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Dear Devotees,
After I read the following e-mail I was
inspired to send it to the community. I was trying to
relate this story to myself who is very selfish, but
also to how Guru & Krishna (who is the real Father)
would be happy if I am an instrument to pass on this
wonderful gift of Bhakti to others to help them walk in
the bhakti path, in what ever stage they may be.
Yours servant,
Naveen Krishna das
At a fund raising dinner for a school
that serves learning-disabled children, the father of
one of the students delivered a speech that would never
be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the
school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:
"When not interfered with by outside influences,
everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my
son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He
cannot understand things as other children do. Where is
the natural order of things in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. "I believe that when a child like
Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the
world, an opportunity to realize true human nature
presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
treat that child."
Then he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some
boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do
you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that
most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on
their team, but the father also understood that if his
son were allowed to play, it would give him a
much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be
accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field
and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The
boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing
by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning.. I
guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in
to bat in the ninth inning."
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a
broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched
with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart.
The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a
few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of
the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the
right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the
field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to
him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning,
Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the
bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and
Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away
their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was
given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but
impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the
bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher,
recognizing that the other team was putting winning
aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few
steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least
make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung
clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps
forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the
pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow
ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the
soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to
the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that
would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first
baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone
from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay,
run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay
ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He
scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second,
gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the
time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder
had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now
had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He
could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the
tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he,
too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the
third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base
deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the
bases toward home.
All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop
ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third
base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third!"
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the
spectators, were on their feet screaming, "Shay, run
home! Run home!" Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate,
and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and
won the game for his team.
"That day", said the father softly with tears now
rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped
bring a piece of true love and humanity into this
world".
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that
winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making
his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his
Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
May your day, be a Shay Day
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On the morning of
Monday August 6, 2007 I began my day
at work at Hospice. After our daily report, medical
staff checks on each patient and we begin doing our
usual tasks of caring for each patient. Given that
this is a small 10 bed facility it allows for us to
give loving care to everyone. Often while I care or
bathe patients who are unable to do these tasks for
themselves I chant or sing the Maha Mantra. On this
particular morning I was caring for one woman who had
been with us for almost a week. She was a kind and
polite person and I enjoyed the time I had spent with
her on her previous days. Around 8 a.m. on August 6th
I entered her room and found that she was getting
closer to leaving her body. She was unresponsive to
verbal cues and her body was quite limp. I took this
opportunity to sing the Maha Mantra one last time
while she received her final bath. Hospice staff
called her family. Her family was always very
friendly and appreciative for all of her care. When I
finished with her care I spoke with some some family
members in the hall. Jane's (our patient) grandson
approached me to thank me . He then pointed at his
forehead, pointed out my tilak and asked if I was a
Hare Krishna. I smiled and said that I am a devotee of
Krsna! He said , "Well then maybe you know of my uncle
, Jayananda?"
I asked,"Thee Jayananda?"
He said yes. He told me how his uncle had built the
carts we use in festivals (for Ratha Yatra). He then
walked in to inform his mother that I was a Hare
Krsna. Gaynelle (Jayananda prabhu's sister) then
walked out of the room and said she was so happy that
a Krsna devotee had cared for her mother mother. The
whole family expressed that it meant so much to them.
Gaynelle kept saying that she couldn't believe that I
was a Hare Krsna. She said she told her mother but
she wasn't sure that her mom could hear her. I said I
have a feeling she already knows and I laughed. Jane
(granddaughter) mentioned that she remembers her uncle
making really great indian food, offering it to God
and the family sitting on the floor and eating it. She
remembers his robes and how happy he was. Jane said
that he had been pretty depressed before meeting
devotees. I let Jayananda prabhu's family know that
during the Ratha Yatra festival that we hang a nice
photo of him next to Srila Prabhupada's photo. They
told me that an old friend of Jayananda's (who is
not a devotee) who happened to be in Africa several
years ago saw his first Ratha Yatra festival there and
to his astonishment there was a huge photo of
Jayananda prabhu on the front of the cart! He called
Gaynelle to share the news. They told me Jayananda was
always so kind even as a child he never spoke badly of
others. From the many stories they told me his saintly
qualities shined through even as a child. Gaynelle
told me that her brother once spent hours on a family
vacation at the beach picking ticks and fleas off of a
homeless dog. He couldn't stand to watch its
suffering. Jayananda's nephew then told me he
remembers running around the kitchen table as a small
child with his uncle laughing and chanting Hare Krsna.
Late morning I entered Jane Kohr's room. Family was
beautifully gathered around her bed holding her hand.
Respirations were becoming faint and she was about to
leave the body in which she inhabited. I stepped out,
giving the family their space and about 5 minutes
later they came to the front desk and asked for me to
look at her. When I opened the door I saw her body
lying there yellow and waxy in color. It was apparent
that the soul had left and the physical body was all
that remained. The RN reported that she in fact had
passed and family although sad also felt relief.
Gaynelle told me that she had asked her brother for
support. Since he couldn't physically be at their
mother's passing she had been looking for a sign that
her brother was supporting her. She felt that a
devotee being present and caring for her mother was
not a mere coincidence. I believe it was Krsna's
endless mercy! I thanked them for allowing me to serve
their family and offered my pranama's and said " Hare
Krsna."
