Saci devi dasi Remembers Srila Prabhupada

Following Srila Prabhupada

Interview DVD 01

Sacidevi: It was July of 1969 when I first joined the temple. Prabhupada was there that day, and I had just come out of a downward slide in hippie life and I was feeling such relief and such happiness to be in a safe and transcendental environment. Prabhupada, after he finished his prasadam, he got up to leave the room and a whole pathway was formed so Prabhupada could walk and we all paid our obeisances. I watched out of the corner of my eye Prabhupada’s feet coming toward me, and then his feet stopped right where my head was and I just almost lost my breath. I looked up to see what was going on and Prabhupada turned to Tamal and he said, “So when will she be initiated?” and Tamal said, “Oh, very soon, Srila Prabhupada.” So Prabhupada went out of the room, out of the exit and around the side of the temple, he was getting ready to leave, and I was standing on the steps and I must have had a smile past my ears. I was so happy that Prabhupada had acknowledged me and blessed me. Prabhupada was standing on the top step and I was standing on the bottom step and I looked up to Srila Prabhupada, his golden head and his beautiful golden skin and there was a complete blue sky canopy behind his head, and he smiled at me and he said, “So you are happy now?” And I said, “Oh, yes, Srila Prabhupada, I’m so happy.” He said, “Very good.”

Interview DVD 05

Sacidevi: We could hear the Bhagavatam class in our individual apartments through an intercom, and so we knew when it was time to rush into the temple to bring our kids up for cookies. Prabhupada once said that if you want to make a friend, you give him a cookie. There was a whole assembly of kids in the Los Angeles temple in the old temple room, and my son Bhakta Rupa wanted some kartals that Chandrashekar was playing and he was a whole lot bigger than my son. So he tried to grab for the kartals and when he couldn’t get them away, he started to cry. Prabhupada leaned over with his kartals and handed me the kartals, and then he nodded for me to give them to Bhakta Rupa, which I did. Bhakta Rupa stopped crying and he just stared at Prabhupada and he kind of froze. Prabhupada smiled. Then he began to play them, and everybody was happy. It was the greatest satisfaction as a mother to have your child, your son, be blessed by the spiritual master. It was unparalleled.