PRABHUPADA NECTAR
stories about Srila Prabhupada
told by disciples
Satsvarupa dasa Gosvami

 
 
11 There were many inconveniences Prabhupada had to face due to old age and disease, but he was never affected in his pure Krsna consciousness.  Even externally, he often refused to bow to the dictates of his maladies, variously diagnosed as diabetes, poor digestion, and many others.  He or his followers would call for doctors periodically, but Srila Prabhupada rarely took their prescriptions or followed their diet regimens.  He was not what you would call a good patient.
 When in New York an Indian allopathic doctor visited and gave Prabhupada medicine and antibiotics, Prabhupada was polite and agreeable.  But his servant Hari Sauri was doubtful.
 "Will you take your medicine?" he asked.
 Prabhupada patted the little pills on his desk and said, noncommittally, "We shall see."  And he never took them.  Some of the devotees thought that Srila Prabhupada was seeing doctors just to engage them in devotional service.
 He rebelled against strictures on his diet, even when he was quite ill.  A kaviraja in India ordered that Prabhupada couldn't eat rice, potatoes, sugar and certain fruits.  When he called in his cook Daivisakti in Vrndavana and asked her to make panjab boli, a hot potato sabji, she dutifully reminded him, "But Prabhupada, you can't eat potatoes."  He endured it for a few days and then overthrew the order.  He called for his old lunch of rice, dal, capatis and sabji.  At that time another well-meaning servant, Upendra, intervened and tried to restrain him.  "But Prabhupada the doctor told you not to take all these things.  You're going to get sick."  Prabhupada replied, "We are not doctor dasa, we are Krsna dasa."  So from then on he resumed his normal diet.
 In Mayapur, his cook Palika dasi attempted an even stricter discipline, based on the instructions of a famous kaviraja from Calcutta.  In this case, Prabhupada was to follow an intricate schedule by which he would take pills and eat and drink only at certain hours.  This was in 1977, when Prabhupada was so sick that he was rarely coming to the temple to give classes or go on morning walks.  One afternoon, a devotee named Anakadundubhi, unaware of the tight schedule of Prabhupada's drinking and eating, brought Prabhupada a fresh coconut dob to drink, as usual.  Although Prabhupada knew very well that he was  not supposed to take anything at this time, he quietly accepted the dob and poured it into his cup.  But just as he started to drink it, Palika came by and admonished him, "Srila Prabhupada, you're not supposed to take anything..."
 Prabhupada became defiant.  "Who said?" he challenged, and immediately drank down the whole cup of juice, although it was usually his custom to sip it slowly.  "All my life," he said, "I have done whatever I wanted!"

12 A disciple Satya-narayana dasa, had been advised by other devotees that a serious study of Ayur-veda would be important.  Satya-narayana was living in Florida, but he planned to go to India to take up the medical study.  He had written to a kaviraja in Calcutta, one whom Prabhupada also sometimes saw, and the kaviraja had written back agreeing to accept Satya-narayana as his student.
 Arriving in Mayapur, Satya-narayana went to see Srila Prabhupada, who at that moment was receiving a massage on the roof of the building.  At his disciple's first attempts to explain the Ayur-veda project, Srila Prabhupada put up his hand and said, "Oh I am very tired now."  It seemed that he was not only tired but not particularly inclined to hear.
 Within a day or two, Satya-narayana managed to get another interview.  This time he entered Srila Prabhupada's room, offered his dandavats, and explained things a little further.  "I can stay as a pujari here in Calcutta.  It's only a mile away to the doctor, and I can study under him.  I have permission from my G.B.C. man."
 Prabhupada interrupted him.  "No, this is not very important."  Then he just looked away.  Satya-narayana couldn't believe that he was just supposed to accept it with no further comment.  He wanted an answer and reason, so he sat silently looking at Prabhupada.  Prabhupada kindly turned to him.  "We are not interested in studying these different sciences.  Whatever medicines work, you use it.  Actually Western medicine is very advanced.  So there is no reason to study this.  We want to become brahmanas."  Prabhupada pointed to the Krsna book on his desk and said, "You simply read my books.  This is what you should do!"
 Satya-narayana felt satisfied and said, "Thank you, Prabhupada."
 Prabhupada replied strongly, "Hare Krsna!"  And that was the end of Satya-narayana's career in Ayur-veda.

13 Prabhupada said
 On raising children
 "I discussed the contents of your letter with His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada stated that our grhasthas should simply chant fifty rounds before conceiving a child.  Prabhupada said, "We do not want all these rituals.  Chanting Hare Krsna is our only business.  According to the Manu-samhita you are all mlecchas and yavanas.  You cannot touch the Manu-samhita, what to speak of translating it.  So if you try to follow the Manu-samhita then you will become a mleccha and yavana and your career is finished."
  Letter of May 19, 1977
 "I understand you are now expecting a nice child for raising in Krsna consciousness.  In this connection you should avoid any spicy foods, so long as the child is within the womb.  So far natural childbirth is concerned, natural delivery is possible if we keep ourselves naturally.  And so far I know, a pregnant woman should not even eat pungent foodstuffs, she should not move in cars, she should not sit idly.  She should move and do some physical work.  These are the general rules and regulations I have seen in India.  They have natural delivery.  But so far your country is concerned, especially the situation of the woman concerned there, that is a different thing.  I cannot say definitely what is to be done.  And under the circumstances, the best thing is to consult a doctor as they usually do.  And after all, Krsna is the ultimate Master, so if you keep the natural habits and depend on Krsna, then everything will be done nicely without any difficulty.
  Letter of May 24, 1969
 "You ask if the children should be taken to ordinary medical doctors.  Why no?  Of course, we can't always trust that these doctors may be doing the right thing, but what can be done?  The governing principle for our activity should be to do what is favourable for pleasing Krsna.  So if your child requires medical attention to be fit for serving Krsna, then it is only practical she should get it.  The same thing - the government is giving you money, why not use it for Krsna?  The only thing you must avoid cheating them while falsely claiming something to get money.  Then we are risking over very high reputation as pious people.  But if they are willing to give us money and food, then of course we should accept."
  Letter of November 22, 1971
 "Regarding the child problem, in call, I may inform you that our children born of Krsna conscious parents are all welcome, and I want hundreds of children like that, because in the future we expect to change the face of the whole world, because the child is the father of the man.  Anyway, I have seen M. is nursing her child so nicely that she attended my meeting every day and the child was playing not crying.  Similarly L." child also never cries or disturbs the meeting.  L. was always present with her child, so it depends on the mother.  How to keep the child comfortable, so he will not cry.  The child cries only when it feels uncomfortable.  The child's comfort and discomfort depends on the mother's attention.  So the best solution is we train all our small babies in such a way that they are always satisfied, and there will be no disturbance in the meeting.  Then there will be no complaint.  But there cannot be any hard and fast rules that only children who are grown up, seven or eight years old, can be admitted and no other children can be admitted.  That is not possible, and I am not going to sanction any such rule.  Rather, I shall welcome the baby from the very beginning, so that the transcendental vibration may enter into its ear, and from the very beginning of life, it becomes purified.  But the mother's responsibility to keep them comfortable and not disturb the meeting.
 "Why should the parents not feel attachment for their children, that is natural.  But our affection is not simply sentimental, we offer our children the highest opportunity to become trained up in Krsna consciousness very early so as to assure their success in this life to go back to Godhead for sure.  That is real affection, to make sure my child gets back to Godhead, that is my real responsibility as a parent.  And I have seen that Gurukula offers this opportunity more than any other place anywhere.  So I think that you are an intelligent girl, and you can explain it to the others in this way."
  Letter of March 23, 1973

