Srila Prabhupada brilliantly accepted the second marriage
At this ceremony, which was in Saraf Bhavan in Vrindavan, Yadubara and I were going to be married, and I was going to be initiated. It so happened that there was another couple in Vrindavan at the time who also wanted to get married at the same ceremony. Unfortunately though, the husband-to-be had already been married to a devotee and had left that woman. And his proposed new wife was already pregnant. So it was a dishonorable circumstance. How could Prabhupada agree to such a thing? But from another point of view Prabhupada couldn't say no, either.
After all, the first wife was already gone and the second proposed wife was already pregnant. So, how could he say no? It was an enigma that Prabhupada brilliantly resolved. Prabhupada told Gurudas, who was performing the fire yajna, to do the entire ceremony for this other couple first, from the mantras to the achman to the bananas in the fire to tying the cloth together. When it was complete, Gurudas got up, moved over a few steps, and started a second, separate fire sacrifice for my initiation and our wedding.
At that point, Prabhupada came out of his room and sat on his vyasasana. So without saying anything, Srila Prabhupada made a clear statement. It was an ingenious solution to an uncomfortable situation. Our ceremony went on, and for my initiation Prabhupada asked me the four rules and regulations. I had rehearsed that, so I managed to say them without a problem. Then he said, "How many rounds will you chant every day?" With confidence, because I had rehearsed that part too, I said, "Sixteen."
At that juncture, Prabhupada looked at me right in the eyes and, although we had looked at each other before this, this was the first time at such a close distance. We were a couple of feet apart. It was a most memorable experience. Prabhupada's eyes were dark, and they seemed bottomless. I felt that he saw way past the obvious, way past the body and even past the mind. He could actually perceive my consciousness, which was discomforting because my consciousness was far from what it should have been.
You can say his was a penetrating look. But ordinarily the word penetrating implies a critical or judgmental or harsh look. Prabhupada's look was none of those things. It was a caring, gentle, concerned, and perceptive look. At that time, since it was the first of several times I would experience this, I was quite surprised by how perceptive I felt he was.
In the months and years that followed, when he looked at me, my reaction would always be that I was not where I should be in terms of my Krishna consciousness. But rather than being discouraged with my lacking, I wanted to improve, to become more Krishna conscious, just to please him. So when I said, "Sixteen," and we were practically eye-to-eye, Prabhupada gravely said, "That is the minimum." Right away I was sobered. After that it was time for him to give me a name. I was the only initiate so he hadn't bothered to think of a name. It was rather insignificant. He looked at me for a moment and then quietly asked Shyamasundar, "Do we have a Visakha?" Shyamasundar went to another room where he apparently had some record of all the initiates. He came back and told Prabhupada, "There was a Visakha, but she's left." Prabhupada turned to me and said, "Your name is Visakha."
Reference: Memories Anecdotes of a Modern Day Saint - Volume 2 by Siddhanta Dasa
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