August 17, 1968 : Montreal

Guru Dasa: The next day was Vyasa-puja, celebrating the appearance of Bhaktivedanta Swami. (My theory is that Swamiji stayed inside his mother's womb until the day after Janmashtami so that his birth would not take any attention away from Krishna's birth!) Feeling refreshed, even after only a few hours of sleep, I went into the temple room and started taking down the photos of Lord Krishna and replacing them with photos of Swamiji that I had also brought for our London excursion.

There were shots of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami walking by Stowe Lake with the ducks, as well as color photos from his walks around South Lake. I placed both color and black-and-white portrait photos on the altar. We were surrounded by loving reminders of our Spiritual Master as I hung the photos of Swamiji chanting with us in Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach, and other spots.

After preparing most of the feast himself, Swamiji came into the temple. He handed each of the eight devotees from San Francisco a five-inch by six-inch piece of paper with the Gayatri mantra prayers typed on it and told us to memorize them. We didn't know what they meant. Then, with his divine golden lotus hands, he placed sacred threads on Shyamasundar, Mukunda, and myself. Then he handed them to Janaki, Yamuna, and Malati. Wow! He told us to recite these prayers three times a day.

Then he explained that Vyasa-puja was the day for disciples to speak about and glorify their spiritual master. Suddenly he looked at me and said, "Gurudasji, please speak something." I was taken completely by surprise! Slowly regaining my composure, I managed to speak about him in glorification. He smiled upon me at that moment, and I have been glorifying my Spiritual Master ever since.

After several others also spoke, we had a wonderful feast, presided over by Srila Prabhupada from his Vyasasana, making sure that everyone received some of each of his preparations. With great animation we were feasting with our spiritual father, just as Krishna feasted with His friends.