“Permanently Infected”—Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja

Giriraj Swami: This morning I remembered how I was half initiated in L.A. Prabhupada was in L.A and I was in Boston. And I came to L.A once when Srila Prabhupada was here. The history is that I was in Bombay in Juhu, and I was quite sick with jaundice. I got better but then I had a relapse and it was harder to recover from the relapse than from the original illness. And finally, Srila Prabhupada said unless Giriraj leaves Bombay he will not be able to recover. So before leaving I went to, I summoned up what strength I had and I went to see Srila Prabhupada.

Well, actually there is a history to this too so I must go back a little. But in 1971 I was in Calcutta and my parents came to meet me. And really bring me back, that was their intention. So, Srila Prabhupada was sitting in his room at 3 Albert Road and he spoke in a very engaging way about how he was a pharmacist in Allahabad and one of his customers was Motilal Nehru, who was the father of Jawaharlal Nehru who was the first Prime Minister of India. And he said that Motilal Nehru was a “made in England man.” He could have the exact same product manufactured in India, but if it had the stamp “Made in England” he would buy it, even if it cost twenty times more than the same product made in India. Then he said that Gandhi was trying to get each family, good family to give one son to the freedom movement. And Motilal Nehru said that this one son of his, Jawaharlal was useless. So, he thought he is good for nothing anyway, might as well give him to the freedom movement.

And going on how it was predicted of Prabhupada that he would become the richest man in India. And my father was really captivated by Srila Prabhupada’s talk. And in a subtle way Srila Prabhupada was attacking my father’s prejudices. He may have had the prejudice, “it’s Made in America, it’s better than if it’s made in India.” He may have had the conception which many people have that if someone is a big man in the material world, he is of better quality. And so different things. And then he came to the point, my father, that he wanted me to come back. And he said that I want to establish a trust for my son and put in a million dollars, and I want him to come back to America to sign the documents.

And Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, you can send the documents and he will sign.” So, then my mother, she was more concerned about my health because I looked weak compared to the way I looked when she had seen me before. And so, she was saying that she wanted me to come back to recover my health. And Srila Prabhupada said, “Well it’s up to your son, whatever he wants.” So, I said I want to stay with Srila Prabhupada.

Then Srila Prabhupada said, “Well, let him stay with me.” This was in October. “Let him stay with me until April and I will take personal care of him. And then when I come to the west in April, I will bring him with me.” So, I said, “Just see how intelligent Srila Prabhupada is. When the weather is pleasant in India in the winter he stays in India. And then when the weather is pleasant in America in the spring and summer he goes to America.” And by then my father was becoming very enlivened by Srila Prabhupada’s influence. He was a lawyer.

So, my father said, “Actually Srila Prabhupada. . .” No, then Srila Prabhupada said, “Actually your son is intelligent because he has understood my strategy to always be where the weather is good.” And then my father said, “Actually. . .” He said to Prabhupada, “Actually you are very intelligent.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Well, I suppose I must be because otherwise how could I attract so many intelligent young men like your son.”

So, then my mother started to cry because she could see the way things were going. And Srila Prabhupada’s sister Pishima was there. And Prabhupada always kept a container, especially in Calcutta, either sandeśa or rasagullā, Indian milk sweets made of paneer (cheese). And so, he had Pishima give these sweets to my father and mother. And he said to my mother that these sweets are made of cheese. And they are very high in protein. Because back then people had the idea that you could not get enough protein in a vegetarian diet, but they are full of protein. And then he turned to me and said, “You must eat two dozen sandeśa and rasagullā every day.”

So, this is all leading up to my coming to Los Angeles. So, I was with Prabhupada and we. . . Anyway, to make a long story short, so Prabhupada was invited to Madras but he could not go himself at that time. And he wanted someone to go. So, I volunteered to go. He was going to Vrindavana with the disciples for the first time. But I, somehow, I had the idea that the secret of success in spiritual life is to please the spiritual master. So, I volunteered to go. And eventually I arranged a program for Srila Prabhupada. Now living at different people’s homes in Madras I was eating a lot of idli, sambar, dosa, rice, and I put on some weight. And when Srila Prabhupada came, he said, “You should take a picture of yourself and send it to your mother.” So, he had not forgotten.

