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Melbourne temple's enthusiastic cooks were vying for Prabhupada's attention. Each day a different cook would send down a batch of juicy gulab jamuns to the house for Prabhupada to give out to his guests. They also hoped he would try one himself, and give a judgment on whose were better. That night a particularly soft and succulent batch arrived. Prabhupada relaxed as Dipak brought in a plate of freshly-made cauliflower and pea-filled samosas, spiced with a predominance of fennel seeds and wrapped in Dipak's trademark crispy pastry. Prabhupada enjoyed a few with hot milk, along with one gulab jamun. Prabhupada appeared to like it. "Who has made?" he asked.

Someone answered "Atri dasi".

Prabhupada gave his decision. "She knows the art," he said with a grin.

Prabhupada spoke to the few senior men present about his early days as a householder. It was in Calcutta in 1922 that he had first met his spiritual master, whom he had immediately accepted as a "very nice saintly person". In 1923, Prabhupada had established his pharmaceutical headquarters -- Prayaga Pharmacy -- in Allahabad, where he later eagerly assisted members of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta's mission, the Gaudiya Matha, in their preaching efforts in 1928.

Prabhupada spoke in earnest of how Krsna had made arrangements that his business life would fail. If one wanted to be an actual devotee of Krsna, he explained, but at the same time kept his material attachments, then Krsna would take away all his attachments and force him to surrender.

This, Prabhupada admitted, had actually happened in his life. Not only did his business fail, but on several occasions he dreamt that Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati was calling him to take sannyasa. It was by his grace, Srila Prabhupada humbly admitted, that he was forced to give up his so-called family and business life, and take up preaching "the gospel of Krsna consciousness".


- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu