“Man is the architect of his own fortune, so you make your fortune now.”
Dhruvanath: I’d come back from India as a hippie in 1969 or ‘70, and I was attempting to write a book based on the hallucinogenic drug experiences I’d had there. At that time the devotees had a big hit record, The Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, and I thought it would be a great idea to have a chapter of interviews with the devotees.
When I finally found the temple, I met Kulashekar prabhu, and he said, “Our spiritual master is upstairs, why don’t you talk to him?” I said, “Great, why not?” We went to Prabhupada’s room on the first floor in Bury Place.
Before we entered, Kulashekar told me that Prabhupada was a great personality and we should offer our respects to him. I said, “Fair enough.”
Prabhupada was sitting on a cushion behind a low desk on the far side of the room with his back to the window. He was writing something and had his glasses down his nose. He peered up and said, “Hare Krishna,” and somehow I felt overwhelmed to be in his presence.
I automatically fell to the floor like a stick as I had seen devotees do in the temple downstairs. I simply lay there frozen, thinking: “What do I do now? When do I get up?” A few moments passed and Kulashekar motioned, “Okay, you can get up now.”
I had preconceived questions I was going to ask, because at that time LSD was my method for achieving self-realization. But when I sat there directly facing Srila Prabhupada, I went blank. I was speechless.
Somehow or other I had read The Nectar of Devotion, and I remembered that the pure devotees’ eyes are anointed with the salve of love.
Looking at Prabhupada’s eyes I could see this, and I could see that he was unlike anyone I had ever met in my life. After we had exchanged pleasantries, some moments passed, and then Prabhupada broke the ice by saying something that showed he knew what I was thinking.
He said, “How unfortunate it is that the youth of today are trying to become self-realized through the use of hallucinogenic drugs.” I was totally taken aback because this was exactly what I was going to challenge Prabhupada on. All my thoughts of writing a book went out the window.
After that I plucked up some courage and asked a question, “What are the characteristics of a pure devotee?” Prabhupada expounded for about twenty minutes just on that question.
I was with Prabhupada for about an hour, and Kulashekar was the only other devotee in the room at the time. Before I left, Prabhupada looked at me straight in the eyes and said, “Man is the architect of his own fortune, so you make your fortune now. Whatever is done is done. Now start a new chapter in your life, and in the next life go back home, back to Godhead.”
Those words are still ringing in my ears to this day.
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