A few years ago at the Rainbow Hippie Festival in America, when ten to twenty thousand people go into the deep forests to achieve enlightenment, and the devotees feed them prasadam in their camp, I met a man in his seventies with a cracked shell in his hands - he asked to put prasadam in it.
He had matted gray hair that reached his waist, and a long, long gray beard, which he tied into knots to avoid stepping on it. His only cloth was the air - he had no clothes. Thinking, “What is this miracle?” I greeted the person and invited him to sit down and eat prasadam.
He asked:
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Are you a disciple of Swamiji?
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Do you mean Srila Prabhupada?
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Swamiji! I know Swamiji. He is my old friend!
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How do you know Swamiji?
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In 1965, I was a student of Dr. Mishra at his yoga institute. And Dr. Mishra would not allow Swamiji to speak because Swamiji was rejecting his philosophy. For this reason, Swamiji always sat at the back of the lecture hall and chanted on his beads. But at the end Dr. Mishra invited him to sing kirtan. One day I thought that this is the most amazing, brightest and wisest person I have ever met in my life.
I went to this far corner and Swamiji invited me to his bench and said, “Whatever this Dr. Mishra says is nonsense, you’d better come to me.” And I started visiting him at his place. He cooked for me. He was the kindest man in the world.
It’s amazing how many hearts Srila Prabhupada has touched!
Sometimes Prabhupada argued with Dr. Mishra. It was a philosophical debate. However, there is one very important lesson that we must learn from Srila Prabhupada. Yes, he argued with Dr. Mishra about philosophy, but when the doctor was terminally ill, Prabhupada himself cooked prasadam for him every day with great love and surrounded him with such love and respect that, as Dr. Mishra himself said, saved his life.
Prabhupada did not approve of his philosophy, but treated Dr. Mishra with love and care.
He said, “Your name is Mishra. That is the name of Lord Chaitanya. He was the son of Jagannath Mishra, so you must help me spread His movement all over the world. This is the mission of Visvambhara Mishra, the Lord Mahaprabhu.”
But Dr. Mishra did not listen to him. After some time, Prabhupada left Dr. Mishra and continued his preaching in different places.
Radhanatha Swami | «Srila Prabhupada’s Matchless Gifts» | p. 60