Okay, so then the whole plan for me to go to the west with him got dropped. But then I got sick in Bombay with jaundice. And he told someone that if Giriraj stays in Bombay he will not be able to get well. So, I went to see him, summoned all my strength, went to see him. And he said to Tamal Krishna Goswami who was the GBC that Giriraj is going to Los Angeles. And there Karandhara will give him rasagullā which you could not do. Now, I do not even know why he said that but he did. So, I came here. And there are just so many things, I do not even know where to begin and where to end. But he would. . .

So, at first, I could not go anywhere. I was just in. . . There was a bedroom downstairs, there was a whole tulasi greenhouse sort of, and then off that there were a couple of guest rooms. And so, I was just sort of confined to one of those. And when I was not getting better, he, one day he stopped in to see me and gave some suggestions. Anyway, then I gradually got better. And then I would come upstairs. And he asked how was it when you were. . . Oh yes, I did not. . .

Before I came here, I went to my parent’s place to recover and get medical treatment. So then when I came here, he said what happened? So, I said, “Well, I was in my bedroom and a family friend came to see me. And I did not even realize it but she was a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or something. So, she came in and she said, “Tell me Glenn, did you feel that your parents didn’t love you?” And I said, “Which parents? I have had so many lifetimes. And in every lifetime, I have had different parents. Which parents?” So, it went on like this for about twenty minutes and then she went out. And then I overheard her speaking to them and then I understood what was going on. And I overheard her tell them, “I am sorry, I don’t think there is anything I can do.”

So, I told this to Srila Prabhupada. And he said, “Yes, you are permanently infected and you can never be cured.” So, then he was, at the time he was sort of promoting the Bhaktivedanta. . . Well he was Svarupa Damodara Brahmachari then, but he would come and Prabhupada was encouraging the scientific preaching. So, once I came up and Srila Prabhupada was taking his massage right in that area where this, I guess it is a sky lighting. So, I was very enlivened by the scientific preaching. So, I said, “Would you like me to do that. I think I would like to do that.” He said, “Well, your field is psychology.” And then I said, “When you speak about the scientists you say things like fool, rascal, kick them in the face with boots, so when we speak to them, should we speak like that?” And Prabhupada said, “No, no, you should speak like a gentleman.”

Then one day, oh there is so many things happening I cannot believe it. So, one day I was in that room with Srila Prabhupada and Hridayananda Maharaja’s mother came to meet him. And Prabhupada said, “Your son is very intelligent.” And she said, “Yes, Howard always was a good student.” I think Prabhupada was appreciating his intelligence in a different way. Then he said that. . . And he started telling the story of Devahuti and Kapila that Devahuti had a son named Kapila. And usually, the mother does not like to hear from the son but she thinks that the son should hear from her. But in this case because her son was very spiritually elevated, Kapila, Devahuti heard from him.

But then my sister, it was a whole thing, then my parents came, my sister, my uncle, the whole family came from Chicago. And I introduced my sister to Srila Prabhupada. He was very kind and just spoke very simply. And then I took her down to the temple. And I was showing her the pictures on the wall and especially there was one, very sweet one of Krishna and Balarama and the cowherd boys herding the cows. And I explained that this is God, this is what God is like, this is what life is like in the spiritual world. And she said, “Oh my God,” like she got it. And then she said, “Has Prabhupada seen Krishna?” I said, “yes.” And then she said, “Oh, my God.” So, she seemed to be on the verge of becoming a devotee.

She was staying with; I think she was staying with Kanka here. But then my parents came and the whole idea was to spend time together. But when they saw what was happening to my sister, they took her away on a holiday to Palm Springs or I do not know some place here, and then they came back. So, I think I will just conclude with something I read just the other day, maybe it was even on Janmashtami by chance, or the day before. A disciple asked Srila Prabhupada that if we think of Krishna at the time of death, we will go to Krishna but what if we think of the spiritual master at the time of death?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Well, the spiritual master is also supposed to be going to Krishna.” He is talking about himself. “So, if you think of him then you will also go to Krishna.”

