From the book “OUR SRILA PRABHUPADA – A FRIEND TO ALL,
Early Contemporaries Remember Him” Compiled by Mulaprakriti devi dasi,
© Copyright by Gopavrindapal Dasa / Brij Books

Remembering, Srila Prabhupadas Sannyasa years at Radha Damodara Mandir, by Sripad Hirdayananda Babaji Maharaja was born in Radha Kunda and has been a pujari for 78 years. He lives next to the Radha Damodara Temple in Vrindavan.

Sripad Hirdayananda Babaji Maharaja

At the beginning of the interview, upon being asked if he knew Srila Prabhupada, Babaji Maharaja began to cry. "Never have I seen anyone do sadhana like he did. I have lived all my life in Vraja and I have never seen anyone like him. Prabhupada did many arduous things, he worked very hard there at the Radha Damodara Temple. At that time it was austere, undeveloped, and very muddy and dirty with no facilities."

Weeping, Babaji Maharaja quoted a Sloka from Chaitanya-charitamrta, from Sanatana Goswami, about the importance of sadhana. Then, quoting Svarupa Damodara and Ramananda Raya, he said, "Without sadhana one can never attain Krishna- prema.

Many years later, when I heard that it was actually he who had been chosen by Caitanya Mahaprabhu to spread the Hare Krishna - Maha-mantra around the world, I was not surprised.

"Prabhupada spread this Krishna- consciousness by the mercy  of Rupa Goswami. Prabhupada used to pray to Rupa Goswami,  'You please give me your mercy.' And then he got that mercy. l know this because I saw some things he did at the Radha Damodara Temple. My room is still located in the same place as it was then, in 1964 or 65. Many times in the middle of the night, at midnight or one or two in the morning, I would hear a voice crying from inside the court yard by Rupa Gosvamis samadhi- mandira. That voice was calling out and crying but I did not know what it was because I was trying to take rest.

"But one night, on the full moon, I heard that voice again, so I climbed up to the roof of our house and looked down into the Radha Damodara court yard. I saw something very amazing. Srila Prabhupada was sweeping the court yard of Rupa Gosvamis samadhi. He was bending down with a small broom and, as he swept the ground by the samadhi, he was crying out, 'He Rupa! He Sanatana! He Gurudeva! Please give me your mercy. Without your mercy I cannot do anything. Give me the mercy. Give me the strength that I may fulfil  your orders.' Then I realized that it was he who almost every night was calling out as he was sweeping like this.

"Living next door to him, I would often visit as he sat on the veranda in the mornings and evenings. He was a very attractive personality and many Vaishnavas were eager for his association. When he gave pravacana from the books of the Gosvamis or Srila Bhaktivinoda or his Gurudeva, many scholars and elevated saints would come to hear. I noticed that people were frequently coming for his sanga and for his counsel also. He was kind to everyone and was very popular. Sometimes, if too many people had visited and he wanted his private time to chant or write in his room, then he would ask me to sit there in his place on the veranda and tell anyone inquiring that he was not available now.

"Because I felt great affection for him, I asked if I might do any service for him. Sometimes he let me sweep the room and the veranda, remove trash, wash clothes or other small things.