(Morning walk at Stow Lake, San Francisco, 1968—16-year-old Saradiya far left)
By Saradiya devi dasi
Srila Prabhupada treated me like a daughter. I joined the temple with my brother, Krishna das, and we were the youngest devotees. Sometimes Prabhupada would ask me or tell me certain things that showed his concern for me. For instance, he told the brahmacharis to tell me that I should finish high school and I should not have any boyfriends. Prabhupada said that when I finished high school he would find a suitable husband for me. Once on a walk he asked me, "Are you sufficiently covered?" He was very concerned about how I felt. It was these little things that Prabhupada said to me that strengthened my connection with him. I wasn't too interested in philosophy. I liked to chant, but it was Prabhupada's personal interest in me that encouraged me and kept me enlivened to continue devotional service for many years.
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