Srila Prabhupada

His Indifference and Detachment

Prabhupada was never indifferent or uninterested in anything connected with the Krishna consciousness movement. If he sometimes would not respond to a disciples question, that was his gravity, instructing us by ignoring us.

He was indifferent to his own health. In his desire to spread Krishna consciousness, he did not rest as should have for someone his age. He continued traveling because he could not be indifferent to the fallen souls and to his disciples.

Prabhupada was detached from the bad names people used against Krishna consciousness i newspaper accounts, mostly because he saw the bright side of it, the fact that the newspapers were mentioning the name Krishna.

Although much money came in, Prabhupada was not concerned to keep any of it. He said his authors royalties for writing so many books was to take two chapatis a day.

He was certainly indifferent to womens charms. He saw his female disciples as daughters and granddaughters, and he respected their service to him. He was not interested in sitting with women or looking at them for enjoyment.

He was indifferent to any kind of invitations to take tours in different cities he visited. He preferred a simple room with a low desk, where he could speak to guests and be among devotees for the best furthering of Krishna consciousness.

He was indifferent to the fact that his first disciples very sinful before becoming devotees. He was indifferent to a place being holy or unholy, as long as he was able to preach.

He kept a simple diet and was not interested in special foods as the special cooking which the Italians could offer, or the French, or the Americans. Even within the Indian diet, which was his preference, he was not interested in fancy things, but in simple rice, dal, chapatis and sabji.

He was indifferent to clothes and would not sport any bright scarves or colourful chadars or special shoes or coats or hats. His simple sannyasi dress he kept constant. But he liked bright clothes for the Deities in the temples and opportunities to spend money to build wonderful buildings and new ways to spread Krishna consciousness, and he liked and appreciated the best quality in book printing and colour reproduction of paintings. In these things, Srila Prabhupada was a connoisseur, a keen appreciator of quality, and he asked his devotees to get the best deal and the best product for use in service to Krishna.

Prabhupada Nectar