Sandamini: A press conference was called in San Francisco at the airport upon Prabhupada’s arrival before the Ratha-yatra. Prabhupada had just flown in and he was telling us that the pilot on his flight sat next to him and said, “Your Grace, do you mind if I could ask you some questions?” Prabhupada, always the gracious host and always anxious to share Krishna consciousness, said he did not mind. The man said, “If God is good and all loving and great,” Prabhupada was agreeing, “then why did God create evil?” Prabhupada said to us, “So I told him that the sun is shining very bright. It’s beautiful, but if you turn your back on the sun, you create a shadow. It’s not the sun’s fault you created the shadow by turning your back. So similarly when people turn their back on God, then evil is there.” Prabhupada looked very innocently at us and asked, “Was that alright? Did I give a good answer?” The devotees clapped and cheered in approval. You could just see the very innocent, boy-like enthusiasm and really deep humility when he asked, “Was that alright? Did I give a good answer?” It was endearing to me that he would bring us in and share that with us. It was a special moment.
Reference: Remembrances by Sidhanta Das- Folio Vedabase
