{"id":10164,"date":"2011-12-26T18:42:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-26T17:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=10164"},"modified":"2011-12-26T18:42:33","modified_gmt":"2011-12-26T17:42:33","slug":"yamuna-devi-and-srila-prabhupada-vani-and-vapuh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=10164","title":{"rendered":"Yamuna-devi and Srila Prabhupada–Vani and Vapuh"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Giriraj Swami<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1971 Srila Prabhupada went to Allahabad for the Ardha-kumbha-mela, and Yamuna-devi and I were in the party that accompanied him. Srila Prabhupada spoke on the story of Ajamila and the holy name, from the Sixth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Only the first two cantos had been translated and published, so Prabhupada read from his Sanskrit Bhagavatam with commentaries, sometimes translating from Sridhara Svami\u2019s and occasionally from Jiva Gosvami\u2019s. While there, I heard that Srila Prabhupada had said that he was speaking for Yamuna. And in April 2007, when Yamuna visited me in Santa Barbara, I asked her about it, and she told me something that etched an indelible impression on my heart.<\/p>\n

As she explained, she had always thought that she had as much right as anyone to walk or sit close to Srila Prabhupada. And generally when he spoke, she would sit right in front of the vyasasana. But in Allahabad one of the sannyasis explained to her that in India the women sat apart and that she should too. So the next morning she did not sit in her usual place at Srila Prabhupada\u2019s feet. <\/p>\n

Later that morning, Srila Prabhupada noticed her passing by his tent, and he called, \u201cYamuna, come in here.\u201d She entered and offered her obeisances, and before she got up he said, \u201cSo, you don\u2019t want to hear anymore?\u201d Yamuna burst into tears; Prabhupada\u2014hearing from him\u2014was her life. \u201cWhere were you this morning?\u201d he asked. Yamuna told him exactly what had happened. Prabhupada was silent.<\/p>\n

That, as she told me, was a turning point in her life. She realized that she would not always have Prabhupada\u2019s company. Until then, she had not been able to conceive of ever being separated from him. In 1967 Prabhupada had had a stroke, and the devotees had chanted all night, and Prabhupada had recuperated. The devotees were so dependent on him for everything, it was inconceivable to them that he would not be with them. But, she told me, every disciple must come to a personal realization that there will be a time when the spiritual master will not be present. And for her that moment came in Allahabad, after her talks with the sannyasi and then with Srila Prabhupada.<\/p>\n

Sitting in Prabhupada\u2019s tent, she asked him, \u201cHow much time did you actually spend with your guru maharaja?\u201d \u201cVery few occasions\u2014maybe five or six,\u201d he said. \u201cBut they were very intimate. We used to walk and talk so many things.\u201d Then he said, \u201cThose who think that association with the spiritual master is physical, they are no better than a mosquito sitting on the lap of a king. And what is the business of a mosquito? Simply to suck blood. So many of my godbrothers, they were big, big sannyasis, and they thought like that, and they simply sucked blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yamuna took Prabhupada\u2019s words as confirmation. From that point on, she understood that she needed to explore her relationship with him and service to him in separation. She began to consider the question of vani (words, instructions) and vapuh (physical presence), and she got more and more insight into it. As she told me, it is something \u201cunlimitedly deep and profound. You can hear the terms on the surface, but it\u2019s something else again to actually be in Prabhupada\u2019s presence\u201d\u2014to be in his presence as much in separation as when you were in his physical association. \u201cSo that was a turning point for me, to realize that Prabhupada was going to leave this planet: \u2018He is an old man, and he is going to leave, and I have to prepare.\u2019 \u201d She understood that from that moment she had to start mentally preparing.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that is that story of hearing,\u201d she continued. \u201cPrabhupada said, \u2018I am speaking because you want to hear so much. I am speaking as much because you want to hear so much.\u2019 So he knew that hunger. I never expressed that to him, but he knew.\u201dAs Yamuna often said, Srila Prabhupada was completely aware of every disciple in every way, both their internal consciousness and the external manifestations of their service. <\/p>\n

Vani and vapuh became a major theme in Yamuna-devi\u2019s life\u2014how to maintain one\u2019s connection with Srila Prabhupada through vani to the same degree and with the same intensity as in his presence\u2014his close physical presence. She was convinced that it was possible, and she arranged her life in such a way as to always receive his guidance and mercy\u2014to always be in his association.<\/p>\n

At about 6:30 in the morning on December 20, Yamuna\u2019s constant companion and spiritual confidante, Dinatarini dasi, found that she had left. Her hand was in her bead bag, and a slight smile was on her face. She looked completely at peace\u2014even blissful. She had not been afraid of death. She had been confident that she would again be with Prabhupada, or somehow engaged in serving his mission. Such is the destination that awaits anyone who gives his or her life fully to serving Srila Prabhupada. <\/p>\n

Yamuna-devi was a beautiful person\u2014a divine servant of Srila Prabhupada, his mission, and his Lords. She exemplified nama-ruci (taste for the holy name), jiva-daya (mercy for the living entities), and vaisnava-seva (service to the devotees). She was a mentor, guide, and friend to many, including me. We will miss her personal presence. Still, we shall try to serve her in separation by upholding the ideals she held dear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Giriraj Swami<\/strong><\/p>\n

At about 6:30 in the morning on December 20, Yamuna\u2019s constant companion and spiritual confidante, Dinatarini dasi, found that she had left. Her hand was in her bead bag, and a slight smile was on her face. She looked completely at peace\u2014even blissful. She had not been afraid of death. She had been confident that she would again be with Prabhupada, or somehow engaged in serving his mission<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-memoriam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10164\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}