Sakshi Gopal: I was struck by Srila Prabhupada’s seriousness. In the temple in Manchester there was a black-and-white poster of Prabhupada sitting on his bed in Bury Place. I used to think, “Why does he look so serious? Why isn’t he laughing like other gurus do?” Then it suddenly hit me that life itself is serious. At that point Prabhupada’s gravity and the depth of his compassion came across in that picture.
He asked me what the four principles were and said, “Do you vow to chant sixteen rounds a day?” With all sincerity I said, “Yes, Prabhu.” Prabhupada said, “Yes, good.” I think that Prabhupada saw past my lack of etiquette to perhaps a little sincerity. I was very serious when I said it. He should have chastised me then, but he didn’t.
On one morning walk at Bhaktivendanta Manor there were about five of us with Srila Prabhupada. For the first third of the walk Prabhupada chanted japa and didn’t speak. When we reached the top of the road Prabhupada started explaining how the living entities reflect Krishna’s mystic power. Krishna has complete mystic power, and the living entity has partial mystic power. “Just like a frog,” Prabhupada said, “the frog has yogic powers. If you bury him in the ground he will still live.” I said, “But Prabhupada, the frog breathes through his skin.” Prabhupada said, “No, he has yogic powers.” Since then I’ve learned of frogs and toads coming out alive after being buried in solid stone for tens of thousands of years. So they do have that mystic power.
Srila Prabhupada said, “What living entity eats through his feet? Krishna can eat through any part of His body. Any one of His senses can perform the function of any other. There is a living entity that eats through his feet. Who?” We were scratching our heads. None of us could figure it out. Prabhupada stopped and pointed to a tree. “The tree eats through his feet.” It was a sweet little discussion.
Prabhupada was walking around the lake at Bhaktivedanta Manor when he saw a big mound of brambles, metals, and weeds. Prabhupada said, “This should be cleared.” Over the next week it was cleared, and under it we found a stage. Later that summer, after it had been repaired, Srila Prabhupada sat there by the lakeside, looking at the lake. He said, “We should build an island and have a temple of Maha-Vishnu in the middle of the lake.” He reminisced about his childhood and described some temples that he had seen which were surrounded by water. In the ghats they would have kirtan from boats. He said “You should also have kirtan in the boats around the lake temple.” Of course, with the council being as restrictive as it is, we couldn’t even get permission to put a fountain in the middle of the lake, what to speak of a temple.
Shyamasundar had arranged for a few clergymen to meet Srila Prabhupada. It was a sunny afternoon, so everyone went on the lawn, and Prabhupada sat on the grass. The clergymen were not accustomed to sit crosslegged, so they sat in chairs. A few nuns arrived, and when they joined the group they respectfully said to Prabhupada, “So you are the spiritual master of the Hare Krishna movement?” Prabhupada quietly replied, “No. I am a spiritual servant.” He said it so softly that I don’t know if they heard him. Prabhupada’s vision of himself was very humble.
