krishna/articles/2013/114

Joshomatinandan: Once, when he was in his garden, Prabhupada spoke intimately about how, after Sumati Morarji had given him a berth on her steamer, the Indian government wouldn’t sanction the P-forms that would allow him to come to America. He had gone from one department to another department to another department to get the P-forms, but to no avail. Prabhupada said, “I was leaving the office frustrated when a Bengali gentleman saw me and said in Bengali, “How are you? What do you want? Is there anything you have come here for, Swamiji?” Prabhupada asked him, “What is your name?”“My name is Bannerjee”, and they had a conversation in Bengali. After that, that man went from one table to another and got Prabhupada’s P-forms sanctioned. Prabhupada said, “That was Krishna’s mercy. I tried so much and it didn’t happen, but at the last minute this man helped me.”

Prabhupada also said, “After I arrived in America I was struggling very hard and sometimes I would go back to the pier where I had landed and ask, “When is the next steamer going back to India?”One Indian man at the pier said, “Swamiji, you ask many times but you are not returning to India because you have come with a mission.” Prabhupada said, “Actually I did not want to return without some success. But I would go and ask, “When is the next steamer going to India?” Then, sometime later, his mission took off.

Tranakarta: Once in Vrindavan we were circumambulating KrishnaBalaram with Srila Prabhupada. When we came around the side, Prabhupada stopped. His eyes got big and he looked right in my eyes and said, “Simply by circumambulating Krishna and Balaram in this way, no more traversing up and down in the material universe.” Then he kept walking and chanting, “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna...”

Tranakarta: I would love to play the mridanga when Prabhupada sang Jaya Radha-Madhava, and since I followed him nicely, Prabhupada liked my playing. The mercy I got from him will last forever and is what keeps me going right now.

One morning I had the drum on my lap and Prabhupada was getting ready to sing when Hansadutta Maharaj said, “Let me have the drum, I want to play today.” I said, “Sure Maharaj”, and gave him the drum. Prabhupada chanted one line, “Jaya Radha-Madhava,” and then opened his eyes and motioned twice with his finger, “Give Tranakarta the drum.” I grabbed the drum. Through my whole stay in India, Prabhupada showered unlimited mridanga mercy on me. If we went to a village or to do a program in somebody’s house, after Prabhupada spoke he would look at me and say, “Play the mridanga, we will sing now.”

Joshomatinandan: Some devotees wanted to go from Juhu to Bombay by taxi, and being a miserly man, I agitated them by saying, Why should you go by taxi?” I told Prabhupada, “When I tell the devotees that it’s too expensive to go to Bombay by taxi, they get agitated.” Prabhupada said, “Just consider that before becoming devotees they were eating flesh and blood like tigers. Now they are chanting Hare Krishna, they are dancing and they are enjoying spiritually. Haven’t they accomplished something great? So if they want some extra money, give it to them. Don’t worry about their faults.” Then in a lecture the next day he said, “Money is very hard to earn. Money is like Krishna’s blood and we should not waste it. Every rupee should be considered as a brick in the temple.” So to me he said, “you tolerate,” while to them he said “don’t waste money.” In other words, he helped me increase my tolerance in the service of Krishna, and he helped them increase their frugality in the service of the Lord. He approached the difficulty from different angles and instead of feeling discouraged, everyone saw a way to increase the quality of their service. This was a key principle in Prabhupada’s dealings with every devotee, and that’s why he was able to produce so many managers. In spite of our many mistakes, the movement grew because of Prabhupada’s kind and affectionate dealings.

Rukmini: Sometimes Prabhupada would give his mercy to someone who seemed undeserving, and sometimes he would not give it to someone who seemed deserving. Once an elderly, pious-looking Indian gentleman ardently said to Prabhupada, “Swamiji, give us your mercy, give us your mercy!” But Prabhupada saw his heart and off-handedly said, “I have already given everything, but you do not take it. What is the use?” I was shocked. Prabhupada said, “It’s like a man who has fallen in a well but does not take the rope someone throws him.” Prabhupada gave that man bittersweet compassion.

Ref: Memories of Srila Prabhupada tape 38