I was the first devotee widow
Manmohini dasi: I think I was the first devotee widow, the first widow in the movement. And somebody told me that in India you can tell a person's status by how they're dressed and it was important what you're wearing, and so it would please Srila Prabhupada if I put on all white. So I went to Culver Center and bought tons of white fabric and began wearing white, but I wasn't sure if that was correct. We were new at everything. Nobody knew much about Vedic culture.
So I wanted to go before Prabhupada, have him see me in white, and then I felt like I would be able to tell by his reaction. Maybe he would say something or give me a nod or something, make a comment. So I was determined that Prabhupada see me wearing a white sari. Every time Prabhupada would come to LAX Airport, as soon as he walked through the terminal, if you said your obeisances and you really said the full prayer, by the time you stood up you didn't even get a glimpse of him, especially if you were in a female body because all the guys would stand in front of you and you didn't get to see Srila Prabhupada.
So I formulated a plan, and I didn't tell anyone, it was my big dream, my big secret, that the next time he was coming to LAX, I would wait at the bottom of the escalator with my daughter and all the way down the escalator he might only see me and he might say something. So that's what I did. I dreamt about it, I planned it, I couldn't wait. And sure enough, I heard he was coming to Los Angeles again. So I did exactly that. I dressed up my daughter, we waited at the bottom of the escalator. It was difficult because the big tumult was upstairs, the big kirtan, but I stood there. And just as it went in my dreams, he came down the escalator and there was me and Nimai and he stopped at the bottom of the escalator.
He leaned forward, he took the little bouquet of flowers that we made for him, he looked at me, he saw the white sari, and I got a definite nod of approval. Without a shadow of a doubt, I got the nod of approval, a very pleased nod. And that one nod, the power of Prabhupada's nod kept me in white for 18 years because of that nod. Meanwhile, what was humorous is the escalator kept going, and so all the sannyasis that were right behind him were getting squished like an accordion.
Reference: Following Srila Prabhupada-A Chronological Series by Manmohini Dasi
Recently Added
Trending Today