Magnanimity of the Maha Bhagavata

Sometimes he’s lecturing and he says, “Yes, come in, sit down.”  That would be for a hippie who was deciding whether to come into the storefront or not, and who would look like he was eligible for sitting down and hearing Bhagavad-gita if he really wanted.  He might be on an LSD trip or just not wanting to actually become part of the group, and yet he wanted to check it out – so Prabhupada invited him to step over the barrier and actually become a listener.  He might invite him to sit down, but they did not always want to come under the Swami’s control, even to take a seat when he asked them. 

The Swami was fearless.  He was convinced that his message was relevant and had to be spoken.  It was his show, he was in control, but he had to protect himself, especially in the beginning.  It is not that the devotees were completely ready to be on his side, so he had to control the whole thing and say, “Don’t disturb, don’t disturb.”  He depended on Krishna and went on speaking the difficult-to-understand philosophy – concepts of Bhagavad-gita and the assertion that Krishna is God.  He just went right ahead without watering it down in the least.

You couldn’t understand it all, but you stayed and listened to him.  You caught a word here and there, Caitanya, Krishna; missed a word here and there.  I can recall thinking that I did not understand very much of it.