When Prabhupada came to us in his seventieth year, he had already spent a lifetime preparing himself, not only by preaching, but by practicing self-discipline and the many other qualities of an advanced spiritualist. We joined him handicapped by our so-called hippie freedom and by so many other weaknesses in our characters. Prabhupada encouraged us simply to add the chanting of Hare Krsna to our lives, and our anarthas would fall away. But our anarthas remain. Even after many years of practice, we are still trying to throw them off. In Prabhupada’s case, nothing of his earlier life was extraneous or had to be thrown off. Everything was useful in his preaching — his business sense, his ability to size up a worldly situation, his courage in living in New York City, his fearlessness in the face of crime, noise, and dirt. He was able to maintain his integrity and go about his pure purpose even while living in Manhattan. He was trained by his years in India, and strengthened by all the renunciation and austerity he had to perform just by living there and trying to preach Krsna consciousness.

From Prabhupada Meditations by SDG, PM 4.4.15: “A lifetime in preparation”