Banabhatta : I had been the temple commander in Mayapur for about four months when the festival began in 1976. We were trying to finish all the rooms for the devotees along the perimeter wall of Mayapur as there was a huge influx of devotees coming from all around the world. Being the temple commander I was in anxiety because we were behind schedule in getting the rooms ready. Prabhupada’s disciples were doing so much service and they deserved to come to Mayapur. I knew Prabhupada wanted them to have very nice facilities because Prabhupada said that Mayapur is our home. In that mood, I was trying to get every person who came a little early engaged, especially able-bodied devotees, in helping get the rooms ready for the other devotees.
I was in a little bit of a passionate mode and I remember one specific incident of a devotee who had come early who appeared very stout and strong. However, every morning he would take prasad and then he would disappear for the rest of the day. I found out that he would go into where the banana patch was and he’d just chant Hare Krishna all day long. I approached him and asked him if he would help, but he said that he was in Mayapur just to chant Hare Krishna and that’s it. That rubbed me a little bit the wrong way and being temple commander and having that responsibility, I was frustrated and I thought maybe that would set a precedent for other devotees.
I approached Srila Prabhupada at that time hoping he could remedy the situation. I had pretty much the ability, carte blanche, to enter Srila Prabhupada’s room, although it was only for important things, and I felt this was one of those times. I offered my obeisances as Srila Prabhupada sat and chanted his japa. I said, “Srila Prabhupada, I need do ask you something.” Still fingering his beads, he turned toward me and said, “Yes?” I said, “Srila Prabhupada, we’re trying to get the rooms ready on the perimeter wall for all the devotees who are coming and we’re behind schedule. I’m trying to get every single devotee I can who’s coming early who can to help us out. There’s one devotee in particular that’s really frustrating me because he won’t do any service. He simply goes to the banana patch and all day long all he does is chant Hare Krishna. He won’t do any service.” As I was telling Prabhupada my dilemma, he had his face turned away from me as he was softly chanting. When I finished saying, “He won’t do any service,” Prabhupada stopped and looked at me very gravely and said, “So, you think chanting Hare Krishna is not service?” He said, “That is the greatest service!” I immediately felt about a half inch tall. I felt so humiliated that I simply offered my obeisances and said, “Yes, thank you Srila Prabhupada,” and got what I consider one of the greatest personal instructions from my spiritual master to this day. Prabhupada was so expert, and as you hear the memories of so many other devotees, because he is in direct connection with Krishna all the time, it was so unpredictable to know what he was going to say in any given situation. To another devotee in the same situation he might have given a completely different instruction. But he knew that was exactly what I needed to hear.
