Saintly People with a Holy Father from the West

Volume 1, Chapter 37
June 23, 1995.

Today we drove for three hours from Chelyabinsk to Ekaterinburg for a Ratha-yatra, the journey taking us through the thick pine forests of central Russia. As we approached Ekaterinburg, I noticed many poor people picking the natural berries and fruits in the forest. This is one time of the year where the people have some opulence, mother nature providing sweet treats from her trees and bushes. It was a very hot day, and I noticed a resourcefulness among the people – they were wearing hats fashioned from the leaves of the forest. Approaching the outskirts of Ekaterinburg we came to a police road-block. Cars were backed up as the police searched each and every vehicle. Seeing the situation we were in anxiety that we wouldn’t make the parade, scheduled for 2 pm., so we quickly drove alongside the traffic up to the front of the road-block. Suddenly two police officers approached our cars With AK-47s aimed directly at us, their fingers on the triggers. Apparently we were making the wrong move at the wrong time. I thought, “Now we’ll be here for hours!” My disciple Brhat Mrdanga dasa jumped out and began talking to the officers suddenly, their attitude changed and they waved us on without any search of the car. Amazed, I asked Brhat Mrdanga what he had said. “I told them that saintly people were in the car, with a holy father from the West,” he said. As we drove off I noticed two army tanks taking position at the road-block.

The Ratha-yatra was wonderful with more than three hundred devotees participating. I got a chance to meet all the gurukula children from the Ekaterinburg Gurukula, speaking at length with the twelve to fourteen year olds. Before returning to Chelyabinsk, I accepted several as aspiring disciples.


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