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By Gauridasa Pandita Dasa
Dec 29 2012, Seattle, USA — As a Brahmachari with no special qualifications I never expected to ever get the chance to become one of Srila Prabhupada’s personal servants.
The idea that it may be a possibility came in Vrindavan in 1975. The temple commander was asked to leave his post in Vrindavan. He went from there to New Delhi where Srila Prabhupada happened to be. When Srila Prabhupada came to Vrindavan a few days later the devotee who had been ‘kicked out’ was now one of Srila Prabhupada’s personal servants. Now he could give orders to the temple president, the shoe was on the other foot. Anyway I began to think that maybe I also, could be one Of Srila Prabhupada’s personal servants someday.
A few months later my visa expired and I had to leave India. Srila Prabhupada was in Hawaii so I decided to go there. Those pastimes will be described in another story. While in Hawaii I received the ‘Ganapati Stotram’ from a devotee. It is said that if you chant the mantra three times a day for six months you would obtain your desire and after a year of chanting you would attain perfection. I began to chant the mantra with the desire to become a personal servant. It took me about a month to memorize the mantras and six months later my desire was fulfilled.
I went to Mayapura for the Gaura Pournima festival in 1977. There I met Upendra Prabhu who I had met in Hawaii. He was preparing some flower vases in the hall way outside of Srila Prabhupada’s room. When he finished he told me to take them into Srila Prabhupada’s room. I was nervous and hesitated at the door when all of the sudden Upendra pushed me inside. Srila Prabhupada was alone sitting behind his desk. I really felt out of place so I put the vases on his desk, offered my obeisance’s and backed out of the room. That was the first time I’d been alone with Srila Prabhupada since I received my Gayatri initiation on Dec.3, 1975 in Vrindavan.
It was at the 1977 Goura-pournima festival that Srila Prabhupada’s health really started to deteriorate. He canceled a few classes and events that he was expected to attend.
We started to worry about our spiritual master.
At the Mayapur festival I also met a devotee I knew from Seattle named Jalakara. He convinced me to go to Africa to preach with him. I was to go to Bombay and wait for a ticket to be sent.
I arrived in Bombay in April of 1977. Tamal Krishna Maharaja was Srila Prabhupada’s secretary at the time. Knowing me from the RDTSP he asked me if I wanted to be a guard for Srila Prabhupada. I jumped at the chance. It was about six months after I had been chanting the ‘Ganapati Stotram’ by memory. I didn’t even get to see Srila Prabhupada for the first two weeks but later got to do more service when we went to Hrishikesh and ultimately Sri Vrindavan Dhama.
I would like to thank Upendra Prabhu for pushing me forward towards Srila Prabhupada and supporting me when I needed it. I must also thank Tamal Krishna Maharaja for giving me the rare opportunity to serve Srila Prabhupada as he did. I must also give some credit to Lord Ganesa for helping to fulfill my desire and gave me the perfection of hearing Srila Prabhupada say that he remembered me fondly in September of 1977. This news came in the form of a letter from Tamal while they were in England. I was sent to Gita-nagari by Srila Prabhupada when my visa ran out at the end of July 77 and was waiting for his arrival. I had sent a letter to Srila Prabhupada telling him how ecstatic the devotees were that he was coming and inclosed my vyasapuja offering. Tamal wrote back, “…I read your letter to Srila Prabhupada as I found it very poetic and an excellent description of Gita-nagari. When I told Srila Prabhupada you had written the letter; he remembered you very fondly.” My heart melted upon hearing this. Paramananda Prabhu, the temple president read the letter to all of the devotees, because it came from Srila Prabhupada’s secretary.
Srila Prabhupada never came to Gita-nagari because his health got worse in England. He decided to return to Vrindavan. Srila Prabhupada said that I could return to Vrindavan and be his servant again. I was the head pujari for Sri Sri Radha Damodara and had to train up another pujari before going. He turned out to be named Radha Damodara dasa! It took about two weeks to train him up and the first day he was doing all of the puja by himself I was chanting my japa circumambulating Tulasi Deva and Srila Prabhupada’s vyasasana. We got a phone call from India saying that Srila Prabhupada might be leaving his body; then later a call confirming that he indeed had ‘left his body’. I was shocked. We knew it would come but didn’t want to accept the fact that it had. I sensed something was going on during my japa which was the time it happened. I really didn’t want to see that pastime and I thank Lord Krishna for keeping me away.
HE LIVES FOREVER BY HIS DIVINE INSTRUCTIONS AND THE FOLLOWER LIVES WITH HIM
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