In2-MeC

Auckland, New Zealand
12 November 2003

A Srila Prabhupada Pastime Remembered by Sruta-kirti Prabhu

It is about 5:30 in the morning and Srila Prabhupada just called me into his sitting room wanting to know why Shyamasundara and Pradyumna are still sleeping. "I don't know," I replied. He tells me to bring them to his room. When we returned Srila Prabhupada tells us all that we must conquer over sleep.

"Rising early and taking a cold shower are not austerities, but just common sense and good hygiene" says Srila Prabhupada. Then revealing a wonderful truth His Divine Grace says, "By chanting 16 rounds, following the regulative principles, rising early, reducing one's eating and sleeping, one gets spiritual energy. If one follows these guidelines for 12 years, all he speaks will be perfect!"

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

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Here is something wonderful from Srila Jiva Gosvami's Gopala Campu. He writes that before Lord Krsna's appearance, Nanda and Yasoda had been hoping to have a son for a long time. For years they performed sacrifices and austerities. All of the Vrajavasis, who so loved Nanda and Yasoda, performed the same rites and penances. But still Yasoda did not give birth to a son. Finally they performed the dvadasi-parama-vrata for one year. At the end of this period, Lord Hari appeared to Nanda Maharaja in a dream. The Lord assured His devotee that his desire would soon be fulfilled, by the appearance of the Lord Himself as the son of Nanda and Yasoda! When he awoke, Nanda Maharaja's heart was bursting with joy and after taking bath in the Yamuna with Yasoda-devi he gave away great wealth in charity to the demigods, who came before him in the guise of brahmanas, saints and sages. Thereafter he worshiped Lord Visnu. It was after this that he was told a yogini had come. Nanda invited that brahmacarini tapasvi into his house and gave her a nice seat. Yasoda-devi fell crying at the feet of the yogini. That austere lady drew Yasoda to her lap and comforted her. Placing her hand on the head of the queen of the cowherd women, the brahmacarini said, "My dear Yasoda, you shall soon give birth to an excellent son. " As soon as they heard this, all the gopas and gopis assembled in the house emitted a joyful cry.

It it interesting that while (as Srila Prabhupada himself declared) there is no such thing as a brahmacarini in Vedic culture, in the Krsna-centered culture of Vrndavana, there is! Nanda Maharaja was assured by the Supreme Lord that he would have a son, but it was a brahmacarini who gave that assurance to Yasoda-devi. Srila Prabhupada created brahmacarinis in ISKCON. Sure, in the International Society for Krsna Consciousness, why wouldn't there be brahmacarinis?

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