Preaching Krishna's Glories Tirelessly

His Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

On the twenty-hour journey from Frankfurt to Melbourne, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami was Srila Prabhupada's only travelling companion. During the flight to Singapore, Srila Prabhupada opened one of his Srimad-Bhagavatam volumes. He read for over an hour and then placed it in the chair-pocket in front of him. He was mostly quiet, but once, while looking out at the silver wing he turned to Satsvarupa Goswami. "It took so much intelligence to build a plane like this," he said, "so how can they say there is no God? If a plane flies in the sky by human ingenuity, then how can we say that the planets, sky, clouds and the whole cosmic arrangement have no brain behind it?" Prabhupada's observation struck Satsvarupa as wonderful.
Satsvarupa: It was simple, but solid. Here you were, riding with that person whose task it was to glorify God to the whole world, and even in his quiet moment he had a Krsna conscious thought and shared it with you. I was grateful and felt renewed strength.

In the morning, Srila Prabhupada and Satsvarupa dasa Goswami changed planes in Singapore. As they sat in the waiting lounge, a weary Satsvarupa kept dutifully checking their tickets and his watch, hoping that everything would go without mishap. Again Prabhupada was mostly silent, but when a little child passed with a toy on wheels, Prabhupada said to Satsvarupa: "I remember being that young. I also had toys like that." And he added, "I once scraped my knee".

Satsvarupa: Prabhupada tended to be withdrawn during the airplane trips. He did not feel at home with the karmis and their meat-eating and smoking. He was not like a businessman, who has a few drinks and then starts talking loudly or does a lot of office work during a flight. Prabhupada, at least when I saw him, was mostly quiet, just waiting with infinite patience to get to the next place for spreading Krsna consciousness.

As the plane descended through the clouds over Melbourne, Prabhupada again spoke to Satsvarupa: "When we took off in Germany there was all green, and now here it's also green. So why do they say that we cannot travel to the spiritual world, and that there will be no life there, just as there is here?"



Prabhupada spoke simply, but Satsvarupa took it as unforgettable nectar.

- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu