His austerities had been well worthwhile

Kurma Dasa: On his return from the program, Prabhupada entered the temple, bowed down before Radha-Gopinatha, then stood, palms together respectfully in traditional Indian greeting. The lone brahmachari pujari, absorbed in singing and offering the late evening arati was blissfully unaware that Prabhupada was standing right behind him.

Afterwards, Prabhupada asked, 'Who was that?' 'That was Kurma dasa, Srila Prabhupada.' Prabhupada smiled brightly and said, 'Oh, Kurma deva'. Prabhupada appeared to appreciate how his disciples sometimes had to sacrifice hearing his lectures for the sake of performing their allotted service. Later, on hearing of Prabhupada's kind words, Kurma, like Ambika, felt that his austerities had been well worthwhile.