Back Home Everything Will Be Easy And Sublime
Indradyumna Swami: I was excited as we landed in London because I had heard how Malati, Shyamasundar, Mukunda, Janaki, Gurudas, Yamuna and all the other devotees there had done a lot of service and built a new center and I'd heard how the Beatles had taken an interest in Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada's receptions were always special, but I was expecting that this would be an extra special, big reception. After we landed, Prabhupada chanted his japa while we collected the luggage, but an important bag, the bag with commentaries by the acharyas that Prabhupada used for his writing, didn't arrive. We waited and waited. We could hear a big kirtan in the reception hall, but there was no bag. Shyamasundar was upset. He said, "Someone has to wait here for the bag." I tried to hide behind a pillar. Shyamasundar said, "Prabhupada, Indradyumna can stay and bring the bag to the temple." Prabhupada said, "Yes, it is very important." Oh no, I'm going to miss the reception. Prabhupada walked out the door, the other devotees left with him and I could see the kirtan, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. I had to wait for this bag. Why did they lose the bag? I waited by the ticket counter for about an hour-and- a-half and finally they found the bag and brought it to me. It was a huge heavy suitcase packed full of books. I could hardly lift it. I put it on a trolley and went outside. It was raining and cold. There were no devotees around and I was miserable that I had missed the reception. I hailed a taxi, put the bag in and got in. The taxi driver said, "Where do you want to go?" I said, "7 Bury Place." He looked back and said, "Are you all right, son?" I said, "No." He said, "Anything I can do to help you?" I replied, "No, I missed the reception of my spiritual master." He said, "Your what?" I said, "I have a spiritual master. I'm a devotee in the Hare Krishna movement." "Oh", he said, "the people who sing on Oxford Street. Well, sorry about that. Anyway, there's always a better day" It was even raining harder when we got to the temple. I paid the driver, walked up the stairs with that big bag, knocked on the door, and some devotee with a blissful face answered, "Oh, Hare Krishna! Who are you?" I replied, "I'm Indradyumna das. I came on the flight with Srila Prabhupada and I had to wait behind for his bag." The devotee said, "Ah, come in". I came in, put the bag down and thought, "Well, God, at least I'll get some of the prasadam feast." The devotees were sitting around with paper plates that were empty except for yellow turmeric stains and a few finger marks in the ghee. I said, "Prabhu's, is there any prasadam?" One devotee said, "Oh, prabhu,you missed the prasadam. You should have come a couple hours earlier. And you missed the reception! The reception for Prabhupada was so ecstatic. Prabhupada spoke so nicely and we had a big kirtan." I said, "Oh, please. There's no prasadam, not even a pakora?" "Nope." "Okay, well, Prabhupada's upstairs?" "Yeah, he has a room upstairs." "Can you help me carry this bag upstairs?" "I'm so full. I can't help." So I did it myself. I was starting to get angry at that bag. Later I understood that bag was the source of all good fortune for me. The steps were very steep in Bury Place Temple. I took that bag up, boom, boom, boom, boom. Prabhupada's room was on the second floor and I was hungry, exhausted, and hadn't showered. I saw a door with a sign, 'His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami,' and I thought, "Prabhupada's there." I didn't knock. I didn't think of etiquette. I was excited to see Prabhupada again and I was a little confused. I opened the door, turned around and started dragging Prabhupada's suitcase in backwards when all of a sudden Nanda Kumar, Srila Prabhupada's servant in London, said, "Hey, watch out! You're going to bump into Srila Prabhupada!" I dropped the bag, turned around, and Prabhupada was standing close to me. He said, "Hare Krishna." I said, "Oh, Srila Prabhupada," and I fell down to offer my obeisances, "Namah om visnupadaya Krishna-presthaya bhutale, srimate bha ktivedanta . . . " All of a sudden there was a slap on my back. I thought, "Prabhupada slapped me on the back," but I couldn't figure out if it was out of love or anger. Of course, either would be a blessing. I can still feel Prabhupada's blessing right there on my back. I continued, "Namaste sarasvate..." and Prabhupada said something softly. I couldn't hear him. I was near Prabhupada's feet, and after a few moments his feet walked to another room. I got up and Prabhupada wasn't there. Nanda Kumar's mouth was open. I said, "Prabhu, what happened?" He said, "Prabhupada slapped you on the back." I said, "Yeah, I know. Really hard. And what did he say?" Nanda Kumar smiled and said, "Oh, it was so nice. Prabhupada said, So much endeavor in this material world. But when I take you back home, back to Godhead, everything will be easy and sublime." We receive so many instructions from Srila Prabhupada's books, but if a disciple gets a personal blessing from the spiritual master, he treasures that and keeps it in his heart forever. Over the years, when there was opposition as the Krishna conscious movement spread and when there were daily difficulties in going out on sankirtan too cold, too hot, too tired then I remember Prabhupada's words. "So much endeavor in this material world. But when I take you back home, back to Godhead, everything will be easy and sublime." When difficult days come, those words also come to me. Let us struggle to serve Srila Prabhupada, to push on the sankirtan movement in this world, because in the end Prabhupada's going to take us all back home, back to Godhead. And when we go back to the spiritual world, everything's going to be easy and sublime.
Reference: Memories Anecdotes of a Modern Day Saint - Volume 3 by Siddhanta Dasa
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