Dear Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
With great grief, we want to inform you of the tragic passing away of His Grace Shyama Krishna dasa, one of the key members of the Temple Management of Sri Krishna Balarama Mandir, Vrindavan, on the night of Sunday, the 4th of January, 2009. He was only 37 years old.
He leaves behind his wife Sundari Priya dasi, two sisters, elderly parents & also a grandmother aged over 90 years.
He was a member of the Vrindavan Management Council & contributed significantly in the overall management of the Temple. In particular, his responsibilities included overseeing the Legal Dept., the Public Relations Dept. & the Security Dept. - the three most difficult departments in the Temple.
He formerly held a very responsible position in the Government of India, in the Customs & Excise Dept. & was highly regarded in his profession.
Sometime in this period, he came in contact with devotees in Mumbai & began practicing Krishna Consciousness very seriously. Later, he accepted initiation from His Holiness Radhanath Swami.
While he executed his professional duties with zeal, the inner call, urging him to surrender to Krishna & dedicate his life for Srila Prabhupada’s mission, was beginning to gnaw at his heart. Eventually, in about 2003, he resigned from his Government services, although the Government was very reluctant to release him.
He enrolled himself, along with his wife, for a full-time Bhakti Sastri course in Vrindavan. He subsequently did further studies for the Bhakti Vaibhava degree in Mayapur.
Sometime in the end of 2004, he moved to Vrindavan to assist the Temple Management at Krishna Balarama Mandir. Soon his capabilities became evident & he took on many unpleasant services which were very essential for the Temple. He used his prowess & intelligence to help the Temple overcome many formidable obstacles & to come out of very difficult legal situations. In the course of executing his services boldly & intelligently, he was not deterred by many risks to his personal safety.
He was a source of great strength to the Temple in its dealings with many hostile, aggressive & sometimes criminal elements.
With his passing away, Sri Krishna Balarama Mandir & indeed our whole movement has lost one of its bravest frontline soldiers. While we understand that Krishna has taken away Shyama Krishna Prabhu for some other service elsewhere, his loss is indeed very great for all of us here.
The cremation was performed in Vrindavan on the 5th of January, soon after his family members arrived. On the 7th morning we had a very touching Memorial function, followed by a Feast in his honour.
We request devotees to please pray for Shyama Krishna Prabhu & his wife Sundari Priya devi. Please bless them to attain pure, unflinching devotion in Krishna’s service.
Your servants,
Devotees of Sri Krishna Balarama Mandir, Vrindavan
