Ragatmika devi dasi Remembers Srila Prabhupada
Following Srila Prabhupada
Interview DVD 06
Ragatmika: Srila Prabhupada stayed in our house in Brighton when our temple was in Saint Kilda. At that time, the quarters for Srila Prabhupada at the Saint Kilda temple weren’t so nice. So my husband and my family moved out of the house, Srila Prabhupada moved in. Prior to him moving in, the devotees adjusted the house. They covered all the wall-to-wall carpet with white sheeting. I would be at the house and Srila Prabhupada would be walking down the hallway and smiling and his gentleness in his eyes, and at times he thanked me for him staying in the house. I would ask him if he wanted something to eat or what he would like, and he was always so polite and he would say, “Yes, thank you” or “No, thank you” or “Do not trouble yourself.” Actually, one time Prabhupada said, “Is there any service that you need?” And I didn’t know what to say to Srila Prabhupada when he asked me that so I said, “No, Srila Prabhupada, just being here in your presence is all the service that I need.” I didn’t ask any spiritual questions of Srila Prabhupada, I was always sort of speechless in his presence really. I think I was a little bit too shy to ask him anything.
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Interview DVD 08
Ragatmika: My son Janaka, who was very young at the time, probably 4 years old. And one morning walk Srila Prabhupada took Janaka’s hand in his, squeezed it very hard, and kept it in his pocket all through the morning walk. It was probably Janaka, my son, that spent more personal time with Srila Prabhupada than I did. In the Melbourne temple, he used to go up to Srila Prabhupada’s rooms. I would dress him in the morning, and he’d disappear for the day. Prabhupada’s assistants traveling with him and the other devotees would be standing guard at Prabhupada’s door to his room. Janaka knew his way in and out of Prabhupada’s room, so he would sneak in through the side window and spend the day with Srila Prabhupada. He’d play boats in the bathroom when Srila Prabhupada slept. Sometimes he would sleep under the bed there with Prabhupada, take prasadam with him. |
Interview DVD 09
Ragatmika: I was a very fast typist in the composing department. So they were trying to round up any of the past composers to get them all on board, and they flew me out from New Vrindavan to Los Angeles. I tell you, that was so nectarean that because of the support system that Ramesvara set up, a family was designated to cook or to maintain that devotee, do their laundry, feed them, because we were staying up in the nighttime on irregular schedules just to keep it around the clock, all the composers, the composing machines filled up. I saw as the days went on in typing this nectar from the Caitanya-caritamrta, the pastimes, the loving relationships between Lord Caitanya and the devotees, that it was so sweet I was able to go beyond whatever limits I had before, and I was up all night and day practically. Just stopped to chant and to eat and sleep very little. In fact, on one morning walk, Radha-vallabha had said to Prabhupada, “Prabhupada, there is one mataji who is practically not eating or sleeping. She is just typing all day and night.” And Prabhupada said, “Yes, she is running on spiritual energy.” He was speaking about me, as he told me later. |