Rangavati devi dasi Remembers Srila Prabhupada

Prabhupada Memories

Interview 01

Rangavati: We were making puppet dolls in Detroit and I carried one with me when I went to have darshan with Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada asked me, “What is that you have?” I said, “It’s a puppet, Srila Prabhupada.” He said, “You must not do this because people will think we are worshiping dolls.” My parents were also at that darshan and later, when Prabhupada asked for questions, my father said, “You mentioned that Christians say to God, ‘Give us our daily bread,’ and you mentioned that the animals are eating without such a prayer, but we Christians do not just ask for bread, we also ask for cake—we ask for everything.” Prabhupada instantly cut him off saying, “What do you know?” and he dismissed my father’s point. In different ways, both my father and I were dismissed at that darshan. My father was a bit stunned, but he didn’t have a comeback and luckily he didn’t argue. My father was upset that both his children—his two daughters—had joined, but when we were all squished in the room taking darshan with Prabhupada as the obvious authoritative figure, my father wasn’t about to start a huge fight.

Manisha was a very sick 13 year-old. Her mother, Antajana, asked Srila Prabhupada, “What’s the best thing to do for her?” Prabhupada said, “Simply keep her comfortable.” That was a loose direction because ‘comfortable’ could mean medication or physical facilities or so many other things. When Manisha was near death, Antajana was distraught, and one evening before arati, Manisha, Antajana and I met with Prabhupada in his darshan room. Antajana said, “Prabhupada, I don’t know what to do. She’s dying.” Prabhupada’s eyes got huge and he said, “We are all dying. You may die tomorrow, I may die next week, but we are all dying.” He said those words as if to say, “Where have you been? What have I been preaching? It’s just a matter of time before death comes. Chant Hare Krishna.” Prabhupada was almost outraged that dying was a surprise for us. We expected some sympathy from him like, “Oh, I’m so sorry,” but there was none of that. Without soft-pedaling, Prabhupada went to the core of the matter. It threw us all back. Manisha was a bag of bones and she was having a hard time chanting sixteen rounds every day. She asked Srila Prabhupada, “What should I do? What will happen to me if I don’t chant sixteen rounds?” Prabhupada said, “You will be born in an aristocratic family or an educated or wealthy family.” And he said, “Chant Hare Krishna. Simply chant Hare Krishna.”

To view the entire unedited video go to Memories 36 - Bhutatma, Tosan Krsna, Kuladri, Chitralekha dd, Rangavati dd, Atma Tava

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