Nandarani DD Passes Away

 

Dayananda Das: Nandarani devi passed away this morning from brain cancer. What follows is a brief description of her time with Srila Prabhupada.

In early 1967, Nandarani was eighteen years old. She’d come to San Francisco from L.A. with her boyfriend to check out the hippie scene. There she ran into a friend on the street, who took her to the temple where she had prasadam and in the evening met Prabhupada. From that time, she served Prabhupada’s ISKCON for twenty-two years.

The year she turned nineteen she met Prabhupada, helped him cook for her wedding ceremony, opened what later become ISKCON’s World Headquarters, and had the first of her three children. Nandrani was one of ISKCON’s empowered pioneers. 

In early February 1967, she ran into a friend in San Francisco who took her to the Hare Krishna temple. She loved the meal of prasadam they gave her, so she brought her boyfriend back that evening. She enjoyed the kirtan, but more than that, she liked the lecture given by the interesting old man from India, Swami-ji.

A month later she took initiation from Swami-ji, and then in two weeks he married her and her husband, with their families sitting on the floor, listening to the swami chant strange mantras while he poured ghee into a fire that filled the storefront temple with smoke.

For two consecutive days before the wedding, she and the other women had helped Swami-ji cook the large feast that she’d financed with a month’s salary from her job at the phone company. Swami-ji observed her at that time as well as in the coming months as she attended classes and did services in the temple.
In mid-1967, Swami-ji wrote her husband, Dayananda, from New York, noting that his wife was very intelligent. 

He continued: “It is the Grace of Lord Krishna that He has put me in contact with so many rare souls who are taking Krishna Consciousness in all seriousness, and I am confident that in the future all my student boys and girls will preach this Krishna Consciousness in the western world more successfully.”

In August, she, her husband, and Aniruddha traveled from San Francisco to Los Angeles and opened a storefront temple there. A month later, they received a letter from Swami-ji, who was in India. He wrote: “I had great desire to have our center in L.A. & by grace of Krishna you have fulfilled my desire.”

That first year had not yet ended. Her daughter had not been born. Then, in November, Swami-ji identified her as one of the seven leaders of his fledgling movement in a letter to Brahmananda: “I wish that you will remain in charge of New York, let Satsvarupa be in charge of Boston, Let Mukunda be in charge of San Francisco, let Janardana be in charge of Montreal. Let Nandarani and Dayananda be in charge of Los Angeles. And let Subala das be in charge of Santa Fe.”

In February 1968, Swami-ji visited his five-month old temple in L.A. for the first time. During a lecture he quoted a verse by Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and asked if the devotees knew who he was. Nandarani said, “He was a great impersonalist who was converted by Lord Caitanya to Vaishnavism.

Swami-ji said, “Yes,” and to the other devotees, “Nandarani knows better than you.” They laughed, and he continued: “So girls are intelligent.”

It was clear that Prabhupada appreciated the work that she was doing in L.A. In April of that year, he wrote to her and her husband: “Nandarani is very intelligent girl, both of you execute nicely and try to bring up your daughter in the same spirit, and live nicely in Krishna Consciousness.”

In anticipation of his next visit to L.A., he wrote her a long letter in which he said he appreciated that she was arranging lectures for him. “I am very much pleased with your preaching enthusiasm when you say, ‘If people won't come to us here, we will go to them.’ And this is the process of preaching, and this is required. I thank you very much for your spirit.” He concluded by saying, “I am very glad that you are so inquisitive and trying to understand things in proper perspective. So, I am always at your service, and you are welcome to write and inquire from me at any time.”

Than after arriving in L.A., during a lecture, Prabhupada commented on vatsalya (parental) rasa: “Just like this girl, Nandarani, is raising her daughter, always giving service. The child is accepting service from the parents. Her business is only to accept. Torture and accept service. So, devotees accept Krishna as son so that Krishna may simply torture them and accept service.”

The next year, devotees moved to a larger temple, an old church. By this time the movement had developed so much that Prabhupada was receiving many letters, so he decided to ask Nandarani for help in answering some of the more routine ones. He gave her a letter that asked about the real meaning of Omkara. She wrote, “It is explained clearly in the twenty-first chapter of the Teachings of Lord Caitanya…” Then she gave a detailed explanation.

Prabhupada checked her response and wrote her back a short note: “The answers are all right and you directly write him.”

The movement expanded at a whirlwind speed. She continued to be an important part of it for two more years in L.A., sometimes as Prabhupada’s driver, other times cooking for him, and always doing service in the temple. Then she and Dayananda went to London.

