Rajasekhar das Remembers Srila Prabhupada

Following Srila Prabhupada

Interview DVD 11

Rajasekhar: At first light after Mangala-arati, the devotees took Prabhupada in a palanquin. I remember Narayan Maharaj was leading the kirtan, Nadia was playing drum, and I had kartals. We went all the way down to Vrindavan and, of course, then I noticed all these hundreds of people that came from nowhere. I couldn’t figure that everyone had heard. Or if they had heard that Prabhupada left, I never saw Vrindavan in such a mood that everyone came out to pay homage so early in the morning. The rooftops were packed wherever we went. Then we took Prabhupada to all the Goswami temples of Vrindavan, Madan-Mohan, Radha-Damodar, Radha-Shyamasundar, and we ended up at Govindaji. And from Govindaji, we came back from there. The samadhi ceremony was going on. Narayan Maharaj was organizing. One or two of his assistants were there. Baradraj was leading that kirtan, I was having the kartals, Nitai Chand was playing the mridanga, and a few hundred devotees were chanting. Then, of course, after Prabhupada was placed there, salt was surrounded underneath and on all sides to form an antiseptic cover for the transcendental body of Prabhupada. Then soil was thrown in. I was also fortunate to throw some soil on top. It is said in the Cc during the samadhi ceremony of Haridas Thakur that anyone who throws soil into the samadhi of a pure devotee will be liberated, will go back to Godhead. So I was thinking, “Even here we are getting Prabhupada’s mercy.” Of course, there had been an abhiseka of Prabhupada just prior to his entering the samadhi. And then the abhiseka water came out, and I was fortunate to get about a liter of it, which I drank. I kept a small quantity in some small bottles. So I was able to throw soil into the samadhi and at the same time drink the caranamrita.