SPD07-08 Śrīla Prabhupāda Nectar
SPD07-08
Srila Prabhupada Nectar
Srila Prabhupada Nectar
[00:04] [Dr. Kapoor:] I first came into contact with my Prabhupada, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, in 1931.
[00:11] Ever since then, I used to go to attend the evening kirtana and part in the Rūpa Gauḍiya Math at Allahabad.
[00:20] You see? Both Prabhupada-I mean Abhay Babu, as we used to call him then, you see-
[00:29] both Abhay Babu and I used to live in Allahabad.
[00:37] Both of us lived in Allahabad, and both of us used to go to attend
[00:41] the evening part and kirtana in Rūpa Gauḍiya Math.
[00:44] So we started meeting there, you see. Both he and I used to go to attend the evening part and kirtana.
[00:52] And I remember sometimes he would play on mrdahga, you see.
[00:58] Sometimes he would sing. He was very good at that, you see, both mrdahga and kirtana.
[01:03] He was very good at that. He had a shop. It was a chemist then.
[01:06] He had a shop in Jantariapura[?], you see, then later on he shifted to Bhadrikaganj[?], a better locality.
[01:18] And I remember he also used to manufacture his medicines,
[01:24] and occasionally he made some tonic, and once or twice he gave me his tonics, you see? He gave me his tonics, which I used, you see.
[01:36] Once, it was so funny. Here in the ISKCON temple someone asked me,
[01:42] in Prabhupada's presence, "Dr. Kapoor, how old are you?"
[01:45] I said, "Well, I am seventy-five." It was about ten years back; perhaps more.
[01:49] "What is the secret of your health?" I said, "Prabhupada's tonics."
[01:55] Prabhupada remembered. He laughed.
[01:57] [Vrindavan De, Prabhupada's son:] And there had been no such information about his leaving.
[02:03] He was out of the house for some...
[02:06] Usually he was going out of the house for his personal work or some business purposes.
[02:13] But on the particular day-I don't remember the exact date of that time-
[02:22] as soon as he left home...
[02:24] We were thinking that Prabhupada will come back again to home in the evening,
[02:28] that he was usually used to do. But the particular date he left home; he did not turn up again.
[02:36] [Sita Ram Daga:] I asked Prabhupada, "Prabhupada, how you were separated from your family?"
[02:44] He said that "My wife is a big..., drinks..., is a tea..." She was taking too much of teas.
[02:55] So Prabhupada told her, "Whether you want me or tea?" At that time she said "Tea."
[03:01] "So then I said that you do with your tea; I will go with my own way."
[03:08] [Sumati Morarjee:] Prabhupada I only met when there was a function, some, you know, religious function, in Kuruksetra.
[03:20] There was a very big..., people had come for bath and taking bath and all that.
[03:27] And I had gone there with maybe two or three people who were there, but they were not interested in talks;
[03:35] they wanted to go round and eat and do something. I was not interested.
[03:40] I was going round, seeing people.
[03:44] So I met Prabhupada sitting down below a tree. Because it was quite hot.
[03:52] So he was sitting there. so I asked him, I said, "[Hindi] Babaji [Hindi]." He was in white clothes-dhoti and [indistinct].
[04:04] So I talked with him for about half an hour or so.
[04:10] At that time I don't think he had become a sadhu or a sannyasi. He was just...
[04:17] Then he said, "My family is in Calcutta, but I have come for this function here, to have a bath here."
[04:26] That way we talked for some times. And then he said, "Suppose I want to meet you?"
[04:33] I gave him my card. Choksi, you know, my office fellow, he was with me.
[04:40] So I called him, I said, "Choksi, come." And then he gave him my card, his card and all that, and
[04:48] "You come to Scindia House if you want to talk to us."
[04:53] After that he came to Scindia House one evening very late, still later.
[04:59] I was still in the office doing some work, then I got up and wanted to, you know, come home.
[05:07] It was..., must be about seven o'clock. It was quite dark. There was nobody. Office [indistinct]. Nobody was there.
[05:15] So Choksi was sitting there on his table. So I asked him,
[05:20] I said, "Choksi, who is that gent sitting with you?"
