Dhruvanatha das Remembers Srila Prabhupada

Prabhupada Memories

Interview 01

Dhruvanath: I’d come back from India as a hippie in 1969 or ’70, and I was attempting to write a book based on the hallucinogenic drug experiences I’d had there. At that time the devotees had a big hit record, The Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, and I thought it would be a great idea to have a chapter of interviews with the devotees. When I finally found the temple, I met Kulashekar prabhu, and he said, “Our spiritual master is upstairs, why don’t you talk to him?” I said, “Great, why not?” We went to Prabhupada’s room on the first floor in Bury Place. Before we entered, Kulashekar told me that Prabhupada was a great personality and we should offer our respects to him. I said, “Fair enough.” Prabhupada was sitting on a cushion behind a low desk on the far side of the room with his back to the window. He was writing something and had his glasses down his nose. He peered up and said, “Hare Krishna,” and somehow I felt overwhelmed to be in his presence. I automatically fell to the floor like a stick as I had seen devotees do in the temple downstairs. I simply lay there frozen, thinking: “What do I do now? When do I get up?” A few moments passed and Kulashekar motioned, “Okay, you can get up now.” I had preconceived questions I was going to ask, because at that time LSD was my method for achieving selfrealization. But when I sat there directly facing Srila Prabhupada, I went blank. I was speechless. Somehow or other I had read The Nectar of Devotion, and I remembered that the pure devotees’ eyes are anointed with the salve of love. Looking at Prabhupada’s eyes I could see this, and I could see that he was unlike anyone I had ever met in my life. After we had exchanged pleasantries, some moments passed, and then Prabhupada broke the ice by saying something that showed he knew what I was thinking. He said, “How unfortunate it is that the youth of today are trying to become self-realized through the use of hallucinogenic drugs.” I was totally taken aback because this was exactly what I was going to challenge Prabhupada on. All my thoughts of writing a book went out the window. After that I plucked up some courage and asked a question, “What are the characteristics of a pure devotee?” Prabhupada expounded for about twenty minutes just on that question. I was with Prabhupada for about an hour, and Kulashekar was the only other devotee in the room at the time. Before I left, Prabhupada looked at me straight in the eyes and said, “Man is the architect of his own fortune, so you make your fortune now. Whatever is done is done. Now start a new chapter in your life, and in the next life go back home, back to Godhead.” Those words are still ringing in my ears to this day.

Shyamasundar was eager to have Bury Place transformed into a proper temple, so the building became a construction site. He mentioned to George (Harrison) that it was difficult for us to live there because there was so much dust and noise from the work. George said, “I’ll speak to John Lennon. He’s just acquired a big property, and he might be able to put you up.” As it happened, John agreed. In fact, he was incredibly favorable and offered us five acres of land on his seventy-six-acre estate. Srila Prabhupada said that we should utilize that land for growing fresh vegetables and fruits, and if we grew more than we needed, we should take the extra by bullock cart to the local market in London and sell it. I said, “But Prabhupada, the lorries will get there before the bullock cart.” We were at least twenty-five miles outside of London. Prabhupada said, “No, the bullock cart should leave the night before. We’ll walk all night and reach the market before the lorries arrive.” So, in 1969, this was Prabhupada’s vision. He wanted us to train up animals, hitch them to a cart, and take fresh market produce into central London. He also said that we should hold a big Ratha-yatra festival starting from John Lennon’s estate all the way to central London, stopping at different towns and villages on the way.

To view the entire unedited video go to Memories 09 - The English Yatra

The full Prabhupada Memories Series can be viewed here and also at www.prabhupadamemories.com