By Patita Pavana das Adhikary
Meet Shrila Prabhupada ! Hari Sauri’s A Transcendental Diary is a Literary Triumph
As time goes by and ISKCON continues global expansion as the world’s only genuine path to a true conception of religion, it becomes clear just how important was the spotless personal example of our beloved founder-acharya His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Of course, we devotees can easily find ourselves at the lotus feet of Shri Krishna’s dearmost paramhamsa anytime we take a volume of his transcendental literature off the shelf to dive into Prabhupada’s nectar of the Absolute Truth. “Just as sugar is sweet from any side,” Prabhupada told us, “so are my books on any page.” Still, many newer members of ISKCON’s worldwide family will continue to ask, “What was it like to be in Shrila Prabhupada’s presence?” Naturally, this is a hard question to answer, for the pure devotee’s mind and activities cannot be fathomed by us who are conditioned through millions of lifetimes of karma. Indeed, each member of ISKCON has found himself inquiring, like Arjuna, “What are the symptoms of one whose consciousness is thus merged in Transcendence? How does he speak, and what is his language? How does he sit, and how does he walk? (Bhagavad Gita As It Is 2.54)
Although I was fortunate to sit before Shrila Prabhupada on dozens of occasions and all over the world I, too, would be hard pressed to answer such a question. Sometimes Shrila Prabhupada would yell at me furiously–calling me a demon or once telling me to cut my throat– or on another occasion he told me with utmost sincerity that after “delivering every soul in the Universe, finally I had delivered his soul.” ( ! ? )
What remains is that the legacy of Shrila Prabhupada is very difficult to understand; as devotees we will succeed if we can but serve the pure devotee’s mission faithfully. What we do know is that our Guru Maharaja was Krishna’s divinely empowered representative, and that the Supreme Lord directly guided his every thought, word and deed to perfection. And that we are his eternal servants….
Recently I had the great fortune of finally getting a few days to curl up with A Transcendental Diary, volume one. This is the fascinating account of our Godbrother Hari Sauri das Prabhu, who for many years was Shrila Prabhupada’s personal servant. So far, I have only read–make that, devoured– the first volume, and I am looking forward to vol. 2 to 7. Although understanding Prabhupada becomes more daunting the more I learn about him, what I do know is that Hari Sauri’s job could very well have been the most difficult job in the world. Only a rare person could voluntarily take on the intensity of serving he whose appearance on this Earth was nothing less than the most important world wide mission in history since the Divine Advent of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. Nobody could test, test, test like Shrila Prabhupada, and being in the constant company of His Divine Grace would mean passing some very harsh examinations indeed.
As I read Hari Sauri Prabhu’s account, it became deja vu all over again. Just as Shri Krishna Himself appears in the pages of the Gita or the Bhagavat, when translated by the pure devotee, so our loving master has appeared in our Prabhu’s writing. Here we find Shrila Prabhupada’s direct association through words scribed in a disciple’s utter glorification. Here paper and ink are transformed into a blessed encounter with the founder-acharya himself. Just as from the ajascent building I silently used to watch Prabhupada transcribe his tapes on the roof of his Vrindavana quarters during the early hours of morning, so A Transcendental Diary is a long and loving look via the window of words into sadhu-sangha at the highest level. The devotee who reads A Transcendental Diary finds that the author has succeeded in bringing to our vision the pastimes of Lord Krishna’s holy representative seen through the eyes of a devoted and loving servant. Whether laughing and joking with guests or guiding the GBCs, these descriptions of Guru-lila give us page by page precious moments of personal darshan with the spiritual master in his mission to reshape theworld. Just as Prabhupada revealed Bhagavad Gita As It Is, so Hari Sauri has succeeded by presenting Shrila Prabhupada As He Is. In this scribe’s humble opinion, A Transcendental Diary must be considered as modern classic Vaishnava shastra, and I cannot wait to read the subsequent six volumes for more coveted association with Lord Shri Krishna’s pure devotee.