[05:23] Because Choksi was sitting on his table, and Swamiji was sitting like this, what I am sitting.
[05:30] And Choksi was sitting at his table.
[05:32] So he said, "No, somebody has come, some svami, but he doesn't listen to me."
[05:39] He said, "No, I would like to meet her, and then one day I will call, I will talk to her."
[05:45] I went there and I said [Hindi]. Then he showed me Bhagavata.
[05:53] He said, "[Hindi] your name," and "we have met in Kuruksetra. Do you remember?
[05:59] I want to get this book printed."
[06:04] I said, "You can come tomorrow," because when there are some people and daylight.
[06:10] And also, you know, at this time it was really getting darker. So Choksi is alone.
[06:20] So he said, "Yes, I'll come."
[06:22] Then I... Still I asked Choksi, because my secretary was there, so he typed out a letter
[06:31] to one or two friends-they are no more now-so, telling them that
[06:41] "Why don't you do something about this gentleman? He has written Bhagavata,
[06:48] and I would like you to help him. And I am going to do this, this much."
[06:55] I wrote that letter and gave it. He went, and then I went home.
[06:59] After a day he came and he said, "Now I am going to back to Vrndavana."
[07:05] I said, "Why are you going?" He said, "My work is done.
[07:10] Now I will try to see how I can get it printed."
[07:13] [Dr. Kapoor:] My association with Bhaktivedanta Maharaja Prabhupada increased more and more,
[07:23] and, you see, naturally we would always talk of Krsna and Prabhupada and so on.
[07:34] In 1932, the year after that, I joined this parikrama.
[07:40] Prabhupada couldn't join, because he was in business, you see.
[07:43] He was in business. He couldn't come.
[07:45] When I returned from the parikrama he asked me about the parikrama,
[07:52] and I had to tell him what happened, you see, [indistinct] and so on. For a number of days, he...
[08:02] For about five, six years we were together at Allahabad, you see.
[08:08] And we used to meet almost every day. After that, I joined government service.
[08:14] After that, we didn't meet for a very long time, you see. For a very long time; I think about twenty-five or thirty years.
[08:25] When I retired from government service I came to stay here in Vrndavana,
[08:32] and I had lost all contact with Prabhupada. I did not know what had happened to him.
[08:37] Perhaps he did not know about me.
[08:39] One day, accidentally, I was in Radha-Damodara temple here, sitting in the veranda,
[08:49] waiting for someone, and I saw Prabhupada coming out of his room.
[08:54] He was then staying here, you see.
[08:57] He came out, with two American disciples.
[09:02] Prabhupada naturally was in sannyasa-vesa at this time,
[09:07] and actually, I couldn't recognize him. He was so much...
[09:12] Years had made change, and then he had put on... He was now a sannyasi, so he was completely changed.
[09:20] And I was also changed, but not so much as Prabhupada. So he just kept gazing at me.
[09:29] And then after some time he just hazarded a guess and said, "Dr. Kapoor?"
[09:35] I recognized him from his voice. I said, "Abhay Babu?" And then he embraced me. You see?
[09:42] Sometimes you recognize your old friends from voice more than from face.
[09:47] I recognized... As soon as he said "Dr. Kapoor," I recognized him.
[09:52] So then, he was perhaps going somewhere. He cancelled his program, took me inside his room
[09:58] and told me about all the work that he had done. He had just returned from...
[10:01] I think after his visit to America this was the first time he had come back.
[10:06] He was now an international figure, and he told me all about the work that he had done,
[10:11] showed me the newspaper cuttings and so on.
[10:13] [Sumati Morarjee:] All of a sudden, one day he came to office, and he said, "I want to go to America."
[10:18] I said, "Are you crazy? Why do you want to go there? What will you do?
[10:24] You know American government, you know sometimes they are very funny.
[10:28] They will send you back. So once it goes on record that you are sent back,
[10:36] then they won't let you in. Why do you want to go there?"
[10:38] And at that time not so many people were not going to America. Now it is quite different.
[10:44] So I said, "Why do you want to go [Hindi]?" So he won't listen.
[10:52] [Giriraja:] What does it mean?
