Miracles OR Guru and God's mercy

Govinda Dasi: Srila Prabhupada remained with us at the Kaaawa Beach house for over a month. When he first arrived, he saw that Goursundar was working so hard, at two jobs, "just to maintain." In one lecture, he commented that "I see my disciple, Goursundar Das, such an educated boy, so highly qualified, and knowing Sanskrit, still he has to work all day just to maintain. And he comes home, late evening, all energy spent!" This troubled Srila Prabhupada, as he wanted us to preach and open centers in Hawaii.

Prior to Prabhupada's arrival, I also was working as an executive secretary in a large insurance firm. But when Srila Prabhupada's telegram arrived, I gave notice at my job, so I could stay home and care for him properly. We were new to the Islands, having only been in Hawaii a few months, so we were struggling to pay for the basics such as rent, food, and utilities.

Srila Prabhupada, while staying with us in Kaaawa, saw the difficulties we faced in opening a center in Hawaii. He called upon Lord Krishna to help us, and it is nothing short of a miracle that we were able to move forward as we did; it was all by his blessings. It is all His doing. We are mere puppets in the Hands of the Master Puppeteer. Srila Prabhupada taught this by his own example.

Though he achieved grand success in his mission to the West, and certainly received great fame and honor, Srila Prabhupada never claimed to have done anything by himself. He would always say, "I have simply tried to execute the order of my Guru Maharaj, that's all." He taught us that, in this way, with this mentality, we will get the blessings of Guru.

This must be our mood in all endeavors, whether there is success or failure. It is our sincerity that counts. We should never think, "I am the doer." "Oh, I have done this." "This is MY success!" We should always consider that everything is happening by the grace of our Guru Maharaj. In this way, we will get the blessings of God and Guru.

We must remain grateful in all circumstances, success or failure, because ultimately, everything is up to Krishna. Srila Prabhupada taught this on a daily basis. He remained humble and simple, and always honored his Guru Maharaj and gave any and all credit to him.

Before leaving for Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada instructed us to now concentrate our full efforts in preaching work, and Krishna would provide for everything. And He did. Quite miraculously, Jayasri joined us very soon after, and helped support our little temple. Then Balabhadra received an inheritance that enabled us to eventually purchase a big three story house near the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. These events could easily be seen as miracles, for we were two twenty-somethings who had no idea how to open a temple, much less spread Krishna consciousness all over the Hawaiian Islands.

Whatever success was there is only due to Srila Prabhupada's blessings upon us, and his special request that Krishna help us. Our efforts were sincere, but to be successful the blessings of God and Guru are essential. So very soon after Srila Prabhupada left, Goursundar quit his job, and I also did not go back to my secretarial work. We focused entirely on preaching work as he instructed.