Shaila Vasini Devi Dasi is the manager of Srila Prabhupada’s kitchen. She oversees the baking of the cakes and cookies that are offered to the Deities and distributed to guests. Three ladies work in Prabhupada’s kitchen, producing a variety of wonderful cakes and biscuits everyday.

Shaila Vasini Devi Dasi

Srila Prabhupada said that ladies must perform the austerity of cooking in the summer, and these ladies certainly endure very high temperatures for about six months of the year. They also work marathon schedules during festivals to cook huge quantities to satisfy all the visitors to Vrindavana.

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia Shaila Vasini has been in Iskcon for fifteen years. She distributed books for many years, and before moving to Vrindavana, she worked with FFL in Chechnya. She says, “I am only here by my Guru Maharaja’s mercy. Srila A. C. Bhaktivaibhava Swami brought me here and enables me to stay. I realize that we must be very sincere in our chanting, and we must be careful to respect all living entities in order to stay here. I hope to live here for the rest of my life.”