I Too Remember Those Times Aditi dd Speaks Of

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I Too Remember Those Times Aditi dd Speaks Of
by Ananta Sesa Naga das

I joined the London temple about five weeks before Rathayatra in 1970. Those days were very blissful. Not only did we have Gurudas, Yamuna dd, Shyamsundar and Malati dd, we also had devotees such as Jai-Hari das Mandakani dd, Yogesvara das, Jyotirmayi dd, Dhananjaya das, Digvijaya d and his wife Pritha dd, Lila Shakti dd and Indrani dd.

At the time there were many non-initiated devotees living in the temple. Within the space of one week Paul Carmodie joined [Purnananda d,] I joined, and Trevor White joined [Troylokianath d].

Aditi dd may remember that when we went on Sankirtan (and we started at about 8 pm( we had to stop at a certain point if a sheet or blanket was hanging out of the window of one of the flats. That indicated that the owner was in residence and wanted quiet. Gurudas agreed so we were quiet and crept by.

I have memories of one initiation, and I am sure it was Tribhuvanath’s. Purnanada d, Troylokianath d, and I were all initiated by letter. One morning Mandakani dd and Jyotirmayi dd came rushing down stairs to the Prasadam room shouting out "Tribuvanatha das! Tribuvanatha das! Has anyone seen Tribuvanatha das?"

No one knew who they meant. On reaching the bottom of the stairs, they handed a letter to Tom and said, "Tribuvanatha das this is for you,"

Tribuvanatha was always supportive of everyone in the temple. I came from a background where if I didn’t like the look of anything I refused to eat it. Money was scarce and so was food. Not that we ever went hungry as such, as KRSNA always provided. What I mean is that prasadam was never wasted. What was not eaten last thing at night was kept overnight in the prasadam room and was eaten in the morning as well as the offering for that time.

I was horrified at first to do this, but Tribuvanatha explained that it was only by Krsna’s mercy that I received anything at all. Once I understood this, then I had no problem with it. Time would not permit to tell everything of those days. Maybe someone should be commissioned to write a book about it.

Your servant by His grace,
Ananta Sesa Naga das