Hare Krishna Prabhus.
Dandavat pranam. AGTSP. AGTSG&G.
Please read this article in its entirety. Please accept my apologies if I am spamming your mailbox.
****************************************
On September 15th HH Purnacandra Goswami Maharaja was hospitalized with internal bleeding, and from October 19th he was in coma. On the 4th of November, 22:25 PM Moscow time HH Purnacandra Goswami passed away. It is a great loss for the entire ISKCON community.
This has caused some consternation for the devotees, not only due to the loss of his wonderful association but also due to the circumstances of his illness and coma.
Srila Prabhupada was well known for having said that when a person dies in a coma, it is indicative of sinful life. A person who is greatly sinful is made to wait in a comatose state until the Yamadutas can figure his punishment and next birth. When it is decided, he is then moved to his next destination (dies).
A famous example he used was Winston Churchill.
One of the first lectures I ever heard Srila Prabhupada give in person was in Sydney in early April 1972. I was a young, newly immigrated Brit. It was quite a shock to hear Srila Prabhupada describe Winston Churchill as a ‘big demon‘ because in England he was a national hero, the savior of the British and the world. Srila Prabhupada cited the fact that Churchill died in a coma as evidence of his demonic activities.
It was a revelation to me which at the time I accepted simply because Srila Prabhupada said it was so. Later on when I heard about the criminal bombing of Dresden
(a ‘Churchillian gesture‘ according to one news report I read on the topic;
the prior knowledge Churchill had about the bombing of Pearl Harbor
and the deliberate starvation of millions of Bengalis in the 1943 politically created ‘famine’
I understood Srila Prabhupada was perfectly right.
The recent passing of our dear Godbrother Purnacandra Goswami after spending 16 days in a coma naturally gave rise to some questions about comas and their cause and effect. One such question I received was from my Godbrother Prthu prabhu:
“As for Churchill dying in Coma as evidence of his demonic activities, I heard that statement many times as well.
But how about Purnachandra Maharaja dying in Coma ? I don’t think the least offensively and believe he was a great soul.
However how do we explain when somebody raises the question as for Churchill`s coma in regard to Purnachandra Maharaja`s situation?”
This question was also asked by several other devotees including Vinata mataji:
“However, I wanted to ask you about coma. There is something you are telling about it in one of your seminars ‘Srila Prabhupada the Living Bhagavatam’. Explaining about Prabhupada’s comments on coma, Churchill his coma, and the understanding of his demoniac mentality (Churchillian gesture). Could you please explain how to understand Purnacandra Goswami’s passing away? He was certainly not a demon but an advanced devotee. Please help me to clear the fog.”
Answer:
We cannot judge a devotee’s position against that of the karmis. In the same way that the work a devotee does, although it may appear to be the same as the karmis, is of a different quality and produces a different result, similarly although a devotee may appear to suffer old age or disease just like a karmi, the quality is different and the result is different.
A karmi is suffering due to past reactions. Even after suffering, they remain entangled in their material activities and thus continue in the web of material existence with no way out.
A devotee however, is always under the protection of the Lord. Even if he has to undergo some tribulation due to pastkarmic activity, once the result has been experienced, there is no continuance and the reactions are finished.
This has been nicely explained by HH Hrdayananda Goswami in his commentary in SB about prarabdha karma. I won’t quote the whole purport here since it is quite long-you can read it yourself- but here is a relevant comment:
SB 10.88.8
“Although a Vaisnava’s happiness and distress are felt as pleasure and pain, just like ordinary karmic reactions, they are different in a significant sense. Material happiness and distress, arising from karma, leave a subtle residue — the seed of future entanglement. Such enjoyment and suffering tend toward degradation and increase the danger of falling into hellish oblivion. Happiness and distress generated from the Supreme Lord’s desires, however, leave no trace after their immediate purpose has been served. Moreover, the Vaisnava who enjoys such reciprocation with the Lord is in no danger of falling down into nescience.” [end quote]
We also find the following famous verse in SB:
SB 10.14.8
tat te ‘nukampam su-samiksamano
bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam
hrd-vag-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya-bhak
TRANSLATION
“My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.”
The purport to this verse is that if someone has dedicated their life to the service of the Lord, even if they have to suffer some tribulation, they are guaranteed to remain at the lotus feet of the Lord and nothing can check their progress back home, back to Godhead.
Now another consideration is that as a guru Purnacandra Maharaja was taking on the sinful reactions of his disciples. So sometimes that causes problems. In 1974 Srila Prabhupada was severely ill, so much so that his servants thought he may leave. Some how he pulled through and this letter was written by one of his disciples describing the illness:
From: Pancadravida to Jayadvaita – September 1 1974
“Mahamsa Swami recently returned from Vrndavana where he was summoned by Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada had just ended a seven day fast when Mahamsa Swami arrived, and now he is beginning to eat again. His Divine Grace had been very ill. Mahamsa Swami described Srila Prabhupada as being very white, and for the first time He looked very old. His Divine Grace was very weak, and when He talked it was very slowly, one word at a time, and that in a soft whisper. Prabhupada said that this was not a normal illness, but was caused by 90% of His disciples not following the devotional principles. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada had said that he requested 24-hour continuous kirtans to purify the devotees. He had refused to take any medicine, and repeated that samkirtan was the only cure.”
