Sridhara Maharaja Another Bed Bug (Pushkar dasa)

The Bhaktivedanta Archives: 

“Prabhupada was very protective of his ISKCON.” 

Pushkar: In 1974 I was asked to do a painting of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta for the Krishna-Balaram temple but we didn't have any picture or photo to go by. I was sent to one of Prabhupada's God-brothers to get a reference from a book. I was with him for about an hour and one thing he kept reiterating was that I should go to Sridhar Maharaj because he was a living guru. 

I thought, "Why is Prabhupada's God-brother a living guru and Prabhupada's not a living guru?" So I said to him, "Well, Prabhupada's a living guru." But he kept saying it. He must have said it seven or eight times in an hour, "You should go to Sridhar Maharaj. He is a living guru." Finally I got the book and went back to the temple where I told the leaders there, Bhavananda and Jayapataka what he said. 

Later Bhavananda had gone up to see Prabhupada in Bombay and he mentioned this story. Prabhupada's response he said was immediate. He was very angry. His lip was quivering practically in anger, very disturbed and he said, "I am not there but you tell him for me that he is nothing but a bed bug." 

Of course I don't think they did that but he said it, "Nothing but a bed bug. He has taken sannyas thirty years ago and he's done nothing but suck the blood of my guru maharaj. That is what bed bugs do." Prabhupada was very protective of his ISKCON. We didn't have the adhikar to say such things so it wasn't conveyed. Only Prabhupada could have conveyed that statement. —Pushkar