View source for Bhakti Caru Swami Remembers Srila Prabhupada

[[Category:Remembering Srila Prabhupada]]
[[Category:Devotees in Memoriam Remembering Srila Prabhupada‎]]

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==Prabhupada Memories==
===Interview 01===

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'''Bhakti Caru Swami:''' A middle-aged, well-to-do Indian businessman  challenged Srila Prabhupada, “Why are you building new temples when there are  so many old temples in need of renovation and repair?” Srila Prabhupada didn’t  answer the question directly. Instead he asked that gentleman, “Who is that lady  sitting next to you?” The man said, “She’s my wife.” Prabhupada asked, “Why did  you get married?” The man got flabbergasted and couldn’t answer, so  Prabhupada answered, “You got married because you wanted to have children.  But why have children when there are so many children loitering in the streets?  Just as you want to have your own child, similarly a devotee wants to build a  temple, install the Deity, and offer the temple to Krishna.”      


One morning Hari Sauri prabhu was massaging  Prabhupada on the roof of Prabhupada’s quarters in Mayapur. I went there and  read to Srila Prabhupada the replies he had dictated to his letters. Prabhupada  listened carefully, signed the letters, and then continued his massage. Since  Prabhupada had signed the letters I should have left, but instead I just sat there  watching Srila Prabhupada have his massage. Prabhupada addressed me. He  said, “For many lifetimes you tried to enjoy in this material world, but you’re still  not satisfied. So, just offer this life to Krishna, and don’t get involved with any  woman.” He explained the futility of man-woman relationships and how sex  desire is the chain that binds us in the material world. We are imprisoned in the  material world due to sex desire. In this way, Srila Prabhupada spoke for about  thirty or forty-five minutes. When I left, I felt that Prabhupada wanted me to  become a sannyasi.            


One morning Srila Prabhupada wanted orange juice.  There were no oranges in Prabhupada’s kitchen, so I went to the Deity kitchen  and to the devotee kitchen, but there were no oranges there either. Then I went to  the fruit shop to buy oranges. In those days, there were no shops in front of our  temple, so I had to go quite a long distance. I finally came back with the oranges  and started juicing them, when Prabhupada rang his bell. Srila Prabhupada  called us by ringing a bell. I ran to Srila Prabhupada’s room, and he asked me,  “What happened to the orange juice?” I said, “Srila Prabhupada, I’m just making  it.” I went back and continued, but it took me some time to finish. Prabhupada  rang his bell again, but this time he rang it continuously. He kept pressing the  bell, and by its sound I could understand that Srila Prabhupada was angry. I  finished making the orange juice, put it in Prabhupada’s silver cup, put the cup  on his silver plate, and rushed into Prabhupada’s room. But as I opened the door,  I heard something that sounded like a thunderbolt. Prabhupada said, “Take it  away. I don’t want it. Get out of here.” But I couldn’t get out. I kept moving  towards Srila Prabhupada holding the plate with the glass of juice on it. I came  before Srila Prabhupada and held it in front of him. For some time Srila  Prabhupada didn’t pick up the glass. Finally, he picked it up and started to drink.  Then I realized that I forgot to bring the bowl of water that Prabhupada would  need to wash his mouth after drinking the juice. I ran to the kitchen, got the bowl  of water, and brought it to Srila Prabhupada. When Prabhupada was washing his  mouth with that water, I remembered that I hadn’t brought a napkin for Prabhupada  to wipe his face. This time I didn’t run to the kitchen, but went to  Prabhupada’s wardrobe, pulled out a towel, and gave it to Srila Prabhupada.  Then Prabhupada told me, “You try to serve me nicely, but I always chastise  you. When one becomes old, one becomes short-tempered, so please don’t mind.”  When Srila Prabhupada chastised me, I didn’t feel bad, but when he started to  speak like that, my heart broke. I tried to say, “Please don’t speak like that,  Prabhupada,” but my voice was choked. Prabhupada continued speaking on that  note, and I finally managed to say, “Prabhupada, please don’t speak like that. I  make mistakes, and if you don’t correct me, then what will happen to me?” That  was one time when Srila Prabhupada chastised me heavily.            


