Janaki devi dasi 01 Remembers Srila Prabhupada

Janaki: Mukunda and I were planning on going to India. We had our visas and passports raring to go. He came home one day and said, “You won’t believe this, but there is a swami living a block down the Bowery from us and he is giving classes.” I asked Prabhupada once, “How do I quit smoking? How do I quit doing this or that?” He said, “You don’t stop. You replace.” All the time that was his concept. “I will give you something that will fill you up so much more than what you are currently absorbing. I will give you something that will take up all of those spaces inside of you and you won’t even bother with that previous nonsense.” His job with us was so huge. I honestly don’t know how he did it—that was Krishna. He was such a devout follower of Krishna, his spiritual master and the disciplic succession. He was so tried and true. None of us were used to the kind of energy and purpose that Prabhupada had. His task was impossible, but he did it anyway.

I would say Prabhupada was like a father. On his first trip to San Francisco, I started to massage his feet before he said, "This is not a woman's business."

I of course stopped but then asked him, "Do you have any children?" And just without a hiccup, not missing a beat, he said, “You are not my child? You are my child.” And I believed him. He was more of a father than I had experienced ever and his love for us was so true. And it’s so wonderful. He was so funny and sweet and knowledgeable and forgiving and guiding us in nothing but a good way. And we were just captured with love for him. It was just breathtaking how much you could love another human being. I was married, but this was a different kind of love. This was just heavenly love. I was truly blessed.