7 BREAKFASTwith Maharaj at SF Vedanta Center
We had the good fortune of visiting
him at his center in San Francisco quite a number of times. The first time we
went from Dallas, we were supposed to arrive around 8:00pm. Maharaj had asked
Kantaswamy (a wonderful dedicated devotee) to receive as we didn’t know the way
around. So, while the rain poured on, we finally reached the main entrance of
the old temple by shared taxi. We found Kantaswamy right outside under an
umbrella patiently waiting for us a good full hour! The Old Temple was the
monastery and Tirthankar was whisked upstairs, shown his room and all comfort
was assured. Maharaj was giving a talk there and after it was over he met with
Tirthankar, went upstairs to the room Tirthankar was allotted (quite a bit of
flight actually), ensured everything is according to Tirthankar’s liking and
also delegated Mohan to attend on Tirthankar..!
After this we went to the main
temple where Maharaj met us in his office. There we met Pravrajika Virajaprana
Mataji and Rina Mashi (Maharaj’s initiated from Toronto) who was to be my
chaperone to the convent where I will be staying.
Men devotees are privileged to have
breakfast with the swami. Next morning after breakfast, Maharaj asked if
Tirthankar wanted any tea or coffee to which the answer was tea but later. Now
Kantaswamy happen to be present then. Then Tirthankar forgot all about tea and
busied himself in the book store. Almost around 10:30am Kantaswamy got him a
steaming hot cup of tea and reminded him of the conversation with maharaj..! This
is how a steadfast devotee helps others to become devotees. What reverence
Kantaswamy had for Maharaj..! All the swamis wanted Kantaswamy to stay at their
center.
The ladies guest room at the ground
floor of the convent had a spectacular view of the SF Bay with the tramline
running down the famous steep road but still had a quiet meditative atmosphere.
The room was huge with large windows and with 4 beds to house 4 female devotees
with a common kitchen and bathroom. Usually the ladies would fix their meals or
be invited by the nuns of the convent for a lunch. I was fortunate that not
only I was invited by the nuns for a lunch but maharaj invited Rina mashi,
Tirthankar and myself to breakfast. There Pravrajika Virajaprana Mataji made
all the arrangements and served us. We did not realize what a privilege we were
experiencing!
Tirthankar once got the opportunity
to cook the lunch for maharaj and serve him. The time allotted was 30mins and
Brahmachari Vans (Swami Chidbrahmananda) helped him out. This was the first
time in our life we learnt that one must not spend too much time on cooking..! Tirthankar
was making an eggplant dish but the eggplants were not completely done. So
maharaj tasted the gravy only and remarked that it tasted quite alright.
Once I had brought something cooked
for maharaj which he relished during lunch with the fortunate monks and male
devotees. I sent most part of the dish to the nuns as Maharaj could not take
spicy food by then. The nuns later told me that they enjoyed it very much. I
felt so blessed..!
There used to be great bakery,
couple streets down the Vallejo Street. Tirthankar and myself discovered it
during our SF-checkout. They used to carry wonderful pastries... of course we
tasted them first. My guru had asked me to taste the dishes first before
offering just to make sure it tastes alright as I should offer only the best to
the Lord. So we ended up getting 2 full cakes one for the monks and one for the
nuns. They were relished and Maharaj commented on the cake being so fancy..!
Nandini Mitra Banerjee
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