[10:54] [Sumati Morarjee:] "Old man, you are going to die." Like this. That "Who will look after you? What will you do there?"
[11:01] So he said [Hindi]. I said, "All right, I'll make this arrangement, then you go."
[11:07] So when the arrangement was made, he was in Bombay.
[11:12] I made all these arrangement with the captain, and the ship went to load some ports. [indistinct]
[11:22] Then they came back. At that time, our other ship dropped him...
[11:29] I think he went from Calcutta. So the other ship went and dropped him there,
[11:37] and then he went by that ship.
[11:41] [Vrindavan De:] He was deciding before he left India... He was staying in a dharma-sala,
[11:46] that is free lodging and all of that, north Calcutta,
[11:55] and I had taken him off from there by a taxi. Immediately we rushed to [indistinct],
[12:03] very early morning at about five, five-thirty.
[12:06] I said nothing, because I was very much shocked that he was leaving us.
[12:13] Immediately he realized our mental position, and he advised me,
[12:18] "Don't be worried. I am soon be returning to India, and I'll take your news and all of that.
[12:33] Let me come back."
[12:34] [Sumati Morarjee:] I used to talk on telephone with him.
[12:38] Because I had told the captain that "You see that he talks to me, so there is no trouble for him."
[12:47] So he used to. So you know this Gokulastami day?
[12:53] [Giriraja:] Yes.
[12:54] [Sumati Morarjee:] Krsna-janmastami.
[12:55] [Giriraja:] Yes.
[12:56] [Sumati Morarjee:] He was in Suez. So he phoned me, captain phoned me. He said, on board the...,
[13:03] they had to cross the Suez Canal. So they were there. So captain phoned me
[13:12] that "Today is Gokulastami," and on board the ship they were having a meeting,
[13:19] and "Swamiji will talk to us, and then we will distribute sweets
[13:24] which we got, and everyone, and then we will have some bhajana record playing," and all that.
[13:34] [Vrindavan De:] I was associated with the..., in the same compartment in the ship, that cabin I mean, cabin, that ship cabin.
[13:45] Because that was a cargo ship. That was not a passenger ship.
[13:51] So apart from the captain's room one apartment was there, an extra.
[14:00] And he was offered that room to go to USA.
[14:06] And after reaching Boston Port I got a letter from him, and from that letter I was informed
[14:19] he was attacked twice in heart attack in the same ship in a journey of twenty-three days
[14:29] to reach over to Boston. And immediately he asked me to send a medicine, that Ayurvedic.
[14:40] He mentioned the name of that medicine, and immediately I rushed to the shop
[14:45] and bought it, immediately sent it to him by air post. And he acknowledged
[14:54] that medicine and told me that "At that time my mental value was not so quite good,"
[15:03] because of his sickness and all other. Because he was quite aged at that time.
[15:10] And it was obvious to become sorrowed, a father..., after all, he was our father.
[15:18] So immediately I sent this medicine to him in his address in the USA,
[15:25] and he acknowledged it, and he was being recovered very fast, very rapid, and we, all of our families were pleased.
[15:38] [Sumati Morarjee:] I talked with the Swamiji on the telephone. So he said, "Ne, ne, I am quite all right,
[15:45] but I am very seasick." So I was talking to this captain and all that, so he said to tell me,
[15:56] little mata[?], that "I am going to die now." He was very much seasick,
[16:03] he was not feeling comfortable. So he phoned me also. I said,
[16:07] "You are not going to die, don't worry. Seasickness doesn't kill anybody."
[16:12] Then he was not feeling very comfortable, because the sea is not very good on that time.
[16:17] Little rough. So then when he [indistinct] that captain phoned me, he agreed, and I talked to Swamiji. He said yes.
[16:31] [Mr. Sethji:] We went to Warden Road, Akash Ganga, where this Hare Krsna devotee was staying.
[16:41] I went there and met to the Swami Madhudvisa, who was the in-charge of the devotees.
[16:55] I sat for a few minutes, and then I was told by Madhudvisa that "Guruji
[17:03] came just now from America, and sitting another room. So you come with me
[17:13] and take the darsana of Guruji." So I went to that room with Madhudvisa
[17:21] and to take the darsana of Guruji.
