"One night an extraordinary thing happened. Prabhupada led the first kirtan and then gave a lecture. I sat on the floor just to his right with the harmonium, and after the lecture, I began leading the second Hare Krishna kirtan.
All of a sudden, Srila Prabhupada's voice cut through the auditorium with the potency of Lord Nrsimha right in the middle of my chanting. I had never heard Prabhupada do that, nor had I heard the words he chanted.
'Narada muni bhajay vina radhika-ramana-name,' he sang. And then again he repeated it.
I looked up, and he looked down at me, signaling me to carry on. So I continued chanting Hare Krishna, and he continued singing his prayer to Narada Muni into his microphone.
I closed my eyes and carried on, not knowing what was happening. Then he started leading with me.
We could all understand that something inexplicable but amazing was happening. Everyone was literally jumping off the ground, leaping in the air; even little baby Saraswati was two feet off the ground, and the audience was leaping into the air.
We jumped off stage and all of us began running around the perimeter of the auditorium with the audience. It was one of those Krishna Magic moments. Just amazing!
The next morning I asked Prabhupada what had happened the previous night. "Didn't you see?" Srila Prabhupada said. "Narada Muni came to our kirtan." "No, I didn't see him," I answered. "Yes, Narada Muni came."
- Excerpted from "Yamuna Devi: A Life of Unalloyed Devotion"
Devotee Memory:
Srila Prabhupada’s first disciple, Acarya Prabhakar Misra, was a respectable Sanskrit scholar and teacher, who held an MA and PhD title.
In an interview in the 1970’s, Acarya Prabhakar stated that in 1954 he was with Srila Prabhupada on Krsna Janmastami in Jhansi.
He related how he woke up at 1:00 a.m. and heard Srila Prabhupada ecstatically playing mridanga in the temple room upstairs.
When Acarya Prabhakar went upstairs, he saw Srila Prabhupada dancing around the temple room performing kirtan.
Prabhupada was wearing a kadamba flower garland that went all the way down to his feet.
Kadamba flowers are very rare in Jhansi and when they are available they are usually the size of a golf ball. But the one’s Prabhupada were wearing were the size of tennis balls.
And the entire room was surcharged with the fragrance of the heavenly planets.
Acarya Prabhakar asked Srila Prabhupada: “Where did this garland come from? It is not available from the market.”
Srila Prabhupada did not answer. His Divine Grace continued with kirtan, chanting and dancing around the room.
The next morning Acarya Prabhakar asked Srila Prabhupada: “Where did you get the garland? Why does it have such a rich fragrance? And why were you feeling so blissful?”
Srila Prabhupada replied: “I was chanting to Krishna and feeling some love for Him. He appeared and gave me this garland. I went to touch His feet and He disappeared. Because of that I was dancing around the temple room.” Srila Prabhupada then began crying.
Acarya Prabhakar also related that sometimes Prabhupada’s mood was to perform kirtan very intensely. He would chant on and on and on for three days straight.
Such are the pastimes of a pure devotee [Srila Prabhupada], immersed in love for the Lord.
Some of us might have heard or read this pastime but it is worth reading it or hearing it millions of times. It is faith-giving and nourishing to our souls.
Shaktyavesh Avatara
Guru Qualifications