Prabhupada was happy with the Gurukula building in  Vrindavan, and after it was inaugurated he used to tell people about it when they  came for darshan. Once, one of the biggest industrialists in India, Jayadayal  Dalmia, along with his two daughters-in-law and their children, came to see Srila  Prabhupada. Mr. Dalmia, an old man, was pious. Srila Prabhupada told him  about the Gurukula education system and asked him to send his grandchildren to  the Gurukula. Prabhupada explained that the modern educational system was  simply meant for creating sudras, people who could get a job. “But,” Prabhupada  said, “Your grandchildren do not need to get a job. They should become the  leaders of society, and that’s why you should send them to the Gurukula. Indira  Gandhi’s sons, Nehru’s grandchildren, come from an aristocratic, noble family,  but they have become rascals and rogues. Do you want your grandchildren to  become like that? No. Train them to become the real leaders of the society.”  Later on I got to know Mr. Dalmia’s son, the father of one of the boys that  was there that day. He told me that his father was so convinced by Srila  Prabhupada that he was planning to send his grandson, Abhiseka Dalmia, to the  Gurukula. Although Abhiseka didn’t go to the Gurukula, he has a sikha. Srila  Prabhupada’s preaching was so potent that one of the richest men in India was  considering sending his grandson to Gurukula.            


Just a few days before Srila Prabhupada left the planet,  two prominent Indian gentlemen came to see him. One was Sriman Narayana,  the Governor of Madras, and the other was his brother-in-law, Rama Krishna  Bajaj, a big industrialist. At one point, they said that they wanted to discuss  something with Srila Prabhupada privately, and Prabhupada asked us to leave  the room. We left the room, although we didn’t want to, but while leaving I  pressed the recording button on the tape recorder. These two men asked  Prabhupada, “Who will continue your legacy after you leave the planet? Who will  become your successor?” Prabhupada said, “I am giving the legacy to all my  disciples, all my followers, and whoever follows will have the legacy.” Then those  two realized that the tape recorder was on and they asked Prabhupada if they  could switch it off. After that I don’t think they had any serious discussion. Srila  Prabhupada made it clear that whoever follows him has his legacy. Prabhupada  didn’t want to appoint a successor as such.            


One morning in Vrindavan, Srila Prabhupada asked me  to prepare two varieties of spinach, green and red, as well as pumpkin, radish,  eggplant, and bitter melon. I went to Prabhupada’s kitchen, the Deity kitchen,  and the devotee kitchen, but there was no spinach. Someone told me that it was  the month of spinach fast, so I told Prabhupada, “It is chaturmasya, and this  month we fast from spinach.” Prabhupada asked, “Is everyone observing chaturmasya?”  I got the message and I went to the market to buy everything. When I  came back I told Prabhupada, “Prabhupada, I got everything.” Prabhupada asked  me, “What did you get?” I said, “Prabhupada, I got two varieties of spinach,  eggplant, pumpkin, and radish.” Then I remembered that I forgot to get bitter  melon. It was stupid of me, but I lied to Prabhupada. I said “I also got bitter  melon.” I thought I’d arrange to get the bitter melon later. Prabhupada said,  “Bring them.”  I ran out. At that time there was an employee in the guesthouse named  Kishan. I gave him some money and said, “Go to the market and get some bitter  melon.” I thought he’d take ten or fifteen minutes, and in the meantime I went to  the kitchen and started to prepare. Kishan came back and said, “There is no bitter  melon in the market.” I knew that there was no bitter melon in any of the temple  kitchens also. I felt as if the whole world was crumbling down on me. I was  praying to Krishna, “Please save me. Now I have to go and tell Prabhupada that I  lied to him, that I forgot to bring bitter melon.” I was thinking, “Prabhupada is  going to get annoyed with me, and who knows what kind of chastisement I’ll get.”  I was so dazed that instead of taking the usual passage next to the temple to  Prabhupada’s kitchen, I started to go through the Gurukula building, and there  on the balcony of the Gurukula was a green bitter melon. I pounced on it and ran,  thanking Krishna in every possible way.  Prabhupada was taking his massage when I went into his room with all the  vegetables. He told me how to cut them, and finally I said, “Prabhupada, and the  bitter melon?” Prabhupada looked at me and said, “Bitter melon?” Just the way  Srila Prabhupada said ‘bitter melon,’ convinced me beyond any doubt that  Prabhupada knew what had happened.            


Prabhupada had taught to me to cook a dish called badi  charchari. It’s made with patals, potatoes, and lots of ghee and red chili. One day,  Prabhupada asked me to cook that dish. At that time Prabhupada’s stomach was  not very good, and I felt that he shouldn’t eat red chili. When Prabhupada took a  bite of my char-chari that had no red chili, he became angry. He said, “I  personally taught you how to cook this dish, and you have forgotten.” For the  next two days, whenever I went near him he blasted me, and whoever  else went to him heard how useless I was. On the third day, when  Prabhupada’s anger had subsided to some extent, Prabhupada asked me, “How  could you forget when I personally taught you?” I said, “Prabhupada, I didn’t  actually forget. I deliberately didn’t put red chili in it, because I thought your  stomach was not good and it would not be good for you.” Prabhupada said, “Why  didn’t you tell me before?” Then he said that ghee is hot and chili is hot. When  there is a lot of ghee and a lot of chili, they counteract each other.            