[17:27] After sitting some time, Guruji asked me, "Where are you living?" I said, "I am living at Gauragong, suburb[?] of Bombay."
[17:41] Then Guruji asked, "What are you doing?" I said, "My business is construction."
[17:52] So Guruji asked, "When you are getting up early in the morning, and what are you doing?"
[17:59] And I said, "When I getting up in morning I am taking one cup of tea
[18:08] and going to toilet and taking bath, and then going on work."
[18:17] And Guruji suddenly said, "Then what is difference between pig and you?
[18:23] You are just like a pig." Then I said, "Yes, Maharaja. Please advise me
[18:32] that how can I change my life." Then Guruji said, "You must do to service of Krsna."
[18:49] Then I said, "I am not associated any spiritual movement
[18:57] or the saint or the devotees."
[19:01] So Guruji said, "From tomorrow my devotees will come to your house early in the morning,
[19:11] and then you do the naga-sahkirtana there with my devotees,
[19:16] and then all the devotees will take feast, lunch, at your home,
[19:24] and you will be involved in this way in the spiritual movement."
[19:36] [Kaisori-vallabha dasi] [translated from Hindi] One day, while giving Prabhupada his prasadam, I asked him,
[19:44] "Prabhupada, what is your favorite preparation?"
[19:48] Prabhupada replied, saying that he likes all the preparations. I enquired again,
[19:54] "No, Prabhupada. What is your most favorite preparation?"
[19:58] Then Prabhupada said that his favorite preparation is sukta.
[20:02] So I used to cook four or five types of sukta for Prabhupada every day.
[20:07] Whenever I would take Prabhupada his prasadam, he would say,
[20:10] "You have cooked so much prasadam for me, but first give me the sukta."
[20:15] So I would always give Prabhupada his sukta first.
[20:20] [Mr. Sethji:] When we purchased this land, Hare Krishna Land, there was living so many characterless peoples
[20:31] who were doing the liquor business, and there were also, after some time,
[20:41] quarrel between Mr. Nair. This land was called Nair-wadi; now it is Hare Krishna Land.
[20:56] So one day, Guruji was here. We were sitting in this, you know, Annette[?] Road...
[21:10] [Giriraja:] Valiya's house.
[21:13] [Mr. Sethji:] Valiya's house. Guruji was there, myself, Valiya and my wife was there in that room.
[21:23] Valiya said to Guruji that "Guruji, Mr. Nair will not give you this land,
[21:30] because he was offered by some hoteler, hotel owner, for thirty-six lakhs,
[21:44] and you are purchasing for fourteen lakhs.
[21:50] And Mr. Nair has to pay so much income tax, so he must be change his idea,
[22:00] and he will give the land to that person who has offered for thirty-six lakhs."
[22:07] Then Guruji said, "It is no matter. If he don't want to give this land to us,
[22:16] that he must return our money.
[22:19] But I don't think that he can pay the income tax in this life."
[22:28] So Guruji went at the night to Sydney, and when we wake up in the morning
[22:41] we heard that Mr. Nair's heart failed and he died.
[22:47] So you can imagine that all Guruji said, that "I can't think that Mr. Nair will pay
[23:00] income tax burden in this life." So Mr. Nair-finished.
[23:07] [Kaisori-vallabha dasi] [translated from Hindi] I was cooking prasadam for Prabhupada every day.
[23:16] One day, somehow, the prasad, was late, so Palika cooked something quickly and
[23:21] took it to Prabhupada. Prabhupada asked, "Where is the prasad that Kaisori cooked?"
[23:27] And he immediately asked the devotee to phone the big kitchen
[23:29] and find out why the prasad was late. So I hurried and quickly took the prasad to
[23:35] Prabhupada's house, and when I got to the house, Prabhupada was standing
[23:39] in front of the stairs. I immediately put my head down and took the prasad inside.
[23:45] Just as I was leaving the house, Prabhupada asked me, "Why are you crying?"
[23:50] I said, "Prabhupada, because I delayed your prasad today." Prabhupada said,
[23:56] "I am not upset about that. What I am worried about is that if you delay my prasad,
[24:02] then you might one day delay Radha-Madhava's prasad,
[24:05] and if you delay Radha-Madhava's prasad, then He might become upset.
