A Big Grin and a Tennessee Drawl

Volume 1, Chapter 31
June 17, 1995.

Before leaving Almaty, Sri Guru Carana Padma dasi, one of my disciples who had just arrived back from India, told me an interesting story. While in Vrndavana she had met one of the devotee ladies who had traveled in my group up the Amazon River seven years ago. At that time We had encouraged many of the Amazon Indians in the villages to chant Hare Krsna. The lady told Sri Guru Carana Padma that devotees had gone back to those villages recently in another boat and sheʼd had the opportunity to go with them. In one remote village they found a young man, perhaps sixteen years of age, who had run forward with tears in his eyes when he saw the devotees entering his village. Embracing them he said he had been faithfully chanting Hare Krsna on beads every day for seven Years. He began looking anxiously around for ‘that tall fair-skinned man in saffron robes who had given him the beads seven years ago.’ Hearing this story, I suddenly remembered the boy. We had been staying in his village for two days. At that time he must have been nine years old. He was particularly attracted to us and had been asking me how he could join us. I told him it was impossible, but I gave him an extra set of beads that I had and taught him how to chant I told him to try to chant sixteen rounds a day. He promised me he would and would wait for the day we returned. Krsna has arranged for the devotees to return to that village. The lady said the boy was devastated that I wasn’t there. Hearing this story my heart pained and I longed to go back there immediately.

This afternoon we traveled three hours by plane to Novosibirsk in Siberia. Descending from the plane we were met by the cool winds of the tundra, a big change from the hot deserts of central Asia .

We were nervous as we approached Russian Customs and Immigration. Myself, Govinda Maharaja and Sri Prahlada had our multiple entry, one year visas ready, but Krsna Prasada’s visa was not actually valid. He had initially come into on a single entry visa, and that had terminated when we left Russia to go into Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Having no alternative, Govinda Maharaja decided to try to get him back in on the same visa. It seemed like an impossible dream to me.

As we approached Immigration we all put our passports and visas together, with Krsna Prasada’s Nepalese passport and his expired Russian visa on the bottom. When the Immigration officials saw us they were shocked, presumably because foreigners rarely enter through Novosibirsk. But suddenly here we were – two Americans, one New Zea lander, a Nepalese and our Russian helpers, all in dhotis with shaved heads. It created a big stir.

A number of officials came over and made a show of demanding our passports and asking us all sorts of questions. It was a tense moment, and it didnʼt look as though they were going to let even those of us with valid visas in! But then Govinda Maharaja, undaunted as usual in such situations and not the least intimidated by the aggressive officials, started joking with them. He has demonstrated again and again a unique ability to make friends with anyone and everyone. As soon as he puts his big grin on his face and starts joking with officials in his Tennessee drawl, their defense breaks down and they are drawn to him. It’s like magic and always works. As his humor makes them smile, he slaps them on the back and suddenly the officials are like old friends that will do anything for him.

This time it also worked. The officials systematically went through our papers, starting with Sri Prahlada and myself. Maharaja started up, and by the time the officials got to Krsna Prasada’s papers they hardly looked at them. They just smiled, stamped his passport and let him through. All due to the magical charm of Govinda Maharaja!

We exited Immigration and Customs to a reception by one hundred blissful devotees. Among them were many children, eyes and hearts fixed on me. It always amazes me that wherever I go there are often children waiting to see me whom I have never seen before, but who seem to know me. As we approached the assembly of devotees, one eight-year old child approached me and stood next to me as we accepted garlands and flowers from the devotees. At one point he looked up and said, “You like kids, right?”

Their spontaneous devotion reminded me of an incident With Srila Prabhupada in 1975 in New Mayapur, France. Srila Prabhupada Was visiting our farm community and one afternoon I was carrying my son, Gaura Sakti (who Was only two or three years old at the time), around the chateau on my shoulders. Suddenly Srila Prabhupada appeared at the window of his room on the second floor. Seeing him, Gaura Sakti called out,“Srila Prabhupada! Srila Prabhupada! Srila Prabhupada!”

Prabhupada smiled at him and waved. That evening in darsana, Srila Prabhupada commented on the incident and remarked how the children of the community have so much affection for him, although he had never met them.

The Novosibirsk temple is an old kindergarten building with ample facilities for the devotees. They worked hard to secure the building, but it appears they may soon lose it. President Yeltsin recently signed a decree that buildings erected by the communist government as kindergartens must be used solely for that purpose. The devotees are considering opening a Hare Krsna kindergarten in part of the building.

There are about one hundred devotees in the Yatra actively preaching throughout Siberia with book distribution and ‘Food for Life’ centers. This evening we had a three-hour kirtana in the temple room, leaving no time for class. While preparing to take rest I encountered the Siberian summer mosquitoes – as big as houses! I practically fainted when I saw them! But God’s grace was upon me – a devotee had just returned from India and gave me a tube of Odomos Indian insect repellent to me it was worth its weight in gold!


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