I cannot take this food

Saci Mata Devi Dasi: Prabhupada came back again in 1971. Again he was very much pleased to see me. He enquired that how I am doing and how everything is going on with my family. Such affection he had; it touched like my father, more than my father. I used to clean his room everyday, whenever he came. That was my seva to him - to clean his room, changing his bedsheet, sweeping the floor, moping the floor, like that.

One day I had fever so I could not go to the temple. Suddenly my Godsisters came and said, "Okay, you have to go and cook for Srila Prabhupada. Bcause what Prabhupada cooks once… we don't know that sabji. Specific sabji, parwal. What is parwal, we don’t know." Then I went. Generally whenever Prabhupada used to come in Calcutta, Prabhupada's sister used to come and mostly she used to cook for Srila Prabhupada. I used to help her. Prabhupada told me that, "You take care of my sister because she is very much old lady. If she needs something when she comes in the temple and if she requires something, or if she want to say something, you translate for them." This is how I also got parama vaishnava’s… I had so much mercy that I could serve this mataji, Pishima.

That day I had fever. I came and everybody said, "You cook today. Prabhupada wants parwal sabji." Then, I went with them to the market and got this drum stick, parwal. He wanted sukta. Prabhupada loved sukta because Pishima used to make sukta. They said, "You will know, you watch Pishima every day, you do this." So I did - I cooked everything very nicely and then I brought the plate to him.

After some time, he called me and said, "You don't know… How you cook? You don't know anything, how to serve the elders." I was very much astonished because I did with my devotion. Then he said, "I cannot take this food." I started to cry. Then he said, "You go and make few chappatis for me." So I did.

The whole day I was feeling so uncomfortable. I was very sorry from my heart. I was siting upstairs in the ladies' room in Calcutta temple. Then Prabhupada said, "Ask Saci Mata to come." I went and Prabhupada said, "Sit down. That time I scolded you. You may have felt very bad." I said, "No Srila Prabhupada." Then he said, "You are such a young girl. You have whole future in front of you. You have to serve the in-laws, you have to serve the elderly person. You have to be very careful. Okay?" And, then he gave a very, very heart-felt smile. Then, I felt how loving Srila Prabhupada is.