14 PRABHUPADA TELLS A STORY
 When Syamasundara dasa was in charge of ISKCON England, he bought very expansive crystal chandeliers.  They cost three thousand pounds and the devotees had to take them back because they couldn't afford them.  On this occasion, Prabhupada was talking about the crystal chandeliers.  He said, "This reminds me of a story of a nawab.  Nawab means 'rich one'.  He has so much money he doesn't know what to do with it all.  One nawab had one servant cleaning a big, big crystal chandelier.  So as the servant was cleaning the chandelier, a crystal fell, and as it crashed onto the marble floor it made an unusual tinkling sound, which the nawab heard from his room.  The nawab came running out and asked, "What was that sound?"
 "The servant was  petrified and asked forgiveness.  "I'm sorry", he said.  "When I was cleaning the chandelier, one of the precious crystals fell and shattered on the floor.  I am very sorry."
 "The nawab said, "Oh, this is a very nice sound.  Throw one more down."
 "So the servant smashed another onto the floor.  'Very nice sound", said the nawab.  "Throw another one down.  And so in this way, every single crystal of the chandelier was thrown and smashed on the ground.  Because the nawab had so much money at his disposal, he could do anything he liked.
 "Similarly" said Srila Prabhupada, "Syamasundara thinks he's got so much money he can just throw it..."

15 PERSONAL
 His Preaching Spirit
 In the evening he wanted to see guests.  We suggested he not see people who would waste his time and he agreed.  But then he would become angry with us if we kept people from seeing him, because he existed for preaching to them.  It was his duty to preach, he felt.  Prabhupada was self-satisfied, and never restless or bored, yet if the place was really quiet with no preaching there, he seemed to want to go where some action was.  This was also a manifestation of his desire to accomplish as much as possible.  Prabhupada was already accomplished in terms of self realisation and love of Krsna; therefore his travel was only for the benefit of others.
 He felt he had to travel, and he kept on the move.  When he arrived in a new place, he immediately was ready to see the local people.  The room would fill up, and he would preach for hours.  This feature of Prabhupada's behaviour was very astounding.  Day and night, people would come into his room - sometimes a few, sometimes many.  Prabhupada would always speak to them about Krsna; he would speak on the basis of Bhagavad-gita, calling for verses to be cited, answering questions, preaching much as in his classes.  The informal talks were more unusual.  Many of his talks in later years were recorded.  He would preach, preach, preach.  He kept going, hours on end, preaching the basic philosophy, holding the room full of people, then taking a little prasadam and distributing it.
 When he would travel to certain places, as in Europe, where he could speak to many people and bring them to devotional service, he would be especially enlivened to preach.  Preaching also meant encouraging the local ISKCON disciples wherever he visited, and preaching also meant his book writing.  It also meant his spirit of maintaining and expanding ISKCON in all its activities.  We cannot describe the full glories of his preaching spirit.  His enthusiasm was unlimited and even today is nourishing all the preachers of ISKCON.  When he was ill and feeling inconvenienced, when the people he was speaking to were low-class or disinterested, when his body was very old, and when in order to preach he had to interrupt his schedule, when there was difficulty going on within his ISKCON - still his preaching would go on.  Sitting at his low desk talking, his eyes sometimes widening, hands sometimes gesturing, taking water to drink, chanting almost soundless japa when not talking, focusing in on special guests to develop a whole argument with them, Prabhupada was intent on his preaching points, although he had made the same points millions of times.  Thus he was not just a scholar, but a pure devotee attempting to convince everyone that they had to change, the whole world had to change, or else.

16 It didn't happen often, but sometimes Srila Prabhupada was overcome by ecstatic emotions while lecturing.  It had happened for example, in the San Francisco storefront when Prabhupada was describing Lord Caitanya's mood of separation from Krsna.  It also happened in Gorakhpur, India, while Prabhupada was seated before the Deities of Radha-Madhava, discussing Krsna's pastimes.  Again it had happened in Los Angeles during a lecture.  He had said that his disciples were young and had much opportunity to preach, whereas his life had no value because, "I am an old man who may die at any moment."  As soon as he had uttered these words, Prabhupada was suddenly unable to talk and a very perceivable change in his consciousness took place.  It seemed to some of the devotees who witnessed these stares that the spiritual world had suddenly opened up directly before Prabhupada's vision and Krsna was communicating with him in a way that made him unable to speak.
 One time after the same thing happened before a large gathering of devotees in Mayapur, the devotees inquired from Srila Prabhupada about their own behaviour on such occasions.  In Mayapur, when Prabhupada became stunned, the whole congregation became breathlessly silent, waiting for a cue from their spiritual master.  But suddenly one of the sannyasis broke the mood and began singing, "nama om visnu padaya...:
 At first no one followed his singing, but when he persisted, others gradually joined, and then Prabhupada broke out of his meditative trance.  Afterwards, there was a strong disagreement among the devotees over the sannyasis's behaviour.  Some said it was offensive.  Finally the issue came to Prabhupada's secretary, Brahmananda Swami, who was asked to settle the matter by asking Prabhupada.
 Brahmananda Swami asked Prabhupada if he remembered how during the lecture that morning he had gone into a deep silence.  Srila Prabhupada replied shyly, almost embarassedly, and said, "I do not do that very often."
 "But when it does happened", Brahmananda Swami asked, "what should we do?  Should we be silent, or should we chant japa?"
 Prabhupada said, "Yes just chant.  Just chant Hare Krsna.  That's all right."
 Brahmananda then asked if what the sannyasis disciple had done that morning was all right, by chanting.
 "Yes", said Prabhupada, "that was all right."  Prabhupada treated the whole occasion as rather insignificant, and thus gave his devotees a hint that they should not get involved with speculation.  Of course, they could not forget what they had seen, but they should not make a big thing about Prabhupada's going into ecstasies.  It had occurred, but it was not his main method of precept or example.  And to  chant Hare Krsna at such a time was all right.

17 Mahabuddhi dasa tells of the first time he met Srila Prabhupada.  His name at that time was Randy, and he had long blond hair.  He was a football player at San Diego State University, a leader in student government, and a son of wealthy parents.  He had been taking part in the congregational kirtana in the Los Angeles temple when Srila Prabhupada's secretary invited him to come upstairs to Prabhupada's room.  Randy liked the idea, but when he entered Prabhupada's quarters, he found himself the only guest in the small room. 
 Srila Prabhupada was seated at his desk surrounded by sannyasis and G.B.C. disciples, none of whom knew Randy.  While Randy was trying to gather his wits about the situation, Prabhupada began to preach, looking straight at him, saying, "Why be a krpana?"  What's a krpana? thought Randy, and Srila Prabhupada replied, "Krpana means miser."  Randy thought of his own family's wealth and he and his parents had their own plans for using it.  Prabhupada continued speaking about the krpana mentality,, and by now Randy had the direct impression that Prabhupada was speaking to his mind and defeating each of his defiant thoughts.  It was like a conversation between Randy's rebellious thoughts and Prabhupada's smashing, spoken replies.
 "Because you have been given some ability, wealth and opulence by Krsna," said Prabhupada, looking to Randy, who sat against the wall, "therefore you should use it in Krsna's service.  If you use it only for your personal sense gratification, that's simply miserly.  If you do not take to Krsna consciousness, you will ruin your human form of life."
 Srila Prabhupada continued explaining the process of devotional service, and Randy managed to resume some of his pride and defensiveness.  He began to feel insulted and Prabhupada had called him a miser.  Randy admitted to himself that Prabhupada seemed to have read his mind.  But if Prabhupada was actually perfect, that he should know the future.  In this way, Randy began to feel the return of his usual pride.  But as if in response to these thoughts, Prabhupada suddenly called for a copy of the Twelfth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam and began reading aloud the predictions for degraded humanity in the coming age, the age of Kali.
 "Men will consider that to have long hair means they are beautiful," said Srila Prabhupada.  When Randy heard that, he began shaking.  He felt stunned.  He thought to himself, "He has completely defeated me."

