krishna/articles/2013/122

Kaushalya: One time in New Delhi, somebody was talking about maya, saying, "This whole world is just an illusion." Prabhupada objected, "How dare you call it an illusion. It is beautiful. The mountains are beautiful, the oceans are beautiful, the rivers, the sky, the trees. This is a beautiful world. But it's temporary, and it is a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. If you see the beauty of this world, you'll see the beauty of the spiritual world, which is a million times more beautiful. If you said to me, 'Srila Prabhupada, look at the painting I have done for you, 'and if I said, 'It's an illusion,' that would hurt your feelings. In the same way it is offensive for you to call the world an illusion."

Kaushalya: When we were first in India, the little Deities that we traveled with were in Prabhupada's room, and we would go into his room for mangal arati. Sometimes he would do the puja. After mangal-arati he would speak on the Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad-gita. Then after that he would have darshan. Wherever we went through-out India, this would be the schedule. Once in Bombay, a man came and prostrated himself in front of Prabhupada, and said, "Swamiji, you will save me. You can enlighten me." Prabhupada looked him squarely in the eye and said, “I cannot enlighten you. I can teach you how you can enlighten yourself. But you have to do the work yourself." Prabhupada was not one to say that just by his association you would be enlightened. You had to work at it. It would take effort.

Ref: Memories of Srila PrabhEupada TAP 11