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Haridas prabhu first came to Bombay from Bangalore, looking out for a job. When he failed, he started picking pockets. This landed him in Arthur Road Jail. There, in a dust-bin, he found a copy of BTG. While going through the magazine, he saw a photograph of Srila Prabhupada and he was immediately attracted – not to Srila Prabhupada, but to his golden wristwatch. He vowed that when he was released, he’d steal the watch.
 
On release, he walked all the way to Akash Ganga, that was the address given in BTG. There he was told that they had shifted to Juhu. He walked all the way to Juhu, since he had no money. Krishna was actually purifying him before meeting a pure devotee. In Juhu, he met Giriraj Maharaj. Maharaj told him that Srila Prabhupada was in Hyderabad and was expected to be in Bombay very soon. Maharaj then invited him to stay in the temple. He would get free prasad and staying facilities. He did not mind shaving also.
 
After a few days he was exasperated and he asked Giriraj Maharaj if he could go to Hyderabad. Maharaj said okay. He then asked if he would get ticket money or would he have to steal it? Giriraj Maharaj gave him the money and told him to return soon. In Hyderabad, Srila Prabhupada was giving darshan when Haridas prabhu entered. Srila Prabhupada saw him and called him forward. On being asked, Haridas prabhu said that he had got attracted to Srila Prabhupada’s watch and that he wanted to steal it. Srila Prabhupada said, “You want this watch?” and he immediately removed it. Haridas prabhu said “No”, now he had lost interest in the watch, but Prabhupada insisted he keep the watch.
 
Prabhupada asked how long he was staying. Haridas prabhu said that he had promised Giriraj Maharaj that he’d return as soon as he had met Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada replied, “You must keep a promise, never to break it”. Haridas prabhu liked this instruction.