Open in App
Open in App

We were sometimes chastised by our spiritual master

Satsvarupa Dasa: Once on a morning walk in Mayapura, a disciple asked, "Prabhupada, I heard that once you were chastised by your spiritual master. Could you tell us?" Most of us had heard the story before, and some of us thought that it was improper to press Srila Prabhupada for a story that was perhaps too personal. Prabhupada paused, but then he began to tell the incident. He said that while his Guru Maharaja was lecturing, an older man wanted to speak something to our Prabhupada. So our Prabhupada leaned over and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura caught them both being inattentive to the lecture. To the older man, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati said, "Do you think that your so many rupees per month has purchased me?" And to our Prabhupada he said, "Do you want to come up here and give the lecture?" Once before, when Prabhupada mentioned this incident he said, "We were sometimes chastised by our spiritual master. That was on our brilliant days." Srila Prabhupada was the perfect example of a disciple who pleased his spiritual master, yet he said it was a brilliant occasion when he was reprimanded.



Reference: Prabhupada Meditations Vol I by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami