Friday, August 19th, 2011

Walking Episode With a Master

Dallas, Texas

Texas is going through a heat wave. It’s a dry heat. For two weeks the temperatures were over the 100 degree Fahrenheit mark. At night temperatures have not gone below 80. Drinking mineral water is popular these days for the youth on the bus. On route to Dallas, we try to keep ourselves optimistic in spirit. We reviewed the verse of yesterday, reciting 5.29 from the Gita and reminding ourselves that God owns it all. It’s His heat and it’s His cold. When we stop driving, for instance, at a Walmart perhaps, our group of 45 sits by the side of the parking lot under the shade of a tree having breakfast. Usually cereal with cold organic milk. I then read to the group from the book, “Memories”. Today I read an excerpt by Nischintya.


“Arrived in Hawaii in March and Srila Prabhupada was coming in May. I immediately started to learn everything I could about Hawaii because Prabhupada would regularly ask questions about the place he was visiting. I learned about Hawaii’s history, the hotels, the beaches, you name it, I knew it. I thought that on the walk with Prabhupada one day, I’d be able to answer any question he might ask about Hawaii, so on Waikiki beach, I was carefully walking in Srila Prabhupada’s actual footsteps. They were leaving an impression in the sand, and I was thinking, ‘you don’t get an opportunity like this in millions of lifetimes’. And I was also thinking, ‘Prabhupada’s going to ask a question, I’m going to know the answer. I’m going to be the man.’ Suddenly Srila Prabhupada stopped, turned and looked right at me, he was very close. He pointed and said, ‘What is that?’ I looked over and I had no idea what it was. I was shaking. I felt about one inch tall. In the distance I heard somebody say, ‘Prabhupada, that’s a device that measures how far a person has walked’. Prabhupada was still looking at me and he said, ‘So, they should make a device that tells how far death is, but that they can not do.’ Then he turned around and kept walking. I recovered a little, my pride had been completely eliminated and I was ecstatic thinking of Prabhupada’s mystic power. He knew I’d learned all about Hawaii. I wanted him to ask a question and I wanted to impress him. I understood that you don’t show off to your spiritual master. “

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