Mokshalakshmi dasi : The other thing I’ll never forget is the quantity of pink rose petals, and there was this abundance of pink rose petals that were actually up to our ankles on the floor. It was so special. After mangal aratik, we were all making garlands for Krishna and Balarama; and one day there were lots of broken flowers left that couldn’t be used for the garlands. So I had them all in this sheet that we’d been using on top of the floor to make them in, and I took them and I showered them over Srila Prabhupada from the balcony in the guest house. Then he gave this instruction that we shouldn’t waste the flowers.
Srila Prabhupada was very conscious, in India particularly, of wasting the money. He knew how to protect the flowers so they’d stay fresh for longer. He told us to wrap them in damp cloths and hang them in a cold place. He knew everything about flowers it seemed to us. But also he didn’t want us to waste. Even though practically speaking the flowers couldn’t be used, he still wanted to teach us not to waste; and he considered that showering flowers on him like the demigods in the heavenly planets was a waste of flowers. So I never did that again.
Reference: Following Srila Prabhupada-A Chronological Series by Moksha Lakshmi Dasi
