Roupa Manjari Devi Dasi
REAL MAGIC BY PRABHUPADA
In September 1976 a circus magician visited the Krishna-Balaram Mandir in Vrndavana and showed Prabhupada and the devotees his repertoire of tricks. Hearing that Prabhupada had agreed to see the magician, Prabhupada's friend Bhagatji hurried to the gurukula to gather all the students and teachers. Within minutes, most of the temple leaders, teachers, and gurukula boys gathered in Prabhupada's room to see the fun. Prabhupada sat pleasantly behind his desk and asked the magician what he could do. The magician placed a coin in Srila Prabhupada's hand. When the magician commanded "Go," the coin somehow slipped out of Prabhupada's hand.
"Can you make the money come?" Prabhupada joked.
"No," the magician replied.
"You can only make the money go," Srila Prabhupada said. The magician then produced boxes in which different colors suddenly appeared in different slots. He also had games with feathers. He would take a white feather, rub it, pull it with his fingers, and it would turn into many different colors. Several times he asked Srila Prabhupada to help him with the tricks. Coins appeared from Prabhupada's ears and Prabhupada laughed at the illusion, but some of the devotees felt uneasy that their spiritual master was being made the object of the mystification and tricks. Srila Prabhupada seemed to enjoy it, but after a while he deliberately changed the mood.
"What about the miseries of life?" Prabhupada asked the magician. "Can you make these disappear? Birth, death, disease, and old age?"
The magician replied submissively, "No, that I cannot." At these words the magician sat down and Srila Prabhupada took the superior position.
"But I can make these things disappear," Srila Prabhupada said. "That is the real magic." The magic show ended and Srila Prabhupada spoke his realized, transcendental wisdom to the magician and all the assembled devotees. Srila Prabhupada then gave the magician a garland and distributed sweets to everyone in the room.
>>>>>Dhanurdhara Swami and Dvarakadhisa dasa, interviews. Hari Sauri dasa, diary.
Biographies and Glorifications of Srila Prabhupada Gita-nagari Press- Srila Prabhupada Nectar- "But I Can Make These Things Disappear"-Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
In September 1976 a circus magician visited the Krishna-Balaram Mandir in Vrndavana and showed Prabhupada and the devotees his repertoire of tricks. Hearing that Prabhupada had agreed to see the magician, Prabhupada's friend Bhagatji hurried to the gurukula to gather all the students and teachers. Within minutes, most of the temple leaders, teachers, and gurukula boys gathered in Prabhupada's room to see the fun. Prabhupada sat pleasantly behind his desk and asked the magician what he could do. The magician placed a coin in Srila Prabhupada's hand. When the magician commanded "Go," the coin somehow slipped out of Prabhupada's hand.
"Can you make the money come?" Prabhupada joked.
"No," the magician replied.
"You can only make the money go," Srila Prabhupada said. The magician then produced boxes in which different colors suddenly appeared in different slots. He also had games with feathers. He would take a white feather, rub it, pull it with his fingers, and it would turn into many different colors. Several times he asked Srila Prabhupada to help him with the tricks. Coins appeared from Prabhupada's ears and Prabhupada laughed at the illusion, but some of the devotees felt uneasy that their spiritual master was being made the object of the mystification and tricks. Srila Prabhupada seemed to enjoy it, but after a while he deliberately changed the mood.
"What about the miseries of life?" Prabhupada asked the magician. "Can you make these disappear? Birth, death, disease, and old age?"
The magician replied submissively, "No, that I cannot." At these words the magician sat down and Srila Prabhupada took the superior position.
"But I can make these things disappear," Srila Prabhupada said. "That is the real magic." The magic show ended and Srila Prabhupada spoke his realized, transcendental wisdom to the magician and all the assembled devotees. Srila Prabhupada then gave the magician a garland and distributed sweets to everyone in the room.
>>>>>Dhanurdhara Swami and Dvarakadhisa dasa, interviews. Hari Sauri dasa, diary.
Biographies and Glorifications of Srila Prabhupada Gita-nagari Press- Srila Prabhupada Nectar- "But I Can Make These Things Disappear"-Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
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