What touched my heart the most was Prabhupada’s  concern for everyone. Prabhupada was strict, but at the same time he was  compassionate and concerned. For example, for at least two months before he  passed away, Prabhupada wasn’t eating anything. Occasionally he took some  fruit juice and a little diluted milk, but regularly he would inquire, “How are the  devotees eating? How is the devotee prasad?” One day Prabhupada asked me to  check out the devotee prasad. I came back and told him that the prasad was not  so nice. Prabhupada called the temple president and chastised him. He asked,  “Why is the prasadam not nice?” He hadn’t eaten for two months, but he was  concerned about how the devotees were eating.            


We were living in Srila Prabhupada’s servants’ quarters  on the top floor of the tower in Juhu, Bombay. One day a senior God-brother was  annoyed with me and was chastising me heavily. I was quite sensitive, and I was  feeling bad that he chastised me. When I went to Srila Prabhupada, Prabhupada  said, “The sign of one’s spiritual advancement is not the big position one has. The  real sign of advancement is how humble and how tolerant one has become.” That  instruction took away all my heaviness of heart. I often remember that  instruction. The sign of our advancement is not in our position but in how  humble and tolerant we have become.            


When Prabhupada first went to Mayapur with his  American disciples, they drove straight to our ISKCON land there without  stopping at the Gaudiya Math, Chaitanya Math, or Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati  Thakur’s Samadhi. Some of Prabhupada’s God-brothers commented, “He didn’t  even stop at his spiritual master’s samadhi.” When Prabhupada was told that they  were speaking like that he commented, “Do they think that I am ever separated  from my spiritual master, even for a moment? My spiritual master is always with  me.”  That is how a disciple should be conscious of his spiritual master.  The spiritual master is the external manifestation of the Supersoul. When a  devotee attains perfection, he always considers his spiritual master to be present  with him by his words of instruction. Srila Prabhupada felt that his spiritual  master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, was always seeing his activities  and was guiding him within his heart by his words. Similarly, the more we  become Krishna conscious, the more we make spiritual advancement, the more  we will hear Srila Prabhupada’s guidance. The benefit of being in ISKCON is that  everywhere we can feel Srila Prabhupada’s presence. We can see Prabhupada in  the temples he established or inspired, in the Deity worship he guided, in his  books, or in his followers. Everything has come from Srila Prabhupada’s  instructions and personal example, and that’s what is protecting us from the  onslaughts of illusion and is pushing us towards our ultimate destination,  Krishna’s lotus feet.            


Once I told Srila Prabhupada, “I’d like to learn Sanskrit.”  Prabhupada asked me, “Why? What’s the use?” I gave him different reasons, and  Prabhupada smashed all of them. Finally he said, “Our business is not to become  a Sanskrit scholar. There are so many Sanskrit scholars, but what are they doing?  Our main business is to preach Krishna consciousness all over the world. With  whatever ability, whatever qualifications we have, we should try to preach  Krishna consciousness.”            


Prabhupada was planning to go on parikrama of  Govardhan Hill, but I felt that Prabhupada was actually planning for his final  departure. I told Babaji Maharaj what I felt, and he said, “We can’t let him go.” I  said, “Babaji Maharaj, the only person who can convince Prabhupada not to go is  you.” Babaji Maharaj was so humble, he said, “Me? How I can tell him?” I said,  “You are the only person who can convince him.” Then Babaji Maharaj got up,  washed his hands and mouth, walked up to Srila Prabhupada, and said, “I heard  everything, and I feel that you should not go on parikrama.” Prabhupada said,  “Babaji Maharaj, if you say so, then I will not go.”  At that time, we took it for granted that Prabhupada had come to Vrindavan  to leave his body. Tamal Krishna Maharaj told me, “We don’t really know what to  do if Prabhupada leaves his body. You go and find out what to do from Krishna  das Babaji Maharaj.” Later that afternoon, I went to Madhav Maharaj’s Math,  where Krishna das Babaji Maharaj was staying, but Maharaj was not there. I  waited for him for a while and then returned. When I came back, Upendra  Prabhu, who was Prabhupada’s servant at that time, told me that Prabhupada  was looking for me. I ran into Prabhupada’s room and asked him whether he  wanted me to do anything. Prabhupada asked, “Where did you go? Where were  you?” I said, “Prabhupada, I went to Madhav Maharaj’s Math.” Prabhupada  asked, “Why did you go there?” His voice was ringing with anger. I couldn’t answer.  How could I say why I went there? I was silent, and Prabhupada’s voice  kept on rising, “Why did you go there?” Finally I said, “Prabhupada, I went to see  Krishna das Babaji Maharaj.” Prabhupada became angrier. He asked, “Why did  you go there?” I said, “Prabhupada, Tamal Krishna Maharaj wanted me to go  there.” Prabhupada said, “Oh, I see,” and became quiet.  From that I learned a lesson, that Prabhupada didn’t want us  to go out to anybody. Although he had a good relationship with Krishna das  Babaji Maharaj, still he didn’t want us to go to him. Later on I learned that  Prabhupada said, “If they say one thing different from me, then everything will be  spoiled.” That’s why Prabhupada didn’t want us to go anywhere. He was like a  caring father who was protecting us from danger.      

