Page 24 - MMOSP (English)
P. 24

My Memories of Çréla Prabhupäda


             During the first of those darçanas, a devotee was sitting in front
             and slightly to the right of Çréla Prabhupäda and chanting. His
             japa  beads were around  his neck and he was  holding them
             with both hands. Çréla Prabhupäda had been answering some
             questions but suddenly turned and asked, “Where is your
             bead bag?” The disciple replied, “It is being washed, Çréla
             Prabhupäda.” Then, indicating the adjacent bedroom, Çréla
             Prabhupäda asked Harikeça Mahäräja (he had been awarded
             sannyäsa  within the past year), “Some bead bags have been
             given?” in a manner that questioned Harikeça Mahäräja’s
             knowledge or remembrance of it. Upon Mahäräja’s reply in the
             affirmative, Çréla Prabhupäda said, “Give one to him” and told
             that devotee, “You should keep two bead bags. Always chant
             with your beads in your bead bag. When one is being washed,
             use the other one.”
             When a young Indian couple came in, Çréla Prabhupäda
             interrupted his speaking to disciples and instead addressed
             these  visitors.  I  do  not  recall  what  he  said  to  them,  but  I
             remember how Çréla Prabhupäda changed his tone and
             demeanor from that of a dispenser of absolute knowledge to a
             welcoming fatherly host. The couple stayed briefly. Apparently
             they wanted only literal darçana—just to see Çréla Prabhupäda
             but not hear him. As they left, Çréla Prabhupäda instructed,
             “Give them some prasäda.” I was struck by Çréla Prabhupäda’s
             concern that they receive prasäda.
             The second darçana, on 27 July, comprised an interview with
             Mike Robinson of the London Broadcasting Corporation, a local
                         *
             radio station.  Devotees were already crowding the room when
             Mr. Robinson entered. Mukunda Prabhu, who had organized
             the meeting, asked Mr. Robinson if he wanted the devotees to


             * This interview appears as the chapter “Reincarnation and Beyond”
             in The Science of Self-Realization.


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