Spiritual Bond
Narada Muni Dasa: The first time I saw Srila Prabhupada was in Los Angeles in 1969. I was picking lemons to get money to go to a Zen Buddhist monastery, when I saw a poster from the Santa Barbara ISKCON temple about meeting a real spiritual master. It was a small temple by the ocean and even though there was no one in the temple when I entered, by Srila Prabhupada's mercy I immediately knew that I had found what I had long been searching and praying for. On Sunday, I got a ride to the Los Angeles temple where Srila Prabhupada was performing an initiation ceremony. Prabhupada was sober and grave, yet I could also see love and compassion emanating from him when he initiated the devotees and I saw a spiritual bond forming between him and them. I immediately thought, "I want this." Before one particular devotee received his beads, Srila Prabhupada, as always, asked him to recite the four regulative principles. When he said, "No intoxication" Srila Prabhupada laughed and said, "And this means no more LSD?" Though I'd given up drugs by then, I could relate to that. Sitting on the Vyasasana, Srila Prabhupada was like a universal father reciprocating an intimate mood of spiritual love with his disciples.
Reference: Memories Anecdotes of a Modern Day Saint - Volume 3 by Siddhanta Dasa
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