The amazing potency of Srila Prabhupada's distinguished books are beyond anyone's imagination. We are very sure that it is an established opinion in the minds of all the readers of his books.
Here is one incident which took place in Singapore that shows its magnificent glories. It happened sometime in the early nineties.
There happened to be a young man who, in the quest for riches started to get involved in drugs which he thought would bring instant wealth. In the process of dealing with drugs, he was soon arrested by the strong arms of the law. Singapore has very stringent laws governing drugs. Anyone caught in possession of anything more than 14 grams of heroin is punishable by the gallows. Sure enough, he was found guilty and was sentenced to death. It was too late for anything else to be done for his folly and it has cost him his life.
As is stated in the Bhagavad
Gita, the three gates to hell are lust, anger and greed. So anyone caught in these webs of the material modes of nature progresses
steadily to hell. Unfortunately, many are unaware of this transcendental knowledge.
Fortunately, he had a devotee friend who had heard of his plight and was concerned. In one of the meetings with him in the prison, he gave him one of Srila
Prabhupada's books, The Science Of Self Realization.
We can only imagine how painful it would be for person in this situation. One would be tormented by excessive fear and anxiety. Lord Krsna
also confirms in the Bhagavad
gita
that birth, death, old age and diseases are very painful and are the real miseries of the material world.
How timely that this young man had received the book of Srila Prabhupada! Soon he was very engrossed in it as it was the right medicine that he really needed. A few days later, his time was up. It is a general custom that the criminals are taken to the gallows in the early hours of the day and are hanged at dawn.The guards involved remark that a person in this situation usually breaks down and is unable to walk. They wail and they have to be dragged to the gallows. It would be a very painful scene to witness.
In this case, however, much to the amazement of the guards, the said young man was remarkably undisturbed. He was on the contrary, very cheerful and he bravely walked to the gallows and even told the guards that he was not afraid of death as he had firmly taken shelter of Lord Krsna through his Holy Name.
apannah
samsrtim
ghoram
yan-nama
vivaso
grnan
tatah
sadyo
vimucyeta
yad
bibheti
svayam
bhayam
Living beings who are entangled in the complicated meshes of birth and death can be freed immediately by even unconsciously chanting the holy name of Krsna, which is feared by fear personified. [SB 1.1.14]
This is the amazing result by coming in contact with a pure devotee of the Lord. The Srimad Bhagavatam also says:
etavan
sankhya-yogabhyam
sva-dharma-parinisthaya
janma-labhah
parah
pumsam
ante
narayana-smrti
The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life. [SB 2.1.6]
With this we can safely conclude that this young man must have made it successfully either to the spiritual world or taken a better birth in the higher planetary systems.
anta-kale ca mam
eva
smaran
muktva
kalevaram
yah
prayati
sa mad-bhavam
yati nasty atra
samsayah
And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt. [BG 8.5]
Another wonder: In the Singapore jail's death penalty department, they do allow a priest to conduct the last prayers with the departing soul. If he is a Christian,a pastor does it and similarly for the Buddhist and the Muslim but the Hindus do not have a priest and one particular Hindu guard does it for the Hindu inmates.
We had the opportunity to meet him and question him as to what he does for the dying Hindu inmates.
He said that he did not know the procedures as he was not well-versed in the scriptures and only does what is best to his knowledge.
He said that he would give in the hands of the dying person a bunch of Tulasi leaves and say some mantras.
When we heard this we were astounded as that is what will save the dying soul from going to the hellish planets and promotes the soul to the spiritual world as anyone coming in contact with Tulasi at the moment of death is saved from the hands of Yamaraja and promoted to Vaikuntha. In the Skanda Purana there is another statement about Tulasi, as follows: "Tulasi is auspicious in all respects. Simply by seeing, simply by touching, simply by remembering, simply by praying to, simply by bowing before, simply by hearing about or simply by sowing this tree, there is always auspiciousness. Anyone who comes in touch with the tulasi tree in the above-mentioned ways lives eternally in the Vaikuntha world."
We were very happy to hear of this and we were very sure that this young man must have undoubtedly made it back to the spiritual world!
Srila
Prabhupada's book distribution ki jaya!!
By Sundar Gopal Das
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