New Dwaraka in Los Angeles is one of our prominent and historic projects in ISKCON - Srila Prabhupada was very fond of this temple and often glorified the gorgeous standard of Deity worship. It is also the headquarters of the North American BBT, and Prabhupada had stayed here for a longer period of time, with his rooms now being maintained as a museum.
A unique feature of this community is the fact that the temple owns many flats in the neighborhood which are rented out to devotees or given for free living to those who are full-time engaged in service at the temple. In this way, many devotees can have the opportunity to live within walking distance to the temple, amongst them being a good number of disciples of Srila Prabhupada. As a result, the morning programs are well attended, and we had enlivening discussions in the mornings and evenings - in temple- and home programs as well as seminar sessions.
When facing death, we will realise that the nonsensical stage performance is just about to finish. The curtain closes, and the show is over. The illusory dream world of material existence has come to a close. We may even lament that we blew it once again and did not invest more time and energy into what is truly important: our loving relationship with the Lord.
At this moment, if we truly identify with being an eternal servant of the Lord, it will not be so difficult to place ourselves into His hands and allow Him to decide where and in which capacity we will continue our service to Him. Then death will simply be a change of service for us – a journey into another service situation. There may be some uncertainties, but nevertheless we can rest assured that Krishna has already arranged our destination where we will continue serving Him to our heart’s content. We can place ourselves into His hands with faith and confidence.
However, if we still cling to our temporary designations, thinking ourselves to be mother or father, husband or wife, a head pujari or temple president, then those designations will bind us to this existence. We will not want to leave, since the identification with those roles gives us the notion that we still have so many important things to achieve in this world. We are not identifying with being an eternal servant, and therefore it will be difficult for us to fully realise that Krishna has already arranged our next service situation, wherever it may be. We will maintain our attachment to our present and temporary role and position, which will make it more difficult to leave our current situation behind and move on to our next destination.
I once had the good fortune to accompany a devotee on his journey to leave this world. He had been struggling with leukaemia for several years and had now arrived in Mayapur by Krishna’s divine arrangement. He was convinced that he would be cured, although his body was terribly emaciated. It was very obvious to everyone except himself that he was just about to face death. Even though his body was falling apart and becoming entirely useless, he had such immense willpower to remain in this world. It was simply incredible!
At one stage I said to him, “You must feel that you still have a very important mission to fulfil in this world. And this is why you want to stay here, right?” His response was an eye opener. He exclaimed, “Yes! I am the bhakta leader in Kiev! I have to take care of my young bhaktas – they need me! Who else will do it?”
I immediately realised how the upadhi of identifying with the role of a bhakta leader had become his main stumbling block, and I exclaimed, “No, Prabhu! You are not the bhakta leader in Kiev! You are an eternal servant of the Lord. Leave it up to Krishna – He has already arranged your service in your next destination. He may want you to do something else now. Leave it up to Him and place yourself in His hands. He is calling you to come back home and join His blissful pastimes. He is waiting for you..."
Some days later he departed...
On the 21st of June I traveled on to Portland
Your servant, Devaki dd
At this moment, if we truly identify with being an eternal servant of the Lord, it will not be so difficult to place ourselves into His hands and allow Him to decide where and in which capacity we will continue our service to Him. Then death will simply be a change of service for us – a journey into another service situation. There may be some uncertainties, but nevertheless we can rest assured that Krishna has already arranged our destination where we will continue serving Him to our heart’s content. We can place ourselves into His hands with faith and confidence.
However, if we still cling to our temporary designations, thinking ourselves to be mother or father, husband or wife, a head pujari or temple president, then those designations will bind us to this existence. We will not want to leave, since the identification with those roles gives us the notion that we still have so many important things to achieve in this world. We are not identifying with being an eternal servant, and therefore it will be difficult for us to fully realise that Krishna has already arranged our next service situation, wherever it may be. We will maintain our attachment to our present and temporary role and position, which will make it more difficult to leave our current situation behind and move on to our next destination.
I once had the good fortune to accompany a devotee on his journey to leave this world. He had been struggling with leukaemia for several years and had now arrived in Mayapur by Krishna’s divine arrangement. He was convinced that he would be cured, although his body was terribly emaciated. It was very obvious to everyone except himself that he was just about to face death. Even though his body was falling apart and becoming entirely useless, he had such immense willpower to remain in this world. It was simply incredible!
At one stage I said to him, “You must feel that you still have a very important mission to fulfil in this world. And this is why you want to stay here, right?” His response was an eye opener. He exclaimed, “Yes! I am the bhakta leader in Kiev! I have to take care of my young bhaktas – they need me! Who else will do it?”
I immediately realised how the upadhi of identifying with the role of a bhakta leader had become his main stumbling block, and I exclaimed, “No, Prabhu! You are not the bhakta leader in Kiev! You are an eternal servant of the Lord. Leave it up to Krishna – He has already arranged your service in your next destination. He may want you to do something else now. Leave it up to Him and place yourself in His hands. He is calling you to come back home and join His blissful pastimes. He is waiting for you..."
Some days later he departed...
On the 21st of June I traveled on to Portland
Your servant, Devaki dd
RSS Feed
