Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Living in the temple meant a deeper commitment. It was expected that we would assume regular duties, just as the other devotees had. Now, in addition to cleaning the pots and the kitchen floor, I was engaged by the cooks in kneading the dough to make the one hundred fifty capatis that were served each day at lunch. Getting the proportion of flour and water to come out just right took practice. My first attempts at rolling the capatis made everyone laugh. Rather than coming out in perfect circles, they become long, uneven rectangles. The cooks explained that unless they were made just right, they would not puff up when put on the fire. If they were rolled too thick they would remain raw inside, while those rolled too thin would end up as hard biscuits. But although I laboured for some time, I could not shape the dough properly. Finally, I decided to leave the rolling to more experienced hands and contented myself in making the dough into small round balls, the preliminary stage before it would be flattened out for rolling. The next day I again tried rolling, this time with a little more success. Gradually, by practice, I became a modestly good capati roller.
I had not lived together with so many people since my days in summer camp as a young boy. While a visitor to the temple I had made only a casual acquaintance with the devotees. Now, as I became familiar with them each individually, my appreciation for Krsna consciousness increased. I observed how such diverse personalities were able to live peacefully in a close spiritual family, when ordinarily there would have been little likelihood of any two being friends. It was a common interest in serving Krsna that made the relationships compatible. I found it difficult to associate with any of my previous friends, except for Mark, although formerly we had all shared so many similar interests. And yet although I hardly knew the other devotees, I enjoyed associating with them. I found I was appreciating them more for the service they were rendering to their spiritual master and Krsna than for their physical or mental characteristics, and I remembered Srila Prabhupada's description of Krsna consciousness as the peace formula that could elevate men beyond their bodily differences to the true platform Srila Prabhupada said of spiritual brotherhood. At least our small experiment was proof that Prabhupada's formula worked. Out of respect for each other's spiritual identity the devotees called each other prabhu, or "master," and although there were moments when tempers flared, these were easily passed over as they offered each other obeisances and embraced.
Seeing each devotee so nicely serving his spiritual master made me aware of my neophyte condition, and I became eager to learn from them the art of devotional service. There was Uddhava Prabhu, the head cook; Upendra Prabhu, Prabhupada's personal servant; Krsna dasa Prabhu, an apprentice jeweler; Cidananda Prabhu; and the temple president, Jayananda Prabhu. And because they were the brahmacaris I lived with, they became my first instructors.
The temple itself was small and easy to maintain, so there was ample time for studying Srimad-Bhagavatam. It was an idyllic existence, with hardly any worries, in large part due to the efforts of our temple president.
The first time I saw Jayananda Prabhu, he was chanting his morning japa. The intensity with which he rocked back and forth chanting his rounds startled me. When I was later informed that he alone was supporting the entire temple, I immediately admired and respected such a sober personality. While the other brahmacaris spent the day in temple activities, Jayananda drove his taxicab, earning money to pay the rent, food, and other bills. But he was present every morning and evening at all of the programs. I especially enjoyed his classes. Describing the passengers he serviced in his taxicab, Jayananda would speak with great compassion, lamenting their suffering condition. I was impressed that one could maintain a connection with the outside world and still be so absorbed in Krsna consciousness.
Joining the temple also meant shaving our long locks of hair. Hearing of the benefits of a clean-shaven head had not been enough to make the idea appealing to me. Although I knew it was hygienic and made one less body conscious, I was a little attached to keeping my hair. However, Mark was fearless. The very first day, he sat in the kitchen on a chair and ordered that his head be shaved. Seeing Mark's sincerity dispelled all of Gargamuni's misgivings about us. Among the devotees Gargamuni was considered a shrewd businessman, but as a rare act of charity he presented Mark and me each with a set of first-class japa beads from his store. Seeing the two new brahmacaris brought gladness to everyone's heart.
Biographies and Glorifications of Srila Prabhupada-Servant of the Servant-The West Coast Days-"Your Name Is Tamal Krishna"-Tamala Krsna Goswami
Comments