side trip: Minneapolis

Talpasai Prabhu

Balaramcandra and Talpasai Prabhu

Cowherdboy Lila

1st house program of trip
Minneapolis side trip
January 11th-15th
I never thought I would have a reason to go to Minneapolis. When I was a child in the deserts of Arizona, I always wanted to experience the largest mall in the World which was located there. I think someone has stated that there is a larger one now in Canada somewhere. Either way we didn't go.

Chaitanya Prabhu and myself got dropped off at the airport by our old friend Brittany. She is a great girl who we've known for a few years now from our college outreach in Athens Ohio. She has always been more than supportive of our lifestyle and accepted us within her group of friends. She is known to go out of her way to help her Monkey friends. We dropped our car off at her house. At first we attempted to ask various devotees for assistance but for some reason no one could help us. We even offered to have a program but everyone declined. We felt a little awkward dealing with the devotees and unfortunately all my previous negative feelings about Columbus came back and I had to check myself with various uplifting prayers and meditations. So we called one of our students and she was more than willing to help us. She spaced out a bit on the drive and missed our exit but we made it on time since the plane's water pipes froze and they couldn't fix them. So we flew on a plane to Chicago with no water, no coffee, and no toilets. We just caught our connecting flight in Chicago and arrived to Minneapolis just on time.

The reason why we headed to Minneapolis was due to our very good friend Talpasai Prabhu being there. We've known him for about three years now. We met just after Atmanada Prabhu and I started college programs at the University of West Virginia. Shantanu Prabhu was also attending that program and had mentioned to Talpasai that a few brahmacaris from the temple were coming each week and explaining Bhagavad Gita , doing kirtan, and bringing the best Halava in the world.

Talpasai Prabhu was already reading a certain version of Bhagavad Gita, and chanting Visnu Sahasranam early each morning. He was already vegetarian and took no intoxication. After a few programs he started to chant and read Srila Prabhupada's Gita. His purports blew him away and he took up KC with great conviction. Immediately he bagan to teach others the glorious explanations of bhakti which Srila Prabhupada has given. Within due course of time he accepted the glorious Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as his worshipable Lord. He started an internet sanga group and started to share all his realizations with others. He practically held the whole program together himself and was dear to everyone. He did this for almost three years while he did his masters. Recently he obtained a job in Minneapolis and had to leave the close association of all his friends in West Virginia and New Vrindaban.

We promised him that we would visit once he got settled so this was our chance to fulfill our promise. He's working a most boring job and misses all His friends back home. He really has no interest to work anymore for money and is only doing so because the Senior Vaisanvas recommend he do so for some time.

Krsna nicely arranged he have very wonderful association with great Vaisnavas in Minneapolis. There is no offical Iskcon Temple yet there are many devotees scattered about who meet weekly for programs. Krsna even blessed him with a roommate named Laxsmipati who was nicely trained in Chowpatty's IIT Bace. He simply chants and reads Bhagavatam. Nothing else, no other interests, except his PHD work which comes second in his life.

So Sai picked us up at he airport via the Light rail system. Its a great way to beat the cold and the traffic. Minneapolis was zero degrees F. We arrived at his house and because he was at work all day he had not cooked dinner so I cooked for us all in a half hour or so. It was a great delight. I used to cook for him each week for over two years and now i had the chance to do it again. A college preacher really does develop a parental mood which is very satisfying. Chaitanya did joke that this is the kali yuga symptom where guests come to others homes and cook themselves. Later we had to drive ourselves too. We just didnt trust our south indian friend's blizzard driving skills.

Late in the evening Chaitanya's sister arrived at the amtrak station to be with us for the weekend and also Anandchaitanya Prabhu flew in for the weekend.