There is no need to speculate about Srila Prabhupad’s external activities. Some of us who worked intimately with His Divine Grace observed him in action. A typical day started between 130 am and 200 am. He would awaken and begin his translations of the Srimad Bhagavatam. No alarm clock awakened him. He dutifully awoke and sleeping in the room next to his, I would hear him dictating on his dictaphone. Sometimes he would reverse the machine to hear what he had spoken, and sometimes he would modify his words. This would be completes usually no later than 4 am if not earlier. Then, he would pace in his room chanting his rounds of the Mahamantra or sit in his chair and chant. If he wanted to speak something philosophical or about what he had translated that morning, he would call me in and we would discuss, mostly I would listen. I travelled with him when he translated the 7th. Canto. Late in the morning or in the afternoon, I would listen to the tapes and type them out. If I could not understand something perfectly, I would ask him precisely what he had said and make sure the types version was exact. After all, he would tape over the dictaphone tape the next morning and so I had to keep up with his dictations. Truly, it was alot of wonderful work, and it took a long time with all my other duties.
He would meet with some of the devotees early in the morning, sometimes encouraging them to go to Aratika, and sometimes having darshan. By about 6 or 630am, he would take a morning walk. He was asked why he walks in the morning and he replied that “I am sitting all day long so it is a chance for him to get some exercise. He would return to the temple about 7-730 am and greet the Dieties, have kirtan and graciously accept Guru Puja. Then he would speak on a verse of the Srimad Bhagavatam. You are all familiar with that routine.
Following Srimad Bhagavatam he often would hear the letters that were written to him by his disciples. Mostly I would read the letters and distill them for him, or I would read them precisely, and he would reply to almost every letter. I would later type up his remarks, and he would look the letters over and then sign them. I would sometimes see some further comments on the letters, and he was very, very personal about all of this.
In the late morning, his personal servant, and sometimes myself if he were cooking, would give Srila Prabhupad a massage from head to toe. He said that a doctor had told him to do this for his circulation. We used sandlewood oil on his head and mustard seed oil on his back, arms and legs. The massage was firm and the motion was generally pushing the tissue fluid back toward the central body. Following his massage he look his bath, changed into fresh cloth and then had lunch. He regularly chanted the Gayatri mantra before lunch and I noted that he chanted it at other times. Following lunch, he would take a nap for one to two hours, having slept the night before for only about 2 to 3 hours or so. In the afternoon after his nap he would often have darshan with the devotees, and this would proceed into the evening in several waves. Sometimes he would go out if there was a preaching function or business that had to be taken care of for the society.
This is a general description of his activities. When I took sanyas in 1972 at the age of 22, he wrote me: ‘Do as I am doing. Sometimes preaching, sometimes managing, sometimes cleaning, etc. (paraphrasing). His program was always for the service of his Guru Maharaj and Lord Chaitanya. He came West and was with us from about 1965 to 1977…and during that time he personally and through his inspiration of others, spread Krishna consciousness movement throughout the world. He was quick to emphasize that this is not merely a religious movement, but rather a spiritual culture.
Workaholic…I think it more appropriate to think of Sri Anantadeva who with His thousands of tongues never felt satisfied that He could adequately glorify Krishna. Krishna will sneak up on you. Know that He is aware of all of your activities. By admiring Srila Prabhupad’s activities, we have a beacon to follow. He never tired of serving Krishna and tried with all his heart and soul to serve his Gurudeva. What can one person do? Just see! Pusta Krishna das
There is no need to speculate about Srila Prabhupad’s external activities. Some of us who worked intimately with His Divine Grace observed him in action. A typical day started between 130 am and 200 am. He would awaken and begin his translations of the Srimad Bhagavatam. No alarm clock awakened him. He dutifully awoke and sleeping in the room next to his, I would hear him dictating on his dictaphone. Sometimes he would reverse the machine to hear what he had spoken, and sometimes he would modify his words. This would be completes usually no later than 4 am if not earlier. Then, he would pace in his room chanting his rounds of the Mahamantra or sit in his chair and chant. If he wanted to speak something philosophical or about what he had translated that morning, he would call me in and we would discuss, mostly I would listen. I travelled with him when he translated the 7th. Canto. Late in the morning or in the afternoon, I would listen to the tapes and type them out. If I could not understand something perfectly, I would ask him precisely what he had said and make sure the types version was exact. After all, he would tape over the dictaphone tape the next morning and so I had to keep up with his dictations. Truly, it was alot of wonderful work, and it took a long time with all my other duties.
He would meet with some of the devotees early in the morning, sometimes encouraging them to go to Aratika, and sometimes having darshan. By about 6 or 630am, he would take a morning walk. He was asked why he walks in the morning and he replied that “I am sitting all day long so it is a chance for him to get some exercise. He would return to the temple about 7-730 am and greet the Dieties, have kirtan and graciously accept Guru Puja. Then he would speak on a verse of the Srimad Bhagavatam. You are all familiar with that routine.
Following Srimad Bhagavatam he often would hear the letters that were written to him by his disciples. Mostly I would read the letters and distill them for him, or I would read them precisely, and he would reply to almost every letter. I would later type up his remarks, and he would look the letters over and then sign them. I would sometimes see some further comments on the letters, and he was very, very personal about all of this.
In the late morning, his personal servant, and sometimes myself if he were cooking, would give Srila Prabhupad a massage from head to toe. He said that a doctor had told him to do this for his circulation. We used sandlewood oil on his head and mustard seed oil on his back, arms and legs. The massage was firm and the motion was generally pushing the tissue fluid back toward the central body. Following his massage he look his bath, changed into fresh cloth and then had lunch. He regularly chanted the Gayatri mantra before lunch and I noted that he chanted it at other times. Following lunch, he would take a nap for one to two hours, having slept the night before for only about 2 to 3 hours or so. In the afternoon after his nap he would often have darshan with the devotees, and this would proceed into the evening in several waves. Sometimes he would go out if there was a preaching function or business that had to be taken care of for the society.
This is a general description of his activities. When I took sanyas in 1972 at the age of 22, he wrote me: ‘Do as I am doing. Sometimes preaching, sometimes managing, sometimes cleaning, etc. (paraphrasing). His program was always for the service of his Guru Maharaj and Lord Chaitanya. He came West and was with us from about 1965 to 1977…and during that time he personally and through his inspiration of others, spread Krishna consciousness movement throughout the world. He was quick to emphasize that this is not merely a religious movement, but rather a spiritual culture.
Workaholic…I think it more appropriate to think of Sri Anantadeva who with His thousands of tongues never felt satisfied that He could adequately glorify Krishna. Krishna will sneak up on you. Know that He is aware of all of your activities. By admiring Srila Prabhupad’s activities, we have a beacon to follow. He never tired of serving Krishna and tried with all his heart and soul to serve his Gurudeva. What can one person do? Just see! Pusta Krishna das