Swamiji makes reservations to leave for New York and from there to India. He continues to speak of the Indian sun and Ayurvedic physicians.
Some of the devotees, worried that Swamiji has decided to go to India to leave his body, ask him whether, during his absence, one of his God-brothers should come to America to assume ISKCON leadership.
The minute this question is presented to him, we sense that it is offensive. Swamiji becomes very grave, closing his eyes, and for a moment he seems to consider it. Then suddenly we see tears falling down his cheeks.
“My Guru Maharaj... he was no ordinary spiritual master,” he says, wiping away the tears. “He... saved me.
Later, Swamiji tells us what we should have always known: There is no one to replace him. The very idea is insulting.
“If someone comes and tells you something different,” he says, “you will be confused.”
The subject is dropped forever.
(The Hare Krishna Explosion, Chapter 12)
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