Pradyumna was Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Sanskrit editor and was affectionately known by him as “Paṇḍitajī.” Twenty-five years ago, he needed a ride to upstate New York to meet a friend, so I was happy to oblige.
We were driving peacefully on the scenic Taconic State Parkway when, out of nowhere, he turned to me and said, “You better start saving your grains!” What?! He then quoted a verse from the Caitanya-caritāmṛta:
eka janāra doṣe saba deśa ujāḍaya — “For the offense to one person, the entire place is laid waste.” Antya-līlā 3.164
I recognized that verse from the story of Rāmacandra Khān. He insulted Lord Nityānanda. Soon after, his whole village was destroyed by Muslim soldiers. Kṛṣṇa Dāsa then offered the cause of the pillage of the village, and with it, this caustic warning to those who offend an advanced Vaiṣṇava.
I looked at Pradyumna, still puzzled. He explained further.
Arundhatī, his wife, had heard that Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Mahārāja had been invited by the temple president of the Towaco temple to speak on Rādhāṣṭamī, which had been celebrated about two weeks before our conversation. Of all the godbrothers of Śrīla Prabhupāda, Pradyumna shared, Puri Mahārāja may have been the most supportive of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s preaching mission. Having had so much association with Śrīla Prabhupāda, Arundhatī was really missing the association of such a senior Vaiṣṇava. She had also visited Mahārāja’s ashram with Śrīla Prabhupāda and remembered his generous hospitality.[1]
When she arrived for the lecture, however, even though Mahārāja had been invited to give the lecture, some other sannyāsī was already sitting on the lecture seat. Evidently, when some leaders above the temple president found out they conspired to stop Mahārāja from speaking. She was so disappointed. After telling me this, Pradyumna again turned to me and repeated his cryptic warning.
“You better start collecting grains!”
I now understood his enigmatic message. It was his way of indicating that by the great offense to this venerable Vaiṣṇava, the metropolitan area would be destroyed and that you had better collect something to eat. I was living in New York City at the time.
I’m not sure how much he believed that literally, but he was Paṇḍitajī and the śāstra was clear. He was, however, emphasizing the seriousness of the offense against a senior Vaiṣṇava. He repeated his pramāṇa for his concern about what had transpired:
eka janāra doṣe saba deśa ujāḍaya — “For the offense to one person, the entire place is laid waste.”
Evidently, the authorities above the temple president were fearful of very senior and advanced Vaiṣṇavas speaking at their temple, so they arranged for another sannyāsī from their organization to be seated there. It’s a horrible thing to do to any invited speaker, but especially a serious offense to a very senior Vaiṣṇava.
My drive Upstate with Pradyumna was September 8, 2001. Three days later, the Twin Towers fell!
Because something comes after something doesn’t mean that it caused it. All Pradyumna was doing, however, was quoting śāstra. At the least, we can say that a person who was śāstra-vit (a knower of śāstra) was emphasizing from our sacred texts the seriousness of Vaiṣṇava aparādha.
I also had come to hear Śrīla Bhakti Vaibhava Puri speak that day and I was disappointed that he was treated this way. It just didn’t seem right. But Puri Mahārāja was a pure Vaiṣṇava and didn’t seem overly disturbed, although that doesn’t excuse the offense. He simply asked his followers — and I don’t know why — to take him to the World Trade Center.
I watched the video afterwards.[2] He did kīrtana all the way to the top and on the observation deck. Knowing what was about to happen, it was amazing to watch. On the ascent, the elevator stopped on various floors, and many of the people who were soon to perish heard the holy name.
I was also in New York on the Lower East Side when the towers fell. I could see them fall and stood on Second Avenue watching the horrible sight of throngs of people, devastated and covered in ash, marching down Second Avenue looking for shelter. I remember that at the time I couldn’t get Pradyumna’s eerie, prophetic warning out of my head:
eka janāra doṣe saba deśa ujāḍaya — “For the offense to one person, the entire place is laid waste.”
[1] This my recollection to the best of my ability of a conversion that took place exactly 25 years ago.
[2] I watched the video many years ago. I tried but couldn’t locate it again. I did find an historical documentation of the event: “One of the most memorable events of the 2001 World Tour occurred on Saturday, August 25, 2001. On that day, Srīla Puri Maharaj and over a dozen devotees visited the top floor of World Trade Center Tower 2 and conducted a short nagar-sankirtana event…” (https://wikibin.org/articles/bhakti-vaibhava-puri-goswami.html)