By Ananta Sesa dasa
When Srila Prabhupada began to promote Krishna Consciousness in America, he found a lot of young energetic followers. Many of these new devotees came from the Hippy culture and were disillusioned with the state of the world. They wanted something different than their parents and grandparents. What Prabhupada offered was very different indeed. One could find peace and unity within the science of Krishna Consciousness. All one needed to do was follow the four regulative principles of no meat eating, no intoxicants, no gambling, and no illicit sexual activity; chant 16 rounds of japa; and surrender to the spiritual master. Despite the fact that this seemed contrary to the Hippy culture, many accepted this new way of life with great enthusiasm. They gave everything to Krishna, having no need for material acquisitions and having no thoughts for their personal future—and as teenagers and twentysomethings, they certainly had no thoughts of old age and retirement. Of course, as Krishna taught, old age, death, and disease cannot be avoided. More than 50 years have passed since Srila Prabhupada brought Krishna Consciousness to the West, and that first generation of young, enthusiastic devotees have aged.
No matter how hard one tries to escape it, aging and death are inevitable; but they do not have to lead to misery and suffering, nor do they need be a cause of lamentation. Krishna Consciousness can teach the reality of old age and death. Srila Prabhupada’s purport on Bhagavad-Gita 7.29 states: “Birth, death, old age and diseases affect this material body, but not the spiritual body. There is no birth, death, old age and disease for the spiritual body, so one who attains a spiritual body, becomes one of the associates of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and engages in eternal devotional service, is really liberated.”
The Bhagavad-Gita instructs us that we are not these bodies. “As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones” (BG 2.22).
The physical body is temporary. Disease, old age and death of this physical form is inevitable. This knowledge is greatly needed at the present time. ISKCON is more than 50 years old, which means that many devotees are now in their 70s and 80s. They are feeling the effects of this material condition. What is to become of the devotee who suffers a terrible disease or infirmity which prevents him from caring for himself? Like many people, he may need to enter a retirement facility or hospice where he can be cared for.
Unfortunately, in almost every instance, these facilities are not Krishna Conscious. One may ask why this matters. Are the devotees not receiving the medical care and attention required? The answer is yes and no. Different facilities have different standards of care, but even if one receives the best care that western science can provide, that care is still deficient without Krishna.
The Krishna Conscious lifestyle will greatly enhance the spirit soul, but it can also make the material life better. To demonstrate this point, let us consider three key elements: Diet, Association, and Sankirtan.
The Bhagavad-Gita states: “The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin” (BG 3.13).
The devotee who is fed only Krishna Prasad will enjoy a karma-free diet that aids in the liberation of the soul. Such a diet will also benefit the heath of the material form. The diet of most western non-devotees is high in fat, cholesterol, starch and artificial additives. It usually also includes liberal quantities of alcohol. Each of these will lead to health issues such as heart, kidney and liver disease. The greatest contributor to these problems is meat consumption.
The Second aspect of the devotee’s life to consider is association. The Srimad-Bhagavatam states: “In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin” (SB 3.25.25).
In the purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada explains: “One must give up the association of materialistic persons and seek the association of devotees because without the association of devotees one cannot understand the activities of the Lord.” When placed into a typical retirement home or hospice facility, the devotee is surrounded by materialists who speak of everything except Krishna. They may discuss issues of health from a secular standpoint. They may discuss sporting events, the lottery, or wins and losses at a recent trip to the casino. They may discuss the illicit activities of royalty, celebrity, and neighbor. They may blaspheme or use foul language. One will hear every manner of foolishness coming from the lips of these people, but never will one hear the transcendental vibration of Hare Krishna. Surrounded by such individuals, one could fall down in one’s service, relax one’s chanting, or otherwise be harmed in body and spirit. So, it is crucial that devotees have the opportunity to associate with other Krishna Conscious devotees.
The final aspect of the devotee’s life to consider is Sankirtan, the chanting and hearing of the Holy Names. The regular chanting and hearing of the transcendental vibration of ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare’ is the supreme method of attaining Krishna Consciousness in this age of Kali. The benefits, both spiritually and materially, are legion. For example, Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.11.2 tells us that “the Holy Name vanquishes the fear of material existence”, and in the Nectar of Devotion, it says “By chanting the Holy Names one becomes fearless of death.” For this reason, sankirtan is perhaps even more important for the elderly.
So, we can find that diet, association, and sankirtan are the crucial elements that will allow the elderly to accept aging without lamentation, and to accept death without fear. They will allow the devotee to live a healthier, happier, and more meaningful life right up to the moment of death. However, these are the very elements that are being denied many of our elderly devotees in traditional care facilities. This is why it is so important that Krishna Conscious retirement homes and hospice facilities be constructed. Once established, the elderly devotee in need of care will be fed sumptuous prasad, while being surrounded by other devotees engaged in the service of Krishna.
Sadly, many elderly devotees find themselves in a hospice or retirement community that offers no association. They will find themselves surrounded by people who have no love for Krishna—people who drink, smoke, consume flesh and talk of all manner of nonsense. Fortunately, one of these early devotees, Gurudas, is working to make things better. His credentials of care cannot be disputed. He was a civil rights activist in the 1960’s. In 1967, he met Srila Prabhupada and was initiated. Since that time, Gurudas has helped build temples and spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world.
Now in his 70s, at a time when many would be taking it easy and enjoying retirement, Gurudas is hard at work on his next project. Recognizing that those who devoted their life to Krishna were too focused on their next life to consider the end of this one, he, along with Aradhana devi dasi and Ram Nrsimha das, began an organization called the Vedic Care Charitable Trust, which strives to provide care for the elderly.
