Prabhupada-katha 

How can you tell a story about Srila Prabhupada if you weren’t actually there to witness it?  The obvious answer is that you can repeat what you have heard from biographies, memoirs, or from devotees who were actually with Srila Prabhupada.  Although the direct witness has advantages in storytelling, the re-teller can make up for that by his enthusiasm. 

Telling any story is a delicate operation.  We have to have faith in the story we are telling and enter into it.  And it must be accurate.  Sometimes we hear a devotee retell a story like this:  “One time, Prabhupada said to Gurudasa, ‘You say you want to be at my lotus feet, but my lotus feet are always moving.’  When Prabhupada said that, he pushed Gurudasa away with his lotus feet.”  The difficulty with that last story is that no one who was actually present for this episode said that Prabhupada actually pushed Gurudasa with his feet.  In this way, stories sometimes get blown into tall tales.  They may become very different from what actually happened.  Therefore, it is good to be enthusiastic when telling Prabhupada stories, but we should never exaggerate or make up details.  Our enthusiasm may capture the ears of some, and may even impress some people, but if the story has some untrue elements then people will have a false impression.  The story has to be authentic and the storyteller has to be honest.

If you were never with Prabhupada you can openly say, “I wasn’t present for this story, but I heard it and it impressed me.”  Admitting that you weren’t there may be humbling.  It shows that you don’t appear so prominently in Prabhupada’s manifest pastimes, but even that fact may add a poignancy to your story that will draw your listeners in.  The fact is that most of your listeners will not have had direct contact with Prabhupada either.  If you tell the story in a genuine humble way, it may be even more effective than someone who boasts slightly as he relates the story of when he was with Prabhupada.  The direct witness may also mistake the facts, or exaggerate his role in the story.  The honest approach is always best.