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Lecture by HH Niranjana Swami

Gauranga Festival (Ukraine), June 8, 2016

The following is a partially-edited transcription of a lecture given on June 8, 2016 in Gauranga Festival (Ukraine) – First Time Seeing Srila Prabhupada

I oftentimes say, when devotees ask me to speak about Prabhupāda, that I can say my only qualification is that I happened to be on the planet at the same time that Prabhupāda was spreading the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Movement. I took part in his mission, but I didn’t really have so much personal exchange or association with him. I did get the opportunity to see him many times: a few times in the United States, twice in New York as well as in Philadelphia, and also in Māyāpura and Vṛndāvana.

Obviously, each time I got that opportunity to see him and to hear from him was just an overwhelming experience, and reinforcement of how loving, kind and compassionate Śrīla Prabhupāda was, and how much he meant to me. Although I could tell a few stories about my observations and small exchanges that I experienced in my heart in his presence, I always prefer to speak from a different angle, and that is that my first meeting with Śrīla Prabhupāda was from reading his books. I personally feel that by describing my own experience of that, it opens up the opportunities for other devotees to get similar realizations, because everyone who comes in contact with Śrīla Prabhupāda in his books is actually associating with Prabhupāda. And if we, by good fortune, get the opportunity to come in contact with him (as I did first from his books, even before meeting any of his devotees), then it should be encouraging to anybody that we can associate with Prabhupāda, and develop our love and our gratitude to him for bringing us to Kṛṣṇa consciousness in his books.

Because this experience of personal, direct association with Śrīla Prabhupāda was only exclusively accessible to those, who met Śrīla Prabhupāda when he was on this planet, but Prabhupāda said, “I will live forever in my books.” So, if Prabhupāda is living forever in his books, then anyone who comes in contact with Kṛṣṇa consciousness through Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, is getting the opportunity to get inspiration and his association. Of course, after my first meeting with Śrīla Prabhupāda, which was in a books store, in due course of time I started to associate with his followers. And from his followers I learned so much more about him, and so much more about how to follow his instructions.

Particularly one devotee, who was probably the most instrumental in bringing me into the temple, after reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, was my God-brother Keśava from San Francisco. He was always very encouraging, and it was very much because of him (and Viṣṇujana Swami as well) that I decided to join the temple. So, first I met Śrīla Prabhupāda in the form of his book “Bhagavad-gītā As It Is”, and then I met Śrīla Prabhupāda and those who loved him, his followers. Those meetings were all very important and relevant for my growth in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

I would like to tell one little story in connection to what led up to my first meeting, physically seeing Prabhupāda face to face. The first time I saw Prabhupāda I was already second initiated, because Prabhupāda accepted me as his disciple for the first and second initiation through mail. He requested the local leaders to conduct the fire sacrifice to give me my name, and for my second initiation to give me my sacred thread. I started distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books in 1973, but I never really became steady at that service until probably sometime in the early part of 1975. For me, that was my way of reciprocating for all the nourishment that I got in my Kṛṣṇa consciousness through his books and through his followers, by surrendering to distributing his books. And for me it was a very great surrender. In my heart I always felt this constant confirmation from Prabhupāda, that he was most pleased if I distributed his books. And this reciprocation really sustained me in my Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Then one day, when I was on book distribution, the Temple President called and said, “Prabhupāda is coming to Boston and I want you to come back and fix up his rooms.” Because before coming to Kṛṣṇa consciousness I was a carpenter, so I knew how to refinish walls, floors, ceilings, paint, demolition… everything.

Prabhupāda was planning a visit to Boston that year. He saw a picture of the building that we have purchased the previous year, and as soon as he saw the picture and was told about the place where it was (a very, very influential place in Boston), Prabhupāda said, “I will go there next year!” So, he made his itinerary in 1975 and included the visit to Boston. The Temple President called me when I was on the book distribution and said, “You have to come back and fix up Prabhupāda’s quarters.”

I was a little insubordinate and I said to him, “No, Prabhupāda wants me to distribute his books.” [Guru Mahārāja laughs] I said, “I am convinced Prabhupāda would be much more pleased if I stay out and distribute his books!”

At that point the Temple President was a little bit more firm with me and said, “You are the only person in the temple who knows how to do this. Why don’t you at least come back to the temple and we’ll talk about it.” So, I came back to the temple, and he took me up to the second floor and brought me into the room where Prabhupāda was going to stay, and said, “Would you put your Spiritual Master in this room?”

And I had to be honest, “No. I cannot imagine putting my Spiritual Master in this room.”

So, he said, “Do you understand now why you have to come back and fix up the quarters for Prabhupāda?”

So, I surrendered. And it was a lot of work. If I tell you how much work… it was a lot of work. We had only moved into the building the previous year, and I had to do a lot of the carpentry work just to move the Deities, what to speak of for Prabhupāda’s visit. It actually took quite some time to renovate the rooms. Months. Because I had to fix up three rooms; and I had to fix up his bathroom also; and I had to connect the bathroom to his room.

During that time, we also were remodeling the altar for Prabhupāda’s visit. My God-brother Ambarīṣa Prabhu, who had been visiting Boston at that time, donated money for us to get marble for the altar. The Temple President one day said to me, “We have to go to New York to get the marble for the altar.”

