Mahamaya devi dasi Remembers Srila Prabhupada
Prabhupada Memories
Interview 01
Mahamaya: Prabhupada’s books were so transcendental that I couldn’t believe there was somebody on this planet that could write them. Although everybody in the temple knew Prabhupada, I was thinking cynically, “Does the person who wrote these books really exist?” The night before I was initiated, we arrived in New York from Washington, D.C. We missed Prabhupada’s New York airport arrival because our temple president, Damodar, felt that our business was to stay out on sankirtan. Since Prabhupada was having initiations every morning for a week in New York, every night he lectured on Bhagavad-gita. So, the hot July night just before my initiation, I went into the temple room, which was packed with devotees, and waited for Prabhupada to come through the doors. I still doubted, “Is he really going to walk through those doors?” Kirtiraj Prabhu was tapping devotees on the shoulder saying, “There’s not enough room in the temple for everybody and there are people in the hallway who have never seen Prabhupada. So can you please leave?” He asked me this, but I had just arrived and, although Prabhupada had been there for a couple of days, I had never seen him. So I didn’t budge. When Prabhupada walked through the doors all my doubts completely went out the window. I felt as if I was seeing an old, old friend who I hadn’t seen in so long that I had forgotten about him.
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To view the entire unedited video go to Memories 41 - Mahamaya dd, Govidna dd, Kulashekhara, Mahavir, Tulsi, Svavasa
The full Prabhupada Memories Series can be viewed here and also at www.prabhupadamemories.com
Following Srila Prabhupada
Interview DVD 07
Mahamaya: In Mayapur, we never bought any flowers. We used flowers for the Deities and for Prabhupada’s garland from the flowers in the garden. And we didn’t pick them ahead of time, we picked them that morning. The little girls who were 10 years old or so, there were three or four of them, they’d go out right after Mangala-aratik even if it was dark, because in the wintertime it would be dark after Mangala-aratik, and they would pick the flowers. Then they would bring them back to the temple and they’d make the garlands. And Prabhupada’s garland, they would really make a nice garland. It was thick and very long. Sometimes they made them down to Prabhupada’s knees. It was hard for him to walk with such a long garland. One of their habits was that they would take the petals that were left over after making all the garlands for the Deities and for Prabhupada and they would sprinkle them on Prabhupada’s shoes, which were right outside the doorway. So one day the little girls told us ladies, “Be there when Prabhupada leaves the temple room. You’re going to see something fun.” So we were outside the door when Prabhupada came out, and a servant would always help Prabhupada on with his shoes. This particular day he started walking and the flower petals normally would fall off his shoes when he took a few steps, but they weren’t going anywhere. Prabhupada looked down at his foot and shook one foot a little bit and put that foot down, then he picked up the other foot and shook it, and there were still flowers on his shoes. And the little girls were cracking up, they thought it was so funny. They had actually made little garlands and tied them around the toe of Prabhupada’s shoe. So then he started laughing too. It was really comical, and Prabhupada was such a good sport. He had such a great sense of humor. So he thought it was really funny that they played this innocent joke. |