I wanted to know more about what many of our Prabhus call Hari Sauri’s “transcendental literary triumph.” So I e-mailed him in Mayapur with the simple question, “Why did you write these diaries?” Here’s Hari Sauri Prabhu’s reply:
Dear Patita Pavan Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances _/\ò_. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
I have stated some of the reasons in my Introduction: ________________________________________________________ For a period of sixteen months, from late November, 1975 to the end of March, 1977, I had the great fortune to travel with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as his personal servant. Although the initial period of my tenure was to be only two or three days, by the grace of Lord Krsna I immediately recognized the unique opportunity of being able to personally associate with Srila Prabhupada. Thus, on the first night, I purchased a blank notebook in which to keep a diary of my experience. I was thinking that ten or twenty years hence I would be able to read those notes and relish the brief time spent in his association. When my position in his entourage was more firmly fixed, I continued to update the diary on a daily basis.
As Srila Prabhupada himself noted as we traveled on the overnight train from Allahabad to Calcutta in January, 1977, “History will mark this period, how the Krsna consciousness movement changed the world.” He left a great legacy to the world, and this is one very small attempt to make it known. Again, referring to the books written by himself, Srila Prabhupada said that if a person reads “one verse, one line, one word,” his life will be changed. I am confident that the same effect will be had by reading books written about him. And that is the purpose of Srila Prabhupada’s appearance: to change our lives from the dull and mundane to the transcendental realm of spiritual enlightenment and unlimited happiness, where all difficulties and contradictions are automatically resolved in the light of their common relationship to Lord Sri Krsna, the cause of all causes, and the center of all existence. Hari-sauri dasa Completed on the Holy Occasion of Sri Gaura Purnima March 18th, 1992, Vrndavana, India __________________________________________ Apart from the above, I almost always had a sense that a very important chapter was being written by Srila Prabhupada in the annals of human society.
In the beginning months of my tenure as His Divine Grace’s servant, I was keeping my Diary updated for purely selfish reasons. I wanted to have a record of the daily events so that in the future decades of my life I could look back and remember them and thus keep my connection with Srila Prabhupada strong and fresh.
However after a few months I began to deeply sense the importance of the events outside the closed sphere of ISKCON activities. I had a clear idea that one day Srila Prabhupada would be regarded as one of, if not ‘the’ greatest spiritual leaders ever to appear in human society. I was in a unique position to eye-witness it and I felt responsible to see that as much of the events were recorded down as possible for posterity. Thus I put a fair bit of effort into writing or electronically recording what was going on.
When my tenure came to an end on March 12, 1977 in Mayapur, I suddenly realized that if noone keep up the diarist work, events and exchanges of inestimable value would be lost. I went to the new permanent secretary, Tamal Krishna Goswami, and told him, “Maharaja, I have been keeping this daily diary of Srila Prabhupada’s travels. Now I am leaving. Someone has to continue this work, and since you are coming on the party on a permanent basis, it should be you.”
He wasn’t too inclined at first. “No, I shall be very busy looking after Srila Prabhupada.. There won’t be enough time.”
Again I impressed the importance of the work on him. “Think about the years that Sruta Kirti, Purusottama, Nanda Kumara and others were traveling with Srila Prabhupada. What do we know about them? So much stuff has been lost because noone thought to write it down. Maharaja, you MUST do this service.”
He partially conceeded the point. “Well, maybe. I will see what I can do.”
So I had to leave it at that. Fortunately, Tamal Krishna Goswami began to realize the unique responsibility of being an eye-witness, and he started keeping his own diary. You can see that he started about April 17 or thereabouts. So it took him just over a month before it really dawned strongly enough in his consciousness that he should keep personal account.
After Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, I was in Vrndavana in Feb.