So, I mean I really relished the talks today, I really came up to hear. And especially the realizations of just how I guess Vrindavan Isvara was saying how when he was laughing, the whole universe was laughing, every molecule was laughing. And this morning also, I mean amazing talks. And Gopal Ananda when he was saying, I guess he was a little skeptical because he had been exposed to other spiritual leaders. And when he just had this revelation that Prabhupada was absorbed in Krishna, fully absorbed in Krishna, and with just a tiny fraction of his consciousness he could see straight through Gopal Ananda and know everything about him.

So, we cannot really fathom Srila Prabhupada’s greatness. I mean the more I hear the devotees speak, the more I get a glimpse of how he revealed himself to different disciples in amazing ways. So yeah, I think that is the, best we can do is just come together and share our experiences of him and realizations of him. And he definitely does not let anyone go. I mean, once he said even if you turn one screw in Krishna’s temple, that much service, Krishna will never forget and He’ll never let go of you. And yeah, Srila Prabhupada’s like that. And we have seen so many devotees who have left their bodies, how Prabhupada really manifested himself to them and purified them and brought them to the state where they could go back to Godhead or continue their service to him.

So, I think, yeah, I mean he is here but as we have heard this morning, he said, “Wherever, whenever you think of me, I’m there.” So yeah, take advantage of that and read his books. It is so important to read his books, and distribute them. Srila Prabhupada said, “Distributing my books will keep them happy (the devotees) and reading my books will keep them.” So it was so deep.

Does anyone have any questions or want to add anything?

Devotee: So, what ended up happening to your sister?

Devotee: What was the question?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, what ended up happening to my sister? Well, she went back with my parents. And at first, I was disappointed but then in retrospect I considered that it would have been too much for them to lose both children and that in a broader perspective it was actually better that she went back to be with them. But she was vegetarian. And I was in India, she was in America. But one year I came for the New York Ratha-yatra and I was at Washington Square Park where the devotees have the festival. And I ran into her there. It turned out she had an apartment four blocks away. So, she invited me and a few devotee friends came with me. And she hosted us. And when the Juhu temple opened there was a full-page color article in Newsweek magazine. In those days color was just coming in to the news magazines and magazines in general. So, they would only have a few pages in color. There is a full-page color article called “Krishna by the sea,” about the opening of the Juhu temple. And so, she had that pinned to her refrigerator.

And she and my parents had come to visit me. This was later after Prabhupada left. So, she had slides, so she had a slideshow for whatever number of us there were. And in one of the slides, I do not know how it works, but maybe the film slipped or something when the photo was being clicked. So, in this one frame there were three or four images of me. And she said, “This is my brother. He lives in India and he knows yoga. And he can expand himself in many forms.” So yeah, over the years she has done service.

And my uncle came, he was a doctor, sitting in front of Prabhupada and he was just speaking about his anguish at the state of the medical profession, because I guess he became a doctor with very high ideals, that he was dismayed to find out how many doctors are just in it to make money. And Prabhupada was listening. I do not know how long the conversation went, because with Prabhupada it was hard to calculate time, but it went on for quite a while. And the whole time Srila Prabhupada was just listening. He hardly said a few words the whole time, but listening with great sympathy. And my uncle was totally overwhelmed. And at the end when he got up, he said, “I’ve never met anyone like him, that face I’ve never seen a face like that. I must get a picture of him.”

So, I guess I will conclude with one story from Juhu, because we understand that this is Prabhupada’s potency as a pure devotee. But someone could see it as some mystic power, to control people’s minds or influence people’s minds. So, the Juhu saga will, I mean it is told to some extent in Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta. Anyway the owner of the Juhu land was Mr. Nair and he was a demon. I gave a class in which I spoke about the demons in Juhu. And Virabahu Prabhu heard, he heard the class. And afterwards he said to me, “I do not like it when devotees use this word ‘demon.’ I mean I just do not think people are demons. But after hearing your class I agree he was a demon.”

