Vatsala das Remembers Srila Prabhupada

Following Srila Prabhupada

Interview DVD 07

Vatsala: My friend Vatsara, he came to visit me in San Francisco, and we started going to different spiritual communities. By this time, I had kind of accepted this spiritual master, Swami Satchidananda. I didn’t really know that much about him, but I had read Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita and I said, “Geez, I need a spiritual master.” But I didn’t really think of the author of that Bhagavad-gita, Prabhupada – the old one with the blue Vishnu on the cover. So anyway, we went to this group and that group and he said, “Well, let’s go to the Hare Krishnas.” I said, “Oh, I’ve been there,” because I had been there for a Sunday Feast, and I was kind of a yogi and this and that and the devotees are running around here and there. I said, “It’s a little bit…there’s running around too much for me.” So I said, “You go ahead.” So he went, and he spent the whole day there. And he came back and he talked about, “God, I went there and I met this guy, the garbage man, and he was so far out, he told me all this stuff,” and he was going on and on and on. It turns out that that was Jayananda. He spent the whole day with Jayananda, emptying the garbage and going here and going there. So he said, “They’re having another program in the evening,” and so I said, “OK, I’ll go with you.” So we went and that was it. The next day we went out and bought cloth for dhotis and cloth for saris and beads; and by the time we got back home, we had decided we’re going to shave up. So we shaved up and we shaved up the kids, and then we showed up at the temple the next day. All the devotees said, “What are you doing? You can’t do that!” Anyway, we said, “Here we are, we’re doing it.” So it was from this association with Jayananda that we became devotees. So me being a practical, mechanically minded person, I naturally fell in with Jayananda because he was always doing something, fixing a car or… We’d go out and work, and I was kind of like Jayananda’s right-hand man at that time. We’d be out working on the carts and stuff like that, or going to pick stuff up to bring back for the carts, or at the temple preparing something for Rathayatra. Prabhupada came and, like I said, Jayananda’s mood was that “What are we going to gain really by going to see Prabhupada? He wanted this service done.” So that was better than being in Prabhupada’s presence. That was more satisfying to Prabhupada and, therefore, it would be more satisfying to us. So we did that. Jayananda, of course, didn’t say that and then run off and go be with Prabhupada. Actually after Rathayatra, later that day Jayananda finally went over to go see Prabhupada, and he wasn’t there two minutes and he fell asleep. Prabhupada made some comment, I think, about Jayananda sleeping, some nice comment how he’s worked so hard and now he’s sleeping. That one morning as Prabhupada used to circumambulate the Deities and ring the bell and the big kirtan party would go around, the whole mood was pretty ecstatic that particular morning. I don’t know who was leading kirtan or what, but Prabhupada was very blissful. He’d go around, he’d ring the bell with the kirtan, and the kids were dancing like mad out in front. Then he’d go around and he’d ring the next bell, and then he’d come around in front of the Deities. So I said, “Geez, I’m not going to fight these crowds, so I’m going to wait right here by this pillar in front of the Deities. And then when Prabhupada comes around, then I’ll be there to see him.” So sure enough, here comes Prabhupada around and Brahmananda is there. So Prabhupada stops in front of the Deities, and he starts looking at the Deities a little bit. Then he folds his hands in obeisances and does a 360, turns around, and the kirtan is going and going. Then finally Prabhupada all of a sudden lifts his arms up and starts dancing, and everybody just went through the roof at that time. Very similar to that Rathayatra when Prabhupada got up off the vyasasana and started to dance and everybody just went wild. I remember seeing a reflection off of Brahmananda, some kind of golden reflection that must have been Prabhupada. But it’s amazing how just seeing Prabhupada was so enlivening, so special.

Interview DVD 09

Vatsala: Prabhupada was coming to Los Angeles. We lived in San Francisco. I went down with Jayananda, and we spent a few days in L.A. while Prabhupada was there. Prabhupada had the habit, of course, of coming down those stairs and then coming out that side door and then getting into his car and going for a walk. So the devotees would hang out there just so they could get a glimpse of Prabhupada walking to the car. So I got there early one day, I wanted to be right there in front and see Prabhupada. I was there and nobody else was coming. It was cold and I was scantily dressed, just my dhoti and no shoes. So I’m thinking, “Where is everybody? This is going to be fantastic. Prabhupada can’t miss me. I’ll be the only one here. He’s going to come out and go on his walk. This is going to be so far out.” But it started getting later and getting close to class time. I’m waiting out here, I’m not even going to get in the temple room basically. So I finally think that “Well, Prabhupada’s not coming. I’ve got to get over and get into the temple for class.” So I started making my way into the temple, and it was packed. And Danavir comes over to me and he says, “Do you want to put sandalwood pulp on Prabhupada’s forehead?” I said, “Sure I do.” So that got me right into the temple. So Prabhupada comes in and he greets the Deities and sits down and somebody urged me, “OK, now it’s time to do that.” So I got up there and stood in front of the vyasasana, and Prabhupada leaned forward and I put the sandalwood pulp on his forehead. And all I can remember, it was like sticking my hand in a wall socket or something like that. It was electrifying. I don’t know why, it was probably just all in my mind that this was Prabhupada and this was really special. That was a special incident. That was all. I just sat down and listened to class after that.