With the inevitable aging of the disciples of Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Conscious- ness (ISKCON), and later his grand-disciples, plans are underway for a hospice program in Vrindavana, India. At present, the Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Bombay is proving to be a model for, among other things, care of the dying. For qualified Vaisnava doctors and nurses to care for devotees in the holy dhama is a most wonderful tribute to His Divine Grace. Serving the devotees who are preparing for death encompasses all of the knowledge Srila Prabhupada gave us. Realistically, however, not every devotee will be able to relocate to India when diagnosed with a terminal illness. This does not mean that his or her passing away cannot be auspicious as well.
In the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, (6.11-12), Srila Prabhupada writes, "Sacred place' refers to places of pilgrimage. In India the yogis, transcendentalists, or the devotees, all leave home and reside in sacred places such as Prayaga, Mathura, Vrindavana, Hrsikesa, and Hardwar and in solitude, practice yoga where the sacred rivers like the Yamuna and the Ganges flow. But, often this is not possible. especially for Westerners... Therefore, in the Brhan-Naradiya Purana it is said that in Kali-yuga when people in general are short-lived, slow in spiritual realization and always disturbed by various anxieties, the best means of spiritual realization is chanting the holy name of the Lord."
We can learn from this purport about the potency of chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. When devotees face a terminal ill- ness and are unable to travel to the holy dhama, chanting and hearing this transcendental sound vibration will transform any environment into a holy place. This was the gift given to us by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
To further establish this point, Srila Prabhupada writes in the Bhagavad-gita, 8:15, "The special qualification of the pure devotee is that he is always thinking of Krishna without considering the time or place. There should be no impediments. He should be able to carry out his service anywhere and at any time. Some say that the devotee should remain in holy places like Vrindavana or some holy town where the Lord lived, but a pure devotee can live anywhere and create the atmosphere of Vrindavana by his devotional service. It was Sri Advaita who told Lord Chaitanya, 'Wherever You are. O Lord-there is Vrindavana."
Certainly, I emphasize this point not to minimize the spiritual benefit of leaving one's body in the holy dhama. After all, Srila Prabhupada himself exemplified this importance when he travelled to Vrindavana to spend his final days. I simply wish to encourage those who are unable to do so and who now face the most difficult challenge of their lives.
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