Maha Visnu Swami Remembers Srila Prabhupada

Following Srila Prabhupada

Interview DVD 03

Maha Visnu Swami: I was a new devotee then and I was very doubting, skeptical. The devotees were so enthusiastic, “Prabhupada’s coming!” Mandakini was always screaming and shouting, “Prabhupada’s coming! Prabhupada’s coming!” But I was thinking, “Who is this Prabhupada?” So then I was thinking when Prabhupada came I’ll really scrutinize him and I’ll test, see whether he’s what I thought was genuine. I was thinking maybe he’ll be a larger than life kind of figure, a bit flamboyant, glamorous, putting on a bit of a show. So then we were waiting inside, the new bhaktas. It was a big buildup for us inside. So we were watching the door. I was thinking, “What’s he going to be like?” Then the door opened and there was Prabhupada, and he was much shorter than I thought. Then I could see he was very composed. He wasn’t in an emotional state. He was like a father when he comes back from work and he returns home, he puts the key in the door and then he walks in, and then it’s normal for him. He seemed like the most normal person, and I was surprised by that. I thought that if he was putting on some act he wouldn’t have acted like that. He seemed very genuine, and I was pleased by that. He passed my test. I was expecting to see him put on some kind of act. Then he went and sat on the vyasasana after paying obeisances to the Deities and I thought, “What’s he going to say?” because I had been reading Prabhupada’s books. Then I thought, “Wow, he’s only saying exactly what’s in the books!” So then again he passed the test. He didn’t try to say anything new or invent something special. He passed my test in a way that I wasn’t expecting, so I was satisfied.