Anyway, so at a certain stage Prabhupada’s disciples canceled the sale agreement for the land. So, in a way we were just trespassers. And so Prabhupada was in Hyderabad and somehow, he got Mr. Nair to come and see him. And Mr. Nair brought a sadhu or a yogi because he thought that Prabhupada might try to use his mystic power on him so he should have his own yogi with him to counteract Prabhupada’s mystic power. So, they were sitting superficially cordial. And then Mr. Nair said, “Srila Prabhupada, you look very tired. I think you should take rest and we can talk tomorrow.” So Prabhupada yawned. He said, “Yes, actually I am tired. Let’s just take rest.”

So Mr. Nair and the yogi went into the next room. And Prabhupada called Tamal Krishna Goswami and he said, “They are tired. The psychology is when they say that you look tired you should take rest, it means they feel tired and they want to take rest. So, if you go in the next room, you will find that they are asleep. So let the yogi sleep and wake up Nair and bring him in.” So, he went in. Just as Prabhupada said they were both snoring soundly. He woke up Nair and said Prabhupada wants to see you. Let the yogi keep sleeping and he brought Nair in. And I guess Prabhupada used his mystic powers on him again and he got him to sign a new agreement.

But then he was a demon. So Prabhupada was staying at Kartikeya Mahadeva’s house because there was so much dispute in Juhu. There was not really such a good place for Prabhupada to stay there. And so, Nair came to see him. And this was I think, this was the beginning of the end because up until then Nair had been superficially polite and cordial. But this time you could see he was just in a very angry mood. And he told Prabhupada, “I want to speak with you alone, I want you to send your disciples out.” And Prabhupada sent the disciples out. But we could hear Nair was shouting that “You take these, I do not know what you call them statues meaning the deities, Radha-Rasbihari. You take them, you take them and go.” Then Prabhupada said, “No, this is Krishna’s land and He is not going anywhere.”

And then he said, “And I will break your Krishna,” just like Hiranyakasipu almost. And that was it. Then he came out, he was livid, he was practically shaking. So, he was doing so many things to harass the devotees, he would turn off the water, turn off the electricity. We had a lot of coconut trees, he had this South Indian man named Ramu, the coconut-wallah, he would brandish a machete that he was supposedly using to cut down the coconuts. And he was menacing, scaring people away from the temple, it was really terrible.

So, one day I was out preaching in Bombay, there is an area Dhobi Talal, near the metro cinema. So, there are vendors who sit on the footpath and they have newspapers and magazines for sale. I just happened to look down and there is a big banner headline. And Mr. Nair was so powerful and influential, he had been the sheriff of Bombay, and he owned one of the three English daily newspapers. But there is a banner headline in his newspaper “A.B Nair is dead” with a picture of him. So, I saw that and within my heart I felt jubilant. I felt like dancing on the street, but I checked myself whether this is proper for a devotee to feel like that when someone dies.

So meanwhile Bali Mardan got the news and he phoned Srila Prabhupada and informed him. And then maybe a week later Prabhupada was in New Zealand, a week later we got a letter from Srila Prabhupada that, “I received a telephone message from Bali Mardan and it is understood that the demon Nair is dead. If this is a fact, it is an occasion of great jubilation.” And then he quoted Prahlada Maharaja in his prayers to Nṛsiṁhadeva that even a saintly person takes pleasure when a snake or a scorpion is killed.

Then later and this is well in a way confidential, then later I heard from Srutakirti Prabhu what had happened because he was with Srila Prabhupada at the time. And when Srila Prabhupada got the news, he folded his hands and he said, “Thank you Krishna, thank you Krishna. I prayed for this. He was too offensive; he was causing too much trouble to the devotees.” And then Srutakirti said, “Well if he was killed by Krishna, was he liberated like all the other demons that were killed by Krishna?” He said that, “He was not such an important demon.” But yeah, in the subsequent letter he said, yeah, “It is good news that the demon Nair is killed by Nṛsiṁhadeva.”

So, I guess these are just little glimpses of Prabhupada’s potency, I mean there is almost no limit. So yeah, we should have confidence in his protection and in Caitanya-caritāmṛta there is descriptions of how offenders get reactions and that is good to know because it is a warning not to commit offenses, not to oppose a pure devotee. And it is also an encouragement that Krishna protects His pure devotees.