Bhima das Remembers Srila Prabhupada

Following Srila Prabhupada

Interview DVD 05

Bhima: On Gaura Purnima morning, we went to the Ganges. In those days, in ’74, the Ganges was a long way away from the temple. It was a good 15-minute walk to the Ganges. So we were down there shaving our heads, and then we were going to take bath. I remember that the devotee who was shaving my head was with this dull blade and my head was getting cut and so many things. Then Srila Prabhupada transcendentally came down with the sannyasis to the bank of the Ganga. He squatted down, took three drops of water on his head and said that’s the same as taking a bath. Then he walked back to the temple.

Interview DVD 08

Bhima: The installation of the Deities was on Rama Naumi, and then the initiation ceremony took place on Balarama’s Rasa Purnima, April 21st, which was five or six days later. After the Hyderabad pandal, we were headed from Hyderabad to the opening of the Krishna Balarama Mandir and a whole bogie was reserved for the devotees. So it was all just devotees on the train. There was one Indian sadhu sitting on his suitcase by the bathroom, and he didn’t really mix with any of the other devotees…mostly they were just Western devotees, a few Indian devotees like Haridas…and I was really wondering whether he was part of our group or not. He was very quiet and very patiently sat on his suitcase by the bathroom the whole way to Vrindavan. Then during the festival, although there was a moratorium on sannyasa, the devotees had gone to Srila Prabhupada and asked if Tripurari could take sannyasa and Prabhupada said yes. They said, “When?” and he said, “He can take now.” So along with Tripurari one other devotee took sannyasa, and his name was Gour Govinda. Then when he was there, I saw that this is the same devotee that was sitting very quietly by the bathroom coming from Hyderabad to Vrindavan.