He was so accommodative!

Chitsukhananda: After that we were ecstatic, and all my fears seemed to be dissipating. Prabhupada's presence wasn't at all what I had imagined. He was very sweet, gentle, kind, and very strong. Of course, there were also other aspects to his personality, like his sternness, his severity, his austerity, his dedication to Krishna, and his heaviness as a guru. But I wasn't afraid anymore. The initiation was scheduled for that Saturday, the 19th of April, 1969. They told me, 'You can go see Srila Prabhupada. He is in his apartment.' He was staying in Rupanuga's apartment. Nanda Kishor and I went, and Nanda Kishor introduced me to Prabhupada. 'This is Charles.' He said, "Oh very nice. Do you like this Movement?" I said, 'Yes, I like it very much.' He said, "You are happy?" I said, 'Yes. I am very happy that I met this movement. Thank you, Prabhupada. And I am very happy to meet you.' He said, "Oh, thank you." He was very humble, sweet, and kind. He was like an old, lost relative, a grandfather or grandsire from the ages. I didn't feel strange in his presence. I felt very comfortable. All my fears disappeared completely. I sat with him, and I felt happy and peaceful. I had a guitar with me, and he asked me if I would sing, so I chanted Hare Krishna. Throughout the years, even when we opened a temple in Mexico, we would play guitars in kirtan in Prabhupada's presence. He would say, "Yes, yes, more. This is what's making people dance and chant. Use it for Krishna." It's nice to hear the sitar and tambura, but it's also nice for people to play the instruments of their own nation to worship God, and Srila Prabhupada was open-minded about that. There are no hard and fast rules for chanting. He tried to accommodate everyone.