Raghunath was interviewed by an unknown devotee, whose Questions & Comments are in Bold & Underlined & Blue Font.]
Once some gurukula boys and I, went to Prabhupada’s room. When Prabhupada was sick he wanted twenty-four-hour kirtana. We used to go in for two hours, it was during the winter then, it was sort of cold. So we would go in the evening instead of the morning because it was too cold in the morning. The warmest part of the day was the evening around 4 or 5. So for two hours, we used to sing for Prabhupada. On one occasion Tamal Krishna Maharaja said we cannot sing so loud; we have to sing very softly because Prabhupada was sick and there should only be soft chanting. We were chanting really loud ,and Tamal Krishna came and told us we had to be quiet. So we started chanting softly. Then after a couple of mantras Prabhupada told us to chant louder. So we started chanting louder. Again Tamal Krishna came in and told us to chant softer. We then I said to Tamal Krishna.
“Well, Maharaja, Prabhupada told us to chant louder.”
“Chant softer.” Was Tamal Krishna’s reply.
So again we started chanting softer. Then Prabhupada sat up and said,
“These boys haven’t been eating, for a thousand years. You haven’t been feeding these boys prasadam for a thousand years. Why aren’t they chanting?”
So we just started to chant as loud as we possible could, and then Tamal Krishna again came and said,
“You have to chant soft.”
Again we said,
“Well Prabhupada just told us to chant louder.”
A few minutes later Tamal Krishna came back in, and took some of us out, to make the chanting softer.
Another time I was there, Harikesa Maharaja came in. He used to be Prabhupada’s secretary at that time, but he had done something. Prabhupada said he was puffed up or something like that. Prabhupada told him.
“Take this much money.”
“Well, that is not enough,” replied Harikesa.
So Prabhupada told him to take twice as much money.
“I do not need that much,” replied Harikesa again.
Harikesa was arguing, or something like that, with Prabhupada.
So then Prabhupada sent him away. Then he returned.
This was when those green Krishna books came out, those different colored Krishna books. And we had half a million printed or something like that. Prabhupada was so pleased, that he started crying. Prabhupada was actually breaking down in tears, and started crying, and he said to Harikesa Maharaja.
“You see why I got angry at you, because you are very intelligent boy.”
Prabhupada then patted Harikesa Maharaja on the head.
“You are not meant to sit down and type and everything.”
O yeah, his sister used to like cooking for him. She used to come in, pay her obeisance’s and then sit down for a while and then go up to Prabhupada, and wake up Prabhupada ,and she would say to Prabhupada,
“Do you want something to eat?”
She would then go in the kitchen after Prabhupada said, “no”. She would cook Prabhupada a feast, and bring it in to Prabhupada. He said he could not refuse it so he would take a little something, and then give us a little bit. Prabhupada used to give us his prasadam, every day at Vrindavana.
“Why would he do that?”
One day Tamal Krishna came and took away Prabhupada’s prasadam. I do not know who his secretary was at that time, but Tamal Krishna used to come and get the prasadam, and then go.
Prabhupada one day asked.
“Where is my prasadam going?”
And they said,
“We take it outside and distribute it to the devotees.”
“No, give it to the Gurukula.” Said Prabhupada.
Therefore, we started getting it every day at the Gurukula.
Prabhupada used to chastise Aniruddha sometimes, because Aniruddha would get some prasadam from his mother who cooked in Prabhupada’s kitchen. Aniruddha’s mother would prepare Prabhupada’s plate. Aniruddha used to go up there with a big smile on his face. Then the cooks would say.
“Where is all the sweets, Aniruddha?”
Aniruddha would then go away quickly. We found out that Aniruddha was snatching some of Prabhupada’s remnants, especially the sweets, and he would go outside laughing.