An Authentic Life 1.1 for pdf - Universalist Radha-Krishnaism

for help. But we have to pray at every moment that
the power of maya does not disturb us."
Swamiji liked the deities I carved and wanted
them cast in brass. They eventually wound up in the
London temple. Swami also liked the small Jagannath
deities I carved and painted. He wanted plaster castings
made of them so they could be in every home. I
also carved a pair of Krishna Balaram Jagannath deities
about a foot high for Swamiji. They were later installed
in the Seattle temple where the woman who
was to become my next wife worshipped them before
we met.
One day, a group of disciples were with Swamiji
in his apartment. Govinda Dasi asked if there
were a more respectful title we could call him by.
He said, "Yes. You can call me Prabhupad.
Prabhu is Lord and pad is feet. The spiritual master is
the lotus feet of the Lord. That is what we called my
guru also."
Looking back, I see this as a watershed event.
Since then he has been known as Prabhupad. It created
a rift between him and some other disciples of
his guru. I also think it changed the way he perceived
himself, especially as the movement rapidly grew
worldwide.
❡
One morning, Goursundar drove Prabhupad to the
doctor in an old VW bug. I was in the back seat. The
car was painted with Hare Krishna sayings and
couldn't do forty miles per hour on the freeway. This
attracted a motorcycle cop. He stopped us and al-
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