Sankirtan das Remembers Srila Prabhupada

Following Srila Prabhupada

Interview DVD 04

Sankirtan: On the day of Prabhupada’s arrival, they needed volunteers to fix up the house where Prabhupada was staying, and I went up to help. There was, of course, a frenzy of activity, just as there always is just before Prabhupada comes in any temple, and it was an amazing sight to behold. Finally Prabhupada arrives and all of these sannyasis come with him, and there’s about 8 or 10 sannyasis and they all file into the house. There’s a few devotees hovering by the door, and Prabhupada sees us over there by the door and everybody else is inside the house – the big guns in the movement, so to speak. And Prabhupada motions that we should also come inside. So the devotees who were outside the door, they’re sitting on the front row right in front of Prabhupada and Prabhupada is talking about developing New Vrindavan. One thing I remember he said is that New Vrindavan is nondifferent than Vrindavan in India, and he also mentioned that Tulasi is the spiritual barometer for a temple. Then just out of nowhere he looks right at me and he asks, “Are you trying to understand the philosophy?” So I was so dumbfounded that Prabhupada was talking to me, I couldn’t even say a word. I was totally in a state of shock. But what I did appreciate is the way Prabhupada phrased that question: “Are you trying to understand the philosophy?” That if someone just makes an endeavor to understand, that’s sufficient. Prabhupada will be pleased just by somebody making an endeavor to try to understand. Whether they understand or not, that’s another matter. But just to try to understand the philosophy.

Interview DVD 07

Sankirtan: When Prabhupada arrived, there were actually two newspaper articles that came out about the devotees. One of them was very favorable, but it didn’t mention Hare Krishna too often; and the other article was highly unfavorable, it was very critical and sarcastic of the devotees. It was written actually by a Chicago columnist who won a Pulitzer Prize. His name was Mike Royko. Royko was known for his biting cynicism. He wrote this article, but practically every other sentence he was mentioning Hare Krishna. He had even parts of the Hare Krishna mantra within the article. Prabhupada said, “This man is chanting Hare Krishna,” and he was much more appreciative of the critical article because it mentioned Hare Krishna more than he was of the favorable article. It seemed that Prabhupada enjoyed creating some controversy where the media would pick up on that controversy because he knew that the media thrived on controversy. So I think he was using the men 64 ounce brain capacity and the women 36 ounce brain capacity as a way to kind of playfully stir up some controversy about the Hare Krishna movement. And then he knew that people would be talking about it, and it was a way that Prabhupada, just like an uncle might tease the children of his son and pinch them or make fun of them, I think Prabhupada often played the role of the elderly uncle making fun or teasing in various situations. But ultimately, before Prabhupada left Chicago, he did tell the devotees that the women who join this movement are just as intelligent as the men are.