This devotee is so sincere
Prabhupada is staying at a pleasant house in Beverly Hills, which Gargamuni has recently found for him. Located in a quiet neighborhood, the peaceful atmosphere and ideal climate are perfect for his translation work and health. Nanda Kumar and Devananda live with him and are constantly engaged in his service. Devananda is a sensitive, ethereal, cerebral type of person, and attends to Prabhupada's secretarial duties. Nanda Kumar, his cook and servant, is more down-to-earth.
Nanda Kumar: Vishnujana told us one time, "If you pray to Lord Nityananda for something that's good for your spiritual life, He'll give it to you. Even if you don't deserve it, even if you're not qualified, He'll give it to you. He's so merciful." Within a few days I had heard that Prabhupada was coming from New Vrindavana and he didn't have a cook. I was a new devotee, I wasn't initiated and hadn't done any temple cooking, but I was a cook just by nature. I prayed innocently and sincerely to Lord Nityananda, "Please let me be Prabhupada's servant. I would really like to do that service." And I didn't get it, nor was I even expecting it. So I just kind of put it out of my mind. Then one day Mohanananda called me aside and said, "Hey, I've got a secret." "What?" "Oh, I can't tell you." So I twisted his arm, and he said, "They're going to pick you to be Prabhupada's servant." And I thought this was all the mercy of Vishnujana and Lord Nityananda.
Every day at dawn Prabhupada takes his morning walk around the neighborhood. Then he comes to the temple to greet the Deities and give class. Devotees arrive from all the surrounding temples to hear Srila Prabhupada speak. Although the newcomers have difficulty understanding his heavy Bengali accent, they are inspired by his mood and by his disciples.
Paramatma: All the devotees in San Francisco came down to see Srila Prabhupada. I was 16 at the time and still going to school. We were chanting on Hollywood Boulevard, and it was very blissful. Vishnujana looked like a very unique personality. He was completely enthused in kirtan, and he would just go on and on, absorbed in the Holy Name.
Ksudhi dasa: I went up to LA to see Srila Prabhupada. People would drive by on La Cienega, waiting for Prabhupada to arrive. They'd line up to see Prabhupada come, and Vishnujana would lead the chanting, inspiring everybody. Then Prabhupada would come in and lead the chanting himself.
Bhayahari: The first time I saw Srila Prabhupada was in La Cienega. Ksudhi dasa took me. He was 16 and I was 13. We met at the Laguna Beach temple. He was going to high school. So we came up to LA to see Srila Prabhupada. I sat in the back of the temple room, and I remember seeing Vishnujana. He was a very attractive person. After Srila Prabhupada spoke everyone went to the prasadam room, and I remember Vishnujana speaking. I thought, "This devotee is so sincere."
Sankirtana has increased since Prabhupada has been away in Europe, and hearing the daily sankirtana reports fills him with delight. He is also impressed to see the temple so well managed, with no anxiety for maintenance. All the daily requirements are met by the grace of Sri Krishna. New devotees are joining regularly, and the mood of the temple is joyful. Vishnujana still leads out the sankirtana party, which still collects over $200 daily via incense and magazine sales.
Upendra: Prabhupada told me he wanted to drive to Hollywood where the devotees were chanting. "Don't tell them," he said. "We will do it secretly. We will come up and see them from a distance. Otherwise, they will stop chanting." But I disobeyed and told Karandhara, who was organizing it. "I'm already breaking Prabhupada's instruction to me for the service, because I don't want a skeleton crew out there. Prabhupada will be disappointed." So I was driving, and we pulled up near the kirtan party. Prabhupada was overjoyed to see a large kirtan party singing and chanting with, of course, Vishnujana leading. All of a sudden, a devotee looked over and saw Prabhupada. It started a landslide of dandabats. The only one who knew what to do, that is to keep on chanting, was Vishnujana. He just looked over to see why all the devotees were bowing down and stopping the kirtan. Prabhupada said, "Go, go. Drive. They are stopping the kirtan." It was exactly what he didn't want. Vishnujana kept on chanting, offering obeisances with his head. He knew Prabhupada's desire. I thought that was incredible. Prabhupada spoke about Vishnujana in a loving way as we drove off.
Impressed by the kirtan party, Prabhupada keeps stressing the importance of sankirtana. Brahmananda has doubled the monthly printing of BTG to 50,000 copies. The German edition and the French edition for Canada have monthly print runs of 5,000 copies each. Back to Godhead is the backbone of the society. “Sankirtan is the best way to inject Krishna's message to the conditioned souls. The kirtan softens them up, and the magazine finishes them off. This plan of sankirtana is the only way, the only way for our success. Sankirtan, Love Feast, and selling BTG, they are our primary engagements and next temple worship. Temple worship is needed for the inner section. In the beginning, sankirtana is more important for drawing the attention of the people in general. Last night, I went to see our men chanting in Hollywood Boulevard, and I saw it was so fine and satisfactory.” Letter to Sudama, January 8, 1970
In celebration of Srila Prabhupada's return, Vishnujana arranges dramas and puppet shows for the pleasure of his Guru Maharaja. The first presentation, "The Age of Kali," depicts the entrance of Kali-yuga. More than a hundred Sunday feast guests crowd into the temple room along with the devotees to see the performance with Prabhupada.
Sahadevi: We started the play with Arjuna and Krishna. Krishna is leaving the planet. Srila Prabhupada was sitting on his vyasasana up on the stage alongside the Deities. Muralidhara played Arjuna. He did such a heart-breaking performance. He cried while reciting that speech about Krishna being his friend. I mean he really cried. I couldn't believe it. It was so beautiful. Mohanananda played Krishna, and Vishnujana played Kali. Then Kali came in. Vishnujana was definitely a good performer. When he played demons, he was so scary that little kids would cry and their parents would have to take them out of the room. He really put his heart into it. When it was over, Prabhupada clapped and said that he really loved the play, and thanked us for doing it, but never do the disappearance of Krishna again. Vaishnavas don't do drama about Krishna leaving the planet, because it is too painful. That is not relished by devotees, nor is it something for devotees to think about.
Narada Muni: Vishnujana was the spiritual soul of La Cienega temple, the life of the party. He was the standard that everyone tried to come up to. He loved telling stories and doing puppet shows on Sundays for the children. Prabhupada used to give the lecture and kirtan, and Vishnujana had a program for the kids. There was one puppet show he got chastised for, about Narada Muni falling down to householder life. It was one of those stories that had been circulating. When Prabhupada heard about it, he was furious. Vishnujana told me about that afterwards. He was in ecstasy when he told me. Prabhupada said, "Narada Muni cannot fall down. This is a bogus story. Where does it come from? We must be careful that these speculative ideas don't infiltrate our society." Vishnujana saw Prabhupada's mercy working in that chastisement. He loved Prabhupada very dearly. Mohanananda and Vishnujana did a Caitanya lila play with Prabhupada watching from his vyasasana. Vishnujana was the fisherman, and when he touched the body of Lord Caitanya, he went wild chanting Hare Krishna. Prabhupada was laughing and laughing when Vishnujana, as the fisherman, touched Gauranga and went wild. It was just a simple Krishna conscious play, no professionalism, but Prabhupada appreciated it so much. He once told me a very esoteric and controversial story that he didn't tell many people. He had gone to see Srila Prabhupada one time. It was a heavy thing, the whole room was light, blinding light. Vishnujana was reticent to talk about it. It was not a story officially sanctioned by ISKCON.