Prabhupada's transcendental form answered all doubts
By the end of 1972, I had spent about two weeks in the Melbourne ISKCON centre. Except for the basic tenets of karma and vegetarianism, I understood little of the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. One person that I heard the devotees always discussing was Srila Prabhupada. The title "Srila Prabhupada" reverberated in my ears hundreds of times a day. I became fascinated by the unflinching attachment devotees had for the person with this sobriquet "Srila Prabhupada".
As the days passed in an almost unrelenting cycle of harinama, prasadam, and, at the time, unfathomable rituals, my enchantment became contaminated with doubt. Would I be disappointed when I finally saw Srila Prabhupada? What if he wasn't all that I had imagined him to be? If that was so, I knew my seed of devotion would be at risk.
As Srila Prabhupada's forthcoming visit to Melbourne grew closer, pandemonium galloped around that terrace house like a wild horse with a bad trainer. My thoughts were a maelstrom; my tiny seed of faith was about to be tested. Srila Prabhupada arrived ahead of schedule. Upstairs, I heard the echoes of "Srila Prabhupada is here!" resound throughout the freshly-painted rooms of the Burnett Street temple. With my heart beating wildly, I rushed to the top of the stairs and glanced down in what seemed a perfect orchestration of timing to see Srila Prabhupada framed in the entrance to the hallway.
In that split second, seeing Prabhupada's transcendental form answered my doubts and concerns, irrevocably. He, I knew, was everything I had hoped he would be. Here, in an old house in a rundown suburb, was the answer to all my prayers. Vision perfected. The power to persuade by sight alone rests solely in the hands of the greatest spiritual master. To me oratory was not needed, nor prolonged close association, and certainly I was not well-versed in sastra. Just a glimpse of his divine visage established Srila Prabhupada's authority to guide my life for eternity. Lava-matra sadhu-sange, sarva-siddhi haya [Cc. Madhya 22.54]. As Caitanya-caritamrita confirms, by even a moment's association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.
Reference: Acharya by Sesha Dasa
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