Chayadevi: I was living on the Haight in San Francisco when we heard that there was going to be a big parade known as the Ratha-yatra. My friends and I went to the beginning of the parade and the big cart was there. A Cadillac drove up and out stepped Prabhupada. We didn’t know who he was, and as he came out of the car, all the devotees were paying their dandavats. We didn’t understand what that was because everyone was all of a sudden laying on the street. I looked around and we were the only ones standing at that point. When Prabhupada came out and he stood up, both our eyes locked. Immediately I felt overwhelmed by his serious and very sober glance. A memorable moment at this Ratha-yatra was when the cart stopped and couldn’t go underneath the bridge. Everyone became agitated. Prabhupada responded by standing up and he began chanting. By doing so, everyone in the crowd became overwhelmed, including me, as we all joined in the chanting and forgot about the stoppage of the parade. Srila Prabhupada was definitely the general as he took control of the situation, changing a seemingly chaotic atmosphere into a spiritual atmosphere. After the parade there was a gathering at a place called the Family Dog, which was like a disco. Prabhupada was asked to speak at the Family Dog, and the only thing I remember was when he said, “You are not God. Do not think you are God.” I don’t remember too much else. [chuckles] But then I remember everyone around me was booing because at that point in time everyone was dropping acid or mescaline, which gave one the feeling of being God. Even though the audience kept on booing, Prabhupada was not fazed and he kept on speaking. He was not speaking to pander to this crowd of hippies but rather he spoke to truth. That super impressed me.
I was a brahmacarini when Prabhupada came to visit the San Francisco temple, but for some reason there was not a proper housing situation for him near the temple. There was a couple that lived outside the temple in Berkeley, however, who donated their very nice apartment for him to stay. I had the good fortune to do some chores around the house and to clean Prabhupada’s quarters. During his visit there, he had a darshan with the temple president and many GBC members, so many actually that the small room became packed. I had just finished cleaning Prabhupada’s bathroom and decided to stay and listen to Prabhupada. I sat in the hallway, which was filled with everyone’s shoes, and I ended up sitting on a few of those shoes. [laughs] Prabhupada was sitting about ten feet from me, and he started chanting and playing the mridanga with his dhoti hiked up. At one point he looked up into the hallway, looked right at me, and motioned a couple of times with his hand for me to come into the crowded room filled with men. I looked behind me thinking maybe he was motioning for someone else to go into the room. [laughs] But there was no one else in the hallway. I moved a little closer to the doorway because there was not one space to sit inside the room, so I ended up sitting on a few more shoes. [laughs] Even after moving a little closer, Prabhupada again motioned with his hand for me to come into the room. No one in the room picked up on his gesture to give me some space to sit among them, so I remained in the hallway. I was surprised that Srila Prabhupada even noticed me, but more importantly I could understand that Prabhupada saw no difference between his male and female disciples.
One time when I was in Los Angeles, Prabhupada was giving a class and there were so many devotees in the temple room that it was packed. I don’t remember so much about the class, [chuckles] but all of a sudden Prabhupada raised his voice and said, “Do not think that your many strong sons will save you at the time of death! You have to fly your own airplane.” That statement has made a very deep impression on me because many people are so proud of their children, especially if they are boys. They are very proud and think that by having them, their future is taken care of. But Prabhupada was saying, “Do not think that. Do not think that they are going to save you at the time of death. You have to save yourself. You have to fly your own airplane.”
When things get really bad for me, I always mentally take shelter of Prabhupada and know everything is going to be all right. He is never going to leave me, he is my friend, and he will always be with me. I realize he has all the answers and I have found someone whom I can really trust. Prabhupada was human, but he never wavered in his teachings and his love for us.
