Tolerate and Co-operate

C hapter 9 I n p uré w I th Ç réla p rabhupäda

majestic six-foot-high form of Säkñi-gopäla. Even though the floor was covered with pools of water Prabhupäda got down and offered his obeisances and we followed him. After standing for about half a minute he turned to go out and was immediately crowded by the temple püjärés. “Gurukåpä told him they were now expecting some money and he handed a fifty rupee note to him to give to the men. I was again surprised at the amount, as Prabhupäda would never normally give such a large donation for this kind of thing. However, he passed out the note to an outstretched hand, and as he did so several men at the back strained over their comrades’ shoulders to see how much. When they saw it was fifty rupees they began to say, ‘Fifty! It’s only fifty. We want one hundred and fifty!’ this was still in the deity room. “Prabhupäda did not stop to discuss the issue and he walked right out and proceeded to the car, followed by the men asking for more. He walked steadily without giving them any recognition. As we came into the courtyard another man came from the front and offered us some mahä-prasäda in the form of some large läòòu balls. However, after giving a small amount to Prabhupäda, he began breaking off the tiniest of pieces and after dropping them into our open palms he also began demanding his payment. “We ignored him and climbed into the car after Prabhupäda and thus we drove off. One or two of them continued to pursue the car as we went out the entrance and back on our way to Bhubaneswar, still shouting for their one hundred rupees. The whole thing was a very unpleasant experience. Prabhupäda’s only comment was, ‘The Säkñi-gopäla Deity is not properly dressed.’ “Finally, we arrived back in Bhubaneswar at 9.30 p.m.” (Hari-çauri däsa notes) 21