(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 21st November 2012, Cape Town, South Africa)
We hear about some of the acaryas and what amazing personalities there were. For years, we heard about Srila Prabhupada’s god-brother, Akincana Krsna Das Babaji. He was the only disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura who was given ‘babaji’ by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. Well, the babajis are really meant to get involved in bhajan while the sannyasis preach. When you are preaching you don’t always have time for bhajan; that is a fact!
But the babajis they withdraw from preaching and get absorbed in bhajan. Somehow or other, I never met Akincana Krsna Das Babaji. But then this time (while in India), somehow I got a tape, a recording of a conversation between Prabhupada and Akincana Krsna Das Babaji. And it was very interesting because on this tape, there was a conversation going on and Akincana Krsna Das Babaji was just constantly chanting Hare Krsna and in between he would speak words. He would say something like:
‘Well, they want to… Krsna Krsna… to go to such and such place… Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna.’
He was chanting in between words, at all times, just putting in the maha-mantra constantly. It was impressive and he was very impressive. I had heard before that he was always chanting but then, on the tape you could hear how he was always chanting, even in between speaking.
That day, it was easier to chant kartik rounds… by just hearing someone like that who is so absorbed in chanting, then immediately my chanting also became surcharged with energy!