Teaching Disciple
Aniruddha Dasa: Srila Prabhupada used eucalyptus twigs to clean his teeth. They had to be a little longer than the length of a finger, and not too green. We would cut them, and he would soak them in water overnight, then bite the tips between his teeth and use the bristles as a toothbrush. We took turns getting these for Prabhupada. Here in Los Angeles, there were a lot of eucalyptus trees. About sunrise one morning, I went to MacArthur Park on Wilshire Boulevard wearing my hat, my bead bag and carrying a huge knife. It was quiet, nobody was there. I parked my car and then cut down a large eucalyptus branch with a lot of tributaries so I could pick the right size. I was sitting on a bench with a knife cutting up this branch when a patrol car pulled up. The police check through the park at certain hours. A policeman arrogantly strutted up to me and said, "Well, what do you have there, young man?" I said, "I'm cutting these for my spiritual master. He uses them as a toothbrush." He said, "Have you been in a mental institution?" and then he said, "What do you have in that bag there?" and I explained my japa beads to him. He said, "I can arrest you for carrying that weapon." He was using his power but he saw that I was okay. I told this story to Srila Prabhupada and he said, "Well, did you ask him if he was crazy?" Prabhupada was teaching me to be bold.
Reference: Memories Anecdotes of a Modern Day Saint - Volume 3 by Siddhanta Dasa
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