18 LITTLE DROPS OF NECTAR
 When Srila Prabhupada flew on planes, his servants carried his silver plates and served him full meals.  His disciples usually cooked much more for his travels than he would eat.  One time Srila Prabhupada asked to eat just before the plane was to take off.  The stewardesses were making preparations for departure, but Srila Prabhupada's servant brought him his prasadam, which had been recently cooked at the temple.  Prabhupada sat alone, undisturbed, as the other passengers looked at him as they buckled their seat belts and put their trays and seats in the upright position.  Somehow the stewardesses didn't insist on Prabhupada's conforming, and so he continued calmly eating as the jet sped down the runway.  His servant anxiously held on to the drinking cups while Prabhupada ate his meal with no notice or care for his surroundings.  Only when the plane was high in the air did Prabhupada finish.  Turning to his servant, he said, "All right, you can take these away now."
 At one of the ISKCON international festivals in Vrndavana, Srila Prabhupada rejected the singing of one of his disciples.  The devotee had previously been a singer in a band, and his kirtanas were much appreciated by some devotees, especially those from his home temple.  But when, with showy professionalism, he began leading the guru-puja in Prabhupada's presence, making the tune sound like a rock and roll ballad, Prabhupada didn't like it.  He shook his head and indicated that someone else lead.  The "great" kirtana singer was devastated by the rejection, another form of Prabhupada's mercy.
 For a time in Mayapur, two Bengali ladies were cooking a large feast of about twenty five preparations and sending it over to Srila Prabhupada at his mealtime.  But he was eating very little of it.  "I'm eating with my eyes," he laughed.  He then described how in the old days in Bengal aristocratic people would invite one another for meals.  One would prepare a huge, sumptuous feast, and another would come and appreciate how it was cooked and arranged so nicely.  The guest would merely look at the feast and say, "Oh, very nicely done."  Then all the servants would actually eat it.

19 Srila Prabhupada was very good at imitating the sounds of men, animals and machines.  He did not do it by any gross oral manipulations, like some modern comedians do, but by the use of onomatopoeic sounds and even Sanskrit derivations.  And it was always done to prove a Krsna conscious point.
 One time in Beverly Hills, Srila Prabhupada gave a whole tour de force of imitative sounds.  Prabhupada had been alone, writing, when his servant went into his room.  Prabhupada began speaking, "There are so many material sounds.  Just now I was listening, and I could hear the freeway."  Prabhupada then imitated the cars.  The sound he made for the cars might be written down as "whooo-whooo," but it is not possible to capture the actual sound in print, or exact impression of what cars sound like on the freeway.  Prabhupada's car sound even included a criticism of the foolish endeavours of the highway-rushing karmis.
 "And in the alley," said Prabhupada, "the garbage truck is coming."  He then made another perfect imitation.  "I also heard these birds," said Prabhupada.  "Someone nearby has roosters."  Prabhupada then gave a Sanskrit version of cockadoodledoo, which was also perfect.
 "But some day ..." said Prabhupada, and the he became completely quiet.  This whole conversation had been taking place in the early morning in Prabhupada's room, and therefore when he became silent, it seemed like the whole world was silent.  He repeated, "And then some day..."  Suddenly Prabhupada imitated an exploding bomb.  "The atom bomb will go off and it will all be finished."

20 Once in Vrndavana, Prabhupada noticed that some of his men disciples were letting their hair grow.  Different men had their reasons for growing hair, so Prabhupada had not said anything, but one day in the presence of his servant, Hari-sauri, and Bhagavata dasa, Prabhupada expressed his displeasure.
 Turning to Bhagavata dasa he said, "You look very beautiful by keeping hairs.  What is your explanation?"
 "Oh, I was advised," said Bhagavata, "that because I was going to the European countries it would be required to keep this hair."
 "But they have won victory in the court by keeping a shaven head," said Prabhupada referring to a recent New York court case.
 "I asked their advice," said Bhagavata, "whether I should shave or keep the hair."  Bhagavata was about to say more, but Prabhupada interrupted him.
 "What is that nonsense advice?  Who is that rascal advice?  By keeping hair, you become beautiful.  This is without advice, this mentality of growing thick hair.  We are known as shaven-headed, the whole society."
 Hari-sauri attempted to explain his own case, saying, "It is about three weeks since I -" but Prabhupada interrupted him.
 "Every fortnight at least," said Srila Prabhupada, and then again he turned to Bhagavata.  "Before going to Europe six years ago, you were keeping hairs like that.  "Oh, I have to go to Europe."  That I have seen.  You like to keep hairs.  That hippie mentality is going on.

21. Srila Prabhupada regularly gave out cookies from the vyasasana, but on a visit to New Vrindaban he once gave out an entire meal of prasadam right off the Deities' plate.  Radhanatha dasa had a strong desire to approach Srila Prabhupada with the Deities' plate, immediately after offering it to Radha-Vrndavanacandra, so he rather boldly approached Srila Prabhupada's secretary, Pusta Krsna, who asked, "Where are the cookies?"  Radhanatha said they had none, only this full Deity plate.
 "Forget it," said Pusta Krsna.  "You can't give out that kind of stuff." But Radhanatha managed to approach Prabhupada from a different direction.  When Srila Prabhupada saw the plate, he smiled, took it up,, and began sampling each preparation with a spoon.  He took a spoonful of sweet rice, tasted it, and then began handing out spoonfuls.  Over a hundred devotees were present, and they rushed forward, unlike their usual, formal lines for receiving a cookie.  Prabhupada went from preparation to preparation, eating a few spoonfuls of sabji and then distributing it to the urgent, outstretched hands of the surrounding devotees.  After finishing each preparation, he also gave away the silver bowl.  Finally all that was left were two large gulabjamuns.
 Children began to cry out, "Prabhupada, give it to me!"  And the adults, "Prabhupada, give it to me!"  Srila Prabhupada took his time, and at last he shook his head no.  He took the gulabjamun up himself and bit into it.  At the first bite, the gulabjamun juice squirted out, wetting several nearby devotees, who began dancing and shouting.  After two bites, Srila Prabhupada gave out the remnants of the gulabjamun.  Hs first bite of the second gulabjamun also produced a stream of juice, and by now the whole temple room was turned into a state of happy pandemonium.  The whole episode lasted about fifteen minutes, and Srila Prabhupada was obviously in great enjoyment, laughing and watching everyone trying to get the maha-prasadam from his hand.

22. PRABHUPADA SAID
On Kirtana and Music
"The harmonium may be played during bhajana if there is someone who an play melodiously.  But it is not for kirtana and arati.
  Letter of 1976
Prabhupada was present during a kirtana performed by his disciples in the Brooklyn temple.  For the devotees, it was the perfection of their singing and playing, to do it for Prabhupada's personal pleasure.  The mrdanga player had been practicing to learn complicated beats, and he was demonstrating his rapid and intricate abilities in the kirtana.  But Prabhupada stopped the music and said to the drummer, a devotee named Dhira Krsna, that he should follow the leader.  Then he started the kirtana again, but it happened again, and again Prabhupada stopped the kirtana and asked the drummer to follow the leader.  On another occasion Prabhupada said, "The drum should not be louder than the voice."
In 1966 in New York City, a boy came by with a record of a famous Indian musician playing a sitar.  As soon as the music began, Srila Prabhupada started to smile.  The boy asked, "Do you like this music?"  Srila Prabhupada said, "This is sense gratification music."  The boy was hurt and said, "What do you mean?  They play this in the temples in India."  So Prabhupada insisted, "No, this is sense gratification music and this musician is just a businessman."  The boy then replied, "Well, you used to be a businessman."  Prabhupada, laughed and said, "Because I went naked then, I should go naked now?"
"Well, what if this musician wanted to become a devotee?"  asked the boy.
"Oh, that would be very nice," said Prabhupada, "if he can come.  But this is sense gratification music."

