In Life or Death – Take Shelter!
After leaving the hospital a few weeks ago, my firm determination was never to return. It was by far, one of the most painful experiences of my life. Yet, today I did. This time, to the ICU, a place I cringed to think about. However, the visit was for a completely different purpose. The daughter of a devotee from Pune, passed away at a very young age in California Medical Center Hospital here in San Francisco, due to organ failure. A group of devotees and I had the opportunity to be next to her body and pray for her. Life is so fleeting and can pass through our fingers at any time. It’s so shocking, that it almost feels unreal. So many people on life support, young and old, just barely holding on. Death and pain don’t discriminate, do they? Time and tide wait for none.
I came across a feeble young girl from her bed in the ICU, around my age, smiling back at me. I waved at her and she waved back. I took the liberty to walk into her room and her sister welcomed me with a warm embrace and tearful eyes, as though I was a part of their family.
“We were just waiting for someone, come by, smile at us, and give us some warm feelings of love amidst all this suffering,” the sister said, firmly holding on to my hand. “Thank you for stopping by. You don’t know how much it means to us.” I gave them a Bhagavad Gita, saying this is main book of prayer, the source of our strength. They eagerly took two copies. While I was leaving, they all folded their palms in gratitude and bowed their heads saying, “Thank you so much. I’m sure our daughter will get better soon. Thanks for sharing the love.”
Death is all pervading, so unstoppable. There is nothing in our humanly power that we can do to prevent it. Its all a cycle of every individuals personal karma. Surprisingly, though, we do have control and responsibility over the situation. Srila Prabhupada has given us our only shelter, Krsna, and his words in the form of Bhagavad Gita. We are encouraged to drink the nectar of its contents to our fullest, and make it a goal of our life to distribute it to our suffering brothers and sisters.
Priya Kishori Devi Dasi