When another devotee said the deprogramming group also blames devotees for their lifestyle- especially of less sleep. Srila Prabhupada asked a counter question, ‘Why do you people glorify Napoleon for sleeping only two hours? When successful people sleep less and earn money, you appreciate them, and our boys and girls may be busy for Krishna and have no interest to sleep. So why do you grumble?’ The final argument was: devotees don’t mix with non-devotees, to which Srila Prabhupada gave an emphatic answer, ‘swans don’t like to mix with crows; similarly gentlemen don’t like to associate with loafers.’
On another occassion, Srila Prabhupada said devotees don’t brain ‘wash’ but brain ‘give.’. “If you don’t have a brain where is the question of brain washing’ he asked, ‘first u should have a brain to wash, and we are giving u that brain.” To this the devotees challenged (in the mood of the antagonists) that the fact they are speaking to him means they have a brain. Again, Srila Prabhupada dismissed by saying, “This speaking is like a dog barking- nonsense and material. If you claim you have a brain you should be able to answer a simple question- what is the difference between a living body and a dead body?’ For every challenge posed by the materialists, Srila Prabhupada had strong answers.
These discussions give us a glimpse into Srila Prabhupada’s dynamic personality. Nothing could discourage him. He was truly a fearless warrior, presenting powerful Krishna conscious arguments to defeat atheistic propaganda. At the Kumbh mela where temperatures dropped below zero degrees at night and the early morning was extremely cold, Srila Prabhupada had a bad cold and a swelling in his hands and feet, still he took a cold water bath, at the hand pump outside his tent. Remember he was 81 years old, but in spirit he was filled with youthful exuberance.
His staying facilities when he travelled in India were often meagre, yet he was cheerful and comfortable. He travelled light- two small shoulder bags that his servant carried. One contained Srila Prabhupada’s three sets of clothes, and the other had Srila Prabhupada’s plate, bowl, spoon, tiffin, tilak and water bottle. At Bhuvaneshwar, the mud-thatched hut was modest and toilet was outdoors in the fields. Srila Prabhupada had earlier stayed at the George Harrison donated Manor in U.K, a castle in Paris and a Penthouse in Newyork. But he said he was most comfortable in this humble setting in Orissa. His reasoning was simple: Chaitanaya Mahaprabhu loved Bengal and Orissa. Srila Prabhupada said Orissa is the land where Jagananth appeared and in Kali-yuga the preaching will spread from Utkal, or Orissa. He remembered with gratitude his own spiritual master who appeared in Puri.
To be continued…
