Jagannathesvari: Prabhupada was so relaxed and happy being in Vrindavan in his home and acting like a host. Guests and visitors would come and he would greet them and talk to them a little bit in Hindi and make them feel welcome. And he would make sure that everyone got some prasadam. While I sat there with Prabhupada in his darshan room at these times, I became free from all worries and anxieties. All the worries of the mind disappeared, as it was therapeutic for my mind and soul.
I went to Mayapur in 1976 during the Gaura-Purnima festival and Prabhupada was there. At this time there were rumors about ghosts and brahman raksasas who could actually hurt people and even kill people. It felt somewhat dangerous, but Prabhupada was very protective of us. He took special measures for the protection of the devotees, like having shenai music playing in the morning and evening. In the evening a pandit would come around blowing the conch shell and carrying a lamp of billowing frankincense. This was at the time when the Seventh Canto had just come out and Prabhupada was giving classes about the pastimes of Lord Nrisimhadeva and Prahlad. Prabhupada spoke about how Prahlad was fearless, and I reflected on how Prabhupada was also fearless at his advanced age when he traveled alone to the West and started so many projects in India. As Prabhupada spoke, we could feel the power of his fearlessness in his voice, just like Prahlad Maharaj was sheltered by Lord Nrisimhadeva.
In the summer of 1976, I was still in Vrindavan and I was asked if I would like to return to London to collect laksmi for Vrindavan. I agreed to do that because I had some desire to go out and preach and spread Krishna consciousness. I was inspired by how Prabhupada left Vrindavan and came to the West to preach Krishna consciousness, so I wanted to try and follow his example in that mood of boldness. When I arrived at the Manor I started going out on sankirtan immediately. In the evenings the devotees and I would take darshan with Prabhupada. At that time my father came to see me because he hadn’t seen me for over a year. He was waiting for me to return from sankirtan and there were some newspaper reporters that came to interview Srila Prabhupada at the same time. A devotee was there to take the reporters to see Prabhupada and he invited my father to go along as well. My father said, “Okay, I’ll come with you,” because he wanted to meet Prabhupada. He wanted to meet the person who had stolen his daughter away. [laughs] My father came into the room and sat down while the reporters were conducting the interview. He just sat there and waited, and then they left and some other people came in. Finally, he introduced himself to Prabhupada saying, “I am the father of Jagannathesvari, whom you initiated in Vrindavan.” Prabhupada said, “She is a very fortunate girl.” Of course, when my father told me this afterwards, I was in ecstasy. My father also told me that Prabhupada engaged him in conversation in a way that was very endearing. He said Prabhupada didn’t try to preach to him but simply asked him questions. My father is a teacher and he’s quite knowledgeable, so Prabhupada was asking him different questions about England and the like. My father saw that some Indian people were coming in, and then after they took darshan of Prabhupada, they would walk out backwards out of respect. They didn’t want to show their backs to Prabhupada. So, when my father left, he did the same thing. [laughs] He walked out backwards. But he did that, not merely out of what appeared to be the proper etiquette, but because he was very impressed by Prabhupada. Since then he has always respected Prabhupada, and it was really good for me that my father got to meet Prabhupada and to understand what kind of a person he was. My father could understand that Srila Prabhupada was not some kind of crazy person, but rather a gentleman. My father was happy—and I was also happy.
The qualities that come to mind and stand out about Prabhupada are his love and his compassion. I think that is what made him come to the West and save all of us. On one level he was simply following the orders of his guru to preach in English, but personally he sincerely wanted to save everyone who had the misconception of being the body, which is the source of all our miseries. And to think that he started his mission at such an advanced age is hard to comprehend. His compassion could be tangibly felt in his presence because he was tirelessly giving himself to us.