23 PRABHUPADA TELLS A STORY
In India Srila Prabhupada once gave Tejas dasa advice on how to elicit help of big men.  He told him to use the rabbit and lion philosophy.
Once a group of rabbits were being eaten by a lion.  so they made an agreement and met with the lion, pleading with him to limit his killing.   The said, "we are all terrified, and you also are not getting to eat everyday.  so why don't we make this agreement that every day one of us will come to you, and you can eat us.  In that way, we will not be so terrified, and you will at least get one rabbit a day." The lion agreed to the proposal.  But one day, one of the more intelligent rabbits thought, What is this?  Why am I rushing into death?  Today is my last day.  Let me enjoy on the way."  So in a very leisurely way, stopping sometimes beside a river and then a well, the rabbit finally arrived late before the lion.  The lion was very angry and roared, "Why have you come late?"  The rabbit replied, "It is not my fault, because on the way another lion said he was going to eat me.  It was all that I could do to get away from him."
The lion said, "Who is challenging my authority?  Let me find him."  So the rabbit led him to the edge of the well and said, "He's in there."  The lion looked inside and saw the shadow of a lion.  When he roared, the reflection lion roared back, and so the lion jumped into the well to attack.  In this way, the rabbit finished the lion.
Prabhupada told Tejas that he could also do like that.  If a high-level man says something favourable, then you can go back to him and complain on his behalf.  Tell him that you have told one of his clerks or ministers that the top-level man says they must give permission but the clerks are not caring for his word.  Then the top minister will say, "oh? Then I will go and finish him."  In this way, Prabhupada advised how to get a top minister to help obtain permission.

24 PERSONAL
His silence
 He could take a morning walk in silence, and then break it.  Even more striking was his silent response to something you said.  A disciple could ask a question and receive a long silence.  A strange-minded woman from Cleveland once went into Prabhupada's room with some of her relatives and sat in his presence for a long time while no one spoke at all.  Later she said that they all thought Prabhupada was doing something mystical, that they weren't supposed to talk, and that he was reciprocating by sitting there and not speaking, although considerable time went by.
With his servants he could travel long distances without talking.  Once on a long flight from Germany to Australia he was silent and said only a few things (When the plane landed in Australia, Prabhupada said that here in Australia it was green and there in Germany it was green, so how can they say there is no life on the moon and other planes?)
Some of his comments were surrounded by long silences.  Sometimes he would chastise or question us by his silences, which became so intense that we could not bear them.  And you could not penetrate his silence.  The quality of gravity is defined as follows in The Nectar of Devotion: "A person who doesn't express his mind to everyone or whose mental activity and plan of action are very difficult to understand is call grave."
And he like quiet in his room.  He wouldn't tolerate noises.  He would wake his servants to chase dogs when they were howling outside, especially when he was trying to translate in the early morning.  And he would send his servants out to track out any odd noises in the building or thereabouts.  During his lectures and classes he would detect the slightest noise and ask that it be stopped.  A slamming door broke his heart, he said - and sires in New York, garbage trucks, dogs, in India the tap-tapping of the building construction - but he could tolerate it all.
But for Prabhupada real silence was the fact that he never said any nonsense.  He could talk unendingly about Krsna.  Sometimes a foolish guest would speak some mundane nonsense, and Prabhupada would tolerantly be silent.  But it was unnatural to see Prabhupada silent in the presence of another person because Prabhupada was the one who should be speaking.  He had absolute knowledge and all others should have been silent to let him speak, if Prabhupada so desired to speak.  He complied with Krsna's wishes and with out wishes that he talk.  He spoke from duty, from love, from the preaching spirit

25 When Srila Prabhupada first went back to India with his American disciples, he sometimes took them on tours of holy places in Vrndavana and Mayapur.  One day Prabhupada was to go with a few devotees in an old American Dodge automobile, to visit Devnargar, the birthplace of Bhaktivinoda Thakura.  Prabhupada rode in the front seat  with the driver, Syamasundara dasa, and about four other devotees squeezed into the back seat.  They soon discovered, unfortunately, that the old dodge didn't have a horn. Driving in India without a horn is almost impossible, and the journey was an anticipated two hours. Srila Prabhupada was therefore concerned how they would make it.  But soon after they had started, Prabhupada devised a "horn" of his own making. He found a metal plate in the car, and then he had the car stop and the boys got him a stick off the ground.  Then as they rode along, Srila Prabhupada would hold the plate outside of the car window and bang on it with a stick whenever there was a need of a horn for passing cars and for shooing people and animals off the road.  The devotees were amazed and overjoyed at the simple display of Prabhupada's horn, which he continued to operate from the front seat during the whole journey.  "This will be copied by the Indians," said Srila Prabhupada.  "They will think that it is a new American invention they will also get plates and sticks and use them instead of the horn."

26 When his Godbrothers saw the that Tejas das and his wife were sometimes quarrelling, they suggested that he should ask Prabhupada to take sannyasa.  They said that it would better enable him to preach.  Tejas admittedly thought that his marriage was difficult, and so he resolved to ask Srila Prabhupada at the next opportunity.  In those days, in India, it was not at all difficult to approach Srila Prabhupada in the privacy of his room and ask him such personal questions.
Finding Prabhupada alone one evening, Tejas approached him.
"So, what do you want?"  asked Prabhupada in his typically manner.
I want to take sannyasa, Prabhupada," said Tejas.
Just at that moment, before Prabhupada gave an answer, his servant brought him his prasadam, some vegetables and fruits.
"Take some prasadam, said Prabhupada, and he put a piece into Tejas's hand.  Then Prabhupada gave him more and more, until it was falling out of the disciples hand.  Tejas put out his other hand Prabhupada filled that one up also.  While Tejas became preoccuppied in balancing all the prasadam in his two hands, Prabhupada asked, "Why do you want to take sannyasa?"
"For preaching, Prabhupada."
"But that you are all ready doing ,"he said.
Prabhupada," Tejas said  "having family life is full of hindrances."
"But your wife is a very nice wife," Prabhupada objected .  She is co-operative. She is expert at Deity worship, she plays mrdanga nicely, and harmonium. She is a nice girl.  Why do you want to take sannyasa? "
Tejas replied, "Prabhupada, married life is very dangerous."
Prabhupada replied, Married life dangerous? I don't see any danger.  You tell me what is the danger."
Tejas could see the drift of Prabhupada's instruction.  He thought , If the spiritual master says there is no danger....."  Tejas no longer felt up to arguing, and Prabhupada changed the subject to the practical preaching matters in India.

