Srila Prabhupada taught us to see and appreciate God in every aspect of our lives.
When in Bombay (the then name for Mumbai), he went for a walk at the famous Juhu beach that was close to the Hare Krishna temple. He was often accompanied by Dr Patel who joined Srila Prabhupada’s disciples in debates and discussions on various topics.
One day, Srila Prabhupada stopped during his walk, inhaled the pre-dawn fresh air, looked at the horizon, and exclaimed, “This sky is so beautiful; this is Krishna’s amazing mercy… it is perfect and complete.” Srila Prabhupada quoted a verse from the Ishopanishad, a Vedic text. He then looked at the palm trees on his left and declared, “Trees are vriksha yoni- condemned species, yet they are so beautiful and complete.” Dr Patel concurred, “They are representatives of God, Krishna” and Srila Prabhupada smiled.
Srila Prabhupada then explained how in Vedic physics there are subatomic particles, called ‘paramanu’. He quoted the famous verse- andantharastha paramanu cayantarastham- how God is present in each atom and also the subatom, which is one sixth of an atom. Dr Patel humbly asked if God creates these smallest units of matter and then enters them. Srila Prabhupada loudly exclaimed, “Yes, all of these is Krishna and the purpose of human life is to see God in this creation. But most foolish humans are wasting their lives, eating and sleeping like the pigs.”
Srila Prabhupada answered another disciple that these subjects were easy to understand if we have sat sanga- good association. Dr Patel laughed aloud and said, “Yes, swamiji, look at these people, instead of sat sanga, they go to Kumbha mela.” Kumbh mela is a gathering of over twelve million Hindus at Prayag (formerly known as Allahabad) during the month of January-February, once in a few years. Dr Patel assumed he had endorsed Srila Prabhupada’s mood and therefore laughed sarcastically at the non-spiritual pursuits of most Indians in general and Hindus in particular, who simply visit pilgrimage sites without undergoing any transformation.
However, Srila Prabhupada’s visage turned grave and he corrected Dr patel, “No, Kumbha mela is also sat sanga- there are so many saintly people there and to hear from them is also good association.”
