Sensing the hearts of his disciples, doors were opened
Racitambara dasi : Shortly before Srila Prabhupada left, we were in Hyderabad farm. And we heard that Srila Prabhupada was very ill in Vrindavan and might be leaving us very soon, and we wanted so badly to go but we couldn't leave the temple alone, there was nobody else there. And then one brahmacari came and kindly agreed to stay just for a very few days and let us go to Vrindavan. We had very little money, but somehow we booked on the most basic tickets all the way from South India up to Mathura. It took a long time, and we had to sit on our suitcases with the chickens and the goats. It was a big austerity to get there. And then when we got to Mathura, we only had enough time to go and take one darshan of Srila Prabhupada and get back to Mathura for the train back down south again, which was a two- or three-day ride.
So we took a tonga and we rushed to Vrindavan temple and we knocked on the door of Srila Prabhupada's quarters and we were told, "Srila Prabhupada is not seeing anybody, only a few sannyasis. There's no way." And we tried to explain, "But we've come all the way from Hyderabad, and it's our last chance to see Srila Prabhupada." "No." It was Bhavananda prabhu who was telling us, "No, I'm really sorry." He was very kind about it, but it's just not happening. So then we were so sad. So we came out and then we were standing on that path outside the rose garden, and then there's French windows, French doors, and then there was the bed where Srila Prabhupada was lying.
So we were standing on that path and just saying our last prayers to Srila Prabhupada and knowing that he was just on the other side of those doors and curtains but we couldn't see him. And suddenly the curtains opened and the doors opened and there was nobody else around on the path, there was only us, and we said our last goodbyes to Srila Prabhupada. We paid our obeisances and we saw Srila Prabhupada lying there so ill and we could take a last darshan, and Prabhupada gave us quite a darshan.
And then the curtains closed and the windows closed. Then Bhavananda came out and he said, "Those curtains and doors haven't been opened in months and suddenly Srila Prabhupada said, Open the curtains, open the doors." So, again, Srila Prabhupada just knew. He knew that we were there. He knew that we'd gone through quite some austerity to take a last darshan. He knew what was in our hearts and we just wanted to see him one last time, and he granted that.
Reference: Following Srila Prabhupada-A Chronological Series by Racitambara Dasi
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