Dear Maharajas and Prabhus,
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Some of you were asking for a picture of Baladeva who passed away in Toronto last week. He was the third of three Prabhupada disciples who passed away within one week. Here is his picture with Prabhupada during a cookie disbursement. Baladeva had an extraordinary mind and was working very hard trying to establish the Jewish/Hindu connection historically. An end product of some of his work can be found in his book, *Humanity.* As a journalist he goes by the name of Barry Brown. He was a bit of a lonely fellow, but I kept in touch with him.
Here’s a poem that I wrote in honour of him:
*BALADEVA*
I know you never knelt at a church’s pew
You were Jewish, then Vaishnava, now a ‘Hinjew’
As monks in travel we looked at The Bible
Viewed the Old Testament exploring the tribal
At that same motel floor you wrestled with Giri
You lost, he won, leaving you feeling weary
On behalf of Prabhupada we were in Carolina North
Our purpose was to put BBT books forth
Before we had the chance police had cuffs on our hands
Our only fault was ‘no permit’, those were the demands
The time in prison was a blast indeed
‘Requesting hot milk was all that we need’
It was just the first they had ever heard
We explained such is the case of our God, the cowherd
Once discharged we were back at the mission
Being on the road was our constitutional position
We saw Prabhupada in Atlanta – how cool
Yes, we heard from the guru as he was our jewel
You were an analyst, thinker, became a journalist
Deep down – spiritual, not an externalist
Your book called *Humanity* raised some eyebrows
Responses were coming, many many ‘wows!’
Humour and quest were always your forte
What matters is what’s there at the end of the day
In truth you were a trite talkative for me
But still a friend, so far as a friend can be
Hoping this finds you in the best of health and spirit.
Your servant,
Bhaktimarga Swami