Remembering Srila Prabhupada - One keep pure in any condition - Blog - ISKCON Desire Tree

One keep pure in any condition

Throughout the conversation, Mahamsa was in and out, busily arranging the initiations scheduled for mid-morning. He produced a list of five candidates that he had approved for first initiation and informed Srila Prabhupada that there was another five girls who also want to become Prabhupada's disciples. Four of the girls -- Meera (the youngest at 14 years), Shaku, Citra and Gita -- are daughters of Dr. M. K. Misra, a retired army lieutenant-colonel; the other girl, Vasanti Jyoshi, is her daughter-in-law. Dr. Misra became a life member in 1974 and since that time all the girls have been regularly helping to sew Deity clothes and do other services, as well as enthusiastically attending the temple programs. They even made the full set of Deity outfits which were offered for Srila Prabhupada's vyasa-puja. Mahamsa said he had decided to make them wait for another month because they were still drinking tea and coffee until yesterday.

But Prabhupada decided to show them some special mercy. If they promised to give up their bad habits, he said they could be initiated today. "If they have promised, we shall give. Simply you don't break promise. You have promised -- do it, that's all."

Mahamsa had a further concern about the girls. Some of them are young and unmarried and, he said, they may end up marrying men who are not devotees.

Prabhupada was not concerned. "But she can chant and observe the rules and regulations -- what is that?"

"Even if her husband does not follow?" Mahamsa asked.

"That does not matter," Prabhupada said. "It is individual. My sister, while she was married, her father-in-law's house, they were all eating fish. So a new girl, ten years, eleven years old, so she was given this foodstuff with fish and everything. So she was crying. So her mother-in-law asked, 'Why you are crying?'

" 'No, we do not touch all these things.'

"She immediately arranged special cooking for her. So her husband and other members they were taking fish, but she never touched. She never touched; she does not know what is fish. If one wants to keep oneself pure, he or she can keep herself pure in any circumstances."

- From "A Transcendental Diary Vol 4" by HG Hari Sauri Prabhu

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