VRINDAVANA IS MY HOME – STORY
(This is the Vyasa Puja Offering, 2008 by H.H. Niranjana Swami)
PART-1
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 retaught 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
PART-2
Shortly after Mother Isa’s stroke, I, along with several other devotees who knew Mother Isa, made several attempts to situate her in a place where she could be cared for by devotees.
Unfortunately, we ran into many obstacles. Among them was a strong resistance from Isa’s only living family member, her niece, who would not permit Isa to leave the area. After many weeks of research and inquiries on Isa’s behalf, we all had to accept that Isa would have to remain where she was.
Soon thereafter we learned that Mother Isa was released from the rehabilitation hospital and was sent to a nearby assisted living facility. I arranged for devotees to visit her from time to time and would always inquire about her whenever I visited Boston.
Some time later she was put under the care of a state nursing home where she now lives.
When we arrived at the nursing home, we signed in and were then directed to a place where we could find Mother Isa. I was taken aback by her appearance, but soon remembered that she is now ninety five years old. Time has a way changing the body’s appearance, but as I was soon to observe, it can not take away the essence of the soul’s yearning for Krsna.
I spent the first part of our meeting trying to establish some connection with Mother Isa, but was disappointed to find that she was extremely tired and for the most part was unresponsive to my attempts for a dialogue with her.
After fifteen minutes or so, I went back to the nurses’ station to tell them who I was in relation to Mother Isa and to ask them if they could tell me all they knew about her current medical state.
I did not expect them to be able to tell me about her state of consciousness, knowing that they would probably not understand Mother Isa’s symptoms of devotion to Krsna. Still, I explained that she seemed a lot less responsive since the last time I saw her in 2006.
I was told that mornings were not a good time for Isa and that if we wanted her to be more responsive, afternoons were always a better time to get her to speak and to hear her sing the “Krsna chant.”
I immediately smiled when I heard “the Krsna chant” and was relieved to learn that she still seemed to be the same Mother Isa I always knew. I couldn’t imagine Mother Isa not chanting Hare Krsna.
I returned to the visitor’s room and tried once again to establish communication with her.
This time I held out my hand, started talking to Isa about Srila Prabhupada and Krsna and then tried to induce her to respond to the mahamantra. She gripped my hand tightly, looked very intently, right into my eyes, and started to enthusiastically chant the Hare Krsna mantra together with me two words at a time.
This went on for several minutes but it appeared she was too tired for a long session with us. Though I tried to get her to say something else related to Krsna, it seemed that the only words she could speak without difficulty were the Hare Krsna mahamantra.
I had hoped for a lot more, but I figured that if that’s all she can remember, then what else does she really need?
After spending approximately forty five minutes with her, we decided that it was probably best to let her rest and to just hope for a better session during another time when we could visit in the latter part of the day.
As we were leaving the nursing home, there was a vehicle for disabled persons just outside the front door. One by one, residents from the home were being carried into the vehicle in their wheelchairs. One of the nurses who worked there and who was assisting all of them saw me out of the corner of her eye.
She noticed that I was dressed in robes and approached me to ask who I had come to see. I told her that I was there to see Edith Graves, which is the name Mother Isa is known by in the nursing home.
The woman immediately burst into a huge smile and exclaimed, “I knew it! When I saw your robes I knew that you must have come to see Edith! I love that woman! Everyone loves that woman! I’m so happy that someone has come to see her. You should come and see her on Friday afternoons at 2:00 PM when we are all gathered to sing patriotic songs. She leads everyone in singing the Krsna song with such enthusiasm.”
But that wasn’t all. Another elderly woman in a wheelchair was listening nearby.
She extended her hand to me and introduced herself as Kay. With the most pleasant smile and a look filled with charm and respect she also started glorifying Mother Isa. “I love that woman too”, she said. “She’s a real live wire, especially when she sings that beautiful Krsna song for all of us.”
She went on to express her appreciation for Isa and once again confirmed that everyone who knew Isa had nothing but feelings of affection towards her. They described her as the most self contented person in the whole building.
Then she asked, “Can you tell me how old Edith is?”
I told her that she was ninety five years old.
The woman smiled again and said that she was always wondering how old she was. She then asked all of us to please come back to visit again.
I thanked both of them profusely and told them that meeting them was the icing on the cake of my visit to see Mother Isa. I was leaving Isa, feeling somewhat disappointed by her lack of responsiveness. But it was now becoming crystal clear that Mother Isa was none other than the Mother Isa I always knew— taking advantage of every opportunity which came her way to induce other’s to chant Krsna’s name.
Even at the advanced age of ninety five, and even though she had lost all memory of her past as a result of severe stroke, she was a shininglight of enthusiasm for singing the “Krsna song” to everyone without reservation.
On our way back to Boston I requested Syamarupa dasa to visit Mother Isa on a Friday afternoon in order to film her chanting during the session when everyone sings songs all together. I also asked him if he could interview other workers and residents in order to hear their words of appreciation for Mother Isa. And last but not least, I asked him to establish a clear line of communication with the nursing home so that we could be kept updated if there were any major changes in Mother Isa’s state of health.
As it turned out, Syamarupa dasa was scheduled for an evening kirtan event not far from where Mother Isa resides, just three days after the day when we visited her. I gave him the video camera which Madana mohana dasa uses for making videos of my lectures when we travel together, and asked him if he could get as much on video as he possibly could.
Unfortunately the nursing home has a strict policy which does not allow visitors to take videos of events. Syamarupa dasa was also unable to interview the residents as we had hoped. Still, he was able to take several video clips of his exchanges with Mother Isa.
I’m amazed by her enthusiasm and especially by her spontaneity for chanting Krsna’s names. She seems to be right there, in Krsna consciousness, when she is chanting, remembering nothing else but Krsna in the form of His holy names.
I find these video clips to be precious and my admiration for Mother Isa and my gratitude for what Srila Prabhupada has given to all of us has increased without limit due to my association with her.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Mother Isa!
Hare Krsna
Niranjana Swami
“Whenever pure topics of the transcendental world are discussed, the members of the audience forget all kinds of material hankerings, at least for the time being. Not only that, but they are no longer envious of one another, nor do they suffer from anxiety or fear.” SB 4.30.35 (Prachetas prayers)
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