Bonds of Love: Dhanistha Devi Dasi When Srila Prabhupada came, everything was washed clean by his presence. Thank God for His pure devotee, who indiscriminately blesses us both from near and far. As the guru of us all, we are his spiritual children eternally. Realization of this special privilege takes place deep within, but it was very helpful to have his physical presence, even just for brief times.
Because I was distributing his books, I felt close to Prabhupada. During his visit I was given the extra service of cleaning his quarters. In the early morning hours just before class, Prabhupada would take a morning walk. That’s when we would clean and freshen his rooms. The particular quarters I’m speaking of were a few blocks from the apartment where Jayananda and his wife, Trayi Devi, lived – appropriate rooms were cleared and arranged to accommodate Srila Prabhupada’s needs.
Srila Prabhupada liked bare floors kept very clean by spreading white sheets over them and taping down the edges. The sheets were changed and washed every day. Everything was always kept sparkling clean.
One day, just as we were finishing the cleaning, Srila Prabhupada returned earlier than usual with several of the men who had accompanied him on his walk. The stairs leading up to the second-floor flat entered the apartment in the middle of a long hall. If you turned left at the top of the stairs, you ended up in the kitchen; turning right led to Prabhupada’s room.
Since Srila Prabhupada had arrived early, Keli-lalita and I were caught in the narrow hallway that opened into his room. There was nowhere else for us to exit from. There were several devotees with Srila Prabhupada, and in such a small space, there was also no room for us to pass and go down the stairs. Srila Prabhupada, however, turned left and headed toward the kitchen with his men. Keli and I had offered our obeisances, and when we rose to our feet, we saw the crowd heading in the opposite direction from us.
We edged toward the kitchen to try to see what was going on.
Everybody was standing closely around Prabhupada, and he, being smaller in physical stature,
was hidden momentarily. Then one devotee bent down to sprinkle kunkum powder over his lotus feet. The scene was jubilant and sweet to watch … the devotees were laughing with such gentleness. Srila Prabhupada was smiling and reciprocating the love of his devotees. I could see him quite well, because when the devotee offering the kunkum bent down in front of Prabhupada, the rest of the men crowded to the sides and we were suddenly directly in front of him, with a clear view from the hallway. We felt we were onlookers and might not be welcome if the men noticed us there, so we carefully exited. But the last thing I saw was Srila Prabhupada smiling in our direction.
The next morning when we went to clean his rooms, we saw Srila Prabhupada’s kunkum footprints here and there throughout the room, distinctly visible on the white sheets and pillows behind his desk. To this day I curse myself – I washed those sheets. Before I removed them, however, I sought out every lotus footprint and offered it my obeisances, placing my head on each one.
We cleaners salvaged various items Prabhupada had used during his visits – the eucalyptus twigs he used for brushing his teeth, bits of flowers and paper he’d touched. We took these back to the temple for distribution to the other devotees, who didn’t have the same opportunity to get close to Prabhupada. I gave everything away. What I wouldn’t give for just one eucalyptus twig now.
During an informal darshan Prabhupada asked if there were any questions. I raised my hand. I had just received initiation and my beads from him during a fire sacrifice at the temple. He also gave me my name, Dhanistha Devi Dasi. Now, a few days later, I was concerned. Srila Prabhupada would be leaving soon to continue his travels to other temples. I knew that the cleaning I had been doing might be my last opportunity to serve his form directly, so I asked, “Srila Prabhupada, how can we get more personal association with you?” Before the words were even out of my mouth he raised a hand and said softly, “Just distribute my books.” Then he smiled. The temple president said, “That’s what she does, Srila Prabhupada. She goes to the airport every day and distributes your books.” “Then that is very nice,” Prabhupada said. I was in the very back of the room, sitting next to Jayananda. All mental obstacles between myself and my guru were in that moment removed. I understood what real association with the guru meant, at least for me.
One day during the same visit, when Prabhupada was standing in the temple foyer, one devotee asked out of the crowd, “Prabhupada, how do we get more of your association?” Prabhupada said, “Just read Krsna Book. Even I read Krsna Book.” And he smiled a broad, effulgent smile.
We all laughed. I felt so close to him then. If we remember what he said, we can feel close to him now, too.