Testimonials
Testimonials
Leaving This World Personal Insights
Madhavendra Puri dasi - Living with ALS
Madhavendra Puri dasi speaks about living with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease of the brain and spinal cord. The degenerating body she wears does not depress her because she knows it’s temporary, it’s not her. She knows she’s the spirit soul inside and to turn inward is to find true spiritual happiness. The wonderful transcendental Names of the Lord is her refuge, her happiness. She shares this wisdom with scores of other ALS sufferers and more.
Madhavendra Puri dasi's Leaving This World Family Testimonials
Madhavendra Puri dasi’s daughter Shalie and husband Allan discuss her exemplary life and death. Shalie describes her mother’s transformation from a wild hippie to a disciplined yogi through spiritual practice, and how her mother’s illness opened a gateway to enlightenment. Allan says his wife has inspired him to stay the course, to take shelter in the transcendental sound. Allan and Shalie are grateful for her profound influence on them and countless others. They witnessed how her one-pointed focus on the spiritual process sustained her through the dying process without a tinge of fear.
Surabhi dasi’s Story of Going Home
Surabhi dasi speaks about how she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called diffuse systematic scleroderma, where her immune system turns on itself and attacks itself. She describes how disturbing it was to see her beautiful face shrink in on itself due to this disease, and how hard it was to imagine leaving her young children behind, but that this disease and imminent death also provided her with a wonderful opportunity to take shelter in her relationship with Krsna.
Chaitanya das’ Story of Living with Cancer
Chaitanya das describes his terminal prostate cancer and standing on death’s doorstep but being happier than ever before because he understands his true spiritual identity through the practice of kirtan meditation. By understanding that he will not die when his body dies, and that his eternal friend Krishna is always there, Chaitanya das has never been happier in his life despite struggling with his illness.
Radha Krsna das and Caitanya das’ Conversation about Living with Cancer
Radha-Krishna das and Chaitanya das, long-time friends who have advanced prostate cancer, share the wisdom learned from gurudeva and scripture that helped them transcend all fear, the greatest of which is death. They stress the importance of cultivating spiritual knowledge, of taking shelter in the Lord through His Holy Names while still alive and well. So when the body starts to shut down, it becomes easy and natural to take shelter in Krsna, the best Friend of everyone.
Krishna Stokala das’ Story of Living with Cancer Without Fear
Krishna Stokala das speaks about his prostrate cancer and how he is not in distress about his disease and having to leave his body soon because he understands that he is not the body. We also see the different perspectives of Krishna Stokala’s family members concerning his condition. Krishna Stokala das prepares for death with a lack of fear because he is focused on the spiritual world and where he is going, not on his attachments to this world.
Dawn’s Story of Her Son Rama Leaving His Body
Dawn describes how insights from her meditation practice allowed her to remain calm even when she heard that her oldest son Rama had been in a serious car accident and didn’t have much time left in his body. She shares her heart-warming story of how Rama was able to rest in transcendental sound and leave this world peacefully and free from fear.
Anna’s Story
Father and daughter become best friends when he starts a spiritual quest and awakens Ana’s dormant longing for Krishna. Through their spiritual journeys, they fuel each other’s devotion. Then a car hits Ana, tossing her into the threshold of death. She rests in Krishna’s and Srila Prabhupad’s embrace. She survives. Then her dad becomes terminally ill. To assuage his dread, Ana tells him—if you leave everything to Krishna, like I did in my near-death trial, you’ll be fine. He overcomes his fear, hangs on to Krishna and Srila Prabhupad till his last breath.
Syamakunda das’ Leaving This World
To take shelter in Krishna in life and in death makes one’s life successful. This is what Syamakunda das learned from his spiritual master. This he shares with us and those around him through his peaceful departure in joy and fearlessness. The incurable degenerative MND, a.k.a. ALS, stopped him in his path of material pursuits but could not stop him from his clear focus on his relationship with his spiritual master and Krishna.
Conquering Death
Story Of Japa das’ dad leaving his body
At a public event in the Philippines, Japa das gave an account of his father’s departure and Srila Prabhupad went into depth on key points.
Japa das’ father, Carlos, who’d led a very sinful life, saw Yamadutas when he was very ill and in the hospital with a burst appendix. One of Japa das’ brothers told Japa das that his father was asking for him, so he went to his father and explained that the creatures he was seeing were Yamadutas, the constables of death. After Japa das brought in a picture of Gopal Krishna and put it at his father’s bedside, he never saw the Yamadutas again. His father was then diagnosed with terminal cancer and was told that he could die at any moment.
One day, Carlos grabbed his son’s hand and asked him about the chanting of God’s Names. Japa das taught him the “Gopala, Govinda Rama” mantra. His father, however, couldn’t open his mouth to respond, so Japa das decided to bring in a cassette player so that his father would be able to listen to Srila Prabhupad chanting.
Carlos tried to find doctors and treatments that could save him. And though everyone was trying to keep him alive, it was not possible because he was so diseased. When he reached the point of death, and realized no doctor could help him, Carlos took full shelter of God through His Names, and left this world hearing the Names of God.
Srila Prabhupad commented: Japa das’ father was very sinful and had no spiritual inclinations at all. He was like many people who, on their deathbeds, see either deceased relatives in their room or Yamadutas coming to get them.
Japa das’ father was so terrified by the Yamadutas, that to escape them, he ran from his hospital room with drips and everything still hanging from his body. But he had a teenage son who understood the situation, explained it to him, and brought in a picture of Krishna into his room. The result was no more Yamadutas. That was the beginning.
Then, out of nowhere, he grabs his son’s hand and asks about God — and wants to learn ‘the song.’ He knew he was leaving and that nobody else could help him, so he wanted to take shelter in God. He was no longer interested in trying to keep the body going, and took shelter in God’s Names. Whenever the chanting stopped, he would become very disturbed because he was actually experiencing shelter in the sound. He knew he was experiencing something transcendental that he would be able to take with him when he left the body.