{"id":7365,"date":"2009-06-13T14:51:18","date_gmt":"2009-06-13T13:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=7365"},"modified":"2009-06-13T21:00:27","modified_gmt":"2009-06-13T20:00:27","slug":"living%c2%a0bhagavatam%c2%a0stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=7365","title":{"rendered":"Living Bhagavatam stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rita Gupta<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bhagavatananda says that assisting\u00a0the\u00a0dying is helping him \u201ccash in on the blessings\u201d he received\u00a0from\u00a0one of\u00a0Srila\u00a0Prabhupada\u2019s departed disciples, Tribhuvanatha dasa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bhagavatananda met Tribhuvanatha near the end of Tribhuvanatha\u2019s life, when he was emaciated and wheelchair-bound.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBut his eyes were huge saucers of spirituality,\u201d says Bhagavatananda.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

At an evening program, Bhagavatananda suddenly stopped and asked Tribhuvanatha for his blessings.\u00a0\u00a0At first, Tribhuvanatha looked surprised, as if he could not understand why anyone would ask for such a thing.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThen suddenly his mood changed.\u00a0\u00a0He touched my head and said, \u2018You have all my blessings.\u2019\u201d\u00a0
\nTribhuvanatha passed away in 2001 due to stomach cancer.\u00a0\u00a0He was well-known for preaching Krishna consciousness in the Middle East under very difficult circumstances.\u00a0\u00a0For example, he was arrested for his preaching activities in Damascus, Syria.\u00a0\u00a0For one month, he was tortured in a terrorist cell.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bhagavatananda realized some of Tribhuvanatha\u2019s blessings almost immediately.\u00a0\u00a0Parasurama dasa, who organizes an ox cart program in India every year, overheard Bhagavatananda saying that he had never visited India before.\u00a0\u00a0Parasurama suddenly invited Bhagavatananda to come to Vrindavan with him.\u00a0\u00a0 Parasurama had been Tribhuvanatha\u2019s assistant.\u00a0\u00a0Bhagavatananda says, \u201cTribhuvanatha\u2019s blessings cashed in.\u00a0\u00a0That is the only reason I went to Vrindavan.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0For a few years after, Bhagavatananda returned to Vrindavan every year.\u00a0
\nIn 2005, while shopping in Vrindavan, he saw a book called\u00a0The\u00a0Final Journey:\u00a0Complete Hospice Care for Departing Vaisnavas\u00a0(Torchlight Publishing).\u00a0\u00a0He purchased the book and started reading it.\u00a0\u00a0It\u00a0made him more aware of the issue of death and dying.\u00a0\u00a0So when an announcement was made during the morning program that a terminally ill devotee was asking for visitors, Bhagavatananda volunteered.
\nThe devotee was Narmada Goswami from Mumbai.\u00a0\u00a0Narmada Goswami had been involved with the BBT Mumbai for many years.\u00a0He was suffering from Parkinson\u2019s disease, and was weak and bed-ridden.
\nBhagavatananda recalls the unlimited mercy\u00a0he received from the small service of visiting Narmada Goswami. \u201cNarmada Goswami was overwhelmed to see that I had come.\u00a0\u00a0He could barely speak, but everything was transmitted through his glance.\u00a0\u00a0He was just so grateful.\u00a0\u00a0All I can figure is that he knew Krishna was in that room, and he was passing on that benediction to me through his glance.\u00a0\u00a0I felt very blessed and fortunate to be there.\u201d
\nIn July 2008, Bhagavatananda met Sangita devi dasi, the author of\u00a0The\u00a0Final Journey, when she gave a seminar on hospice care at the Philadelphia temple.\u00a0\u00a0That seminar was the impetus for creating the Philadelphia\u00a0Vaisnavas\u00a0C.A.R.E. Team.\u00a0\u00a0Through his service with Vaisnavas C.A.R.E., Bhagavatananda feels he is finally beginning to realize the blessings he received from Tribhuvanatha.\u00a0\u00a0Bhagavatananda says, \u201cWhen devotees are dying, Krishna is very close to the scene.\u00a0\u00a0Anytime I connect with a dying devotee, I get a feeling of being very close to Krishna.\u00a0\u00a0I get a sense of peace from that.\u201d
\nMoreover, Bhagavatananda\u2019s service with Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. is preparing him for his own death.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMaharaja Yudhisthira says that nobody thinks they are going to die.\u00a0\u00a0I don\u2019t think I am going to die either.\u00a0\u00a0But through my service, I am learning that everything is temporary.\u00a0\u00a0I am learning that I am only temporarily situated here.\u00a0\u00a0The real business is to prepare for my next body.\u201d
\nBut even more than preparing for his own death, Bhagavatananda says he can feel his heart softening.\u00a0\u00a0This is the real benefit of his service with Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. \u201cThe passing away of the devotees are living\u00a0Bhagavatam\u00a0stories.\u00a0\u00a0As I see devotees with whom I have a personal connection go through this process, slowly my heart is softening.\u00a0\u00a0I need to soften my heart, so I can have an impact when I talk to people.\u00a0\u00a0I want to develop good qualities.\u00a0\u00a0This is my offering to Srila Prabhupada\u2019s movement.\u201d
\nWithin the next few years, Sangita devi dasi,\u00a0along with her godsister Jagarini devi dasi, a Board member of Vaisnavas C.A.R.E., hopes\u00a0to visit temples\u00a0throughout\u00a0North America\u00a0to encourage\u00a0C.A.R.E. teams in those communities.\u00a0\u00a0C.A.R.E. stands for \u201cCounseling, assistance, resource, and education.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0C.A.R.E. teams are links between the temple and a congregation member who is suffering from an acute, chronic, or terminal illness.\u00a0\u00a0They make sure the devotee knows he is part of a loving family \u2013 Prabhupada\u2019s family \u2013 by sending maha-prasadam, making hospital visits, sponsoring Deity garlands, and offering support and reassurance through phone calls.\u00a0
\nWithin the next few weeks, a\u00a0Vaisnavas\u00a0C.A.R.E. Team will begin operating in Houston, Texas.\u00a0\u00a0Kalindi devi dasi and Guru Bhakti devi dasi, a medical internist with a private practice, are the main organizers of the Houston team. Recently,\u00a0Kalindi invited Sangita to give a seminar in hospice care.\u00a0\u00a0Fifty-two people attended the seminar, which was held on Lord Nityananda\u2019s Appearance Day.\u00a0\u00a0
\nDevotees outside North America have also expressed interest in organizing C.A.R.E. Teams in their communities.\u00a0\u00a0For example, a devotee in Australia who is\u00a0studying to become a naturopathic practitioner,\u00a0is\u00a0hoping to organize\u00a0a team\u00a0in her community.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\nIf you are interested in starting a\u00a0Vaisnavas\u00a0C.A.R.E. Team in your community, please contact\u00a0Sangita devi dasi or Jagarini devi dasi\u00a0at\u00a0jusaniya@vaisnavascare.com.\u00a0\u00a0Or visit Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. at\u00a0http:\/\/vaisnavascare.com\/index.htm\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rita Gupta<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bhagavatananda says that assisting the dying is helping him \u201ccash in on the blessings\u201d he received from one of Srila Prabhupada\u2019s departed disciples, Tribhuvanatha dasa. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7365","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=7365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7365\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}