In a conversation with Brahma Tirtha das in 1972 (when he was still Bob Cohen), later published as the book“Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers”
Srila Prabhupada commented on this function of the guru in absorbing the sinful reactions of his disciples:
PQPA 6: The Perfect Devotee
Syamasundara: One time you said that sometimes you feel sickness or pain due to the sinful activities of your devotees. Can sometimes disease be due to that? Caused by that?
Srila Prabhupada: You see, Krsna says:
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah
[Bg. 18.66]
“I will deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” So Krsna is so powerful that He can immediately take up all the sins of others and immediately make them right. But when a living entity plays the part on behalf of Krsna, he also takes the responsibility for the sinful activities of his devotees. Therefore to become a guru is not an easy task. You see? He has to take all the poisons and absorb them. So sometimes — because he is not Krsna — sometimes there is some trouble. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has forbidden, “Don’t make many sisyas, many disciples.” But for preaching work we have to accept many disciples — for expanding preaching — even if we suffer. That’s a fact. The spiritual master has to take the responsibility for all the sinful activities of his disciples. Therefore to make many disciples is a risky job unless one is able to assimilate all the sins.
vancha-kalpa-tarubhyas ca
krpa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo
vaisnavebhyo namo namah
["I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls."] He takes responsibility for all the fallen souls. That idea is also in the Bible. Jesus Christ took all the sinful reactions of the people and sacrificed his life. That is the responsibility of a spiritual master. Because Krsna is Krsna, He is apapa-viddha — He cannot be attacked by sinful reactions. But a living entity is sometimes subjected to their influence because he is so small. Big fire, small fire. If you put some big thing in a small fire, the fire itself may be extinguished. But in a big fire, whatever you put in is all right. The big fire can consume anything.
Bob: Christ’s suffering was of that nature?
Srila Prabhupada: Mm-m?
Bob: Was Christ’s suffering –
Srila Prabhupada: That I have already explained. He took the sinful reactions of all the people. Therefore he suffered.
Bob: I see.
Srila Prabhupada: He said — that is in the Bible — that he took all the sinful reactions of the people and sacrificed his life. But these Christian people have made it a law for Christ to suffer while they do all nonsense. [Bob gives a short laugh.] Such great fools they are! They have let Jesus Christ make a contract for taking all their sinful reactions so they can go on with all nonsense. That is their religion. Christ was so magnanimous that he took all their sins and suffered, but that does not induce them to stop all these sins. They have not come to that sense. They have taken it very easily. “Let Lord Jesus Christ suffer, and we’ll do all nonsense.” Is it not?
Bob: It is so.
Srila Prabhupada: They should have been ashamed: “Lord Jesus Christ suffered for us, but we are continuing the sinful activities.” He told everyone, “Thou shalt not kill,” but they are indulging in killing, thinking, “Lord Jesus Christ will excuse us and take all the sinful reactions.” This is going on. We should be very much cautious: “For my sinful actions my spiritual master will suffer, so I’ll not commit even a pinch of sinful activities.” That is the duty of the disciple. After initiation, all sinful reaction is finished. Now if he again commits sinful activities, his spiritual master has to suffer. A disciple should be sympathetic and consider this. “For my sinful activities, my spiritual master will suffer.” If the spiritual master is attacked by some disease, it is due to the sinful activities of others. “Don’t make many disciples.” But we do it because we are preaching. Never mind — let us suffer — still we shall accept them. Therefore your question was — when I suffer is it due to my past misdeeds? Was it not? That is my misdeed — that I accepted some disciples who are nonsense. That is my misdeed.
Bob: This happens on occasions?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes. This is sure to happen because we are accepting so many men. It is the duty of the disciples to be cautious. “My spiritual master has saved me. I should not put him again into suffering.” When the spiritual master is in suffering, Krsna saves him. Krsna thinks, “Oh, he has taken so much responsibility for delivering a fallen person.” So Krsna is there.
kaunteya pratijanihi
na me bhaktah pranasyati
[Bg. 9.31]
["O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes."]
Because the spiritual master takes the risk on account of Krsna.
Bob: Your suffering is not the same kind of pain…
Srila Prabhupada: No, it is not due to karma. The pain is there sometimes, so that the disciples may know, “Due to our sinful activities, our spiritual master is suffering.”
Bob: You look very well now.
Srila Prabhupada: I am always well… in the sense that even if there is suffering, I know Krsna will protect me. But this suffering is not due to my sinful activities.
Bob: But let us say when I — in the town I live in, I take boiled water because some of the water has disease in it. Now, why should I drink boiled water if I have been good enough not to get a disease? Then I may drink any water. And if I have been not acting properly. then I shall get disease anyway.
