When I first met Akincana Krishna dasa Babaji, I didn’t know what to say. I simply offered my respects and said, “Srila Akincana Krishna dasa Babaji Maharaja ki jaya!”
Maharaja saw that I had a tape recorder in my hands, and without my having to say anything, he closed his eyes and started tapping his hands together and sang his mangala-carana before singing Sri Krishna Chaitanya. When he started singing the Hare Krishna mantra, it was like going into another world. He was chanting so beautifully, and it was like each syllable was drenched in bhava and prema.
After about twenty minutes, he stopped. He looked at me and said, “I would like to tell you something.”
“What is that?” I said.
He said, “I am an old man, and I’ve had a lot of experience in this world. From my experience, I can honestly tell you that there has never been a greater acharya than your spiritual master [Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada].”
When he said that, I was stunned, because he was a disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Then he looked up and he said, “There has never been an acharya in history who has performed miracles like your spiritual master.”
He paused and looked at me and asked, “Do you know why?”
I couldn’t speak.
“Because in history there was never a greater servant of Sri Krishna’s holy name than your spiritual master, because your spiritual master had so much absolute understanding of Sri Krishna’s holy name and so much absolute faith in Sri Krishna’s holy name that he personally carried Sri Krishna’s holy name through the length and the breadth of the world. Therefore, he is the greatest acharya who has ever existed.”
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
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