In the middle of the night I vividly dreamed about the Bhagavad-gita being held in someone’s hand. I had never seen or heard of the book. But in the morning, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. So I looked on the internet and then went to some bookstores looking for it. No luck.
Then I had an urge to go to Byron Bay, an hour and a half north of where I live, which is just north of Sydney. I got a hotel room and went walking around Byron Bay. One man approached me and offered me the Bhagavad-gita. He was explaining it to me, but somehow I didn’t connect the dream and the book. I didn’t get the book.
When I got back to the hotel I called my mother and told her that I’d met a real nice man who had the Bhagavad-gita. I had already told her about the dream.
She said, “Go back tomorrow to see whether he’s there, and if he is, get it.”
So I did, and he was there, though he told me that he usually never goes to the same place two days in a row. This time I got it.
Then I went back home and read it. I loved it, but now what? I went back home.
Urugaya Prabhu, from the Sydney temple, decided to go to the town where I live to distribute books. He had never been there before, so Krsna was inspiring him. When I saw him at the mall in his robes, I embraced him, knowing he was a Hare Krsna devotee. I told him that I had just received the Bhagavad-gita and loved it.
We hit it off well, so I invited him to my house. There was a bunch of family members there, and we had a great time. He said he had a Srimad Bhagavatam, so I got it. He told me about the farm not far from Byron Bay, so I decided to go and try the monk’s life.
I liked it, but after a couple of months I left, because the culture was just so different.
I went home and was still chanting and reading. Then one night Prabhupada came to me in a vivid dream. He was smiling, and he put his hand on my head. When he did that I was in ecstasy.
When I told my mother the next morning, she said, “You have to go back to the temple. Go back to the temple. This is where you’re meant to be.”
So I did, and I’m still here and can’t imagine not living in a temple. Srila Prabhupada’s and Krsna’s mercy.
Your servant,
Padma Locan das
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=99981
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