Reforming Others

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
12 May 2012

...Bhakti Dayita Madhav Maharaj was a very strong person. When the bell went off for prasadam, all the brahmacharis were there and the hall was full. Madhav Maharaj thought, "When I give lecture only five-six brahmacharis are there, but when it is prasadam time there are twenty!" He then went to the prasadam hall, sat at his vyas-asan and took Chaitanya-charitamrita out: "You take prasadam and I will read to you." The disciples were shy. That was Madhav Maharaj.

Once, somebody told Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, "Prabhupad, that man smokes!" Prabhupad sent them away, "Ok, no problem, go." Later, Prabhupad himself bought some bindi, and when he went to give the class he kept it in his pocket. Prabhupad called that man up,

"Prabhu, come here. I know you smoke and you take money from your house, but your house money is maya, do not use it. I will give you cigarettes myself instead."

"No, no! I will not smoke any more!" The man was ashamed.

In this way Prabhupad would change people...

Prabhupad would often come to Mayapur—in Nabadwip there were too many aul, baul, and so many other bad things, and sometimes they would throw bricks at Prabhupad and torture him... Once a goswami, a smartavadi brahmin, came to see him in Mayapur. Prabhupad had been speaking to him for a very long time when a woman came in—she was not so good-looking, of dark complexion, and not looking so healthy; she was initiated by Prabhupad and would clean the plates, sweep, and do other services at the temple. The woman called out to Prabhupad, scolding him affectionately, "Thakur Masai, you have been talking for so long! Now take prasadam." (She did not address him "Gurudev" or "Prabhupad", but affectionately called him Thakur Masai.) When she left, the brahmin asked Prabhupad,

"Who was that woman?"

Prabhupad would never say, "This person is my disciple," so he replied, "It is a temple devotee. She serves here, does so much service..."

"What did she bring?"

"Prasad."

"Prasad?! Will you take it from her hand?! But she has touched it!"

"Yes, every day I take from her hand. If you give it today, I can take it from you too. In general, you a brahmin, and I cannot take prasad from you, but today I can take even from you."

He replied in this way, cutting his brahmanism...

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