1978 with TKG. We were both heading to Mayapur for the first annual general meetings of the GBC without the personal presence of Srila Prabhupada. We were talking one day and TKG suddenly asked me, “What are you going to do with your diary?” I told him, “I am going to publish it at some point.”
He asked me why. I told him that I felt it was a historical document and that whatever we experienced in the personal presence of Srila Prabhupada should be shared with all his disciples.. We had some extraordinary good fortune to have his personal service, but that did not make us better than any other disciple. They should also have the chance to share his personal association and in this way they will benefit just as we had done.
Then I asked him, “What are you going to do with yours?” I fully expected he would say that he was also going to publish. But instead he replied, “No, I am not going to publish mine.” I was surprised. “Why not Maharaja?” He replied that he felt some of the entries might be too intimate, or might show a negative light on some disciple and that should not be published.
While conceding that there might be one or two incidents of a highly confidential nature, I told him that these could be edited out. But most things were of great interest and benefit to everyone. I argued that whatever Srila Prabhupada’s dealings, either personal or general, they were all instructive so we should definitely allow other devotees access to that.
He conceded the point, at least partially. “Well, OK, maybe. But I am not going to publish my diary until you complete yours!” We both laughed and left it at that. That was in 1978. Fortunately TKG did not wait for me to finish mine. I got four volumes out between 1992-96. Then he published his “TKG’s Diary” I think in about 1998. I got my #5 out in 2005 and I am still working on 6 & 7.
So that’s the background, and I think you will find all the motivations for my publishing in the above.
Your humble servant, Hari-sauri dasa
Dear Patita Pavana das Adhikary
PAMHO AGTSP
Beautiful article! I almost didn’t read it because it was so long. We are very fortunate that Hari Sari prabhu and TKG kept diaries and presented there contents.
I joined the movement in 1974. I had a personal ambition to become Srila Prabhupada’s servant for at least a few days. Of course, the movement was well established by that time, and there was no way I could advance fast enough to be able to serve Srila Prabhupada in that way. But, I had a dream.
After reading Hari Sauri’s accounts, I now realize that I would not have been able to serve Srila Prabhupada as one of His staff members. I would not have been able to handle the pressure and probably blooped. Hari Saura wrote about how once he was so sick he couldn’t give Srila Prabhupada his massage. So, he brought in another devotee who was so nervous that his hands were shaking. Hari Sauri had to send the devotee away and give Prabhupada his massage.
I asked Brahmananda prabhu once – “why are the same devotees in all the pictures of Srila Prabhupada. Didn’t all the GBC members act as His secretary?” He said that Srila Prabhupada was very strict and only a handful could handle the pressure of serving him personally on a daily bases.
Lord Krsna knows what we can and can’t handle in the name of devotional service. I was better at distributing Back to Godhead magazines on the streets of Chicago.
Thanks again for your wonderful article on the history of the diaries of Srila Prabhupada.
I’m so grateful to Hari Sauri prabhu for publishing his Diaries, not only for their value in describing the activities of Srila Prabhupada, but for demonstrating the true purport of his vani, as it was practically applied in the lives of many different devotees (and thus providing a model for those of us who never had Prabhupada’s association) and within a variety of contexts. I consider them second only to Prabhupada’s books as a guide for living as a Vaisnava.
In fact, Hari Sauri prabhu’s Diaries (as well as other diaries and memoirs by devotees who had his association) constitute a sort of contemporary Vedic equivalent of the Aggadah texts woven throughout the Jewish Talmud, with all the historical and cultural import that implies. Prof. Burke Rochford recognized this important feature of the Diaries in his Foreword to the first volume.
Even more important, they allow the reader a vivid (if vicarious) experience of being in Srila Prabhupada’s association, one they might never have had even when Prabhupada was physically present. Most readers identify with the narrator or main character of a memoir or novel, and even though Hauri Sauri prabhu minimizes his role in the “story” (sometimes, I feel, too much), we can experience some of the joys and difficulties of being in his fortunate shoes. I’ve had the experience of being mistaken for a Prabhupada disciple (by other Prabhupada disciples) just by off-handedly repeating stories I’d read in the Diaries, that’s how potently they transmit both Prabhupada’s presence and the state of mind that it induces.
