Would Radhanath Swami follow his doctor’s advice? In concern, a group clamored impatiently outside the room, as Dr. Dhalal, accompanied by the president of Radhagopinath Ashram, conversed with Radhanath Swami behind closed doors.
When the clock struck nine, my duties at school called me—but I ignored. Held captive by Radhanath Swami’s oratory, I couldn’t move from where I sat. As the audience that numbered in thousands drank- in every word he spoke, Radhanath Swami launched into a call for revolution. With a voice pitched high in compassion, he declared, “We must perform our duty selflessly, as a sacrifice, in divine consciousness and in devotion to God for the betterment of humanity.” Hearing that, my conscience whispered,
‘Wasn’t that strange?’ A cow racing alongside our speeding car at dangerously close proximity!
This happened as we traveled towards the Himalayan pilgrimage of Badrinath. Fifty-odd devotees had gone ahead by bus, and way behind were the four of us riding in a white Ambassador with Radhanath Swami.
I was rummaging through the car’s interior for Prasad, sanctified food, frantically. Meanwhile the street urchin who stood outside in the blazing sun grew in desperation and began to gesticulate wildly: he wanted Prasad. He was convinced we Hare Krishna’s carried it wherever we travelled. If not for the car’s glass window that separated us, he would have surely shoved me to accentuate his demand.
I darted over to Radhanath Swami’s room. There he was sitting, conversing with another devotee. I prostrated myself at Radhanath Swami’s feet and asked for his blessings to leave. “I am going. Now onwards I will come only on very special occasions,” I said. Radhanath shook his head in approval. Next moment, I was out of the room.