27 Starting the 1970s India became more and more Srila Prabhupada's home base and his travels to the West became like tours away from home.  While travelling to America in the winter of 1973, Srila Prabhupada caught a cold and tried to get rid of it by moving from Los Angeles to Dallas, which he had heard was sunny and warm.  But Dallas was also overcast.  Prabhupada began talking of returning to Mayapur as the only place where he could be at ease and get well.  It would be a long trip back, and so he made no definite decision.  But one night about 1 a.m., he walked into the room adjoining his and woke his servant and his secretary.
 "Let's go back home, back to Godhead," Prabhupada said to them, while standing in the darkness of the unlit room.  His disciples awoke and offered their obeisances at Prabhupada's feet, wondering what he meant.
 "Prabhupada?" they asked.
 "Yes," he repeated.  "I want to go back to Godhead.  I want to go to Mayapur."
 So they returned there as soon as possible. Once in Mayapur, Srila Prabhupada's health recovered.  There he was most informal and pleased.  In those early years, there was not  much building development, and the devotees were undergoing austerities just to live there.  Srila Prabhupada mixed with them freely and in a friendly way.  They would walk into his room, and sometimes he would walk into theirs.  Sometimes even his own servants didn't know exactly where he was at different times of the day.  He might be on the roof alone, or sometimes he would walk unaccompanied out to the front road.  The devotees at Mayapur couldn't help but appreciate that Prabhupada was special when was living in the dhama.  They felt it was like the informality of Krsna in Goloka, as contrasted to Krsna's opulence in Dvaraka.  Srila Prabhupada in Mayapur was special and informal in that way.

28 LITTLE DROPS OF NECTAR
Madhudvisa dasa had been the president in Bombay ISKCON, but to Prabhupada he expressed his dissatisfaction, particularly in working with the Indians.  He wanted another preaching field.  He said that he considered the Indians to be very sneaky and tricky, and he didn't like dealing with them.
Prabhupada said, "I am an Indian.  Do you think I am very tricky?"
"No, not you, Srila Prabhupada," said Madhudvisa.
"Actually, I am tricky," said Srila Prabhupada, "because I have tricked all of you into surrendering to Krsna, and now you are caught and you cannot get away."
 Pancadravida Swami endured a serious bout with boils in India.  The doctor said that he had come close to dying, and he had to perform surgery on his back.  When Pancadravida described his diseased condition to Srila Prabhupada, Prabhupada looked at him and said, "These diseases are simply imaginary."
"No, Srila Prabhupada, I really have them," said Pancadravida.  He thought that Prabhupada was saying that the boils were all in his mind.  He therefore showed Prabhupada a big scar that he had on his back from the surgery.  Prabhupada touched the scar with his finger and said nothing further.
Soon after that, in Bhagavatam class, Srila Prabhupada was describing how the sufferings of all living entities are imaginary, created by identification with the material body.  Hearing this Pancadravida realised the import of Srila Prabhupada's previous words.  Yes, in the absolute sense, even the attack of boils was imaginary.
 Srila Prabhupada sometimes travelled throughout India, accompanied by his disciples.  On one occasion, the train stopped in a field full of purple flowers.  One of the devotees climbed  down, ran into the field, picked some flowers, and ran back to Prabhupada's car just as the train started to leave.  Then the devotees brought Prabhupada a bouquet of purple flowers as an offering of devotion. Prabhupada calmly accepted them but said, "Lord Siva wears these flowers."  The devotees were worried that they had made some guru-aparadha, but Prabhupada smiled and stuck one flower behind each of his ears.  He widened his eyes and made a large grin, "See?"  playing as if he were Lord Siva with the purple flowers in his hair.

29 PRABHUPADA SAID
On Book Production and Distribution
 Some of Prabhupada's well-known maxims stress the value of his books and the necessity to print them with the greatest care. 
1. "If there are any mistakes in my books, then the books will not be taken seriously."
2. "Every word in these books in like a document." (And therefore the editors shouldn't be careless or speculate)
3. ""These purports are my devotional ecstasies."
 Prabhupada's first books were printed by devotees at ISKCON Press, but they weren't expertly done.  When Prabhupada received the first copy of one paperback edition of a Bhagavatam chapter, he opened it and the binding fell apart in his hands.  To the devotees who saw this he asked, "What will it take for my disciples to learn how to print these books so that they will not fall apart?"
Brahmananda replied, "Sincerity, Prabhupada.  If we were more sincere, then we could do it."
"Srila Prabhupada looked down at the broken book in his hand and said, "No".
The assembled devotees were surprised.
One of them asked, "Not sincerity?"
"Sincerity, yes," said Prabhupada, "plus intelligence."
 Here are Mayapur my Guru Maharaja was printing one paper.  It was selling for only a few paise.  Sometimes whenever one brahmacari would go to Navadvipa and sell even a few copies, I would see my Guru Maharaja become very much pleased....  So I am always emphasising book distribution.  It is better than kirtana.  It is better than chanting.  Of course chanting should not stop, but book distribution is the best kirtana."
  Letter of November 24, 1974
 Once, on speaking to a gathering of book distributors, Srila Prabhupada explained to them how Bhaktivinoda Thakur had wanted a temple built in Mayapur.  "You will be the cornerstones," said Prabhupada to his book distributors.  He said that by their distributing books, the temple would be built.

30 PRABHUPADA TELLS A STORY
 When Prabhupada's edition of Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila Volume 1, was first published, devotees were surprised and pleased to read about the humorous joking between Lord Nityananda and Advaita Acarya during the taking of prasadam at Advaita Acarya's house.  One morning, during a car ride with Srila Prabhupada, one of the devotees expressed his appreciation for the new volume.
"There is such nice humour in the Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Prabhupada."
"Yes", said Srila Prabhupada, "spiritual life is humour also.  Then he began to tell a story.  "Krsna said to one old lady, 'You are so ugly, you should marry a monkey.'
"'No', said the old lady, 'I have given up all material desires.  I will marry you, Krsna!'
"'Yes! Yes! Yes!' All the gopis and boys clapped and laughed."
While Prabhupada said this, his eyes lit up and he became very animated, laughing at the humorous pastimes of Krsna.  "So Krsna was defeated," said Srila Prabhupada, "by that laughing of the gopis."

31 PRABHUPADA TELLS ANOTHER STORY
 In a lecture, Srila Prabhupada remarked that foolish people often criticise devotees as do-nothings and weaklings, but such people do not understand the intelligence of a devotee.  Therefore, a devotee does not have to heed such people.  To illustrate the point, Srila Prabhupada told a story.
 Some labourers were criticising the minister of the king, claiming he only sat around and did no work.  The king reminded them that it took intelligence to become a minister.  He said that he would give a test for everyone including the minister.  Whoever could pass the test could become the next minister.  The king said, "Take this big elephant, weigh him, and let me know the exact weight."
 The ordinary men were baffled.  Where was there a scale for weighing an elephant?  They could not do anything.  They came back to the king with no information.  Then the king turned to his minister and asked, "Will you kindly weigh this elephant?"  So in six minutes he came back and reported, "It is twenty mounds (1.920lbs)."  The other men were standing open-mouthed in surprise.  "How is that?"  they asked.  "Within six minutes he came back and he gave the exact weight!"
 The king asked, "How did you weigh him? Did you get some very big scale?'
 "No sir," replied the minister.  "It is not possible to weigh the elephant on a scale.  It is very difficult."
 "Then how did you weigh it?"
 "I took it on a boat.  When I got him on the boat then I saw the watermark and I marked it.  Then, after getting the elephant off the boat, I added weight onto the boat, and when it came to the same watermark, then I understood."
 So the king addressed the labourers and cautioned them.  "Now you see the difference?"  They agreed, "Yes".
 After telling this story, Prabhupada quoted from scripture.  "Buddhir yasya balim tasya-nirbuddhes tu kuto balam: one who has got intelligence, he has strength, and one who has no intelligence, a rascal, has no strength."
 Prabhupada concluded, "Scientists, atheists, and different critics of devotees are like that - rascal - fools.  We don't take advice from them," said Prabhupada.  "We take advice from Krsna or His representative.

