For the disciple the advent of the spiritual master is the most blessed event in the world. It is even more important than Krsna’s advent, because the spiritual master gives us Krsna. Without the spiritual master there would not be any Krsna consciousness.
Almost all of Prabhupada’s Bowery friends were musicians or friends of musicians. They were into music—music, drugs, women, and spiritual meditation.
When Srila Prabhupadas bus arrived at the terminal, it was past midnight. Mr. Gopal Agarwal, his sponsor, was waiting with the familys Volkswagen bus to drive him to Butler, about an hour north.
Robert Nelson and Srila Prabhupada made an odd combination. Srila Prabhupada was elderly and dignified and was a deep scholar of the Bhagavatam and the Sanskrit language, whereas Robert was artless in both Eastern and Western culture and inept in worldly ways.
“Better to have warm legs and a cool head,” he went on, “You must have a cool head to understand this Krsna consciousness philosophy.”
Prabhupada was convinced if he could start a place where people could come and associate with a pure devotee, the genuine God conscious culture of India could begin in America. But because his plans depended on obtaining a building in Manhattan, his goal seemed unreachable.
Some personal recollections by his disciples. I remember being with Srila Prabhupada once when a cynical reporter interviewed him. The man challenged, “You claim God is speaking to you directly, telling you what to do?” “Yes,” Srila Prabhupada said. Sitting there beside Srila Prabhupada, I could feel the reporter’s skepticism. “How can God speak to […]
In New York, Srila Prabhupada had nowhere to stay but the asrama of an impersonalist svami. To see students listening to a speaker who denied the Personality of Godhead was painful for the pure devotee. But was he to go homeless and beg in the streets?
In December of 1971, I arranged speaking program for Srila Prabhupada in Madras, India. Thousands of people came to hear him, and the leading newspaper carried a summary of his lecture every day.
When I first met Your Divine Grace in 1966, I was lost and fallen. It was my inestimable good fortune that I became your disciple. I did your typing tasks, donated my salary, and brought you a daily mango…
Man is surely great, and his real greatness lies in his ability to understand God’s message: that he is made in God’s image; that he is an eternal soul, part and parcel of God; and that God is the supreme.
Some Personal Recollections by His Disciples. In October of 1971, my parents came to see me in Calcutta. Srila Prabhupada was talking with some of his disciples in his quarters. As soon as my parents entered, Srila Prabhupada greeted them. After hearing him speak for some time, they finally came to the point—they wanted me […]
I can’t bear to think you are no longer here, But when I do I feel your hand upon me And your voice guiding me, as in the night the moon, Lights the wanderer’s way.
As long as all of his disciples constantly look to his instructions and remain faithful, there will not be any chaos. But if they look away from or neglect the teachings of their spiritual master, or if they fail to follow them, then there will be chaos.
Wherever Srila Prabhupada went, on fourteen journeys around the globe, he constantly spread the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, and when he finally departed he was surrounded by disciples from around the world, loudly chanting these names of God he had given them.
When Srila Prabhupada walked in to begin kirtana, he looked at the newly decorated temple and showed surprise. “Ah, you are advancing,” he said. “This is very nice. This is Krsna consciousness.”
One of my fondest recollections of you is of how you were always uncompromising. During the late 1960s, for example, many of the young people around you were influenced by antiwar sentiments. Nevertheless, you explained that war was not always bad.
It was almost like following a Martian down the street. Somehow Srila Prabhupada floated through it all, seemingly unaware of the stares, comments and general sensation he was creating.
If you try to hear about Krishna Krishna will help to cleanse away these contaminated things, accumulated during years and years of darkness. Because the very hearing is piety, therefore it will act on your heart.
Swamiji has said that what is important is sincerity. Not the rules and regulations, but sincerity. To the sincere devotee, Krishna from within the heart reveals, and everything is taken care of.