Rose Forkash

Rose: Yes, and that goes back many years before I met Prabhupada. I have a very willful daughter, a very intelligent girl but willful. And I knew that there would come a time where she would find herself, where she would find her life goal, but until that time, things were a little trying. My husband’s business burnt down. I had a successful school in the arts and I decided that it was time to change, time to seek. I knew something was drawing me away from where I was; I had to leave. Well it was a big move and my husband was very, I should say, sad because I want to say, was concerned about the move. But I knew that I had to leave Illinois and I left with just the younger son. I had an older son that was living in California at that time. So we made the move and we came to Santa Barbara. It did not take six months and Lilashakti said, “I am coming too,” and so she did. 

Several months later she decided she was going to find the religion that she was seeking for. So she went to every church in Santa Barbara. She went to the temple, she spoke with every religionist until one day she met devotees on State Street, who gave her Back to Godhead magazine. And I remember she came home with it and said, “This is what I was waiting for all my life.” I said, “That magazine?” She said, “Mom, I just know this what it.”

So there she was, locked in her bedroom, the candles burning, reading. I was a little worried because I did not know what she is reading. She never showed it to me, until a week later when she said, “I am leaving for Los Angeles. I am going to the Hare Krishna temple.” And for some reason, and to this day I think about this, why did that name sound familiar to me? I had never heard it before, no one ever said that word to me. But it seemed like it was as familiar as my, as my mother. It had that air of I have been there, I have seen it, I have known it, I have heard it; that kind of thing. So anyway, a week later my husband and I were there to see what she was doing. And so I greeted the temple president thinking this doesn’t sound so good because I had never heard you and I approached him. “If there are any drugs going on here, then you are going to hear from me.” And he smiled, “No Mrs. Forcash, there is no drugs here.” 

But then I heard devotees chanting. I followed into the temple. And like I said, I knew I had been there before; everything was familiar. I will move ahead a little bit to tell you that a couple of months later we were there on a Sunday, and I was told that Srila Prabhupada was going to give the lecture. And I said, “Oh, ha-ha, now I am going to meet the man that is responsible for this.” And I think I came in just a little bit late. It was probably about 4:30 or 5:00 o’clock in the evening and where Prabhupada was sitting, there was a window to his right, and the sun was coming through the window, and it seemed like there was a glow around the man. It was the clothing he wore I think, or the sun that was shining on him, but it was like waves of color that surrounded that one side of him. And I was mesmerized because that billowed like a cloud, and he spoke. I was more interested in looking at him than hearing what he was saying. But evidently he had been speaking already because as he closed his message, he asked if there was anybody in the room that would like to ask a question. And my hands shot up in a minute because I thought, Oh, finally I am going to be able to say, what I want to say. And yes, “If this movement that you are bringing here is so necessary, then why did you come so late?” 

“Thank you. I wasn’t late.” And the devotees on this side of the room, they applauded or they agreed.” And he turned angrily and he said, “And you were too,” as he pointed with his finger, but then he explained. I don’t remember everything he said. I was mostly just so interested in this aura that was around his body. If I was to explain it, it would not come out the right way because there was air that surrounded him, that came from the sun and maybe it was the color that he was wearing, but it was more than that, it was almost like he was fairylike. And I thought, This man must be so big. It wasn’t until he stood up that I . . . he was not that big, but he appeared so big in my eyes. 

And he caught my eyes as I am staring at him and I felt so blessed because he looked at me. After that I did see him in the gardens and we did speak on some occasions. And I wish I could tell you what we talked about. Oh yes I did. I remember one thing I told him how interested I was in the movement for myself. And he asked me question about my life, and then at that time I don’t think I was quite into bringing other parents into the temple, or visiting their children. I was just getting myself into the whole thing myself. I was sinking, I felt like I was sinking into an ocean that was completely different than what I had been around. If I was to paint this picture of my thoughts, it would show you what I meant. It was like, there was an ocean of serenity and calm and pleasure and life. I think about it many times because I tried to define my thoughts at that time, and I cannot. Maybe other people can, but I couldn’t. it wasn’t as if I found the answers, I just knew that my place was there.

It was later on that I decided that it was time to bring other families together because so often I would hear devotees say, “Oh Mrs. Forcash, if my mother or father would come here just like you do, I would be so happy. and I would suggest that they go home and be themselves again and come back. But they were always so unhappy because what they did at the temple was nothing like they did at home. It was different and they were unhappy. So it was later that I got interested in letter writing and Prabhupada approved it. In fact he thought that it was a great idea. But here I am, where I am supposed to be. And it make sense to me as I hope it does for yourself. Because everything led up to this, so everything I ever did, everything that I ever thought about, the answers are here. 

