#prabhupada early days guru meeting

The spark for love of Krsna is struck by the spiritual master, the pure devotee. As for myself, my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Om Visnupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada, ordered me to take up the responsibility of spreading Krsna consciousness in the Western world. His Divine Grace had a great desire to preach Lord Caitanya's message in the West, and my success is both his grace and pleasure. When I first met my spiritual master, I was a very young man in India, a nationalist, engaged in a very responsible office. But although I did not want to go; one of my friends, who is still living in Calcutta, forcibly took me to His Divine Grace. I was reluctant to see him because in our home our father used to receive many sannyasis, and I was not very satisfied with their dealings. I thought that Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja might be a similar man, and if he were, what business would I have in seeing him? But my friend took me forcibly. "Why not see him?" he asked. I finally relented and went with him, and I profited. (More...)

On my first visit, His Divine Grace said that it was necessary for educated boys like me to go to foreign countries and preach the gospel of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I replied that India was a foreign dominated nation and that no one would hear our message. Actually at the time foreigners considered Indians to be very insignificant because in the face of so many independent nations India was still dependent, being dominated by Britain. At the time there was one Bengali poet who actually lamented that even uncivilized nations like China and Japan were independent, whereas India was dependent on the British. His Divine Grace convinced me that dependence and independence are simply temporary conditions, and he pointed out that because we are concerned with the eternal benefit of humanity, we should take up this challenge of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This meeting with His Divine Grace, my Guru Maharaja, took place in 1922, half a century ago. (More...)

So when I met Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura... It is a long story, how I met him. One of my friend, he dragged me. [laughing] [laughter] I was at that time Nationalist, and manager in a big chemical factory. My age was about twenty-four years. So one of my friend, he asked me that "There is a nice sadhu, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He has come in Calcutta. So let us go and see." So I was reluctant. I thought just like so, "There are so many sadhus. So I am not very much..." Because I had very bad experience; not very good. So I said, "Oh, these kind of sadhus, there are many." You'll be glad to know that even my in young age or early age-it was Krsna's grace-even amongst my young friends, I was considered the leader. [laughing] [laughter] In my school days, in my college days, in my private friendship, some way or other I became their leader. And one astrologer, sometimes he read my hands. He said in Hindi, hukum calega na. Hukum calega na means "Your hand speaks that your order will be executed." (More...)

Prabhupada: So anyway, it was Krsna's grace. I would not go, but their point of view was that unless I certified that sadhu, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he'll not be accepted. Therefore he dragged me. So I went to see Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura on that day. On the first meeting, just we offer our obeisances. It is the practice. So immediately he began his talking that "You are all educated young men. Why don't you take up Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's cult and preach all over the English-knowing public? Why don't you take up this matter?" So I argued with him in so many... At that time I was Nationalist. So I told that "Who will accept our message? We are dependent nation. Nobody will care." In this way, in my own way, in these younger days... But we belonged to the Vaisnava family, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda, Radha-Govinda. That is our worshipable duty..., er, worshipable Deity. So I was very glad that "Radha-Krsna cult, Caitanya Mahaprabhu's..., this sadhu is trying to preach. It is very nice." (More...)

So at that time we had some talks, and of course I was defeated by his argument, my argument. [laughter] And then, when we came out, we were offered prasadam, very nice treatment, the Gaudiya Matha. And when I came out on the street, this my friend asked me, "What is your opinion of this sadhu?" Then I said that "Here is the right person who has taken up Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's message, and now it will be distributed." (More...)

Prabhupada: So I was at that time a fool, but I opined like this. And I accepted him as my spiritual master immediately. Not officially, but in my heart. That was in 1922. Then, in 1923, I left Calcutta on my business tour, and I made my headquarter at Allahabad. Allahabad is about five hundred miles from Calcutta. So I was thinking that "I met a very nice saintly person." That was my thinking always. So in this way, in 1928, there was a Kumbha-mela. At that time, these Gaudiya Matha people came to Allahabad to establish a center there, and somebody else said, somebody informed them that "You go to that Prayag Pharmacy." My drug shop was named as Prayag Pharmacy. My name was also there. "You go and see Abhay Babu. He is religiously... He will help you." These Gaudiya Matha people, they came to see me. So, "Sir, we have come to you. We have heard your good name. So we want to start a temple here. Please try to help us." So because I was thinking of these Gaudiya Matha people, that "I met a very nice, saintly persons," then as soon as I saw them, I was very much engladdened: "Oh, here are these persons. They have come again." (More...)

So 1922 I met my Guru Maharaja through the exigency of my intimate friend Mr. Narendranath Mullik. And I would not go. He told me information, "There is a nice sadhu. Let us go and see." I did not like very much these sadhus in those days, national spirit. So I said, "I have seen many sadhus. They come at my father's care. I was not very much pleased with their behavior." So he dragged me forcibly: "No, I have heard this person is very exalted." So I went. And his first opening version was that "You are educated young men. Why don't you preach Caitanya Mahaprabhu's gospel in the Western countries?" I did not know. So this was his blessing in the first meeting. I did not know, but I, because we belonged to a Vaisnava family, we were very much worshiper of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, our family Deity. So I was very much pleased that "Here is a personality who is going to preach Caitanya Mahaprabhu's gospel." I was very much pleased. (More...)

Prabhupada: Yes. When I was twenty-five years old I met him first. On the first meeting he ordered me to this. So at that time I was married man. I had two children. So I thought, "I shall do it later on." But I was trying to get out of family life. It took some time. But I was trying my best to carry out his order. In 1944 I started magazine, Back to Godhead, when I was grhastha. Then I started writing books in 1958 or '59. In this way, in 1955 [1965] I came to your country. (More...)

Once we had the opportunity to meet Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, and on first sight he requested this humble self to preach his message in the Western countries.

Manu described herewith the result of seeing a great saintly person. Lord Caitanya says that one should always try to associate with saintly persons because if one establishes a proper association with a saintly person, even for a moment, he attains all perfection. Somehow or other, if one meets a saintly person and achieves his favor, then the entire mission of his human life is fulfilled. In our personal experience we have actual proof of this statement of Manu. Once we had the opportunity to meet Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, and on first sight he requested this humble self to preach his message in the Western countries. There was no preparation for this, but somehow or other he desired it, and by his grace we are now engaged in executing his order, which has given us a transcendental occupation and has saved and liberated us from the occupation of material activities. Thus it is actually a fact that if one meets a saintly person completely engaged in transcendental duties and achieves his favor, then one's life mission becomes complete. What is not possible to achieve in thousands of lives can be achieved in one moment if there is an opportunity to meet a saintly person. It is therefore enjoined in Vedic literature that one should always try to associate with saintly persons and try to disassociate oneself from the common man because by one word of a saintly person one can be liberated from material entanglement. A saintly person has the power, because of his spiritual advancement, to give immediate liberation to the conditioned soul. Here Manu admits that all his doubts are now over because Kardama has very kindly described the different duties of individual souls. (More...)