Mahendranatha: We were all excited a week or so before Srila Prabhupada arrived. The whole mood changed at the farm in New Talavan as we all became very nice devotees for that short period of time. At the time I was growing mango trees, which was a fruitless endeavor. Prabhupada said, “Grow whatever grows in your area.” In the Caitanya-caritamrta we also learn that Lord Caitanya wanted whatever produce was grown locally. I was trying to put an Indian mango tree in New Talavan’s soil in a freezing climate, which did not work. But I did get one out of twenty or so to grow that winter. It was only about six or seven feet tall with a tall stem. When Prabhupada’s Cadillac came in, the left front tire went right on the stem of that tree and it just cracked. [laughs] I thought, “Wow, now I don’t have to put a bonnet over it and the heating pots to keep it warm during the winter.” Actually, it was a relief.
Mahendranatha: Srila Prabhupada went on a morning walk here at New Talavan, and as we walked towards the barn, we saw five-year old, Bhakta Vimal, feeding a calf from a bottle with a big nipple on it. He was struggling with this calf because the calf would knock the bottle around without consuming the milk. Prabhupada said, “At his age in India, boys care for fifty calves.” Immediately we realized we had some things to learn about living on the farm. Fifty calves? How can any child take care of fifty calves?
As we walked on, Prabhupada asked, “Are there any ants?” One devotee pointed and said, “Yes, Prabhupada, there is a mound over here.” But if there is a mound, there will be trails of ants, so Prabhupada just walked all the way around on the dirt road to avoid stepping on an ant. Then we got to the wooden framework where we were going to house all of our machinery. We had a hay baler, a hay cutter, a forage harvester, a grinder, pounder blower, and two tractors, all of which were still exposed to the rain because the roof had not yet been constructed. Prabhupada asked about these machines. He said, “They need oil.” And then we said to Prabhupada, “Yes, yes Srila Prabhupada, we are putting a roof over to protect them from the rain. It is just not finished.” And then he said pointing to the roof, “And before you’re finished, they are finished,” pointing to the machinery. He wasn’t happy with machines. But it wasn’t so much a criticism that we did not finish the shed, it was a dissatisfaction of seeing all the machinery, hoping that he was going to see something else.
I believe that what he wanted to see would be something like a garden, a cobbler, someone who could make candles, someone who presses castor bean, something along the village industry line. What we were trying to do was not at all self-sufficiency, but not only that, self-sufficiency can never be the target. The target is devotional service; self-sufficiency is a by-product. We were doing everything exactly like they were doing down the road and Prabhupada said, “This is exactly what they are doing down the road, and then they kill the cow. Everything is for the cow and then they kill the cow.” It was years later that I realized he wanted village industries. That’s what they don’t do down the road.
Mahendranatha: Prabhupada was extremely humble, extremely sweet, and he inspired us. After seeing that in Prabhupada, I also noticed those qualities in all of his advanced disciples. They always make you feel better than you are. I remember when I talked to Jayananda in Los Angeles, he was asking me for advice on the construction of Jagannatha’s chariots. He had a university degree, which I don’t have. [laughs] I’m an idiot. [laughs] But he asked me and I told him, “I don’t know, but these are really big axles that ought to handle any weight.” And that’s about all I told him even though he was the one with all the mathematical diagrams. But he responded with, “Thank you very much, prabhu. You’ve really helped a lot.” And I walked out of the room thinking, “I’m glad I was able to help him.” After a while, however, I thought to myself, “What did
I do? I didn’t do anything.” This is the way the advanced devotees make you feel special in your service. You naturally feel like going out to do more service. That is the quality I saw in Prabhupada.
