Brahmatirtha das Remembers Srila Prabhupada: Difference between revisions
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==Prabhupada Memories== | |||
===Interview 01=== | |||
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'''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]''' | '''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]''' | ||
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==Following Srila Prabhupada== | |||
===Interview DVD 03=== | |||
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'''Brahmatirtha:''' My experiences with Prabhupada, of course, occurred in the bhajan kutir where devotees wanted to know if I had any questions, which I certainly did. So I got to sit in there, I think, for several hours a day over probably a four-day period and discuss with Prabhupada my philosophical issues. I didn’t really know a whole lot about what was going on in terms of parampara and how things work. I knew a little, but I just appreciated the qualities of Prabhupada. He made me feel very comfortable. His humor was very disarming. And Prabhupada was on a platform, so I was on the floor. So I’d always be looking at Prabhupada’s feet, and somehow that gave me some blessing. One of the most dramatic moments for me personally is when I realize it’s time for me to leave Mayapur. Because the night before on Gaura Purnima night, Jamuna had come to me with tears in her eyes. And I remember the moon reflecting in her eyes and she had tears and she said, “You are so fortunate. Prabhupada is spending so much time with you.” She said it with such conviction that I was completely overwhelmed, and I realized that I might have to surrender. So I went behind the temple, behind the pandal and just collapsed in the rice paddies and started crying. I said, “I can’t give everything up.” So the next morning Prabhupada called for me again, asked if I had more questions. I said, “Thank you very much for what you’ve done, but I have to leave now. I have to get back to my teaching.” The Peace Corps had no idea where I was or what I did, so I could go back or not go back. And Prabhupada said, “Don’t talk L-E-A-V-E,” he spelled it out, “talk L-I-V-E. Don’t talk leave, talk live.” So I said to Prabhupada, “So you want me to stay longer?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “Well, if you tell me to, I will.” And then he said to me, “Good boy,” the same way you would say it to your pet. So at that time, in my heart I felt I had become Prabhupada’s pet, not realizing that I in essence had accepted him as my guru. Though when I think back at it, after that time, I was sold out to Prabhupada. A minor incident, but for me it was very major. And Prabhupada timed it just perfectly well to capture me. | |||
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Latest revision as of 05:48, 17 January 2022
Prabhupada Memories
Interview 01
Brahmatirtha: The first time I met Srila Prabhupada was May 1971 in Calcutta. I was a Peace Corps volunteer, serving not too far from Calcutta, and I used to go into Calcutta for milkshakes. While I was there I saw a big poster announcing the Hare Krishna Festival. I had been attracted to the Hare Krishna mantra in the West and was curious if the Hare Krishna movement was bona fide. I immediately took a trolley to the festival, which was in a fancy part of Calcutta. Prabhupada was sitting on the pandal stage and the audience was all Bengali men in suits and ties. The devotees were all in dhotis. When I arrived, Giriraj das brahmachari was saying to the people, “You are chasing after the garbage we have given up.” Finally, after having lived in India for six months, somebody said something that made sense. I was intrigued. I went to the temple afterwards, and a devotee said, “Would you like to meet Prabhupada?” I said, “Sure.” I walked into Prabhupada’s room and offered him a little respect. The room was full of mattresses with sheets over them, and Prabhupada was sitting behind a little table. There were a few devotees in the back of the room arguing. I thought, “Here is a pure devotee, and they’re arguing? They should ask him.” I understood little of the philosophy. Later I understood that at least one of those devotees blooped shortly thereafter. He wasn’t accepting authority. Anyway, I was wondering what was going on, and Prabhupada said, “You have a question?” I said, “Yes. You are pushing this Hindu view, but why not Buddhism?” It was a stupid question. Prabhupada gave a typical response, “What does the Buddha say?” I didn’t know what the Buddha said. I remembered my Oriental Philosophy 1 course and replied, “Eightfold noble and fourfold path. Actually I don’t know what the Buddha says.” Prabhupada said, “Why do you want to follow the Buddhist path if you don’t even know what the path is? Why are you asking me that question?” At that point, I became a little humbler and sat and listened.
Prabhupada was coming down the steps of Henry Street temple in New York, and I was in the driver’s seat of my car, which was surrounded by devotees. I thought, “I better offer my obeisances to Prabhupada. Once before when I didn’t offer my obeisances I got into trouble. But how can I do it? There’s not enough room to open the door. What am I going to do?” I was mentally debating this as Prabhupada came closer to the car and somebody opened the car door for him. I started crunching behind the steering wheel, trying to offer obeisances. Prabhupada got into the car, looked at me, patted me on the head, and said, “That’s okay.” Sometime in 1973, I was in the narrow hallway between Prabhupada’s quarters and the temple room in the Henry Street temple. Prabhupada was going to walk by, and the hallway was lined with devotees. I was very embarrassed, thinking, “People join and are initiated in six months, but I’m not initiated yet.” I was in graduate school and chanting sixteen rounds but not rendering any other service. I didn’t want Prabhupada to see me, so when he stepped out of his room, I immediately hit the dirt to offer my obeisances. I said the prayers as slowly as I could so that, by the time I stood up, Prabhupada would have walked by. Usually, devotees said the prayers quickly and stood up so they could see Prabhupada, but I said them slowly. I didn’t know that Prabhupada had seen me, but he stopped in front of me and waited until I was done. When I stood up, Prabhupada was next to me. He said, “Nice to see you,” put his arm around me, and gave me a hug. I was amazed.
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To view the entire unedited video go to Memories - 22 Saradiya dasi, Nanda Kumar, Mahabuddhi, Brahmatirtha
The full Prabhupada Memories Series can be viewed here and also at www.prabhupadamemories.com
Following Srila Prabhupada
Interview DVD 03
Brahmatirtha: My experiences with Prabhupada, of course, occurred in the bhajan kutir where devotees wanted to know if I had any questions, which I certainly did. So I got to sit in there, I think, for several hours a day over probably a four-day period and discuss with Prabhupada my philosophical issues. I didn’t really know a whole lot about what was going on in terms of parampara and how things work. I knew a little, but I just appreciated the qualities of Prabhupada. He made me feel very comfortable. His humor was very disarming. And Prabhupada was on a platform, so I was on the floor. So I’d always be looking at Prabhupada’s feet, and somehow that gave me some blessing. One of the most dramatic moments for me personally is when I realize it’s time for me to leave Mayapur. Because the night before on Gaura Purnima night, Jamuna had come to me with tears in her eyes. And I remember the moon reflecting in her eyes and she had tears and she said, “You are so fortunate. Prabhupada is spending so much time with you.” She said it with such conviction that I was completely overwhelmed, and I realized that I might have to surrender. So I went behind the temple, behind the pandal and just collapsed in the rice paddies and started crying. I said, “I can’t give everything up.” So the next morning Prabhupada called for me again, asked if I had more questions. I said, “Thank you very much for what you’ve done, but I have to leave now. I have to get back to my teaching.” The Peace Corps had no idea where I was or what I did, so I could go back or not go back. And Prabhupada said, “Don’t talk L-E-A-V-E,” he spelled it out, “talk L-I-V-E. Don’t talk leave, talk live.” So I said to Prabhupada, “So you want me to stay longer?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “Well, if you tell me to, I will.” And then he said to me, “Good boy,” the same way you would say it to your pet. So at that time, in my heart I felt I had become Prabhupada’s pet, not realizing that I in essence had accepted him as my guru. Though when I think back at it, after that time, I was sold out to Prabhupada. A minor incident, but for me it was very major. And Prabhupada timed it just perfectly well to capture me. |