by Draviḍa Dāsa (inspired by a Sanskrit poem by Śrīmān Kuśakratha dāsa) 1) śrī-śrī-navadvīpa-para-pradīpaḥ …
Browsing: Poetry and Writing
ReciprocationBy Mukunda Goswami On 13 December 1973, at the Los Angeles temple, during the observance…
“My spiritual master,” you said, and your voice, he says, choked to gravel. “My spiritual master,” you repeated, “he was no ordinary spiritual master.” You paused again, and then whispered falteringly, “He saved me.”
I have sometimes reflected on this astonishing transcendental moment and wondered exactly what you meant when you said, “He saved me.” You were born into a family of devotees, and your father was a pure devotee. What, then, was there to be saved from? But this is how you felt—and we honour that. It is another deep expression of yours that we relish and deeply appreciate
In 1973, I sent you my Vyasa-puja offering. On 23 August, from Bhaktivedanta Manor, you sent me an encouraging note:
“I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter and the nice Vyasa-puja offering you sent. I have sent it to Satsvarupa Goswami for printing in the BTG. Writing is a very important part of our work, and Satsvarupa is always anxious to have new material from the devotees for expanding the BTG. You have a nice talent for writing, and practice makes perfect, so continue. It will be appreciated.”
You met with colossal success, making the holy name a household word, while thousands waited on your every instruction, ready to surrender their life to please you. You never saw it as your ability, purity or power, but saw everything as a manifestation of Krishna’s divine grace and mystic potency. Thus your glory expanded.
I don’t have such vision, and can’t imagine that I ever will. Nevertheless, by meditating on you, I hope I’ll get a glimpse of what you see. I often stop and consider, “what would Prabhupada do?” I’ll keep that mantra central to my life, as I navigate the chaos of the world and try to do my little bit to share your wisdom with the world. Thanks for displaying the vision of eternity. Thanks for making my life a purposeful, exciting, transcendental adventure. I can never repay you.
Prophecy has been part of Prabhupada’s life from the time he first appeared in this world, and, as we have shown, even before that. But the instance of his birth prophecy is especially significant, and so we conclude with that visionary beginning. Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami writes in his Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita.,,
A poem by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
at Vrindavana, Radha-Damodara, 1961
As she was on her way to work that fateful morning, she was already in the lobby of the building when a sankirtan devotee in saffron caught her attention. She saw Srila Prabhupada on the front cover of his one-volume biography, Prabhupada. The sankirtan devotee smiled and motioned for her to come outside to get a closer look at the book.
Padaduli opened the glass door and walked 🚶♀️ toward the book. Just as she was crossing the street, the building collapsed behind her. Saved by Prabhupada, she bought the book.
Nowadays, Padaduli and Rasikendra are dedicated servants of the servants of Sri Sri Radha Nila Madhava at the ISKCON temple in Houston, Texas. Still saved by Prabhupada.
If Prabhupada can forgive us, we can also forgive each other’s mistakes and meanderings. Lord Chaitanya welcomes everyone and sees past any bodily designations. I respect any devotee who has tried in even the smallest way to serve Prabhupada, Krishna, or another devotee. He or she is special—like the sparrow who drank drops of the ocean to rescue her lost eggs from the sea, or like the chipmunk who was tossing pebbles into the sea to help Lord Ramachandra build his bridge to Lanka. The effort itself is success.
When Prabhupada came to us in his seventieth year, he had already spent a lifetime preparing himself, not only by preaching, but by practicing self-discipline and the many other qualities of an advanced spiritualist. We
joined him handicapped by our so-called hippie freedom and by so many other weaknesses in our characters.