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Srila Prabhupada's departure from South Africa

Riddha Dasa: October 24th, 1975, Johannesburg, Jan Smuts Airport. In the airport departures area, the devotees were seated in front of Srila Prabhupada, soaking up the last precious moments of his association. As it was still quite early in the morning, we sang the sweet guru-puja prayers (sri guru-vandana) softly and with devotion at his lotus feet.

It was a very intimate experience, and when the time came for Srila Prabhupada to leave us, Bhakta Johnny, a Greek devotee, broke down and sobbed his heart out. He was utterly devastated by the imminent separation from his beloved spiritual master. For my part, I was only able to control my emotions with difficulty, knowing that I still had duties to perform. 

I went up to the passport control and handed in Srila Prabhupada's passport and document of financial security, which needed to be stamped in order to get back the five-hundred-rand deposit. It was a guarantee that Indian visitors would not overstay their agreed time for visiting. I returned with the passport and documents, and then Harikesa slowly accompanied Srila Prabhupada to the passport control. 

It was a sad time. It was clear that His Divine Grace was in a reflective mood. His South African tour had been a wonderful success. 

Harikesa handed in the passport for Srila Prabhupada out of respect, but the bigoted Afrikaner officer refused to accept the passport from Harikesa and demanded that Srila Prabhupada handle his own documents. So it was done. We were put in mind of the fact that we were still in a racist country. 

On that discordant note, we waved farewell for the last time. The devotees were very upset. Bhakta Johnny was still crying, and as we watched Srila Prabhupada's plane taking off and flying into the sky, it all seemed like a dream.



Reference: Mission in the service of His Divine Grace - Riddha Dasa Adhikari