Gargamoney- Serving Srila Prabhupada 1966-1977

I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who is very dear to Lord Kṛiṣhṇa on this earth, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.

Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvati Gosvāmī. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanya-deva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.

I never thought of writing a book about my experiences with Śrila Prabhupāda from 1966-1977. I had thought that everything to be said about this was to be found in my brother, Brahmananda Prabhu's, book Swamiji, compiled by Satyarāja Das (Steven Rosen). However, I realized that I had different experiences with Śrila Prabhupāda than those witnessed by my brother. In fact, all of Srila Prabhupada's disciples have wonderful varieties of experiences with him. In May 2018, Selvam Prabhu came with his assistants to film my memories of Śrila Prabhupāda, and again in November 2018 he came to film me. After a year he thought to write a book of my experiences with Śrila Prabhupada and so the idea of this book came from him. I agreed.

The experiences mentioned in this book are just a fraction of the memories that I have of being with Śrīla Prabhupada during those eleven years. I hope that the readers of this book will enjoy my unique narration of how I served Śrila Prabhupada's mission. I must also thank Pürnaprajña Prabhu for writing this book, which is based on my video interviews. I would also like to thank Selvam Prabhu Gargamoney-Serving Srila Prabhupada 1966-1977 and his assistants for their patience while producing the video films, as well as this book. I would also like to thank the Srila Prabhupada Foundation for sponsoring the publishing of this book.

I would like to introduce myself to all my readers. My name is Robert William Carol. I was born in America and grew up in a middle class environment. I received a B.A. from Northwestern University in Evanston Illinois, but frankly, I was never very interested in the subjects that were offered. Truthfully, I was a very confused person. The turning point in my life occurred as I was walking down Beacon Street in Boston. A woman dressed in a sari suddenly confronted me. She handed me a pamphlet entitled, "Reservoir of Pleasure." The book was clearly marked 50 cents and I only had a quarter in my pocket. I didn't want to buy the book and so I thought I had the perfect excuse. I pulled out the quarter and said, "See, I only have 25 cents!" That woman, Jadurāṇī Devī Dāsī, snatched it up, saying, "That's alright, you can pay the rest later!" She quickly departed, and I was left holding the pamphlet in my hands.

This booklet contained three essays written by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. While reading these essays, I soon began to sense that a helping hand was reaching out to me. I gradually found that my unseen friend was leading me from the confusion of ignorance to the platform of real knowledge. Later on, I had the great fortune of seeing His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, many times. He initiated me, giving me the name Pūrṇaprajña Dās.

**Contents and Sample Pages**