When I was the Temple President, there was a devotee who came and he wanted to leave Krishna Consciousness. He came and told me;
“I’ve have had enough of this. I’m going back into the world, since I just want to be like everyone else. Why can’t we just enjoy a bit ….drink a bit…. smoke a bit – you know with all these things – what’s the difficulty?”
So I tried to convince him but he left, and he forgot everything – for about a year. But then he was in India – in South India at the Krishna river. He was sitting at the side of the river smoking. Just then a monkey came down from the mountain, which went to the river and paid obeisance’s and put the water 3 times on the head. Suddenly he realised, “I’m going to be like that monkey. This monkey was a devotee and he blew it….. and now he became a monkey…and the same thing will happen to me!” (laughter)
It shocked him so much that he came right back! So Krsna makes arrangements. When a devotee falls down – then Krsna will make arrangements to bring him back!
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Canberra, October 2010)