Satyanarayan: I started coming to the temple in 1969, and after two years of attending the devotees’ lectures and of seeing pictures and hearing tapes of Prabhupada, I had high expectations when I was about to meet him at the Detroit airport. I thought, “I will be seeing an amazing human being.” But it was far beyond that. What I saw was miraculous. There was an uproarious kirtan going when Prabhupada came up the escalator. One would normally expect Prabhupada to walk off the escalator, but he didn’t. He kept coming upwards, floating above the escalator and over to his vyasasana. While this was happening, a brilliant, sunlike effulgence came from him. Prabhupada gently floated down and settled into the seat, and the next time I raised my head was twenty minutes later. I was crying with my head on the ground for twenty minutes. When I looked up, everyone else was also down. Laxmimoni was looking at Prabhupada with tears coming from her eyes. I thought that seeing Prabhupada floating in this way was just my experience, but recently both Indradyumna Maharaj and Suresvara told me that they saw the same thing. Recently it’s been emphasized that the instructions of the spiritual master, his vani, are most important. But I think that vapu, being in his personal presence, is equally important, because vapu gives you faith in vani. That’s why these remembrances are important. Those who did not have the fortune of being in Prabhupada’s personal presence can hear about it. Then they can understand that he was not just a human being, not even just a pure devotee. In the history of Vaishnava culture, Prabhupada’s contribution is unique.
I had received a degree in biology from the University of Buffalo, and I had always wanted to use that in Krishna’s service. So, in 1972 or 1973, I wrote to Srila Prabhupada and said, “Can I come to India and study under your Ayurvedic doctor?” Prabhupada had an Ayurvedic physician in Calcutta, and I wanted to dovetail my propensity by studying under him. I didn’t get an answer because Srila Prabhupada was traveling a lot, but I collected enough for my fare and stayed at the Delhi temple in India. Srila Prabhupada was there at the time. The first time I brought this topic up to Prabhupada, Srutakirti was massaging him on the roof of the Delhi temple on a beautiful, sunny, winter day. I said, “Srila Prabhupada, my name is Satyanarayan das, and I wrote you about studying Ayurveda under your—” Prabhupada interrupted me with a deep, slow voice and said, “Not now.” I thought, “Why don’t I just jump off the roof?” Besides my initiation, this was my first real meeting with Prabhupada, and I felt I had displeased him. I said, “Okay, Srila Prabhupada, but I’d like to talk to you about this later.” About five months later in Calcutta I was ushered into Srila Prabhupada’s room by Satsvarupa Maharaj, who told me, “Okay, you can ask him this if you like.” When I walked in, Srila Prabhupada was comfortably sitting behind his desk with one knee up and one arm resting on that knee and gesturing to the devotees present. But I couldn’t see any devotees there. He was talking to someone, perhaps Narada Muni or his Guru Maharaj, but there was a clear discussion going on, which I interrupted. Prabhupada looked at me, and we had our talk about Ayurveda. Again Prabhupada interrupted by saying, “This is not necessary. Whatever medicine works, use it. Western medicine is very advanced.” I got the impression that it really didn’t matter if I got involved with Ayurveda or not. Prabhupada wasn’t impressed with Ayurveda. He lifted a Krishna book and said, “Work with my books and be a spiritual physician, a spiritual doctor.” This was a relief. I had felt that I had to make use of my education, but Prabhupada said that I didn’t have to. Soon after that I joined the Library Party, where I went all over India and, by Srila Prabhupada’s grace, to fourteen other countries. We went to hundreds and hundreds of universities and placed sets of Srila Prabhupada’s books in libraries. I had distributed single books before, but when we distributed a whole set, it was like installing a Deity in the university. Prabhupada’s books will be in those universities for hundreds of years. The feeling from doing that service was very wonderful.
During his Bhagavat-dharma lectures, Prabhupada spoke about dogs, hogs, camels, and asses. Afterwards, in a challenging mood, a guest said, “I just want you to know I don’t mind becoming a dog in my next life.” Prabhupada said, “You have my blessings.” Everyone was shocked. It was frightening, terrifying actually, because as far as we were concerned, that’s what that person was going to become.
During Janmastami in 1972, Prabhupada gave the Bhagavatdharma lectures in New Vrindaban. At that time there was a kirtan that almost rivaled my first sight of Prabhupada. Baradraj was chanting, and the kirtan seemed to float up over the stage. Then Vishnujana took over and developed it very beautifully. During this time, Srila Prabhupada had his eyes closed and was playing kartals with greater and greater force as the kirtan went on and on. Then Prabhupada started rocking back and forth and forcefully smashing his kartals. And at a crescendo of Vishnujana’s chanting, Prabhupada completely interrupted him as if he weren’t even there, and Prabhupada himself started leading. It seemed as if he had to take over the kirtan. I remember four-hundred arms outstretched to Prabhupada. We all crushed into the stage, tears flowing like the sky had opened up and love of God had come down. Prabhupada was crying also, and then the emotions increased exponentially. Everyone cried until they were whimpering. It was the most amazing kirtan I’ve ever experienced. It was like Prabhupada was delivering love of Godhead to us. It came through him, and he poured it on us.
Those of us on the Library Party knew that Srila Prabhupada was ill, and many of us were trying to communicate with him. I sent him a telegram. Since Prabhupada used to write “Camp London” or “Camp Baroda” on his letters, in my telegram to him I wrote “Camp Surabaya, Indonesia.” This is military wording, and I felt as if I were saying, “We have just penetrated the Muslim interior and have taken twenty Muslim universities.” Later, I heard that a devotee read my telegram to Srila Prabhupada. After I sent it, I traveled on, and when I got to Bali, I heard that Srila Prabhupada had passed away three days before. But, by distributing his books in the universities, I had still felt that rush of ecstasy that Srila Prabhupada gave us when we put his sets of books in libraries. So, whether we think Prabhupada is here or not, he is here. When we engage in devotional service and do what he wants us to do, we are rewarded with spiritual recognition. Of course, when I heard the news in Bali, I had my reaction. But Prabhupada is definitely still here with us.
