at least to me, this is one of the most important instructions of Srila Prabhupada. Then Srila Prabhupada also pointed out that avoid conflict, that Kali spreads its influence through conflict. Kali spreads its influence through quarrel. Another name of Kali is actually quarrel. Kali means quarrel and it is through quarrel that Kali spreads its influence. Therefore, we have to develop a spirit of collectively doing things together and to avoid this conflict. We have to become tolerant. If we become tolerant and if we become humble, then there won't be any room for conflict. The conflict actually happens due to our intolerance and due to our arrogance. Later on I found out that Kali happens to be the son of envy and anger. Kali is the son of envy and anger. So it is due to envy and anger that the quarrel develops. Therefore, try to avoid envy by being humble, and try to avoid anger by being tolerant.
So, anyway, so these are the few things that I wanted to share with you.
Jagad-guru Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!