Vaikunthanath, may I borrow your Bhagavad-gita?
Vaikunthanath das : I was accompanying Prabhupada as his typist, and we had flown in from Hawaii and we stopped in Chicago and San Francisco. On one of the flights, I was sitting next to Prabhupada and he said, "Vaikunthanath, may I borrow your Bhagavad-gita?" I gave him my Bhagavad-gita, which, of course, was his Bhagavad-gita, and he opened it up and began to read it. But he took note of the fact that I had had it hardbound in India, and at that time there was a gold embosser who would print the devotee's name on the cover. So it had a big "Vaikunthanath and Saradiya," which came out much larger than I had expected.
I remember Prabhupada took note of my name and Saradiya's name on the cover but didn't say anything and began to read, and I remember I was a little embarrassed. I said, "What is my name doing on there? That's Prabhupada's book." Prabhupada sat there and read his Bhagavad-gita for some time and then went back to chanting japa. Prabhupada would either read or chant or maybe talk a little on the airplane, but mostly he was just absorbed in chanting.
Reference: Following Srila Prabhupada-A Chronological Series by Vaikunthanatha Dasa
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