Rajendranandana das Remembers Srila Prabhupada
Prabhupada Memories
Interview 01
Rajendranandana: The pure devotee is not under the influence of the modes of material nature. When he sleeps, the pure devotee is not in ignorance but is engaged in Krishna’s service. One morning when Srila Prabhupada woke up, Tamal Krishna Maharaj helped him rise and Prabhupada immediately began preaching enthusiastically. With a loud voice he said, “I want you to go to the West and preach. Ask people, ‘Do you want to grow old?’ No. You are forced to grow old. Do you think I want to get old? Nobody wants to grow old, but this is the law of nature. You are forced. You must surrender to Krishna if you want to become free of birth, death, disease and old age.” For Srila Prabhupada to wake up and in one moment preach on the transcendental platform, it would seem that during his sleep he was meditating on how he wanted his disciples to carry on.
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To view the entire unedited video go to Memories 34 - 25th Anniversary of SP Disappearance
Interview 02
Rajendranandana: When the deities were installed in the Hyderabad temple, some South Indian brahmins came. Srila Prabhupada had told Yasodanandan and Achyutananda Swamis that these were real brahmins and must be treated nicely and given anything they wanted. Generally, when the spiritual master is on the planet, his murti is not installed in the temple, and when the South Indian brahmin, Sampat Kumar Bhattacharya, heard that Srila Prabhupada’s murtis were going to be installed in Bombay, in Vrindavan, and in different temples around the world, he traveled from Hyderabad to Bombay at his personal expense to give Srila Prabhupada shastric evidence that this practice was not encouraged. Why? Because when they see his murti, people will feel that they’re meeting Srila Prabhupada. They will think that he’s sitting on the vyasasana, as he truly is, they will talk to his murti, say prayers, bow down to him, worship his murti, and touch the murti’s lotus feet. And as a result, Srila Prabhupada will suffer from taking on their karma. Out of affection for Srila Prabhupada, the learned Bhattacharya gave many shastric references. He wanted to serve in this way so he gave his best presentation. Prabhupada listened to him patiently, and finally said, “Don’t you understand that’s why I’ve come?” When Bhattacharya heard that, he immediately stopped speaking, folded his hands, circumambulated Srila Prabhupada three times, and then left. He finally understood who Srila Prabhupada was. |
To view the entire unedited video go to Memories 47 - Twenty Disciples Remembering SP
The full Prabhupada Memories Series can be viewed here and also at www.prabhupadamemories.com
Following Srila Prabhupada
Interview DVD 07
Rajendranandana: I drove a bus to the Dallas Airport with all the children. It seemed like I was the only one that had the experience of driving that big a vehicle. We got there, and we were all waiting expectantly. I had never met my spiritual master before. The excitement was so high. Finally someone said, “Ah, he’s coming!” The kirtan is going uproariously, I remember that, and then we all hit the deck. Then when I got up, it was like Srila Prabhupada was parting the Red Sea, that was the feeling that I had. I was crying in ecstasy, finally getting to see my spiritual master. Even before seeing him, you could feel the wave of his presence coming down this long corridor. It was overwhelming.
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Interview DVD 11
Rajendranandana: Our gurukula wasn’t finished at that time, and we had rooms in the guesthouse on the third floor, top floor. I would go onto the roof of the guesthouse, and you could overlook onto the roof of Srila Prabhupada’s house. And in the evening they would set up a mosquito net for him and a lamp on his desk, and you could hear Prabhupada push the button, “click,” of his Dictaphone and then translate. And he would do that night after night. Who knows how late Srila Prabhupada would stay up translating even in his poor health. So it was very assuring to hear Srila Prabhupada in the still of Vrindavan in the night where you would hear a bell from some ashram ringing the time out or you would hear a peacock call. But in the stillness of the night, you would hear Srila Prabhupada translating his Bhagavatam for us and for the world.
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