Mother Arca Vigraha’s Memorial with Mumbai Devotees

Giriraj Swami: Mother Arca Vigraha really was an extraordinary devotee. She was quite old for a western person to become a devotee, but she took to it very quickly. And she was an artist by profession. Once a devotee asked Srila Prabhupada—he himself was a painter. He would paint pictures—and he asked Srila Prabhupada which of the nine processes is painting. And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Arcana, decorating the form of the Lord.” So from that we got the idea of naming her Arca Vigraha dasi and she really did serve many Deities by painting Them, beginning in Johannesburg where she first met the devotees and began to associate with them. And even in Vrindavan where women were strictly prohibited from. . . I don’t know if I should tell all this, but women were strictly prohibited from going onto the altar, but she was so good that after the Deities went to sleep at night, one of the pujaris would sneak her into the deity room and she would paint the Deities in the middle of the night, and then before the other pujaris would come to wake up the Deities, they would sneak her out of the deity room. And then she would do. . . she hardly slept at all because then she would do a whole day’s service. 

So, she was really extraordinary. And her passing away or the period leading up to her passing away was also very instructive. Because she was so Krishna conscious and so personal that so many devotees would come to associate with her and offer service. Like if someone knew massage they would come and offer that sevā and so it became quite an exemplary way of spending one’s last months and weeks and days. 

And so many senior devotees would also come. His Holiness BB Govinda Swami lived right next door—he still lives next door to the house—and so he would come every day and bring his Deities and place Them on her altar. And he really helped her a lot. He became śikṣā-guru for her. Because we always speak about remembering Krishna at the time of death, so she asked the question, “What does that mean? How do we do that?” And he explained that remembering Krishna at the time of death really means remembering Him and His pastimes in Vrindavan. He explained to her how one can actually remember Krishna at the time of death by being absorbed in Krishna’s līlās in Vraja. Many senior devotees were in Vrindavan then and they would also come and spend time with her. Bhurijana Prabhu would come every evening and spend an hour with her and most of you know that the way she built her house, she was on the ground floor and she built an additional story on top to serve as my residence when I was there. So I was there upstairs. And Tamal Krishna Goswami was around the corner. Sivarama Swami would stay in that same house with Govinda Maharaja. So all these senior devotees would come and spend time with her. Sometimes we would have dramatic readings of plays. Srila Rupa Gosvami wrote two—Vidagdha-mādhava and Lalita-mādhava —and so we would take different parts in the play and read to her. 

Her pain in a way became an asset although it was excruciating. I think she described it like something like ten thousand scorpions. But in a way it became an asset because the only thing that would give her relief in that pain was being absorbed in Krishna consciousness. And so that became an impetus. Sometimes we give the example, we’ve heard the example and repeated it of like when someone drives. . . I think in America it used to be a goat but I don’t know if that’s correct, but maybe a donkey, but you have like in front there is a stick and hanging from the stick is a carrot. So that donkey or goat or whatever sees the carrot and so he wants to eat the carrot. So that makes him go fast and then behind him is the driver with a stick who’s hitting him from behind and that also makes him go fast. So Mother Arca Vigraha’s situation was such that it is like the pain was like that stick propelling her to go forward and the carrot was Krishna and Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan and Krishna’s name, qualities, and beauty.

So her passing was exemplary. There were devotees chanting in the room but we won’t dwell on that. But she loved Vrindavan and she had a desire that others should also have the opportunity to leave their bodies in Vrindavan. That wish, almost like a dying wish, was the beginning of the idea of Bhaktivedanta Hospice which eventually did take shape in Vrindavan and which is rendering very valuable service to devotees and facilitating their departures from this world in Vrindavan.

When Mother Arca Vigraha was in her last days, the medical facilities in Vrindavan were very meager. In fact she had trouble even getting an IV and Mother Kirtida, a disciple of Tamal Krishna Goswami’s who was a nurse, was in Vrindavan for some of that time at least, and so she had to come and give Mother Arca Vigraha the IV. So the idea was that the hospice should not only give devotees the chance to spend their last days in Vrindavan and leave in Vrindavan, but should also have good medical facilities to offer basically palliative care at that stage. And so that was a very momentous desire of hers which has led to Bhaktivedanta Hospice there.

And her house has accommodated so many wonderful devotees and His Holiness Gunagrahi Gosvami Maharaja has been there for months and every evening he has amazing kirtans. I keep getting reports from devotees who have been in Vrindavan and joined his kirtans how wonderful they are. So all of this is due to her mercy that she built that house. She was one of the first to think of it. In those days nobody else had done that. Another artist Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada’s disciple, had told her that I would be very pleased to know that she is building a house in Vrindavan. And I thought, “Building a house in Vrindavan? Can you build a house in Vrindavan?” but she did have that vision and it was her art studio also. She produced a lot of work there. 

Even our temple at Vrinda-kuṇḍa—I say our temple; it is an ancient temple, but it came into our hands—and she was actually painting the deity of Vrinda-devi at Vrinda-kuṇḍa, but the cancer progressed in such a way that she couldn’t actually make it out there to finish it and she did regret that she couldn’t finish it. So after she left we went on a parikramā on her behalf and we went to Vrinda-kuṇḍa and I mentioned to the pujari there, the local Indian pujari who had been entrusted with the sevā before the temple was given to us and the Deity was given to us, so I mentioned to him that she regretted that she couldn’t complete her work there, and so the pujari replied, “Now she will finish her sevā there,” meaning in the spiritual world in Goloka Vrindavan. And I did take that as a blessing or confirmation. So that was nice.

So, yes, she was really wonderful. Tamal Krishna Goswami commented that along with her great spiritual qualifications she was also very materially qualified. And her development as a human being enhanced her service as a Vaishnavi. So, it is really wonderful that you all or we all have gathered on this auspicious occasion to remember her and glorify her and serve her and I feel that she is very pleased with all of you who have gathered for this occasion. I am seeing Hari Priya now. She came and served Mother Arca Vigraha. I remember seeing her fanning Mother Arca Vigraha in Vrindavan.

Srimati Arca Vigraha devi dasi ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

One other thing I should mention because just the other day I had a Skype call with Mauritius and I was remembering Mother Arca Vigraha’s visit to Mauritius because it was just a day or two before her disappearance day. So I mentioned it and the devotees were saying how much they learned from her and also how they learned to take care of me physically because at once stage I almost left my body in Johannesburg. It was very close, but she had the presence of mind to realize that I had to be taken to the hospital right away. So, she took me, she and the other devotees—I think Ranchor was there—took me to the hospital, and they said if I had reached even minutes later it might have been too late.

So then after that she really nursed me back to health in every detail. She was so particular to every detail and yes, she and other devotees, I believe Kunti devi and Madri dasi were staying in her house then because it was in Yoeville near our center. And then different male devotees helped. Now he is a sannyasi, Bhakti Nṛsiṁha Swami, but yes, he was one. But she really took charge of my recovery and really with her assistance, nursed me back to health. So she really has done a tremendous amount of service and I think because of her service, selfless service, she really received innumerable, immense blessings.

And so now we are fortunate to be purified by remembering her and glorifying her.

Hare Krishna.