Challenge my service

Rajendranandana Dasa: I remember one time being bold enough to ask if I could fan him with the chamara. So, they instructed me when I took the chamara that it's to keep the insects off of him primarily. So, you can get quite an ordinary fancy way to the chamara. But ideally, that's what it's for you, get the flies and they're a real annoyance. Then chamara can very gently whisk them off. So, there was one. So, I had the chamara and I'm standing up there on the side of Srila Prabhupada. There was this pesky fly determined to land on Srila Prabhupada’s head. Doing his best to challenge my service which was to keep him off.

I was like in devotional terror practically because I didn't want Srila Prabhupada’s concentration on speaking on Srimad-Bhagavatam to be disturbed. I wanted to properly do the service. So sometimes the fly would land right on the forehead. Then with the chamara I'd have to hit Srila Prabhupada. Let the hair of the chamara of it hit his forehead and it's just like, "Oh my gosh. I don't know what I'm doing here." I just tried my best and Prabhupada didn't look or didn't make you know. So, I wish it would hit his forehead with lightly brushed it and did my best to keep the flyout. So that was a nice little service inconsequential. But it was ecstatic. That was an example of anxiety but just trying to do some small service to Prabhupada for his pleasure. So that was there.