🙊 RISKS FOR KRISHNA An excerpt from the rare book of memoirs about Srila Prabhupada by his disciple Syamasundara Prabhu, "Chasing Rhinos with the Swami". Immerse yourself in the nectar of the adventures from Prabhupada's time with Harinama Dham📖 I was looking for gold and diamonds – legendary streams of gold and diamonds – in the uncharted headwaters of Rio Cuyuní, in Bolivar State, south Venezuela. It was late in the rainy season of October 1985. This was my third prospecting expedition into these remote jungles in the past three years and by far the worst. We had left the village of El Dorado a month earlier: twenty-two men in four motorized canoes, headed west up the unexplored Cuyuní. We were now about 150 river-miles somewhere west of El Dorado, and so far, three of our men were dead. O Prabhupada, you got me into this mess. Where is it all going?! It was now twelve years since I’d left the Swami’s side. Bhaktivedanta Swami – we called him Prabhupada, “the master at whose feet all other masters sit” – was my life and soul. He had taught me about Krishna, God, the Supreme Person, and how everything in His creation is perfect. He taught me who I am, where I’m going, and what to do along the way. The Swami’s physical beauty and sense of fun, his unlimited daring energy and comprehensive knowledge of every subject, convinced me that I had found the perfect teacher. I became his disciple and am bound to him forever. Prabhupada was my pirate chief, the most courageous person I’d ever met, and he aroused in me and my fellow disciples the desire to chase the rhino, go for the stars, pursue our wildest dreams – but in service to Krishna. Don’t worry, Prabhupada assured us, Krishna has promised to personally protect those who take risks on His behalf. During the seven years I sat at his feet, the Swami encouraged me to seek precious minerals in the earth, and I made it my life’s work to earn millions in this way and spend it spreading the Swami’s message far and wide. I was testing Krishna’s promise to the extreme. To be continued 🙏