A Mango for the Swami

The Swami mentioned mangoes.  He told the story of his spiritual master, who when he was only two or three years old, ate a mango without offering it to the Deity.  When his father (Bhaktivinode Thakura) told him that this was an offense, the young child vowed never to eat mango again.   Prabhupada told us that we Americans could not fully estimate what a sacrifice that was, since in India the mango is appreciated as the most delicious of all fruits.  Prabhupada also recalled that when he was a boy, they always had plenty of mangoes—he remembered running into the house from play and grabbing a mango whenever he liked.  And Swamiji one time mentioned that mangoes were not available in America.

So one day while at the welfare office and thinking of Swamiji, I remembered his mention of the mango and decided that I would get him one.  I went to a produce store on the corner of First Street and First Avenue and asked the man for a mango.  He had none on display, but brought me back to a refrigerated room in the rear of the store where he had a special case for connoisseurs.  One mango cost one dollar.  It was small but nice, soft but not too soft, green and golden.  I took it carefully in a bag and brought it at once to Swamiji.

Swamiji smiled and received the mango graciously.  He asked me where I got it.  After that, I stopped every day at the grocer and got another mango.   When I had been doing this for two weeks, I came again one day when Swamiji’s room was filled with boys.  The Mott Street boys were there, and they made me feel a twinge of envy.  They didn’t do much work or raise any money, and yet they were able to stay more with Swamiji than I was.  So I gave the mango to Swamiji and sat down with the others.  Even as I did so, Swamiji said, “Very good boy.”  He said it the way you would speak to a very young child.  The boys burst out laughing.  I blushed and felt I was the butt of a joke.  But then Swamiji said, “No, this is love.  This is Krishna consciousness.”  And then I felt very pleased.