By Premanjana das
Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
This early morning at about 4:20 am H.H. Lokanath Swami has met with a car accident. This happened on the Vrindavan Chatikara Road, about 5 km from our ISKCON temple in Vrindavan.
As part of the Vraja Mandala Parikrama, Maharaja was going to participate in the Govardhana Parikrama. A tree had fallen down on the road. The driver tried his best to avoid the tree in the darkness, but the car started to skid and turned over. Guru Maharaja’s left hand got stuck under the car. Although nothing was broken, he got injured in his left hand and a little bit on his head
H.H. Kavicandra Swami was also traveling in the car. Maharaja only got some scratches and bruises in his left hand.
Other devotees in the car were Maharaja’s disciples Sankirtana das, Abhinandana das, Balakrsna das and Bhakta Pravin.
All the devotees were brought quickly to the nearby hospital. Fortunately none of the devotees were seriously injured. They got off with a fright and some bruises here and there.
Maharaja’s left hand was stitched at three places and also his head at one place. Further he is doing well and has to take some rest for a while.
Later during the day a CT scan was taken of all the devotees at the hospital but no internal damages were found.
The front and left side windows of the car shattered and the left and front side of the car was damaged.
Please pray for the early recovery of Maharaja and of all the concerned devotees.
Your servant, Premanjana das
My dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Unfortunately now adays in India there are cars that will go over 100 kph, but there is no infrastructure to allow such speeds. This accident occurred early in the morning when no one was on the road, so drivers are tempted to go fast.
Please, please, please, tell your drivers to go slow. Maximum 80 kph. If they don’t understand English, then very firmly tell them “araam se!” We want you to have a pleasant Krishna Conscious stay on your pilgrimage and we want the opportunity to get your association for a long time to come.
In service of Srimati Vrinda Devi,
Deena Bandhu dasa
Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Although sad about this incident, I am so happy that nothing more serious happened to our Maharaja’s and the other devotees. There is nothing much which could have prevented this accident, except maybe driving slower.
I am always on the case of Bus or Taxi drivers in India. I fully agree with Deena Bandhu prabhu. Most car accidents are caused by too fast driving. It is the responsibility of the other passengers to make sure that the driver drives slow in order to protect the devotees from dangers while driving.
Yhs, AC. Bhaktivaibhava Swami
If I may add another important suggestion in this connection, make sure the driver has had sufficient rest. Watch the driver’s eyes, and if you see him even slightly doze once it means he has not slept properly and is putting your lives at risk.
One time I was going to Kolkata and we caught such an irresponsible driver half dozing and so we dropped him in Krishnanagar and got an awake driver.
Also make sure the driver does not play ‘dare devil’ on the road at the risk of your lives. Before starting the journey make it very clear that you don’t want any fast and reckless driving and that if he does you have the right to reduce the fare. This approach usually gets them to drive quite safely.
ys
ad