32 PERSONAL
Evening Massage
 Evening massage was not as thorough as the pre-noon one - just massage his legs, squeeze them, up and down from the knee down to the feet, then the feet and toes also.  He taught the technique.  He said it gave some relief.  At these times he was prone to sweet reflections.  Was he sleeping?  Sometimes.  Or he would speak something.  The servant might have to stay up a considerable while.  Usually it was in a darkened room.  In Australia, at the end of the day after he and the devotees had marched a great distance in the Ratha-yatra parade, Prabhupada complimented his servant on his dancing so nicely in the parade.  It was also during the night massage that he told another servant the story of how he got a special pair of shoes as a child, from England, a gift from his father.  Also he would bring up the philosophy and the inability of mudhas to take to it.
 To us Prabhupada was a mystical ocean.  His utterances were not coming by our dictation.  Yet we were also as close as possible, right by his side, touching his body, connected by speech, so he was tangibly with us.  And yet he was like a mystical ocean, and his purity created an aloofness for those who were still impure.  One didn't even dare to think, "What is Prabhupada thinking?'
 In the dark room, during the evening massage, his servant used to want to take rest.  Now, he may consider what a fool he was.  If he had another chance, would he be the same fool?  No one likes to be the servant; we want to be the master.  But Prabhupada kept us in check.  He made us devotees.

33 One morning in Berkeley, Srila Prabhupada was walking on the university campus.  Sannyasi disciples and others were there, and also Krsna dasa adhikari.  Krsna dasa had left the movement and had grown long hair, but he had recently shown a revival of interest and was now walking with Prabhupada.  His questions were full of his various doubts.  At the very end of the walk, somehow the topic of feeling separation from the spiritual master came up.  Krsna dasa asked, "You must always be feeling separation from your spiritual master."
 The idea was that he was hoping to prompt Srila Prabhupada to talk about his feelings of separation from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.  Prabhupada was silent.  So Krsna dasa asked the question again: "I suppose you must always be feeling separation from your spiritual master."  Srila Prabhupada then answered, "That you do not require."  (In other words, "That's none of your business to ask.")  Then he got in his car and left.

34 When Srila Prabhupada visited Hawaii, he had to deal with controversial persons who claimed to be his followers and yet who denounced the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.  Prabhupada wanted to encourage everyone to go on chanting Hare Krsna, yet at the same time he wanted to clearly establish that his sincere follower works within ISKCON.  The questions and answers after his lectures in Hawaii often dealt with these matters.
 "What is ISKCON?" asked a long-haired beach boy wearing a japa bead bag.
 "ISKCON?" Srila Prabhupada replied.  "It is a simple thing.  You do not know?"  Then  he described what each lettering the acronym ISKCON stood for.  "We have a worldwide society, so we say international."
 "Well, are you ISKCON?" the boy asked.  This was a loaded question.  The devotees had been preaching that Srila Prabhupada was ISKCON, because one cannot refuse service to ISKCON and yet claim to serve Srila Prabhupada.  But the anti-ISKCON party had argued that Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON were different.  Prabhupada was pure and transcendental; ISKCON was corrupt, a mere organisation.
 Srila Prabhupada started to laugh.  "I am not ISKCON," he said.  "I am a member of ISKCON."  Then he looked at his disciple who was the G.B.C. secretary for Hawaii.  Prabhupada pointed at him and said, "Ah he is a member of ISKCON."  Then he pointed to the ISKCON Hawaii temple president.  "And he is a member of ISKCON.  We are all members of ISKCON, the International Society for Krsna Consciousness."  Almost everyone present cried out, "Jaya!"  Then Prabhupada looked back, smiling.  There was no further challenge to his perfect humble reply.

35 In Bombay, devotees were able to freely see Srila Prabhupada and ask their questions.  But Pancadravida Swami sensed that as the movement grew he might not be able to maintain such an intimate relationship with his spiritual master.  One day he entered Srila Prabhupada's apartment and revealed his doubt.
 "I don't understand," Pancadravida said.  "ISKCON is such a big society.  How can I understand that I have a personal relationship with you?  If I am somewhere halfway around the world and I am, for instance, sweeping or washing a floor in a temple, how can I know that I am serving you personally?"
 "Yes, ISKCON is so big," Prabhupada answered simply, "but I am so small." Pancadravida immediately felt satisfied, but Srila Prabhupada explained it further.
 "You speak of serving in the temple somewhere," said Prabhupada, "but actually you don't have to do anything.  I am responsible directly.  I have to maintain all the temples, see that the floors are swept, the pots washed, and that everything is clean in all the ISKCON temples all over the world.  But I cannot do it all by myself.  It is like an arati ceremony.  I may be offering the arati, but I ask you, "Please hand me the fan.  In this same way, I am asking you to help me in the temple by preaching, or sweeping the floor.  Do you understand?"

36 LITTLE DROPS OF NECTAR
 In Hyderabad, after a pandal lecture program, a teenage Indian boy spent the night with the devotees.  The next morning he entered Srila Prabhupada's room along with the initiated devotees and sat down close to Prabhupada.  As soon as Prabhupada saw the boy, he pointed to the door without saying a word.  The boy also said nothing but got up and left.  Srila Prabhupada then turned to one of the sannyasis and said, "First he must wash all the pots."  He explained that Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had always first tested the sincerity of someone who wanted to join by asking  him to wash pots.
 In Japan, Srila Prabhupada rode the monorail.  At first the seat in front of him was empty, and Bhurijana dasa invited Prabhupada to put his feet up there, since the seats were uncomfortably cramped.  The empty seat was actually reserved for one of Prabhupada's disciples, Bhanu dasa, and the monorail authorities finally insisted that everyone must sit in his own seat.  Bhurijana then again turned to Srila Prabhupada this time with trepidation.
 "Srila Prabhupada, one of the devotees has to sit down.  Will you remove your lotus feet?"
 "Yes", Srila Prabhupada replied, "I will move my feet so that the lotuslike devotee can sit down."
 Satadhanya Maharaja was talking with Srila Prabhupada in his room in Mayapur when he discovered that ants were crawling over Prabhupada's desk.  Satadhanya stood and began pushing away the ants with light, brushing motions of his cloth.  Peacefully sitting back against the bolster pillows, Prabhupada watched and commented, "Before you would have killed them, but now you are purified."