[24:10] That is why I have asked why my prasad was late."
[24:15] [Sita Ram Daga:] He is always speaking truth, you see, and always quoting from Bhagavatam,
[24:20] Srimad Bhagavad-gita and from Caitanya-caritamrta.
[24:25] Always quoting some slokas from those places.
[24:30] But he was so simple to answer those questions to us that anybody, even a atheist,
[24:38] will feel that "I should be in touch always with Prabhupada."
[24:43] [P. Kumar:] He had a smiling face. I am seeing that he is the celestial flower of the paradise.
[24:50] How affectionate man he is. I can't remember...,
[24:54] I can't place the actual meaning of such smiling. I have never seen such a smiling.
[25:01] [Kaisori-vallabha dasi] Prabhupada used to go for a japa walk every morning with his disciples
[25:08] after mahgala-arati. Some days he would walk to the Math.
[25:13] Some days he would walk along the Ganges.
[25:15] Some days he would walk around the pukkur. Some days he would come to the kitchen.
[25:21] After the japa walk, Prabhupada would come to guru-pūja, and as devotees
[25:25] would offer flowers to him, he would give them prasadam.
[25:31] [Dr. Kapoor:] Once he said to me, "Dr. Kapoor, forgive me for my offenses. "
[25:41] I don't know what he really meant. I said, "What do you mean? What offenses?"
[25:48] That was his greatness, I think, his humility. His humility. He had done so much for Mahaprabhu, you see.
[25:58] "What offenses? I can't understand what you mean." Humility, what else?
[26:07] [Kaisori-vallabha dasi] After Prabhupada would take darsana of Radha-Madhava,
[26:15] he would go around the Deities three times.
[26:18] Each time he would stop and ring the bell, and then he would raise his arms and dance.
[26:24] All the devotees would dance with him in ecstasy.
[26:27] When children would pass in front of him he would stop again and dance.
[26:31] In this way he would go around the Deities three times.
[26:36] [Shampa De, Prabhupada's granddaughter:] [translated] I can only speak what I know from reading Prabhupada's books,
[26:44] because I never saw Prabhupada personally.
[26:47] I may not be able to do what Prabhupada did, but I know that in order to get free
[26:52] from this material existence, I should follow in his footsteps
[26:56] and follow the path he has shown.
[26:58] In the future I will try to dedicate my mind and life to Krsna, and of course Prabhupada, too.
[27:05] [Vrindavan De:] He advised me in 1977, three or four months before his disappearance,
[27:16] "Please take care of your mother and your family, because I left home.
[27:23] And you are two brothers, and your elder brother has become very inactive,
[27:29] so you must be well careful to take the responsibilities and all other things
[27:36] that may be required for benefiting of your family and all other members."
[27:42] [Sumati Morarjee:] He was telling me that "I'm going to build a, in Vrndavana, asrama.
[27:52] So I am going to build a special place for you to stay. When you go, I'll come."
[27:59] Last he went from there. I know, he sent me a letter,
[28:05] "I'm going to Vrndavana now, and I don't think that I will come [back]."
[28:11] He knew that he was going to go.
[28:15] I told him also, "We'll get doctor." He said, "Ne, ne." Very nice man.
[28:23] As a man also he was very nice. Very kind, very soft. Very nice. The man has done so much.
[28:33] And what did he take? Nothing. And he has left behind such a big landmark.
[28:43] Not only religion. Religion, culture-everything, all over the world.
[28:50] We must try to see that whatever he has done is kept.
[28:58] You can't increase, all right, but you must keep it. It must remain alive.
[29:05] That is what I feel.
[29:08] [Vrindavan De:] We are deeply charmed, and rather we are very much proud of our father,
[29:15] that is your spiritual master, and of course you are also our spiritual guide [addresing Giriraja].
[29:23] We are very much charmed and pleased. No ordinary people can do it.
[29:32] It is absolutely impossible for them, rather, to make a good mission
[29:39] and a big mission, and wide range of propagation and all other, because...
[29:47] It is very... We much feel, rather, very proud of our father, and this is our ultimate conclusion about that.
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