Samba’s passing

By Srutakirti das

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I wanted to write a little something about our beloved Samba prabhu because he has so many devotee friends all over the world. He was affectionately know as the ‘Big guy’. Everyone loved him and he loved all the devotees. He was especially kind to the young children and they were always eager to get on top of his shoulders. He had so many wonderful qualities which included his humility and his great wit. He could make everyone smile with his sense of humor. He loved being in Mayapura Dhama and especially enjoyed bathing in the Ganga.

He had been in Jagannatha Puri and Mayapura for the fesitval and when he returned to the UK just two weeks ago he was telling everyone how happy he was in Mayapura and was planning on moving back there. He was energetic and at the Manor he was giving all the devotees ‘high fives’ as he saw them.

He began feeling weak and was admitted to the hospital on March 18. His breathing was laborious and had to be put on a respirator. His condition worsened throughout the week and was complicated by diabetes and Hep C. After four days they found the cause of his illness was an infection that entered through his foot. It spread quickly throughout his body. For seven days he was on life support and was in a sleeping state. He was wearing headphones for the last several days with Srila Prabhupada chanting Hare Krishna.

On the 24th morning it was apparent that he was going to leave us soon. Amekhala and I arrived at the hospital about 2 p.m. His very dear devotee friend Ram Nrsingha was there as he had been for the entire week. We decorated him with tilaka, garlands and a Hari Nama chaddar and regularly gave him Ganga water. We took the headphones off and Srila Prabhupada continued to chant in the background. He was in the Intensive Care Ward so he was one of four patients in the 12 bed facility. No one objected to the chanting or the dozens of devotees who surrounded him for the final hours.

There were about eight of his family members there including his mother, father, grandmother, sister and others. They asked for some time with him by themselves around 7 p.m. We all returned after half an hour being eager for him to have devotee association. We asked if we could have a kirtan because we could see his vital signs were failing. The family agreed and we started a soft kirtan chanting prayers to Lord Nrsinghadeva and the Mahamantra. We stopped after about 15 minutes. The atmosphere changed from that time. The family were so appreciative and could understand that our being there was most important.

From that time we all remained together by his bedside. Devotees who had been texed continued to come from all over the UK to say goodbye to their dear friend and wish him well. As 10 p.m. approached his vital signs continued to drop and we started another kirtan. Everyone chanted softly for about for about half an hour It was during this time that Samba prabhu left us in a very peaceful state at about 10:10 p.m. GMT on March 24. At the time there were over three dozen in the room including more than two dozen devotees.

Everyone, including family members and hospital employees, remarked what a wonderful passing it was. Samba was very peaceful throughout. When we were getting ready to leave the room Samba’s sister came up to Amekhala and I to tell us that a man in the far corner of the room had been sitting all day with his dying wife. He wanted to thank us for the chanting. I walked over and sat next to him. He said the chanting was so beautiful, ‘just like the singing of angels’.

He told me that after he heard the first kirtan he wanted to come over to us and tell us to do another one but he didn’t. When he heard us start to chant again his prayers were answered. He said that he couldn’t imagine a better chariot for one who was about to leave this world.

I couldn’t have said it any better. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Samba prabhu! All glories to the assembled devotees!

Ram Nrsimha prabhu will be bringing Samba’s ashes to Mayapura in the near future. Samba’s father is arranging it. Samba and he were very good friends and his father told us that if he could he would also live in Mayapur.

your servant, Srutakirti das