Tulasi-devi And The Insects
Shanka Dasa: When I went to Juhu in 1973, the devotees there were living very austerely and worshiping the Deities, Sri Sri Radha-Rasabehari, in a small temple. In front of the temple was a fenced-in area where 14 or 15 Tulasi-Devis were growing. One day on a morning walk, Srila Prabhupada asked me, "Why are the tulasis dying?" I said I didn't know and that I would do some research. That day I dug around the Tulasis and found that termites and ants were eating their roots. The next morning on the walk I told Srila Prabhupada what I had found and Srila Prabhupada said, "Take one part lime and one part sulfur, mix it with ten parts of water and sprinkle it all around tulasi-devi. Then the ants will go away." I did that, and then Prabhupada went on his world tour. While he was gone, all the Tulasis died. I made some nice beads for myself, took the fence down, and there was only dirt where the Tulasis had been. When Prabhupada had come back from his world tour, I was offering him flowers during guru puja when he said, "Where are the tulasis?" I said, "Srila Prabhupada, I tried to save them but they all left the planet", and then I offered my obeisances and slithered out of the temple to avoid getting chastised. On the next morning walk, Srila Prabhupada stopped everybody in front of the big garden that I had made, where 54 Tulasi-Devis were growing. Srila Prabhupada asked me, "How are these tulasis doing?" I said, "Oh, Srila Prabhupada, they are doing very well except there are spider mites, aphids and other bugs crawling all over them." He said, "Leave the insects alone. Let them eat as much as they want. Who are you to kill them?"
Reference: Memories Anecdotes of a Modern Day Saint - Volume 3 by Siddhanta Dasa
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