Snake in Mayapur Temple Veranda
Pushkar : Once, just past dusk, I was going up the steps of the Lotus Building in Mayapur when I noticed there was a flurry of activity on the floor where Prabhupada stayed. I started walking towards Prabhupada's room, when I saw Prabhupada leaning on the railing at the very end of the veranda. I offered my obeisances, and someone told me, "Prabhupada saw a snake." It was kind of scary. There were poisonous snakes like cobras in Mayapur.
The devotees had flashlights and were running around, looking here and there. I was close to Prabhupada, as I wasn't looking for anything. Prabhupada exhibited an amazing detachment. After a couple minutes he said, "So many men for one snake." The devotees all stopped in their tracks, feeling embarrassed that they were overly concerned. Pradyumna was particularly disturbed because he lived on the same floor. He said, "Where am I going to sleep? The snake could come and get us at night. Maybe I'm going to sleep upstairs or on a shelf."
The next morning I went to Prabhupada's room when he was leaving for his walk. His door opened, and Prabhupada was standing there with the sun glinting off his eyes. I had forgotten all about the snake but the first thing Prabhupada said was, "Anyone was bit by the snake?" He had a slight wry smile on his face. Then he walked to the steps, stopped, and said, "Pradyumna has fled?" To me it was funny because I had a vision of Pradyumna running down the dirt road toward the front of the property with a huge trunk of books because he took a trunk of books wherever he went.
Later, in Bhagavatam class, Prabhupada said, "We're feeling very safe in our four-story marble building. But the snake is there, and what is the snake? The snake is death." That's an example of Prabhupada utilizing a practical example to make a philosophical point.
Reference: Memories Anecdotes of a Modern Day Saint - Volume 2 by Siddhanta Dasa
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