Please pray for Dhruvanath Das

[Guest guest]

 

by Jaya Madhava das,

Moscow, Russia

 

Posted August 15, 2003

 

With great sadness, I inform Srila Prabhupada's disciples and other devotees of the serious disease which is slowly killing my godbrother Dhruvanath das prabhu.

 

Dhruvanath (Douglas Monckton), a devotee from England, is in Penang, Malaysia, suffering from an incurable neuro-brain disorder which has him paralysed in a wheelchair; he can no longer speak or type. At the urgent appeal of English devotees, he is being asked to come to England (or India) to go back to Godhead. However, he may simply decide to stay in Penang.

 

Dhruvanath prabhu started his Krishna conscious journey in 1971 in England, where he met ISKCON devotees. The following year, he was fortunate enough to meet and speak with Srila Prabhupada, an encounter which was to change his life forever.

 

He joined ISKCON shortly thereafter, eventually accepting initiation from Srila Prabhupada in March 1977 in Hyderabad. He served with Jayapataka Swami for ten years, firstly in Kathmandu for six years, then in Bangkok for two years and then in Penang, where he ran a preaching centre for two years in the mid-eighties. He also preached widely in England, India, Bangladesh and Europe.

 

He is known for his humility, wisdom, pridelessness, compassion, kindness and concern for other devotees¹ welfare. He has a very good sense of humor, and a sincerely friendly service attitude to his godbrothers, godsisters and devotees in general.

 

He has written many books, including two about ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada: Master at whose feet all masters sit and Something happened on the way to heaven. He also reminisces about Prabhupada on Volume 9 of the Memories of Srila Prabhupada video series.

 

Devotees may send a brief note to him at durvdou@hotmail.com. Although he is no longer able to speak or write, his wife will reply on his behalf. You can also contact Krsnacandra das at Bhaktivedanta Manor, or email him Krsnacandraacbsp@hotmail.com for further updates on Dhruvanath's condition and current location. I thank all the devotees for praying for him in this critical time.