I was on sankirtana at Botafogo Beach in Rio de Janeiro. At a bar table, there were three fat old men. One told me, “We don’t want to buy anything! I’m an Evangelical. He’s a spiritualist, and he’s a Pai-de-Santo [a priest of Umbanda, an African-Brazilian religion].”
I continued the conversation, trying to find my point, until I said, “But look, this is one of Srila Prabhupada’s books!”
The Pai-de-Santo exclaimed, “Let me see this book of Prabhupada. Prabhupada is an enlightened person!”
I was impressed.
The spiritualist agreed, “Yeah! Prabhupada is really good.”
The Pai-de-Santo continued, speaking to his companions, “If you knew a third of Prabhupada’s life, you would see what he went through—it’s a lot of surrender.”
And looking to me, he added, “I have a picture of Prabhupada this size [showing a space of about 50 cm, or 20 inches, with his hands] in the center of my church. Prabhupada is illuminated! He is an exalted saintly personality.”
So, he took the book. And I realized again that Srila Prabhupada is worshipped by every sincere pious person from every religion.
Jagat-guru Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Your servant,
Mahananda Murari Dasa
Source: https://girirajswami.com/blog/?p=18050
Comments