Purshottam Krishna
das Leaves Body

By Hema Gauri dasi

Posted November 21, 2002

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Shrila Prabhupada.

Recently, a fully surrendered devotee of the Lord left this material world. He was the father of Vinod Vihari Das and Ananda Vardhanam prabhu of Malaga, Spain. Below is a brief summary of his auspicious departure. Although we know his departure was auspicious, still we want to request you all to pray for him, that all of his spiritual desires may be fulfilled and that he may be pleased upon us.

On Wednesday the 6th of November, the disappearance day of Vasudeva Ghosh, at 11:15 p.m. Spanish time, one of the most beloved disciples of His Holiness Giriraj Swami, Purshottam Krishna das, left his body at the age of 70 due to cirrhosis of the liver. He was surrounded by his two sons and their wives, all initiated devotees in ISKCON. He was given sahasra-tirtha-jala and tulasi leaves. And he took shelter of the holy name till his last breath. He was indeed a very sincere devotee as in spite of his ill health in the hospital, he continued to chant his 64 rounds.

All his life he had been a very religious and charitable person. Before joining the movement he and his now-departed wife would get up daily at 4.00 a.m. and go to their local temple of Guru Nanak in Bombay. His wife also came from a religious family, and she had the good fortune of meeting HH Giriraj Swami and receiving his mercy before her departure as well.

Purshottam Krishna das became more serious in his sadhana after the loss of his wife. He had the good fortune of meeting HH Giriraj swami and other sannyasis like HH Bhakti Caru Swami. After a year, he decided to give up everything and make Vrindavan his home. There he came in contact with many devotees, and he would have brahmacharis stay with him in his flat at Keshav Kunj. Every day he would go for mangala-arati and the Bhagavatam class in the morning and for the Bhagavad-gita class in the evening. He was fully engaged in chanting the holy names, and it was in Vrindavan that he started chanting 64 rounds with complete love and dedication.

He was initiated HH Giriraj swami on the Ratha-Yatra day of Jagannatha Puri two years ago (I don't remember the exact date, but it was a Sunday somewhere in August) over the phone, and the following year he sat at a fire ceremony at the Malaga Temple in the presence of HH Bhakti Caru Swami.

His attachment to Srila Prabhupada became very firm and strong. He even dreamed of Srila Prabhupada just two weeks before he passed away. In the dream he saw Srila Prabhupada come to his house in Bombay. He told his wife to prepare some prasadam, but Srila Prabhupada said, "No, I shall cook myself."

Then Srila Prabhupada cooked a wonderful feast in their house and made them both take prasadam with him. Then he held Purshottam Krishna's arm and told him, "Now it is time to go to Vrindavan." Within moments, Purshottam Krishna found himself and his wife at the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha-Syamasundara in Vrindavan, and he saw Srila Prabhupada merge into his murti.

When he came to Spain to see his family last summer, he barely wanted to stay for more than a month or two. Every time he would do the Guru Puja with us in the mornings, he would shed tears upon hearing the names of Sri Sri Radha-Syamasundara. He started feeling Their separation and quickly left for Vrindavan again.

This summer he was supposed to come in the month of May, but his attachment to Radha Govinda Maharaja was so great that he did not mind the extreme heat and his ill health, and he waited for Maharaja to return from his trip to America to be in his association again.

We are sure he has reached his goal of life, yet we beg all the Vaisnavas to pray for the departed soul.

Param Dhama prabhu in the Malaga Temple last Sunday gave a nice class on the verse of Siksataka on humility:

"One can chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly."

He said that Purshottam Krishna das prabhu was so humble that he would just sit in one corner with his japa beads in his hand and simply chant, not caring at all for the people around him. He expected no respect from others, yet he gave so much love and respect to everyone. He served all the Vaisnavas so nicely in Vrindavan in his home. Ramanuja prabhu from England and Shyamlal prabhu of South Africa, and also Jagat Caksur prabhu from South America, were served a feast in his house there and taken very good care of.

Only in such a state of mind can we really get the true love for chanting the holy name and have the desire to chant so many rounds.

His ashes have been taken to the holy dham of Vrindavan to be submerged into the sacred River Yamuna by his son Vinod Vihari Das at the same place where lay the ashes of his pious wife. Isn't that the best gift a son can give to the departed soul of his father?

Thank you.

Your humble servant,
Hema Gauri dasi

© dipika.org November 21, 2002