Srila Prabhupada: So long as you are in the material world, you cannot neglect physical laws. Suppose you go to a jungle and there is a tiger. It is known that it will attack you, so why should you voluntarily go and be attacked? It is not that a devotee should take physical risk so long as he has a physical body. It is not a challenge to the physical laws: “I have become a devotee. I challenge everything.” That is foolishness.
anasaktasya visayan
yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe
yuktam vairagyam ucyate
(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.255)
The devotee is advised to accept the necessities of life without attachment. He’ll take boiled water, but if boiled water is not available, does it mean he will not drink water? If it is not available, he will drink ordinary water. We take Krsna prasada, but while touring, sometimes we have to take some food in a hotel. Because one is a devotee, should he think, “I will not take any foodstuffs from the hotel. I shall starve”? If I starve, then I will be weak and will not be able to preach.” [end quote]
I think from these references you can see clearly that the apparent suffering or disease undergone by a devotee is not the same as a sinful demon like Winston Churchill who was responsible for killing many hundreds of thousands of people. His coma was indicative of his sinful life, but Purnacandra Maharaja was freed of all sins due to his constant engagement in devotional service. It may appear from the outside that he was undergoing some karmic reactions, but internally you can be sure that he was fully under the shelter of guru and Krsna, and therefore his destination was all-auspicious.
There is no question of Yamaraja having any jurisdiction over a devotee.
In this regard I will repeat an incident I heard from Badrinarayan prabhu several weeks ago when he was giving class at the Mumbai GBC meetings (I may not get the exact wording of the conversation but the essence is accurate):
In the San Diego temple there was a gentleman called Mr. Prakash. He was a reserved type of person who would come regularly to the temple feasts but never really showed a lot of enthusiasm. He was from a Saivaite background.
One day he had a severe heart attack and was rushed to hospital. During the surgery he almost passed away on four occasions. It was touch and go and he slipped into a coma. He remained that way for several weeks after.
Badrinaryana was requested by his wife to please visit her husband even though he was in a coma and pray for him. Badri prabhu dutifully obliged and several times went to his bedside and read from shastra and chanted to the unconscious Mr. Prakash.
One day Badri got a call from Mrs. Prakash saying “Please come quickly to the hospital. My husband has come out of the coma but he only wants to speak to you.”
Badri went there to find some relatives and hospital staff gathered around his bedside. When he saw Badri he began to speak. “Badri, four times they came, four times they came!”
The relatives present thought he was talking about them. “Yes, we came several times but you were in a coma!”
Mr. Prakash shook his head to indicate that was not what he was talking about. “No. Badri, four times they came!”
So then the hospital staff said, “Yes, we almost lost you four times! You were in a coma but somehow we saved you.”
Again he shook his head. “No. Badri, four times they came!”
Badri started to realize what he was referring to. “Who came prabhu? The Visnuduttas?“
“No, it was the bad people [Yamaduttas]! They came the first time to take me away. But I told them ‘I am simply dependent on Lord Krsna.’ So they went away.”
“Then they came a second time. Again I told them, ‘Do whatever you must, but I am simply depending on Lord Krsna.’ Again they went away.”
“Then they came the third time, and told me they would take me away. I told them again, ‘You do whatever you must do, but I am dependent on Lord Krsna.’ Again they left.”
“Then they came a fourth time. But this time some of the good people came (Visnuduttas). When the bad people saw them they said ‘OK, we have no jurisdiction here’ and they left. Then I came out of my coma.”
He called Badri close and told him, “Badri, before I was not serious. But now, 100%!”
Mr. Prakash recovered and became one of the most enthusiastic and humble servants at the temple.
From this you can understand that what is happening during coma is completely different for a devotee than a karmi. Mr. Prakash was not initiated but he had some sense of dependence on Lord Krsna, so Krsna gave him the chance to increase his attachment.
One other story I heard from a very senior godsister. In the late 80s or early 90s, she contracted HIV. She became extremely ill and fell into a coma. It looked like she would leave at any time. The devotees from New Vrindaban came to visit her in hospital and were chanting. She told me that during her coma she was not aware of anything. She had no perception of anyone around her or her surroundings. But when the devotees chanted, she heard the holy names and that brought her out of her coma.
When she recovered, she went to visit New Vrndavana. She was just about to leave and go back to New York and went to offer her obeisances to Srila Prabhupada. As she did so, she heard Srila Prabhupada say to her very clearly, “Do not leave here.” So she didn’t. She stayed, and took up enthusiastic preaching again. And here she still is 20 years later.
The conclusion is that a coma is not an impediment to devotional life; indeed it can be a further impetus. Service toKrsna is transcendental and a person who render service to the Lord is also transcendental no matter what the external conditions of the body, mind and intellect are. A devotee’s life is always glorious, having been spent in the eternal service of Lord Krsna’s lotus feet.
They are protected always by Srimati Radharani and a great devotee like Purnacandra Maharaja,
who gave his life in devotion, executing the highest order of Lord Caitanya to preach the sankirtana movement is always exalted and glorious.
Your humble servant,
Hari-sauri dasa
Comments