I read these Diaries for pure pleasure and spiritual edification. If I keep reading (and absorbing) the truths they express so compellingly, I might someday be able to pass on a fraction of their ability to make Prabhupada present in the lives of others.
My dear Sikhi Mahiti das Prabhuji,
Please accept my humble obeisances at your feet. All glories to Shril Prabhupada. So nice of you to write, I was overjoyed by your letter. It is true that very very few could have served Prabhupada personally. But then, reestablishing a true conception of world religion with only forty rupees was no minor task! Hari Sauri is to be congratulated for letting all devotees know–for the next ten thousand years– what it was like to be in the constant service to an avatar and pure devotee of the Lord, passing one test after another by his own successfully kicking aside personal ego for the pleasure of Guru Maharaja. No small task, and so eloquently spoken!
My favorite episode, I must admit, is how Prabhupada refused to be outsmarted by the members of the bogus mayavadi cult in Nellore. Fantastic episode and so instructive!
I hope to get your sadhu sangha in the future sometime, please, so I can personally thank you for the kind and considerate communication.
Your fallen servant,
Patita Pavana das
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My dear Tulsi Priya devi dasi,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Shrila Prabhupada. The reason I called the article Literary Triumph is because in the writing of the Diary, HS Prabhu did not allow his own ego to cloud the story. As the Guru shows us Krishna, so HS Prabhu has shown us Guru. He only provided the punch line for each episode like a master story teller. He wrote to me that this was his intention, and the fact that one person (me) appreciated it made his efforts worthwhile. Actually, many have appreciated this effort, and I wanted Hari Sauri Prabhu to know this. Like you, I can’t wait for the subsequent volumes.
You mention that you have been “mistaken” for a Prabhupada disciple simply by speaking and remembering these pastimes. Why not? ISKCON is Prabhupada’s divine body and though we all all imperfect in so many ways, we are held together by the one perfect spiritual master whose grace permeates every kirtan, every aratik, every katha. This is the meaning of guru-katha, by speaking of the spiritual master in love and devotion, his lotus feet crown our fallen heads as we shelter of the sacred dust thereof. This is the right of every faithful member, to be the recipient of the blessings of the pure devotee. Prabhupada was (is) very generous with his blessings.
Your humble servant,
Patita Pavana das
I was just hearing in class the other day how important it was that diaries were kept by Murari Gupta, Svarupa Damodar, and other servants of Lord Caitanya like Balabhadra Bhattacarya. These diaries or daily journals formed the basis of books like Caitanya Bhagavat by Vrndavan Das Thakur and Sri Caitanya Caritamrta by Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami.
We are grateful for the diaries of Hari Sauri Prabhu and Tamal Krishna Goswami in much the same way. And we should not forget the biography “Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta” and other biographical materials about Srila Prabhupada by Satsvarupa.
The literary quality of Hari Sauri’s work is fabulous. I had never thought of Hari Sauri as a man of letters (like Satsvarupa) until the first volume of Transcendental Diary came out. Then I saw what a great literary man he was. Reading it was like being there in person. These volumes are so important that I am willing to wait for 6 and 7 even though I am anxious to read them. I want Hari Sauri to make sure he is satisfied before going to print.
Sikhi Mahiti Prabhu makes a great point. When you listen to the “Memories” videos by Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhu, one thing that stands out is how often the devotees remember a severe and devastating chastisement by Srila Prabhupada. All those devotees who were able to travel with and personally serve Srila Prabhupada had to have exceptional qualities so as not to become offensive or too familiar with their spiritual master and to be able to handle being heavily corrected by him. They deserve great credit. They are not ordinary people.