Life Membership

Prabhavishnu Swami : Once a professor from a University in Aligarh offered Srila Prabhupada a set of Bhagavatams that included the commentaries of all the different acharyas. I was requested to pick the books up. It was about a three-hour journey from Vrindavan, and I went there in the temple car. The books were in two piles on the floor. One pile was Cantos One through Nine, plus Eleven and Twelve. The other pile was Canto Ten, which contained about eleven commentaries. I was about to take the books, when the professor said, "I would like to become a Life Member in exchange for these books." I wasn't sure what to do, but I thought, "I've come all this way, and Prabhupada needs these books, so I'd better take them somehow or other." I said, "I'm sure you'll be able to become a Life Member, but I'll have to ask Srila Prabhupada. In the meantime, I'll take the books back to him." When I brought the books back, Prabhupada examined them. He was pleased and said, "These are suitable." Then I told him that the man wanted to become a Life Member. Prabhupada said, "These books are worth 1,000 rupees. Tell him to pay the balance and then he can become a Life Member." At that time, Life Membership was 2,222 rupees, but when I informed the professor, he did not want to pay. He wanted to take the books back, but Prabhupada never gave them back. I think that matter was settled many years after Srila Prabhupada's departure. Prabhupada used those books for translating the Srimad-Bhagavatam and writing his commentaries.