Lord Narasimha Dev Recent pastimes

[Bhakti Community]

By Shyamasundara Dasa

Lord Nrsimhadev shows His mercy even to a non devotee.

Yasoda Mata’s 85-year-old foster father passed away two months ago.
During his stay in the hospital, Yasoda Mata prepared a tape recorder
and played the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra all day long in his ward. Her
foster father was actually in semi-coma, but miraculously when he
heard the Maha mantra, gradually he awoke and with closed eyes he
appeared to enjoying the music and the sound vibration.

He started to follow the tempo by tapping his hand on the edge of his
bed. His finger ring made the sound like “don, don don” “don, don don
…….. ” He looked like he was totally meditating on the Maha mantra.
Suddenly he spoke, “Look! There is a huge 5 clawed man, and his head
looks just like a lion’s, he is coming into my ward. Don’t you see
him? He is coming ….” The foster father still with eyes closed said
“Oh, yes, I forgot you all cannot see him, but he is really here. I do
not know who He is?”

At that moment Yasoda Mata and her daughters looked at each other in
great surprise and answered. “Father, He is Lord Nrsimhadev”. “What
dev ??? I don’t know Him. But He is nodding His head to tell me that
He is.” Yashoda mata felt great ecstasy in hearing this for in her
house she keeps a model of the Nrsimha Deity from Mayapur and had been
offering heart felt prayers to Him so that her father could leave the
body without any attachment and that his soul can become Krishna’s
devotee in his next birth. Continuously her father said, “Look, He is
smiling to me and starting to speak again . Oh, He is telling me that
I have to learn to chant what you are chanting now…. what exactly are
you chanting ?” He said.

“It is a mantra to call the holy name of Lord” Yasoda Mata replied.

” I don’t know what mantra, but please teach Me.” he said.

“All right father, please repeat after me and listen carefully — Hare
Krishna, Hare Krishna………” Yasoda Mata taught her foster father word by
word patiently. Without taking a long time, he learned and tried to
chant…. and chanted so nicely.

The next day he passed away with tranquility.

During that weekend, we devotees here congregated together to do the
kirtan for Yasoda Mata’s father at the memorial service. Yasoda Mata
prepared the prasadam garland, Ganga water, tulasi, and put tilak on
her father, which have all been done nicely and properly according to
her guru maharaj H. H. Giridhari Swami’s telephone instruction. Her
foster father’s face looked so peaceful, his cheeks were a little
pink, and his body was soft. After some customary ceremonies the body
was sent to the incinerator. A Few hours later the people who work in
the memorial service came to us and exclaimed in amazement - “We have
never seen anyone’s ashes look so white and beautiful like jade as
your father’s! What happened to him? What were you chanting for him?”
“Could you write it down for us? We want to learn and we think we can
also chant while doing our service here.”

Why the Lord Himself personally appeared before someone who we
consider is not a devotee proves the sastric statement - that if one
is always engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, their family
members will be benefited as well.

From Lin Tulip Taiwan, 20th March 2006