Prabhupada’s Gift of Solidity

One night while in Prabhupada’s presence at the storefront, the thought came to me that Krishna consciousness is not fragile like glass figurines.  In the beginning, my attraction seemed to be a very fragile thing.  If you looked at Krsna consciousness one way, it was there; but if you looked at it another way, it might disappear.  Bhakti was very wonderful, and yet it could be shattered by a rude remark or by a logical argument.  But as Swamiji spoke, it occurred to me that it was not at all fragile.  Krsna consciousness was very, very solid.

That night when I left Swamiji’s presence and walked into the streets, I was no longer intimidated by the buildings.  In Manhattan you always walk in a canyon, like a tiny living entity.  The buildings make you sad; they imprison you, they overwhelm you and crush your spirit.  They block out the sun and the air.  They keep within them millions of unhappy lives, packed in apartments with stored-up anger and violence.  But after being with Prabhupada and walking toward my apartment, I could overcome the buildings.  They looked unsubstantial, as if you could go right through them.  This was a bit like Hayagriva’s remark, which was quoted in the East Village Other: “By chanting Hare Krishna everything looks beautiful on the Lower East Side.  Even the creeps.”

Each of us was experiencing new feelings of sufficiency in Krishna consciousness.  We had all been crushed by living in the city, and Prabhupada was pulling us out.