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Don't let Gurudas in

Gurudas: I found any excuse to go to his apartment and see the Swami. I wanted to be near him, no matter how petty the reason. It seemed to be Krishna's arrangement that Swamiji's assistants were out of the room when I decided to visit the Swami. Seeing me with Swamiji so often, his servants Sacidananda and Upendra talked it over and advised him, "Don’t let Gurudas in so much." Yet I still found ways to be near the Swami, because to me this association was the sum and substance of my Krishna consciousness. When they were out of the room for even a brief moment, I would slip in.

He would greet me warmly, expressing real happiness to see me. I had never experienced such acceptance from anyone else, ever. He would sit comfortably, cross-legged, with a huge smile and a welcoming gesture. I would sit on a cushion on the opposite side of the simple, low coffee table which served as a desk. On this desk were a goblet of water with a lid and the three original volumes of Srimad-Bhagavatam. There were papers neatly arranged, as well as a pen-and-pencil set, some notepaper, his glasses, and, at certain times, some fruit or sweets on a large, stainless-steel thali plate. If it wasn't on his hand, his bead bag was nearby. Between conversations, he would chant constantly, almost silently. Upendra and Sacidananda would come back from somewhere and find Swamiji and me sitting there talking and laughing.



Reference: By His Example by Gurudas Dasa