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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