Prabhupada Masterfully Solving Problems

Pancadravida Swami: A few months after his questions to Prabhupada in Calcutta, Pancadravida approached him in Bombay and handed him a piece of paper, saying, "I wrote this song." "All right," said Prabhupada, "just leave it here and I'll look at it later." Pancadravida thanked Srila Prabhupada and started to leave the room when suddenly Prabhupada spoke again. "Here, let me see that." Prabhupada then looked at the words to Pancadravida's song and said, "So, can you sing this?" "Yes, Srila Prabhupada," said Pancadravida. "I have a guitar." Prabhupada then asked Pancadravida to get the guitar and sing along with Prabhupada and his servant. Prabhupada took the mridanga on his lap, his servant played karatalas, and Pancadravida began strumming chords to accompany his own singing of his original devotional song. "Five thousand years ago on this very day a small blue boy made His way into this dark and troubled land, into this dark and troubled world. "The men rushed by on their charging steeds looking for the child who will one day kill the king, looking for the child who will one day kill the king. "Nanda Maharaja, I can find thirty-two auspicious symptoms on the body of your son. I am wondering how this child could have taken His birth in the family of cowherd men. how this child could have taken His birth in the family of cowherd men." Prabhupada smiled and enjoyed the song along with his disciples.

Outside Prabhupada's room, one of the devotees told Pancadravida that he should consider this the perfection of his guitar-playing career, and that he could now forget about the guitar. Pancadravida held on to his guitar for another month or so, however, although it wasn't much appreciated by the other brahmacaris. Then one day he decided to give it up. Although it was a two hundred-dollar guitar, he accepted five dollars for the guitar and case and sold it to another devotee musician. The same guitar then became part of further interaction with Srila Prabhupada in Mayapur. The new owner of the guitar, an American disciple, had been causing considerable trouble for the devotee community because of his violent temper and almost all the devotees were apprehensive of his presence. Prabhupada heard different complaints and one day called the devotee before him. "You sing so nicely," said Srila Prabhupada. "Why don't you and your wife just travel all over the world, singing to attract people to Krishna consciousness?" Greatly encouraged, the devotee soon left Mayapur. On the authority of Srila Prabhupada, he walked off singing with his guitar. Although the sastras say that no one can know the mind of the acarya, and although Prabhupada never said that he had sent away a troublesome devotee by suggesting that he travel and sing, nevertheless most of the devotees in Mayapur could not help but appreciate how Prabhupada was masterfully solving problems.