It is about 250 miles away from Boston, and he never told me actually the reason why we are going to New York. So, on a way when we entered New York City and just before arriving at the “La Guardia” airport, the Temple President told me, “We are not going to get the marble. I was lying. Prabhupāda is arriving at the airport today. We are going to see him.” I’ve never seen Prabhupāda before.

So, we were at the gate where Prabhupāda’s plane was supposed to arrive – and we were the only ones there, just the two of us. We were thinking, “Wow, this is amazing! Nobody else is here!” [Guru Mahārāja laughs] Then we started to think, “Maybe Prabhupāda is not coming!” I cannot remember exactly how the Temple President who brought me there found out, but he made a phone calls and found out that Prabhupāda is still coming.

And he was coming at that gate. So we stayed there at the gate waiting for Prabhupāda’s plane to arrive, and then finally somebody came in and said, “What are you doing in here?” And we said, “We are waiting for Prabhupāda.” He said, “No, you should go wait downstairs with everybody else!” [Guru Mahārāja laughs] We immediately understood that’s why nobody was at the gate, because everybody was downstairs waiting for Prabhupāda at the baggage claim area. We tried to convince him to let us stay but he wouldn’t let us – we had to go downstairs.

So, when we went downstairs, there were actually at least 150 devotees – the senior devotees, sannyāsīs– and they were all waiting for Prabhupāda by the gate. When the flight arrived, Prabhupāda was supposed to come down at this particular escalator, and we were all waiting for him at the bottom of the escalator, with kīrtan. Everybody was coming down from the flight, but not Prabhupāda.

All of a sudden, way off in the distance, somebody spotted Prabhupāda. He came down a different way, he tricked us. And the 150 devotees moved like a swarm of honey bees!!! [Guru Mahārāja laughs] They were jumping over the baggage carousels, they were pushing through people, and everybody was just running like complete “mob” to greet Prabhupāda.

This was my first time seeing Śrīla Prabhupāda! I’ve been serving him for two years already. So finally I ran with everybody else to see Prabhupāda, and immediately fell to the ground to offer my daṇḍavats. Of course, I was emotional. He was just the most beautiful object that I’ve ever seen with these two eyes! He had his cane, and when he was walking he seem to not step onto the floor.

Then the devotees brought him upstairs because there was a press conference. There were some reporters there who wanted to ask Prabhupāda questions, and as it turned out, the questions related to what Prabhupāda was talking about women’s liberation – they were really hot questions. The reporter was trying to get to Prabhupāda about the role of women in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Movement. Prabhupāda was very firm that a woman must always be protected. And this woman reporter didn’t like that. [Guru Mahārāja laughs] She kept asking Prabhupāda challenging questions. I saw the whole thing, although I couldn’t hear everything because I was a little bit too far away, but I heard devotees going, “Jay!!! Haribol!!! Haribol!!!” every time Prabhupāda would defeat her. [Guru Mahārāja laughs]

After that, Prabhupāda left and went out to the car, and I got to walk just practically right behind him. Prabhupāda was walking very quickly with his cane, and I was running and I experienced that I couldn’t keep up with him! It was almost like he defied the laws of gravity. And I immediately understood this is someone who is from the spiritual world.

I just want to end the story with one small important point, which meant a lot to me. Actually, that opportunity I got to see Śrīla Prabhupāda at that time, was a big surprise to me by my Temple President – it was definitely a great mercy. I took it as Śrīla Prabhupāda was reciprocating for the surrender that I had to do to come back and to fix up his quarters.

Then later that year, Śrīla Prabhupāda got a message from India that Indira Gandhi wanted to meet with Prabhupāda in India – so Prabhupāda never came to Boston. He had to change his whole itinerary to go to India to meet with Indira Gandhi.

I got my first realization how there is no loss or diminution in surrendering in devotional service. I worked so hard to fix up those rooms, but Prabhupāda never saw them. But Prabhupāda was very kind to me. And I’ll always be grateful to that devotee who gave me that opportunity to go see Prabhupāda at the airport.

So, we should never think there is any loss or diminution in surrendering. The greatest fruit of that surrender is that we meditate on trying to please Guru and Kṛṣṇa! The real result of surrender is that we get that confirmation in our heart that Guru and Kṛṣṇa is pleased. And even if we cannot show him the result of all our work – he knows! Because Prabhupāda was always getting help from Kṛṣṇa. This was a very important lesson that I’ve learned in service to Śrīla Prabhupāda. I learned it from reading his books, I learned it by associating with his dear disciples – and he confirmed everything. This is the best way to please Kṛṣṇa’s pure devotee! It is incalculable what mercy will come as a result of our surrender!

Of course, for me that was only one surrender. Our life is meant for constant surrender. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda has thought us how to constantly surrender. And I get the inspiration not only from reading Prabhupāda’s books, but by seeing how surrendered my God-brothers are in service to him.

So, just as my God-brothers were very great source of nourishment to me then, in my formative years of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are great source of inspiration and strength to me now. And even tough Śrīla Prabhupāda is physically absent – he is here in his followers. I would like to thank them for keeping Śrīla Prabhupāda alive for me! Thank you Trivikrama Mahārāja, Bhakti Caitanya Mahārāja!