From there, she wrote and expressed her desire to be fully surrendered, and he replied: “I am so much obliged to you for your nice sentiments. Krishna will bless you.” And in another letter, “I am very much pleased that you are fully engaged in attending Sri Sri Radha and Krishna in London temple and that you are finding great satisfaction by pleasing always Their Lordships.” […] “I am always remembering with pleasure you and your good husband Dayananda, and how you have been with me practically since the first…”

Her next stop was the gurukula in Dallas, and Prabhupada wrote: “I have seen this special Rathayatra issue of ‘Back to Godhead’ written by you, and I am so much pleased that so intelligently you have assorted the matter to completely understand our philosophy in a nutshell. I know that you are very intelligent and educated girl, so fully kindly utilize it for developing the Dallas institution for the benefit of all the children.”

After Dallas, she and her husband went to Iran, and Prabhupada wrote her: “Try to publish Persian books as many as possible. That will be a big success. Iranians have very much respect especially for the Americans, and your dealings with them will be very much appreciated.”

Later that year, Prabhupada came to Iran. He gave no formal lectures, but his disciples brought interested Iranians to meet with him. In one conversation, Prabhupada began to speak about the form of God. He said that if Moslems pray, then Allah must hear. “What do they pray?”

Nandarani answered, “For glorification of God.”
Prabhupada said, “Glorification means something about God, his activities, characteristics. What do they say?”
“God is great.”
“God is great, but how He is great?”
She said, “That is not emphasized, how He is great, just that He is great.”
“Then there is the proof of less intelligence. God is great, very good. But how He is great? What is the conception of greatness?” […] “So, if I do not know about God, if I do not know who is God, then where is the question of love?”

On a business trip to New York, Atreya Ṛṣi, who was in charge of the preaching in Iran, met with Prabhupada. During the conversation, Atreya explained that all the devotees were working at regular jobs so that they could stay in the country and maintain the center there. Prabhupada inquired, “And so Nandarani is also working?”

Atreya said that she was teaching.
Prabhupada said, “She has got experience.”
“Yes, she's very good.”
“Both of them are very intelligent,” said Prabhupada. “And Nandarani is more intelligent than her husband.” He laughed. “I know that.”
Atreya, who was quite fond of Dayananda, said, “I find that he is very intelligent, Śrīla Prabhupada.”
“Ah, Dayananda.”
“Yes.”
“He is intelligent,” said Prabhupada, “but Nandarani is still more intelligent.” Again, he laughed. “I know that. Both of them are intelligent, but this girl appears to be more intelligent. That's all right.”

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Delhi

3 October, 1967

My Dear Nandarani, Krishna devi, Subala das, and Uddhava,

Please accept my blessings. I am very glad to know that you are now in Los Angeles & organizing the most important temple. I had great desire to have our center in L.A. & by grace of Krishna you have fulfilled my desire. I had another great desire to open a temple in London and hoped also that Kirtanananda after accepting sannyasa would do this job. 

For this purpose he was given an introductory letter to a London lady along with expenses. However out of his whim he did not go to London but went directly to New York. This is a terrible example and it has shocked me. 

Your service attitude encourages me because Krishna can never be an order supplier. We should always remember that Krishna is the only order giver. His order is received through the agency of the spiritual master. The bona fide spiritual master is the manifest representative of Krishna. 

The spiritual master is described in the scriptures as good as Krishna because he is the most confidential servitor of Krishna. To please the spiritual master is to please Krishna. On this principle we must advance our Krishna Consciousness and there is no danger.

Dayananda, Nandarani and Uddhava first went to L.A. to open this branch & in the absence of Dayananda, Subala and Krishna devi have come to help. Whenever there is new branch of our society for Krishna Consciousness I become very very happy, & my blessings in heart and soul are with you. I went to your country for spreading this information of Krishna Consciousness & you are helping me in my mission although I am not physically present there but spiritually I am always with you. Our procedure is very simple and consistent. We chant, we read from Bhagavad-gita & Srimad-Bhagavatam and we distribute prasadam.

Another thing I request is that everything in the Temple should be kept nice and clean. Everyone should wash hands before touching anything of Krishna’s. We should always remember that Krishna is the purest & similarly only the pure can associate with Him. Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

As to my returning to U.S., I wish to get a permanent visa this time so that I may work without being checked as to my moving. Please therefore consult Mukunda (S.F.), Brahmananda (N.Y.) Janardana (Montreal), Rayarama (Boston) & send me either immigration papers or permanent visa on the strength of becoming minister of the society. I am now 90% fit to go to your country. I am starting for Calcutta on the 9th and my address there is on the front of envelope.

Your ever well-wisher

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

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[PADA: Another pioneer trooper is taken away -- to find her devotional service to Krishna on another platform. Again, we have to note that cancer seems to be one of the prime reasons devotees are passing away these days. Something is amiss in our estimation, and in the estimation of our friend who has been 25 years serving as a hospital nurse. 

Anyway, she did a lot to serve Krishna -- and certainly Krishna will never forget that. Another trooper goes away! God speed spirit soul. May Krishna bless you in your soul's travels. ys pd]