June 27. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Remembering the Early Exchanges with Swamiji.
If the spiritual world is the real goal, then why do I keep going back to that infinitesimal span of time – the 1966 days? Prabhupada’s lila was so sweet then, and it was also a special time for me, the time when he lifted me out of the cycle of birth and death. I cannot help remembering it now. That remembrance reinforces my conviction not to fall back into material life. I am not clear yet, I am surrounded by temptations. I have not completed the process. My material desires can still attract me, especially if I forget how implicated in the material world I was before I met Prabhupada. But I gratefully remember those days in 1966, the first days of my spiritual life and the first days of Prabhupada’s mission in the West, by falling on my knees and thanking him.
I remember in the very early days when Swamiji started looking for a new building in New York City. We didn’t get one, and we had to stay at 26 Second Avenue. But there were adventures connected with the search. One time, we saw a place on the second floor somewhere that required a lot of work. The room was filled with lumber and was very dirty. After we checked it out, we went back to 26 Second Avenue and sat with Swamiji in his room. Swamiji turned to me and asked, “Mr. Secretary, what did you think of the place?” I gave my opinion, feeling important because of the way Prabhupada had addressed me. I was touched that he asked my opinion.
Why do I ever forget these little exchanges? Why don’t I always remember them and know that Prabhupada loves me, that my real relationship with him consists of typing for him, writing for him, always being his affectionate servant?
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