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Prabhupada had made it clear on a number of occasions that he felt that Srutakirti had been one of his best, if not the best personal servant. During his earlier years as a brahmacari, Srutakirti had accompanied Prabhupada to many places, including Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland in 1973. Having recently gotten married, Srutakirti had been thrilled at the chance to accompany Srila Prabhupada again as his servant.

A good servant, Prabhupada said, knew the mind of his master. Srutakirti, by now, had learned Prabhupada's almost mystic art of communicating with his servant without talking -- a skill that all personal servants aspired after. Srutakirti was so in tune that he would know by a particular glance or movement of Prabhupada's head that he should turn on the fan, or that a look to the window meant "open the curtains". He would rarely initiate a conversation and usually would only speak to Prabhupada when he was spoken to. He always busied himself doing the things that he knew Srila Prabhupada wanted him to do.

Each morning, he would prepare Srila Prabhupada's Ayurvedic medicine -- a reddish pellet called yogendra-rasa -- by crushing it with a large roasted cardamom seed and mixing it with a little honey in a small oval mortar.

A parcel had recently arrived from Germany. Hamsaduta had sent Srila Prabhupada a pair of new canvas shoes. Early that morning before Srila Prabhupada's walk, Srutakirti had taken pleasure in expertly slipping a shoehorn into the new shoes, one by one, as Prabhupada simultaneously stepped into them and walked to the door as if in one fluid movement. These small tasks gave Srutakirti a great deal of pleasure.

That night, as Srutakirti sat on the bed massaging Prabhupada's legs and simultaneously waving away mosquitoes, Srila Prabhupada started speaking, although he was usually silent. "I had one servant .. " Prabhupada paused, and chuckled. "He could not accept when I said that we did not go to the moon. He left."

Prabhupada looked up at Srutakirti in earnest, "You will not leave, will you?"

Srutakirti assured Prabhupada that he had no problems accepting Prabhupada's conclusions about the so-called moon landing, and that no, he would not leave. Srutakirti was touched by Prabhupada's genuine concern for his well-being, and felt a renewed sense of privilege in being Prabhupada's personal servant.


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