Gayanelle then asked our Hospice chaplain if I could
please speak at Jane's memorial service on August
15th. She wanted me took speak a little bit about her
mother and also about her brother, Jayananda. I felt
that this was a good opportunity to share Krsna
Consciousness with some people who otherwise would
never hear about Lord Krsna. I was really touched by
their request.Below is the short talk I gave. Please
forgive me if I misspelled any words or if I committed
any offences.
Your servant,
Kalindi devi dasi
Jane's Memorial service-Wednesday August 15, 2007
I want to begin by saying thank you for the
opportunity to serve your mother and family. It is a
real honor. Like Gaynelle, I don’t believe this
happened by “chance.” Bruce commented to me that
Gaynelle had asked/ prayed to her brother Jim (a.k.a.
Jayananda Prabhu) for support. So I can only draw the
conclusion that her prayer was heard. Given that
Jayananda Prabhu was a great devotee of the Lord,
Krishna reciprocated quickly. It so happened that
Gaynelle’s son noticed that Jane’s care was in the
hands of many caring individuals and amongst the
nursing team was a Hare Krishna.
When asked to speak today, I wanted to talk
about
something that would be relevant to all of us. What I
came up with is the part a mother plays in one’s life.
To
begin, in most traditions mother’s are to be honored
and respected. From Mother Earth to our birth mother,
there is a special loving reciprocation. In ancient
Indian culture the birth mother is revered as one of
seven worshipable mothers. Not God, per se, but she
is to be treated with the respect that one would give
God. By the gathering of loved ones at Jane’s side
during her passing on August 6th, one could see she
did her loving duty as a mother and in exchange her
children returned that love while supporting her
during her transition from this world.
It is said in Bhagavad Gita, one of India’s
holiest
books: palena pariciyate. “One should judge the merit
of an action by the fruits, or results, of that
action.” The fact that Jane once had within her womb
someone as saintly as Jayananda (Jim) is no
coincidence. It must have been do to her previous
accumulation of good merits. We can all see with our
own eyes in this world that every action in life has a
reaction. One may call this karma, fate or destiny,
but I can only draw the conclusion that Jane had been
truly blessed. A Krishna devotee and good friend of
mine who kept in touch with Jane after Jayananda’s
passing, Nidra Devi, confirmed that the parents of
saintly personalities receive special mercy and
blessings. I feel nothing but gratitude at being able
to have been present along with your family during
Jane’s final hours.
I also wanted to take the chance to honor and
speak a
little bit about the person and character of Jayananda
Prabhu. To begin with family members told me that he
never spoke ill of anyone, even as a child. Krishna
devotees also attest to this wonderful attribute. In
the book Radha Damodar Vilasa, a biographical account
of Jayananda’s life with the Hare Krishnas, Kalakantha
Das writes, “one remarkable quality about Jayananda
was he could not criticize others.” If one devotee was
criticizing another within earshot Jayananda would
simply leave. I recently spoke with Nidra and Jayo
Das, another Hare Krishna acquaintance of Jayananda’s,
at Govinda’s Buffet in Denver. I asked if they could
share a sweet story or remember any time they spent
with Jayananda. Nidra said, “he had compassion in the
heart for every person. He was willing to share the
love of God and the chanting of the holy name with
every person. He would engage any type of person from
the most elegant to the most degraded.” Her eyes
teared as she made this statement.
Just recently we celebrated the Ratha Yatra
festival
in Denver. (Ratha Yatra literally means Festival of
the Chariots.) This is a large festival held for
centuries in the East Indian coastal town of Jagannath
Puri. The festival annually attracts millions of
pilgrims and is broadcast live nationwide. In 1967
Jayananda was inspired to inaugurate the first Ratha
Yatra in the western world. Year after year, with
enthusiastic energy, sweat labor and organizational
skills he pulled together a team of devotees and
others (including the homeless and outcasts) to build
chariots and organize the parade. When we celebrated
Ratha Yatra in Denver on July 29, a large photo of
Jayananda was hanging next to a photo of Jayananda’s
spiritual teacher, Shrila Prabhupada. Both were
bedecked with flower garlands and were prominently
placed on the front of the chariot.
The impact that Jayananda made during his short
time
on this planet is simply amazing. Jayo tells of how
Jayananda had so much devotion. While preparing for a
Ratha Yatra festival Jayananda would rise daily
between 2:30 and 3:00am. He would then gather up the
young men saying, “Get up, it’s time to do service for
the Lord of the Universe.” He would let devotees and
the homeless alike stay at the site where the chariots
were being built and would always be the first up and
last to bed. He also managed to cook for all present.
He would do service and often would wear tattered
dhotis (devotional robes) or old worn out blue jeans.
He was so humble that he was reluctant to spend money
on new clothes when it could be otherwise engaged in
the Lord’s service. He was once asked to do service on
the temple altar, but because his hands had so much
cumulative dirt, cracks and calluses from his hard
work, he declined because he felt he was not fit or
clean enough. Examples of his pridelessness and
humility are endless. You are all so fortunate to
have such a family member amongst you.
I want to close with these timeless words from
Bhagavad Gita:
man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo 'si me
“Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and
offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me
without fail. I promise you this because you are My
very dear friend.”
Jayananda truly embodied this verse wholeheartedly.
Once again, thank you for inviting me.
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