My Life Until Swamiji (con’d)

I’m so happy to have met Prabhupada that I’m willing to be grateful to everything that happened to me.  Somehow or other, by Providence, it must have all been leaning toward that which happened.

Even if events seemed to be wrong, with no connection to meeting Prabhupada, still they were part of the flow that led to meeting him.  So how can I be resentful?

For example, in 1962 I dropped out of Naval Officer Training School and became a sailor.  I could resent that, or be unhappy that my father put me into the Navy.  But since my life led to meeting Prabhupada, I am grateful.  If I had become a Navy officer, maybe my life would have been different.  I might not have been working on the Lower East Side and might not have had the attitude of a seeker.

If I hadn’t jumped out the window, if I hadn’t met friends who hurt me, I might not have been in that place at that time.  I might not have been the person who gratefully accepted the prasadam and the teachings of His Divine Grace.

Srila Prabhupada, I do not know if you remember how I was when you saw me.  There were numerous people coming to see you, and they were all strangers to you.  Maybe you do not remember what I was like.  Maybe you do not care about it.  The main thing is that you picked me up.  There is no need to remember how wretched I was.  But I just want to say: you knew me from the beginning.  Thank you.