2008
Vyasa-Puja Offering to Srila Prabhupada - 2008
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my prostrated obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Your Divine Grace.
For your pleasure I would like to glorify one of your dear disciples. Her name is Isa devi dasi. I’m sure that you must be proud to have such a disciple. She fulfills one of your most important instructions—to always remember Krsna and to never forget Him. Isa devi dasi is 91 years old and in the thirty-five years that I’ve known her, I’ve never heard anything other than Krsna katha come from her mouth. Her preaching was always simple, but profound. “Krsna is God, you know! He can do anything!” Many times I’ve heard Isa say this in response to what may seem to others as being a dilemma. But for Isa, there was never a dilemma. She would tell everyone she met about Krsna, including all the devotees in the Boston temple. She would regularly take the hundred mile bus trip to Boston on Sundays and then would return to her home the same day. All day long she would be busy serving the Deities in whatever way that she could. And she would serve those living in the temple by constantly reminding us that we are servants of Your Divine Grace and the Supreme Lord.
In the summer of 2006, Isa devi dasi had a severe stroke. As we later found out, it was not her first stroke. Tests had shown that she had many before this one which left her unconscious at the foot of the stairs leading to her home in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Shortly after her stroke we were notified by Isa’s closest friend in her home town what had happened to Isa. Sandy, who later told me how she had become friends with Isa, informed us that Isa had been hospitalized and was moved shortly thereafter to a rehabilitation hospital. We were warned that Isa had lost all her memory as a result of the stroke. She could not remember her name and where she lived. She even had to be re-taught the most basic bodily activities such as eating and dressing.
The following day I called Sandy while she was visiting Isa in the hospital. Sandy asked Isa, “Would you like to speak to Niranjana Swami?” Isa grabbed the phone and sang the full Hare Krsna mantra to me and ended with an exuberant, “All glories to Srila Prabhupada!” I immediately understood that at least “some” memory was there.
The next day I planned a visit to the hospital to see Isa and to meet Sandy. I wanted to learn more about her and how it was that she came to know Isa. Sandy told me that fifteen years prior, Isa would regularly visit the health food store in Hyannis where Sandy worked and Isa would always preach to her about Krsna and you. Sandy became captivated by Isa’s charm. She learned that Isa lived alone, and that she had no family members except a niece who was antagonistic towards Isa’s devotional practices. Soon thereafter Sandy would spend some time every day with Isa and would help her with shopping and other details related to Isa’s domestic affairs. It was clear to me that she admired Isa for her devotion to Krsna and to you. Sandy claimed that she was not a “devotee”, but it seemed to me that she knew a lot about Krsna, you, Vrndavana, and even about some of the devotees in Boston. I could see that Sandy loved Isa and felt that in her heart she really wanted to accept everyone connected to Isa, including Krsna.
Shortly after our discussion Isa was wheeled in to meet with us. She turned to her therapist and in a commanding tone asked, “Are you a vegetarian?!” The therapist was taken aback, but Sandy had a bright smile. “That’s the Isa I know!,” Sandy said. The therapist had to respond to Isa’s rebuke. “Well, I don’t eat red meat” she said, “but, you know, it’s so hard have a balanced diet without eating some forms of meat.” Isa would not accept her excuse, and another devotee, Damodara, who also came to visit Isa, had to take over and explain that there were ways to have a fully balanced vegetarian diet. “I guess now I’ll have to look into it”, the therapist said.
Some days later a group of us visited Isa again. Isa had been missing her japa beads. Apparently they broke at some point during her fall. One devotee offered his beads to Isa who immediately held out her hand and graciously accepted them. Isa had a huge smile on her face and looked just like a young child receiving a long-awaited present on Christmas Day. Isa immediately put her right hand into the bag and began chanting japa as if nothing happened since her last round. She looked perfectly “at home” with her new set of beads and continued to chant japa for some time.
In spite of all the above indications, what deeply impressed me the most about Isa’s “memory” was the way she answered the following question from one of her therapists while Isa was eating her lunch. The therapist came over to Isa’s table, sat down, and asked Isa. “Edith, where is your home?” “My home?”, Isa asked. Then with the most serious and very deep look on her face, Isa replied, “Vrndavana.” “Where’s that?”, asked the therapist. And Isa replied, “Oh, Vrndavana is my home.” That’s all she could say in response, but I was convinced that that was enough. No stroke was going to take Isa’s memory of her real home away. Lord Paramatma was preserving all that she had and no doubt He will carry all that she lacks.
To quote Mother Isa, “Krsna’s God, you know! He can do anything!”
Thank you Mother Isa for glorifying Srila Prabhupada by your perfect example of Krsna consciousness. And thank you Srila Prabhupada, for giving us Mother Isa.
Your eternal servant,
Niranjana Swami