 | In San Francisco in early 1967, Gaurasundara and I met Srila Prabhupada. Early on in our relationship we already felt we had known him eternally but there were of course many things we did not know about him. After all, we were children, as he would often say, only 19 or 20 years old. Once while walking back from a rip-roaring kirtan in Golden Gate Park we were walking alone with Srila Prabhupada, just the three of us. The kirtan was still going on but it was getting a bit late, so Srila Prabhupada had expressed the desire to go back to his Frederick Street apartment. Gaurasundara and I volunteered to walk with him, one of us on each side, eager to hear him speak and to get know him better. Srila Prabhupada walked silently. Softly sounding his eternal japa, occasionally it became audible. The path was winding and just as we rounded a bend Srila Prabhupada stopped short. He pointed to a bunch of trees on his right; it was considerably off from the path, and he said: "Gaurasundara, can you bring some small branches from that tree, about this thick," and held up his little finger to demonstrate the size. Gaurasundara nodded eagerly and thrashed into the bushes to reach the selected tree. After a few minutes of scrambling in the bushes we saw the big tree shudder slightly as Gaurasundara pulled off some branches. Srila Prabhupada stood patiently waiting on the pathway, watching quietly as Gaurasundara clamored through the bushes, his arms full of small branches. Long pointed leafs stuck out here and there and Gaurasundara's smiling face was visible just above them. Srila Prabhupada was clearly pleased, so we felt pleased. We had no idea, however, why he wanted those branches. We were dying to know but he was silent and we were too timid to ask. Quietly we walked on, and while walking, Srila Prabhupada plucked the leaves off the twigs, one by one; the small branches were only about three feet long, so as he walked the plucked leafs scattered the path behind us. Then he began the branches into eight inch pieces and gathering the bundles in his hands. I was dying of curiosity but still just watched quietly. We had no idea what he was doing. Suddenly, just was we were leaving the park, Srila Prabhupada smiled brightly and said to us: "These twigs will be my tooth brushes. This tree has a very medicinal sap. It has very antiseptic properties". He turned to us, flashing his bright smile and perfectly white teeth and said: "If you want to have teeth like mine at eighty, you can not use a tooth brush, you must use these tree twigs. It will keep your teeth very healthy". We were stunned, and then we courageously asked him how he used them. He said "simply, I shall show you", and some time later he showed us how to chew the one quarter inch end of the twig until it became like a brush, then how to scrub the teeth and gums side to side, cleaning the plaque from them and stimulating the gums and leaving them feeling cleaner than a dentist's office visit. Srila Prabhupada later told us the best twig was eucalyptus, but mango was also very good, and on the East coast, where eucalyptus was not available he used birch. Srila Prabhupada, you taught us everything, even how to brush our teeth, and more over you taught us how to serve unquestioningly and eagerly without reservation. If you wanted twigs from a tree we eagerly gave them to you. Krsna tested our service mood in so many ways, even if we did not know or understand we trusted you anyway. That was the key. Krsna wanted to see how much we sincerely believed in you. Thank you, Srila Prabhupada, for still watching over us, for giving us the faith that you are still here, watching, guiding and waiting patiently for us to bring the twigs of our devotion to your lotus feet. Even now, just as then you stood patiently on the forest path, watching and waiting, and even now you still stand quietly in our hearts, guiding and waiting for us to invite you to sit down and remain there eternally, guiding and teaching us from within. There is no limitation on your mercy. You were kind and powerful that you can sit in the heart of everyone who calls to you.
|
English
Español
Pусский
Português