Vraja-līlā
<< 10 A Turn for the Worse >>

That evening things took a turn for the worse. She was struggling to breathe. The doctor suggested we give her oxygen. But it was difficult to find oxygen bottles. Most stores were closed because of the Durgā Pūjā celebrations. Somehow or other, by Kṛṣṇa’s grace, a devotee brought a bottle of oxygen one hour later, and she had her first peaceful sleep in days.

The bottle was finished the next day at 5:00 p.m.. Fortunately, someone else acquired two full bottles from Agra, and so we switched to one of the new ones. But the second full bottle was taken away by a devotee who mistook it for the first used bottle. Thus, when the bottle she was using ran out at 11 p.m., we discovered to our horror that the “spare” was also empty. We knew that if she survived that night it would be only because of her intense desire to see her spiritual master. I spent the whole night fanning her and speaking into her ear, “Vraja, there’s only 32 hours left until Śrīlā Gurudeva comes ...30 hours left ...25 hours left.”

The next day (October 12th) at 11 a.m., a full bottle of oxygen arrived. She was able to sleep throughout that day and night, although she often woke up screaming in pain. I hung a notice on her door saying that she was not to be disturbed so she could take rest before her final meeting with her Guru Mahārāja.

We were expecting Śrīlā Gurudeva to arrive about 5:00 a.m. on October 13th, so early that morning I sat by her bed and spoke into her ear—five hours left ...three hours left ...two hours left. When my Guru Mahārāja finally walked into the room at 7:00 a.m. I felt the weight of the whole world had been lifted from my shoulders.

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