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'''To view the entire unedited video go to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRQ5F8wz900 Memories 20 - Jadurani dasi, Giriraja Swami, Bhakti Caru Swami]'''

===Interview 02===
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'''Bhakti Caru Swami:''' In spite of being the world acharya, Srila Prabhupada  was humble. Once in Amsterdam, when Prabhupada was about to give initiation,  the devotees hadn’t organized things properly and were making mistakes at every  step. Prabhupada was getting increasingly annoyed and when he saw that the  sacrificial altar had no fruits on it, he was further disappointed. One devotee  ran to the kitchen, cut some fruits and gave the fruit to Srila Prabhupada.  Prabhupada got still more upset because such fruits are supposed to be uncut.  A hippie who used to come to the temple regularly was present, and he had  noticed that whenever someone became upset, the devotees would tell that  person, “Why don’t you chant Hare Krishna?” When this hippie saw that  Prabhupada was agitated, he told Prabhupada, “Why don’t you chant Hare  Krishna?” Prabhupada quietly took his bead bag and started to chant.               
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'''To view the entire unedited video go to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcdMRnL8WF8 Memories 37 - Umapati S, Sacinandana S., BCS., Narada Muni, Dindayadri, Vaiyasaki]'''

'''The full Prabhupada Memories Series can be viewed [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ajeil3NjKKgeN9-fxeWwQ here] and also at [https://www.prabhupadamemories.com www.prabhupadamemories.com]'''


==Following Srila Prabhupada==

===Interview DVD 11===

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'''Bhakti Caru Swami:'''  When we arrived in Rishikesh, one of the first things Prabhupada wanted was to drink some water. So somebody gave him some water from the tap and Prabhupada said, “Did I come to Rishikesh to drink tap water?” So I just ran down to the river and got some water from the Ganges, and Prabhupada was very pleased to drink that straight from the river. Those days I was a brahmacari, I just got initiated a couple of months ago, and Prabhupada was very restful there. We were just a handful of devotees. One day I was cooking, and Prabhupada decided to teach us how to cook. He first asked me to cut the vegetables, and then he showed also how to cook basmati rice. The rice was just mixed with ghee, and Prabhupada told me not to even wash the rice, and then put it on the fire. And when the rice was cooked, every single grain was separate. And Prabhupada showed how to make the chapatis. One day was Ekadasi, and somehow we were not careful and we broke the Ekadasi. We took some grain for breakfast, and then we realized that it was Ekadasi. So I went and told Prabhupada. Prabhupada’s immediate reaction was “So, what can be done? You broke it, you took the grain.” But then he got very annoyed. He said, “Then what’s the point in having a pandit with us if he can’t even tell us when is the Ekadasi?” And Prabhupada said then observe the Ekadasi the next day. Although he didn’t break the fast, but Prabhupada that day also took grains with us. That shows his compassion for his disciples.


So everything was very wonderful in Rishikesh, and Prabhupada was very restful and we were having a wonderful time. Then all of a sudden one day there was this huge storm, and it looked so ominous. It was not only heavy rain but there was a storm, and the storm made some electric poles topple over in some place and electric supply got disrupted. And it became very cold also – cold, rainy and wind. And it was very eerie, ominous. In those days, I used to attend Srila Prabhupada from twelve to two. And it was around one o’clock Prabhupada just called me and he told me that “The time has come for me to die, and I want to die in Vrindavan. So make arrangements to take me to Vrindavan.” And it was such a shock as if it was a bolt from the blue. So that night only we packed everything up, and we decided to leave the next morning.


When Prabhupada arrived, the devotees were so happy. And when Prabhupada went to his room, all the devotees came in and there Prabhupada broke the news why he came. And I remember in a flash of a moment, their ecstasy was transformed into agony. Devotees started to cry. And understanding their feelings, Srila Prabhupada then started to console the devotees by explaining about the futility of our material existence. He quoted the verse dehino’smin yatha dehe, that it is just a matter of transmigrating from one body to another. Prabhupada called me when all the devotees left and he told me, “From now on, don’t cook for me. Don’t force me to eat anything.” He said, “What’s the use of eating when there is no appetite?” And I felt that Prabhupada is actually stopping to eat and drink like Pariksit Maharaj preparing to leave his body.
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