37 PRABHUPADA SAID
 On Money
 One time on a walk, Prabhupada was explaining how the paper currency is a cheating process.  He said that the government encourages people to work hard in the factories to develop the economy of the nation, and yet they pay them only pieces of paper.  When the government doesn't have enough pieces of paper, they print up more, and thus the whole economy is based on cheating.  Prabhupada said that the Vedic economy is based on the bartering system.  If the bartering system is not possible, then at least the gold standard should be used, because the gold has some value and the quantity of gold is limited.  After hearing Prabhupada describe the ideal economy based on the Vedic civilisation, one devotee asked, "But if all transactions are done in gold, it would be very difficult to make large deals, because to carry the gold and exchange it would be very cumbersome."
 "That's very good", replied Srila Prabhupada.  "Why should there be big transactions?  Big transactions means that people are accumulating more than they require.  We don't want big transactions.  We want each person to have what they require."
 Prabhupada told a proverb about money.  One man asked another, "Are you intelligent?"  The second man started to look in his pockets.  The first man asked, "Why are you looking in your pocket?"  The second man said, "Well, if there is any money there, that means I'm intelligent."  Prabhupada explained, "Actually, in our movement everything is going on by my intelligence and your co-operation.  So you are preaching very intelligently, but if there is no money, then where is the intelligence?'
 Prabhupada instructed that fifty percent of income should go to the Book Fund and fifty percent should go to construction or other projects.  He said that the Krsna Consciousness Movement was, in one sense, just like a business, and so it should be run in that way.  In other words, it was on the basis of his books that the movement was getting its collections, whether by life membership or book sales.  Therefore, just as in any business, the capital assets had to be invested in.  "You must therefore give fifty percent of your money to the Book Fund."
 "We should live on a paltry income, whatever we receive by selling our magazines, but in dire necessity when there is no other way, we may accept some service temporarily.  But on principle, we should go on sankirtana, not work.  So whatever Krsna gives us, we should accept on that principle.  You are a senior member of the society; you should have known all these things.  Anyway, send them back on sankirtana.  All the Amsterdam devotees should be engaged in sankirtana, not in a cigarette factory."
  Letter of January 9, 1971
 Prabhupada approved of his disciples making ambitious plans for spreading Krsna Consciousness.  "But Prabhupada", one devotee asked, "how are we going to get the money to do all this?"  Prabhupada said, "You make the plans, Krsna will provide the money."
 "Concerning Ganesa worship, it is not actually necessary for us.  But, if someone has the sentiment for getting the blessings of Ganesa to get large amounts of money for Krsna's service, then it is all right.  But anyone who takes up this kind of worship must send me at least one hundred thousand dollars monthly - not less.  If he cannot send this amount, he cannot do Ganesa worship."
  Letter of February 1, 1975
 Srila Prabhupada was not keen on banking money.  "As soon as there will be money in the bank," he said, "there will be headache.  This tax, that tax."
 Prabhupada said, "We have no problems, although we have so much money.  If we were to lose that money, still we would not be hampered in our mission.  Ahaituky apratihata - without being checked .  Krsna consciousness is prosecuted in pure devotion."
 "Yes", one of the devotees agreed, "even if we had to write the books out by hand and distribute them."

38 PRABHUPADA TELLS SHORT STORIES
 In Australia, Srila Prabhupada was waiting in an airport terminal for a delayed flight.  he asked Amogha dasa to go to the desk to find out the departure time.  The desk clerk answered that the new boarding time would be in fifteen minutes.  Srila Prabhupada heard this, but after twenty minutes, when there was no call, he asked the devotees to check again.  Again, the report was fifteen minutes.  Srila Prabhupada kept looking at his watch every fifteen minutes and asking the devotees to find out more information.
 After some time, Prabhupada told a story.  He said that a man once testified in a court case that he had been fifty years old for the last fifteen years, and he claimed that due to honesty he had not wished to change his statement.  "So", Srila Prabhupada said, "still they say fifteen minutes to boarding time."  That is honesty.  It is one hour and fifteen minutes, and still they do not change their word - 'fifteen minutes'".
 One of Prabhupada's Bengali stories was about a doctor visiting a house to diagnose two patients, a rich housewife and her maidservant.  The doctor said, "The maidservant's fever is 105 degrees, so there is some anxiety.  I will give her some medicine.  But the landlady of the house has practically no fever, 99 degrees, so there is no anxiety for her."  But when she heard this, the landlady became angry and said, "This doctor is useless.  I'm the landlady.  I've only got 99 and my maidservant has 105.  The maidservant should have 98, I should have 110!"
 Prabhupada compared this to the modern civilisation, which is inclined to increase the degree of its fever up to 110 degrees.  As in the human body there is death as soon as the death as soon as the temperature reaches 107 degrees, so Prabhupada said that by the nuclear weapons, modern civilisation will come to the point of 107 degrees and over.  But the devotees want to decrease the fever, by living the highest, ideal life and decreasing the demands of the body.

39 MORE SHORT STORIES
 Srila Prabhupada said that many of his Godbrothers were envious of his success in preaching.  He did not like to point it out, but he wanted his disciples to be aware of the nature of the criticisms his Godbrothers would make to belittle the work of ISKCON.  "They cannot do anything themselves", said Srila Prabhupada, "and if somebody does something, they will be envious.  That is the nature of a third class man."
 To illustrate, Prabhupada told a story he had heard from his spiritual master.  One man informed another that a man known to them had become the high court judge.
 "Oh no", said the first man.  "No - that cannot be right."
 "Yes, he is now a judge," said the first friend.  "I have seen him sitting on the bench."
 The second man replied, "Maybe.  But I don't think he is getting any salary."
 Prabhupada said such envious men will find fault anywhere.  Even if there is  no fault actually, they will manufacture some fault.  That is their business.  Prabhupada said that many persons were envious of his Guru Maharaja, but Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati did not care for them.
 For year in India, Srila Prabhupada had travelled in dilapidated autos, and he often had to borrow cars.  But as his movement grew, he felt it was not right.  "We are spending crores of rupees to finish this Bombay construction," he said, "but whenever I arrive at the airport, I am picked up in a borrowed car.  What kind of impression is it to life members that we always have to approach them to borrow their car?"
 For years, the car was discussed and contemplated, but it never appeared.  Later, Prabhupada received a letter from a disciple in Europe who said that he would purchase a Mercedes for Prabhupada in Germany and drive it to India.  Prabhupada sent him a telegram, "Yes, purchases Mercedes."  At that time,, the devotees with Prabhupada in India said that they had heard the devotee was going to purchase the car with  money from Prabhupada's Book Fund.  Prabhupada said this was like a famous story.  A guru went to his disciple's home and was greet very elaborately.  When he inquired how it was possible for his disciple to afford such nice arrangements, the disciple told him, "Gurudeva, everything belongs to you."  Later the guru saw that he had no money left in his own bank account, and he could understand the disciple had spent all of his guru's money.
 Prabhupada ordered that his disciples should not purchase a car for him with money from the Book Fund and then claim, "Prabhupada, everything belongs to you."

40 MORE SHORT STORIES
 In Bengali there is a saying, "If you can walk on your hands, do it but whatever you do, change."  Prabhupada told this to illustrate his dislikes for whimsical changes.  He was especially anxious that after his departure his followers might take a free hand with his book or the Deity worship and make unnecessary, unauthorised changes.
 There was the story about the expert craftsmanship of a plasterer who worked on the construction of the Taj Mahal.  One of the top directors of the construction was inspecting the building in progress and noticed for three days in a row a certain plasterer who was sitting in the same place mixing plaster.  On the third day the inspector became angry and said, "Why are you still simply sitting and mixing this plaster?  You are so lazy!"  The man who was mixing the plaster also became very angry and he threw a handful of his plaster at the inspector.  The plaster missed the inspector but landed on a wall.  The plaster was so well mixed, that no one could get it off the wall, and it is still there today.
 Prabhupada told this story to stress the importance of good craftsmanship and of doing everything nicely in Krsna's service.
 One of Prabhupada's disciple secretaries knew some Hindi and wrote out a letter that Prabhupada had dictated.  But the devotee apologised, "My handwriting is not very good."
 "It doesn't matter," said Srila Prabhupada.  "No one can write Hindi nicely."  The Prabhupada told a joke.
 Someone wrote a letter to a friend in Hindi, and the man replied.  "Next  time you write a letter in Hindi, please send train fair to go to your place."
 The friend wrote back, "Why is that?"
 The other friend replied, "Because I have to go to you to decipher your letters."

