Yamuna Gems:
Jananivasa das remembers...
"I think Yamuna devi is the longest-standing pujari. She is actually my Guru. She told me to worship the Deities in Mayapur when I got initiation in Mayapur. So she was my first guru, and I have always respected her as such. To be in Yamuna devi's presence is just like being in Prabhupada's presence; it was like you had to talk about Prabhupada. That was it. There was no question of any other subject matter; you just had to talk about Prabhupada, like they were inseparable—Srila Prabhupada and Yamuna.
When she came after she had left India with Prabhupada, she didn't come back for many, many years. And then finally she came to Mayapur, and she said, 'I have to tell you a story. When I was in Vrindavan with Guru das, we were making the Krishna-Balarama Temple. And I went to Bombay to see Srila Prabhupada to ask him some instructions.' So she started to explain: and Srila Prabhupada said, 'So you can make Radha-Shyamasundara, and They can be life-size.' And Yamuna said, 'But Srila Prabhupada, They are already made.' 'You can't make them life-size?' 'No, Srila Prabhupada.' 'You can get the Astha Sakhi then. You can make Astha Sakhi life-size.' Yamuna said, 'But, Prabhupada, the Deities have already been made; the altar has been made and [it is too small]...' 'Visakha and Lalita, you can make life-size?' 'No, Prabhupada, everything has already been made, and it's all small size.' Then Prabhupada didn't say anything else about this. Then Yamuna told me, 'Here look; there is Radha-Madhava and the Astha Sakhis. This is what Prabhupada was talking about. This is what Prabhupada was visualizing, because Vrindavan and Mayapur are non-different.' She said, 'This is exactly what Prabhupada told me he wanted, life-size Radha-Krishna and Astha Sakhi.'"
- Excerpted from "Yamuna Devi: A Life of Unalloyed Devotion
Jananivasa das remembers...
"I think Yamuna devi is the longest-standing pujari. She is actually my Guru. She told me to worship the Deities in Mayapur when I got initiation in Mayapur. So she was my first guru, and I have always respected her as such. To be in Yamuna devi's presence is just like being in Prabhupada's presence; it was like you had to talk about Prabhupada. That was it. There was no question of any other subject matter; you just had to talk about Prabhupada, like they were inseparable—Srila Prabhupada and Yamuna.
When she came after she had left India with Prabhupada, she didn't come back for many, many years. And then finally she came to Mayapur, and she said, 'I have to tell you a story. When I was in Vrindavan with Guru das, we were making the Krishna-Balarama Temple. And I went to Bombay to see Srila Prabhupada to ask him some instructions.' So she started to explain: and Srila Prabhupada said, 'So you can make Radha-Shyamasundara, and They can be life-size.' And Yamuna said, 'But Srila Prabhupada, They are already made.' 'You can't make them life-size?' 'No, Srila Prabhupada.' 'You can get the Astha Sakhi then. You can make Astha Sakhi life-size.' Yamuna said, 'But, Prabhupada, the Deities have already been made; the altar has been made and [it is too small]...' 'Visakha and Lalita, you can make life-size?' 'No, Prabhupada, everything has already been made, and it's all small size.' Then Prabhupada didn't say anything else about this. Then Yamuna told me, 'Here look; there is Radha-Madhava and the Astha Sakhis. This is what Prabhupada was talking about. This is what Prabhupada was visualizing, because Vrindavan and Mayapur are non-different.' She said, 'This is exactly what Prabhupada told me he wanted, life-size Radha-Krishna and Astha Sakhi.'"
- Excerpted from "Yamuna Devi: A Life of Unalloyed Devotion
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