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Mukunda was also present with Prabhupada in his room, along with a small group of devotees, when an earthquake took place. The telephone poles and wires began moving outside the window. The building trembled. No one said anything until Prabhupada said, "What is this?" A devotee replied, "It's an earthquake, Swamiji." Prabhupada said, "Oh." And then the earthquake suddenly stopped. Everyone present was very intent on Prabhupada's reaction. He said, "We can just sit down and chant Hare Krsna."

He recounted the bombing of Calcutta during the war. "I was in the bomb shelter, and the bombs were falling; and I was thinking as I was chanting Hare Krsna that if I had to die now, it would be wonderful to die while chanting Hare Krsna." Mukunda and the other devotees felt secure being in Prabhupada's presence, even during the earthquake. They felt that no matter what catastrophe might happen, they could simply sit with him and chant Hare Krsna and be happy.

When Prabhupada had first returned from India, he had criticized Mukunda for failing to obtain the permanent residency status for him. Mukunda had only been able to obtain a temporary visitor's visa. "Why did you do this?" Prabhupada had asked him sharply. Mukunda made a few excuses, and Prabhupada replied, "You do not understand." Later Prabhupada and Mukunda visited a local immigration office to seek the permanent residency status. The official who met with them was a woman. In the course of the routine conversation, Prabhupada briefly mentioned the philosophy of Krsna consciousness. The woman remarked, "It must be very difficult to follow such a discipline in your life."

Prabhupada replied, "No, it is not. It's just a question of remembering God." Then he gave her an example. Just as a woman goes to work and has to think of many different things, yet she never forgets to dress properly, so one has to think of God despite worldly duties. The woman immigration official could understand.

During the conversation, the recent earthquake was mentioned, and the woman said that the building they were in was "earthquake-proof." After the meeting, when Prabhupada was leaving, he said to Mukunda, "There is no such thing as "earthquake-proof,'" and he laughed.



- From "Prabhupada-lila" by HH Satsvarupa dasa Goswami