41 PERSONAL
 Drinking Water
 Once after silently demonstrating his technique of drinking water, Prabhupada said to a boy who was present.  "You cannot do that."  One reason for drinking in that manner was cleanliness; one's lips or mouth doesn't touch the edge of the drinking vessel.  Prabhupada would pour the water down, swallowing, and then tilting the chalice upright, stopping the flow of water without spilling a drop.
 In India, the water would be kept cool in big clay jugs.  In the West, water was served with ice sometimes.  Once when Prabhupada asked for water, his servant asked, "Do you want cold water?"  Prabhupada replied, "Water means cold water."
 And water must be covered.  In India, to leave a clay jug of water uncovered is, he said, "signing your death warrant."  In the West, the pitcher also should be covered,
 He could appreciate different tastes of water.  We would make efforts to get him the best water from special sources, like Bhakatji's well in Vrndavana.
 He would drink quite a bit of water for health and digestion.  He would make comments about it, as we sat with him in his room watching him drink water.  But don't draw his water from a bathroom!  Pradyumna dasa asked how it is actually different if the water comes from the bathroom, provided one doesn't know where the water comes from.  Prabhupada replied that it would affect the mind, even if you didn't know where the water came from, because the bathroom is a contaminated place.
 Only a disciple could know how sweet it was to talk about these apparently mundane things.  To confer with Prabhupada about his needs to to talk about water was relief from greater problems.  One thought, Let me stay here and supply Prabhupada water so he can preach and write books; nothing else is as important as his water, his health, his daily Bhagavatam work, his being pleased.  Nothing is as nice to see as his drinking, as the water falls from the cup to his mouth.

42 When Srila Prabhupada was about to leave Los Angeles for a world tour in 1976, he called some of the devotees to his room, "Open my almire," he said to Ramesvara Swami, who opened the metal locker containing Srila Prabhupada's clothes.
 "Do you see those kurtas?" said Prabhupada.  "Pick one."  Ramesvara Swami picked out a bright orange one.
 "You like that one?" Prabhupada asked.
 "Yes."
 "All right.  That is for you."  Ramesvara was overwhelmed to receive the treasure of a remnant of Prabhupada's clothes.  Other devotees also received clothes and gifts from Prabhupada's hand.  Then it was almost time for him to go to the airport.  With graceful artistry, Prabhupada sat at his desk and applied Vaisnava tilaka to his forehead.  Ramesvara Swami thought to himself that everything about Prabhupada, the way he sat or walked, the way he dressed, and the way he put on his tilaka, it was all majestic and opulent.  As Prabhupada stood to leave the room, Ramesvara voiced his appreciation.
 "Prabhupada, you appear to us to be just like a king."
 "I am much more than any king," said Prabhupada, and then he walked downstairs.  There he was met by a hundred devotees who accompanied him to the airport as he began another world tour.

43 A few months before Srila Prabhupada's first visit to ISKCON Dallas, a strong windstorm hit the area, felling trees.  A tall, valuable shade tree in the courtyard of the temple also fell over and remained leaning against an adjoining building, the children's prasadam hall.  The tree still had its roots in the ground, but its heavy weight, with dangling branches, now lay in a sharp angle right across the walkway under it.  Satsvarupa, the temple president, took no immediate action, but different devotees approached him and said that the tree had to be removed right away or it might cause collapse of the building it was leaning against.  Satsvarupa agreed, and one of the devotees climbed the tall tree with a power saw and gradually dismantled the upper branches and trunk, until nothing remained but the lower ten feet of tilted trunk. 
 And thus the tree appeared when Srila Prabhupada came there in September 1972.  As soon as he walked into the courtyard, accompanied by temple leaders and trailed by the whole assembly of gurukula children and teachers, Prabhupada saw the remains of the big tree, and his face expressed trouble.  He walked off the cement path and went up to the tree, and so did everyone else behind him.
 "Who has done this?"  he demanded.  Satsvarupa admitted responsibility and explained the reason the tree had been destroyed.  Prabhupada shook his head angrily.  That was no reason to kill it, he said.  Satsvarupa tried to explain the dangerous condition and pointed to the dent in the roof of the building.  He also said that the fallen tree would probably have soon died.
 "No, it is not dead," Prabhupada challenged.  "Look.  There is a green twig growing out of it.  Prabhupada walked away, disgusted, and the devotees remained shocked as what they now saw as a brutal unnecessary act.  In his room, Prabhupada continued to criticise the killing of the tree.  He said this was the typical American attitude - when something is wrong, immediately cut it down and destroy it, with no understanding or compassion for the presence of the soul.
 Later, feeling repentant, Satsvarupa asked if he had committed an offense.
 "Not offense," said Srila Prabhupada.  "You are ignorant."

44 In an attempt to make Srila Prabhupada's quarters in Los Angeles attractive and pleasing for him, the women used to change his vases daily, putting in abundant fresh flowers.  One day Srila Prabhupada entered from his morning walk and noticed that the flower vases were missing.
 "Where are the vases?" he asked.
 The servant replied that the women had probably taken them to put in fresh flowers.
 "The flowers in it were fine," he said.  The he began complaining.  "Why do they change these flowers every day?  Why are they so wasteful?  Who is doing this?  Tell them to change them only when they go bad.  Where is the vase?  Go find it immediately.
 Prabhupada's servant went down to the kitchen and found the girls changing the flowers.  "You'd better stop changing these flowers everyday," he said.  "Prabhupada doesn't want it.  Make sure the vase is never out of his room."  When his servant returned to the room with the vases of flowers, Prabhupada continued on the same theme.  "Just do it when it is necessary,"  he said.  "You shouldn't waste so much on flowers.  This is your custom in America, simply wasting.  If you have some extra cloth, you cannot fold it, you cut it off and throw it away.  Whatever goes wrong, you solve it with money, and it appears good.  You make some accident, and you cover it quickly with money.  It is not that you are very capable, but with money, you can cover your deficiencies."

45 Giriraja dasa had been serving Srila Prabhupada in Bombay for quite a few years when he finally returned for a visit to the United States to recover his health and to see his parents in Chicago.  When he returned again to Bombay, Prabhupada inquired about his health and his visit to his parent's home.
 Giriraja described how during the two-day visit with his family, his father had invited a friend who was a psychologist to have a talk with Giriraja.  The psychologist, a woman, had begun asking Giriraja whether he felt that in his childhood there was any lack in his relationship with his parents.  Giriraja had replied on the basis of Bhagavad-gita, that actually each of us had passed through many bodies in many different lifetimes, and in each lifetime, we had different parents, but our real father is Krsna.  The psychologist had kept trying to speak to him on the psychological level, but Giriraja had kept replying to her on the spiritual platform, so it was very difficult for her to make progress in her analysis.  After she left the room, Giriraja had overheard her speaking to his parents in the hallway, saying that as far as she could see, there was nothing more she could do.
 "Yes", Prabhupada replied, "they called her so that she could try to cure you, but actually your disease is incurable.  You can never go back."  Hearing these words from his spiritual master, Giriraja became engladdened.

46 An elderly Indian gentlemen who visited Prabhupada in his room became gradually critical of Prabhupada's preaching.  "Swamiji,: the man said, "you should not criticise so many persons.  You should see everyone equally.  The Bhagavad gita says, panditah sama-darsinah: you should see everybody equally."
 Prabhupada replied, "That is a higher stage.  I am not on that stage.  I distinguish.  On the higher stage you don't distinguish between pious activity and sinful activity.  But I distinguish.  I say, 'You are sinning and you should stop'.
 As the discussion continued, Prabhupada kept referring to the previous acaryas in order to support his viewpoint.  "I have my Bhagavad gita," said Prabhupada.  "I have my acaryas.  I stand on their authority."
 Pursuing the argument, Prabhupada's visitor said. "What have you done beyond that?  You are just repeating what they've done.  What have you done?"
 Prabhupada replied, "I've not done anything.  I' m simply repeating.  So my contribution is that I have made this knowledge available to people all over the world.  Without discrimination, I have given Krsna consciousness to everyone.  That is my contribution and that is my version of panditah sama-darsinah."  Prabhupada concluded the interview with those words, and the man expressed gratefulness.
 Later in the hall, while leaving, the man was remarking out loud to himself. "Very interesting... He sees everyone equally...

continua...