Thank you

Haribol

Interviewer: Rose, did you parents also meet Prabhupada?

Rose: Yes, they did. They were very nice, when they came to the temple and they had heard about this already through the phone calls, the letters and the visits. And I took my father and mother up the steps to the temple room. I said, “You have to take your shoes off.” They did not hesitate, they did. My father came into the door and he sees the deity straight ahead and he claps like this. That is the most beautiful thing I ever say in my whole life. My mother was speechless. “Mom, are you there?” She couldn’t talk, she was just. . . it was bewildering to her and impressive and different. But then we visited with them in Florida and that was at one time that my mother and father decided they wanted to live at the temple. There were some big changes going on at that time and one of the visits they made, it was almost arranged for them to stay, and I said to my father, “Papa, you can’t smoke that cigar, once you move there.” And he said that, “It is only one a day” I said, “No, but you can’t do that.” “Alright,” he said “then I won’t.” He was ready to give that up. 

The day before he died, I was in the warehouse at the Los Angeles temple, and I called him on the telephone and he said, “I am sick.” I said, “I know, dad. Could you just say Hare Krishna for me?” He said, “I will try.” I said, “say it papa.” “Hare Krishna,” and that evening he died. 

Mom was surrounded by devotees which was wonderful. They chanted until she took her last breath, and held her hand. And even though she said that she couldn’t hear, every time they chanted and they said Hare Krishna, she pressed the hand of the devotee that held her. So she pressed that hand. I was pretty fortunate, wouldn’t you say?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Rose: I know. They were wonderful parents. My mother was so eager to do saṅkīrtana on State Street in Santa Barbara. So proud. We handed the Back to Godhead magazine, and she did not wait for anyone to come to her, she would walk to them, “Would you like to read a book about God?” she said. As Jewish people would say, sneezing at a remark means that the truth is told. Have you heard that?

Giriraj Swami: No

Rose: Well, you heard it today. 

Interviewer: In Muslim tradition they also have the . . . in Hindu, in India.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Interviewer: Someone (unintelligible)

Rose: She was very proud. She was so proud to be doing saṅkīrtana and she was on the street a couple of hours. She was so disappointed when we said, “That is enough mom.” She said, “I still have a couple of magazines.” She wanted to keep going.

Giriraj Swami: How old was she at the time?

Rose: At that time, about eighty-two. And the devotees were in the background, with all that, they had a box full of Back to Godhead. They were so eager to get rid of them to her because she was so anxious. And she was looking around for someone of us, either Lilashakti or myself, what should she do with this money? Some people were giving her money and she did not know whether she should take it or not take it, or what to do with it. She was very happy. Fortunately, the rest of my family was quite involved in Florida at the temple, and even in Los Angeles they would come to visit and they chanted away. My sons were there very often. I have a daughter in law, who has since passed away, she was from Australia. Her religion was, she was a Christian, but she took to the movement beautifully. In fact there were times, even before she passed away that she would say Hare Krishna to me.

Giriraj Swami: Is that Howard’s wife?

Rose: Yes, his first wife. So with this, all of the family would be involved; the nephews, their wives, their children. Every family visit, I say we, it is always Hare Krishna Aunt Rose.

Giriraj Swami: They are all blessed. I met a number of them at your house. 

Rose: That is right.

Giriraj Swami: They are all very nice people.

Rose: Yes. They were blessed and I was blessed. Now Lila tell me that she provided housing at Fort Ord for some devotees who were in need of an apartment, and so they were given an apartment for six months.

Giriraj Swami: Where?

Rose: Fort Ord, the army base. And they in turn knew some other devotees and a couple of nights ago, they had a program. So she is very happy about that because she said, “Now out of two, suddenly we are six; we will get there yet mom.” She is very happy about that. Now she can go to the programs and (unintelligible 00:21:30–33). I never heard of the story about how you met Prabhupada. 

Giriraj Swami: Well, that is a long

Rose: Is it? 

Giriraj Swami: Yes. I will tell it sometime. 

Rose: Alright. 

Giriraj Swami: I sent that story to someone today. Actually the lady in Durban, South Africa, and the day after I left Durban to come to Johannesburg, she sent me a letter saying that she was doing her PhD dissertation on ISKCON. She wanted to interview me. So I said, “Well you will have to come to Johannesburg or else we can do it on the phone, or maybe when I come back.” Anyway, she wrote back, then I wrote back and then she wrote telling her full story of how she got interested in Krishna consciousness. And I said, “Okay, I will give you my story.” But what I sent her was a talk that I had given about how I had met Srila Prabhupada in Durban many years ago.