Dear devotees, Please accept my best wishes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. A very dear disciple of mine from Singapore, Radhe Syama devi dasi, passed away last night. I wrote her the following letter this morning, which is going to be read out at the funeral today. She was a very sincere and dedicated soul. Please pray to Srimati Radharani and Lord Krishna for her. Hoping this meets you well. Your servant, Bhakti Caitanya Swami My dear Radhe Syama devi dasi, Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. You have left us, but we feel your presence spiritually. You were a wonderful example of a sincere devotee who is dealing with the responsibilities of household life in this world. I remember when I first met you, on one of my first visits to Singapore around 20 years ago. Your husband, Gauracandra prabhu, was an active devotee in the ISKCON temple at the time, and was very enthusiastic about Krishna consciousness. We met, and immediately developed a nice relationship. He took me to your flat, and I met you, and stayed with your family. At the time you were not so convinced about Krishna consciousness, but as we discussed over a short period of time you became convinced and then took up the active practice of devotional service. From the time you seriously got into it you immediately became an exemplary devotee. I remember on so many occasions you appealing to me to get Gauracandra and your son Ashvin to become more serious in their spiritual lives. Practically every time I would come you had a list of concerns about their practices in Krishna consciousness, and you expressed them to me strongly. It was clear that your heart had become completely focused in your spiritual life, and I was so impressed to see the wonderful transformation that had taken place in your life. I think I first became aware of your health challenges when we were on parikrama in India some years ago. Gauracandra prabhu informed me that it was difficult for you to walk or climb stairs because of your heart condition. I was surprised as you seemed as fit as anyone else, but little did I know then that it was a serious health problem which would bring us to the situation we find ourselves in today. However, despite your health you continued in a fully dedicated way in your devotional service. You did Deity worship in the Kuala Lumpur ISKCON temple, and regularly cooked for the Jagannatha Deities there. You also became a counsellor for younger female devotees. Then you returned to Singapore when your health situation worsened, but you continued being nicely focused spiritually here also. You performed the Damodar programme with the Sindhi community on a number of occasions, and would regularly tell me how you were concerned that the Sindhis somehow become more involved in their spiritual heritage. You also remained concerned about how your mother and siblings were doing in Krishna consciousness. Like this your heart was always full of selfless concern for the spiritual lives of everyone, and you maintained this to the end. I remember, the day before yesterday, when we were able to have our last proper communication, I said to you that when you go to Krishna you must put in a good word with Him for us who are left behind in this world. Although up to that point in our exchange you had not expressed much emotionally, other than feelings of pain because of your physical condition, when I asked you to speak to Krishna on our behalf when you meet Him, you smiled broadly. It was really wonderful to see. So now you have gone to Him, and we are left behind, missing you. However we will meet again for certain in Goloka Vrndavana, in the Kingdom of God. I am sure of that. We will all be together eternally in the company of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna in the spiritual world. Thank you for the wonderful association you gave me. Thank you for the wonderful cooking you did for me. Thank you for your dedication to the practice of Krishna consciousness. I will never forget these things. And, finally, please dont forget the request. Please put in a good word for us left here in this material world. Please tell Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani that we are trying our best to serve Them, and that we want to come and join you before too long. Hoping this meets you well. Your ever well-wisher, Bhakti Caitanya Swami
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 07:58:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015