Once, on the disappearance celebration of his Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Prabhupada had come to the temple to celebrate the occasion with all the devotees. As the festival fell on a Friday, I had given instructions that the feast be prepared in the evening, so that we could invite many guests. Out of my foolishness, I had forgotten that the real purpose was to serve Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and not the palates of our guests. By eleven o'clock in the morning Srila Prabhupada asked me how the feast preparation was coming. When I informed him that we were planning to hold the feast in the evening, to accommodate the guests, he became as angry as Lord Nrsimhadeva. With great contempt for my total ignorance, he immediately got up and walked swiftly into the kitchen, his angry look making all the devotees very fearful. Only one mataji was in the kitchen, cooking the normal midday offering. When Srila Prabhupada asked her why she was not preparing a huge feast for his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, she replied, "Tamal Krishna has told us that we will cook for Bhaktisiddhanta in the evening." This only infuriated Srila Prabhupada more, and without further delay he personally began to cook the entire feast himself. Assisted by only a few devotees, he cooked a ten-course feast for sixty persons within one hour. After the kirtana and lecture, we all sat down in long lines and began to relish the feast, while Srila Prabhupada went to his room to respect the prasadam of his Guru Maharaja. To our great surprise. the servant came out of Srila Prabhupada's room within minutes, carrying Prabhupada's silver plate. The prasadam was untouched. Prabhupada had not eaten anything, being very disturbed by our negligence in not properly serving his Guru Maharaja. Our carefree. festive mood became broken as we realized the sober lesson that without pleasing guru and Krsna, there is no possibility of our own satisfaction.

>From Servant of the Servant by TKG