The Vedic Care Charity’s (VCC) main mission is to assist these personalities who have dedicated a great part of their lives to the well-being of others, sacrificing finances, family and friends to be of service. In this spirit, the VCC is creating spiritually enhanced care facilities and communities, where respect, love and trust are primary.
In a VCC facility, devotees are cared for in a Krishna Conscious environment, where people follow the regulative principles, discuss the Lord’s glorious pastimes, and chant His Holy Name. In this way, the aging devotee, through association with other devotees, will be able to peacefully transition back home to Godhead.
In an interview with the New York Times in March 2016, Gurudas explained that the VCC is “an international members supported organization that is cooperating to facilitate retirement homes; wherein the inhabitants can offer: Kirtan; Katha; classes; seminars; consulting; counseling; self subsistent farms and other creative projects. Our retirement homes allow residents to spend their later years in like-minded association, instead of being cared for in isolation, reacting to the symptoms of sickness alone. Staffed hospice facilities and Vedic transition support will be available through this international cooperative; based on love and trust. With a focus on preventative care, we can ease the pain and suffering together.”
The VCC is working around the world to create Retirement Villages and Hospice Facilities for our elderly devotees. Current VCC sites are found in: Vrindavan, India; London, England; Radhadesh, Belgium; Alachua, Florida; and New Talavan, Mississippi. Planning for future sites have begun in: Sedona, Arizona; New Mexico; Hawaii; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Alicante, Spain; France; Bolivia; Bulgaria; Colombia; and Croatia.
To highlight the value of one of these programs, let us consider Radhadesh. In a studio apartment, Bhagavati devi dasi established a space for devotees to spend their final months. An article I co-authored for The Vedic Times explained this through the story of a woman called Manisha. Manisha was uninitiated because she could not stop smoking; however, this did not deter her from devotional service. She distributed prasadam every Wednesday and hosted a bi-weekly kirtan program at her home. She chanted daily.
In 2016, Manisha was diagnosed with cancer in the bladder and after having an operation, she received chemotherapy. After three treatments, she decided to stop the chemotherapy, since it was making her too sick. She knew that this would ultimately mean that the cancer would kill her, but at the age of 78, she was ready for that.
Her friend, Bhagavati devi dasi was able to help her quit smoking so that Manisha could live out her time with the devotees at Radhadesh. Through Krishna’s mercy, Manisha was able to sell her home in Liege and move to a home near the temple. Feeling inspired by this mercy, Bhagavati wrote to her spiritual master, Kadamba Kanana Swami, and asked him to initiate her. Since she was now following all four of the regulative principles and chanting 16 rounds, he was very happy to do so. With special permission from the local temple authorities and GBC, Manisha was initiated.
After her initiation, she did quite well for some weeks, but then things started to go downhill very fast. She had developed metastasized bone cancer and was in a lot of pain. For the last two weeks of her life, she could no longer leave her bed. After a few days, Bhagavati called in the local palliative care team and requested a home nurse for Manisha.
Recognizing that spiritual care was more important than physical care, Manisha’s friend turned her room into a spiritual place with an altar opposite her bed. Pictures of Krishna adorned the walls, Bhagavati’s salagram sila moved into her room. When Manisha was introduced to Him, it was explained that at the end she would be able to hold Him in her right hand.
A recording of Srila Prabhupada’s japa played most of the time except for when she was listening to Bhagavad-Gita or Caitanya Caritamrta. On Balaram’s appearance day, Bhagavati purified Manisha’s right hand, put a flower in it and asked for her prayer to Balaram. She asked Him to take her as soon as possible.
The next morning, Manisha was in a lot of pain. A morphine pump was set up to help her manage the pain. The next morning. Bhagavati recalls, “Manisha was very sleepy and I just sat next to her bed to read to her. The doctor came again at 2 PM and told us that she would have another 24-36 hours. By 3 PM, I was sitting with Manisha together with another devotee and her breathing changed into the laboured ‘death rattle.’ I knew she would probably not have 24 hours, so I called my spiritual master, who happened to be at Radhadesh. He came half an hour later and started chanting for her. There were many devotees in the room with her. Her family was sitting at her left side and I was sitting at her right side armed with Tulasi leaves and Ganges water. I had put my salagram sila in her right hand and she was holding on to Him tightly.”
“We could regularly see her lips move when she was trying to chant with the kirtan”, Bhagavati continued, “At 4:40 PM, she opened her eyes and started staring with huge eyes. At 4:45, she smiled, chanted Hare Krishna and stopped breathing for a long time. I quickly administered the Tulasi leaves and the Ganges water. She breathed one more time and left while her spiritual master was chanting and I was also chanting the mantra in her right ear very loudly.”
In the Bhagavad-Gita (18.66), Krishna says: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” In line with this teaching, Kadamba Kanana Swami stated that since Manisha had given up everything she had in Liège in order to move and leave her body in Radhadesh, Krishna reciprocated. This act of surrender was her ticket back home to Godhead. This story illustrates the crucially important work being performed by the VCC.
In addition to our primary goal of establishing care facilities, the VCC runs a website (www.vediccare.org) that is useful to those needing service as well as to those who want to help. Proposed plans, and success stories can be found. In addition, there is a library of KC literature to read on-line, and our journal, The Vedic Times. The VCC has an MP3’s for the elderly program, which gives players to devotees so they can listen to Prabhupada’s words when they become unable to read due to poor vision. Our out-reach care programs allow volunteers to go to shut-ins and those in care facilities to share Shastra readings, kirtan, and prasadam. In this way, those needing association before our facilities are established can still have access to it.
Work such as this is a crucial form of devotional service and it will continue. However, the more devotees that join this cause, the more work can be accomplished. Interested parties are encouraged to visit the VCC on-line at www.vediccare.org.
______________________
Ananta Sesa Dasa is the Director of the Literary Department at the Vedic Care Charitable Trust.