Prabhupada, “You can also see God in six months if you simply become this sincere and determined.”
Narada Muni: I was selling books from a book cart at the 1971 Ratha-yatra when I asked someone to take my place for a minute so I could run to see Srila Prabhupada on the Ratha-yatra cart before it left.
When I saw him, I felt that Srila Prabhupada looked at me, and everybody probably felt the same thing.
But I know Srila Prabhupada looked at me, acknowledged me and smiled at me, and I felt wonderful.
Afterwards, I went with some others to Srila Prabhupada’s apartment when he was getting a massage and we reported to Srila Prabhupada how many books we’d sold and we brought him the big bags of laxmi we’d collected.
Srila Prabhupada said, “Very, very nice. Thank you so much.” Srila Prabhupada had nothing to thank us for, we had everything to thank him for, but he thanked us.
Another time Prabhupada told us, “Thank you very much for your kind feelings of appreciation for my humble service unto you. You are all helping me in pushing forward this mission of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, coming down by disciplic succession to my guru maharaj.”
Once in New Vrindavan some reviews arrived from educators and scholars in different parts of the world glorifying Srila Prabhupada’s books.
When we were having darshan, Srila Prabhupada had somebody read one particular review. In it, a well-known person wrote that Srila Prabhupada was so prolific and the books he wrote were so profound that they could not be written by an ordinary soul.
“It is my belief,” he wrote, “that Srila Prabhupada is Vyasadeva himself.”
Srila Prabhupada lit up with a big smile and everyone said, “Jaya, Prabhupada! Jaya, Srila Prabhupada!”
We really don’t know who Srila Prabhupada is. No one else accomplished what he accomplished, and it’s unlikely that anyone will for a long time.
Srila Prabhupada was directly empowered and sent by Krishna, and he came to the most fallen place.
Prabhupada once said that Krishna asked him to come to the material world, “Will you please go and deliver them?”
Srila Prabhupada didn’t want to leave Vrindavan, but he came out of his great compassion.
In his lecture Srila Prabhupada explained how nothing could shake Dhruva Maharaj’s determined vow to realize God and therefore he was successful—he saw God.
Prabhupada said, “Similarly, you can also see God in six months if you simply become this sincere and determined.”
Sincerity, Srila Prabhupada explained, is the qualification for realizing Krishna.
In New York a reporter asked Prabhupada, “How old were you when you realized God?”
Srila Prabhupada didn’t want to glorify himself but to glorify his spiritual master and Krishna.
Prabhupada said, “God is a person like you and me. The difference is that we are many and God is one, our leader. Now, what is the difference between the one and the many? He maintains all these many, He maintains us. But He is also a person like you and me. Do you follow?”
This reporter persisted, “Yes, I appreciate your answer, but at what age did you realize the highest truth? At what physical age … ?”
Prabhupada explained, “There is no question of age. Realization of God should be from the very beginning of life.”
The reporter said, “I understand that, Swamiji. My question to you was at what age did you yourself realize the highest truth?”
Srila Prabhupada said, “Of course, we were born in a very nice family. Practically from the very beginning of our lives my father educated us in this way.”
The reporter wouldn’t give up, “I understand that. I mean at what time did you have your own personal realization, Swamiji? At what age?”
Prabhupada said, “From the age of four or five years.”
In the Bhagavatam Srila Prabhupada wrote about some of his childhood pastimes and he wrote about Maharaj Pariksit and others who also had symptoms of being God conscious children.
Srila Prabhupada has always been God conscious. He came into this world God conscious, he left this world God conscious, and now he’s undoubtedly giving God consciousness to others on another planet.
My hope is that all of us can eternally be with him and somehow serve him in his mission.
—Narada Muni
Excerpt from “Memories-Anecdotes of a Modern-Day Saint”
by Siddhanta das