Chaitanyachandra das Remembers Srila Prabhupada

Prabhupada Memories

Interview 01

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Chaitanya Chandra: I came to the L.A. temple in 1982 and was not fortunate enough to have Srila Prabhupada’s association. My service was with ITV four days a week and book distribution on the weekends. One of my ITV responsibilities was duplicating tapes for distribution. Many times I duplicated Your Ever Well- Wisher, so I repeatedly saw Prabhupada, observed his nuances, and heard the tenor of his voice. At that time I’d read Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and some of Prabhupada’s biography. Once we were distributing copies of his biography on sankirtan, and I was explaining to someone what the book was about, how Prabhupada came to America and many other things. The combination of having seen Prabhupada many times on film, having read his books, and having been exposed to his biography was so meaningful to me that at one point this person interrupted me and said “So when did you meet him?” And it hit me like a hammer that I never had. I forgot that I had never met Prabhupada. To me, that speaks of his purity and potency. I am touched when I hear anyone’s association with Srila Prabhupada. For those of us who have never met him, but still feel connected to him, these words are truly nectar because through them we can experience him. No one should take this lightly. I think that those who have met Srila Prabhupada have been very, very blessed. For those of us who’ve not been so fortunate and who are eternally envious of those who have met him, sharing those experiences with Prabhupada is a great responsibility. I hope everyone will continue to share his or her mercy with us.

To view the entire unedited video go to Memories 10 - 1995 Prabhupada Festival

The full Prabhupada Memories Series can be viewed here and also at www.prabhupadamemories.com

Following Srila Prabhupada

Interview DVD 10

Chaitanya Chandra: I was getting up early most of the time probably just because of jet lag, but I didn’t think about it as jet lag back in those days. I got up early and was circumambulating the temple. It must have been around three, three-thirty in the morning. I used to chant very, very loud. The second time around Hari Sauri prabhu leaned over the balcony and yelled down to me, “Hey, prabhu, you’re chanting too loud, it’s disturbing Prabhupada’s translations.” So I was immediately shocked, thinking, “Oh, no, I’ve offended Prabhupada!” That was the last thing I wanted to do, come there and offend the spiritual master. So I was in really anxiety the whole morning. Then Mangala-arati came, and they made the announcements. So Bhavananda Maharaja at the time was saying, “Somebody was chanting so loud their japa that it disturbed Prabhupada’s translations.” So that made my anxiety multiply. So then Prabhupada was giving class, and he was speaking on Nrsinghadev and Prahlada Maharaja. I think that particular verse was the verse where Prahlada was sitting on Lord Nrsinghadev’s lap and Nrsinghadev was patting Prahlada Maharaja on the head. Prabhupada was saying how chanting Hare Krishna is the same as when Nrsinghadev patted Prahlada Maharaja on the head and touched him and purified him. When we chant Hare Krishna, Krishna is dancing on our tongues. And he was looking from one side to the other. He finally came around to my side where I was standing and he looked me right in the eyes, and I felt this transcendental potency from Prabhupada come and just bathe me and cleanse me of all that anxiety. And as he was looking at me, he was speaking that “Do not think that the Hare Krishna mantra is a material sound vibration. It’s not. It’s spiritual, it’s perfect.” But I took it that I was chanting too loud, not really understanding the potency of the Holy Name, that I needed to really deepen my understanding of chanting. So then when he looked at me, it was just so amazing. It was like a forgiving type of glance, and the effect was definitely forgiving because I felt purified. It wasn’t like he took offense or anything. He just looked and purified me and gave me a little instruction within the general instruction of the class. So it was wonderful.