PRABHUPADA’S PIONEERS
Spiritual Journeys of His Disciples of New Raman Reti.
Interviews ~ Articles ~ Photos of Their Lives in Service
compiled and edited by
Sri Devi Dasi
proofreading: Vegavati Devi Dasi.
Caturatma Dasa
Becoming attracted to yoga and vegetarianism in high school, Caturatma Dasa moved to a macrobiotic commune in 1971 near his hometown, St. Louis. Some of the members there would practice Krishna consciousness, in which he also became interested. Over time, the commune dwellers began, one by one, moving into the St. Louis temple. It took some time and the gradual loss of all material facilities, including the commune, for Caturatma to also surrender. Material life was getting him nowhere, he felt; he wasn’t progressing towards anything. He had started to devise plans to travel to India in order to find his “guru.” But destiny took a slightly different turn… In March of 1973, he hitchhiked to the St. Louis temple, and on the day which “happened to be” Gaura Purnima, joined the temple. (Interestingly, 9 of the 11 members of the commune became devotees at that time, and 5 have a connection with Alachua.) By Christmas, he was initiated. Caturatma became a brahmachari book distributor, being on sankirtana eight hours per day and was instrumental in “opening up” St. Louis airport.
After a few years, he developed a hankering to take care of Nitai Gaura Nataraja, the St. Louis Lords. In 1974, he received second initiation directly from Srila Prabhupada, in Chicago. There he found himself in pujari bliss. He got to render some personal service to Srila Prabhupada in Detroit and Chicago during 1975-76, having figured out that if he served Prabhupada’s secretary and personal servant (Pusta Krsna Dasa and Hari Sauri Dasa), this would open doors for him to render direct service to his gurudeva. He remembers garlanding Srila Prabhupada often, cleaning his rooms, and once even watching television with him.
In 1976, Caturatma was “traded,” as brahmacharis were in those days, and sent from St. Louis to the RadhaDamodara sankirtana bus. Five months of massive cross-country book distribution later, he realized his heart’s longing was in pujari work. He left the tour and hitchhiked to the Detroit temple. From there, he was sent to New York’s 55 th St. temple, the paragon of pujari work and opulence back then. Besides joyfully participating in the pujari heyday of 55 th St., learning the topmost techniques, he also met Jaya Sacinandana Dasa there. This devotee introduced him to collecting the shastras of the Six Gosvamis as well as the worship of Govardhana, by allowing Caturatma to worship his Govardhana shila. Caturatma’s love affair with Vrindavan began in 1977, when he bought a one-way ticket to Krishna’s abode and spent his days wandering its sacred land and temples. A few weeks into his stay however, he developed a very bad case of malaria, forcing him to write to his parents for a return ticket. Around the time he got cured, Srila Prabhupada had arrived in Vrindavan, and Caturatma again got to render some personal service. Not having the foresight to realize those might have been Prabhupada’s last days on the planet, when his ticket arrived three weeks before Prabhupada’s passing away, Caturatma, regrettably, left.
From 1977-80, Caturatma served in various capacities at St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, and Chicago temples. In 1980, as the head pujari in Chicago, he met Pasupati Devi Dasi, the head cook. Destiny threw them together in various situations, and he realized he wanted to marry her the day he helped her with an offering cart she had crashed coming out of the elevator. Caturatma and Pasupati got married in New York in 1980. For the next 10 years, they served at the various New York temples, ending up at Brooklyn serving Radha- Govinda. In that time, they also had two children. In 1989, they moved to a small devotee community in Ft. Myers Beach, and in 1991 the GBC asked Caturatma to become temple president in his original temple, St. Louis. He has the fondest memories of preaching during those years in St. Louis, running a full-scale vegetarian restaurant with his wife, and also converting Earth Day to a day of vegetarianism in the city.
In 1997, Caturatma and his family moved to Alachua, desiring a better devotee environment for their children. They were sold on this community by the loving care of the devotees extended to them during a difficult time when Pasupati was in a terrible auto accident. At New Raman Reti, Caturatma is instrumental in our Deity worship program and priest services. He is also our main authority on the Vaishnava Acharyas, often being called upon to speak on their lives and contributions. Additionally, he participates in the preaching yatra of Eastern Europe, by the mercy of his dear friend, Indradyumna Swami.
Caturatma prabhu believes that the key to progress in Krishna consciousness is to always associate with Vaishnavas in a service mood. For more of his nectar on Gaudiya history, please visit Vaishnava Acharyas on Facebook, or https://chaturatmadasa.com, and look for his lectures on Gaudiyahistory.com and at Krishna.com.
To read the complete book please click here: (51MB pdf file)
https://www.alachuatemple.com/files/PDFs/SP_Disciples_of_Alachua_2021.pdf