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The Passing Away of Krishna’s Children
by Bhranti devi dasi

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I was very moved by the article about Madhava Toshani. I understand all too well the grief and loss, but also the wonder of the glorious passing of a child born and raised in Krsna Consciousness.

It was this time last year that my family and I traveled to Vrndavana to place the ashes of one of my sons in the Yamuna river. We had a car accident while traveling out west last summer and my son, Keshava, sustained a head injury and departed the next day. He was 12 years old. He was strong and healthy and a brilliant student. He went to gurukula and used to receive an A in japa class.

Something like this really tests your faith and forces you to really examine your own thoughts and feelings regarding the transition called death. Who can understand the plan of the Lord? How can we understand who these children are, that they only had such a short time here? I have always heard over the years that when a devotee child passed from this world, Srila Prabhupada would usually comment to the effect that the soul was "finishing up."

I found these lines by Keshava in a school journal. They were written about 18 months before he departed. "A thing that I think is unfair is this material world. It is very hard to live in this world and try to think about Krsna. It is so dangerous in this world—with murderers and robbers. I really don't like this world."

If the parents of Madhava Toshani, or anyone out there who has experienced this type of loss would like to correspond by e-mail, please let me know. My e-mail address is Bhrantiacbsp@cs.com.

© CHAKRA 14 November 2001