Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

Follow That Doctor's Instructions

Toronto, Ontario

While one of our young monks, Yogendra, was giving me a night time foot massage, I was reading some memories from our guru's students. The following is what Brahmananda, one of Srila Prabhupada's students recalls in regards to his walking:

"Prabhupada had a serious stroke on Memorial Day weekend when everyone had left New York City. Prabhupada couldn't function. We didn't want to bring him to a hosptial, so I called my family doctor, but he was out of town. I started making random calls, but everyone was out of town for the weekend. Ultimately, an old Jewish doctor came to see Prabhupada. The devotees were walking around barefooted, wearing jeans and T-shirts, chanting. We had no furniture, just a carpet. The doctor couldn't figure out what was going on. Meanwhile, Prabhupada was very sick.

"It took the doctor a long time to understand what was going on, what to speak of examining Prabhupada with the stethoscope and this and that. Afterwards we asked, 'What's wrong?' He said, 'I think the old man prays too much.' We said, 'Oh. Yeah. Okay.' The doctor said, 'He's got to get out. He's got to get some exercise.' Prabhupada could hear him from the other room. 'In the mornings he should go to the park for a walk.' then the doctor left.

"Eventually Prabhupada went to the hospital. When he came out we took him to a rented house by the seashore in New Jersey where he recovered. One day he announced, 'Now I will take a morning walk. That doctor said something valuable.' We thought the guy was nuts. 'No, no. He has given a good instruction. I will take that up.' Prabhupada proceeded to take a morning walk and Prabhupada always took that morning walk, no matter what his condition, what his health.

"When Prabhupada was in a hotel in Switzerland, it was snowing. Prabhupada couldn't go outside for his morning walk so he took it in the hotel corridors, walking and chanting just as if he were outside. When Prabhupada and all of us were injured in an automobile accident in Mauritius, we had aches and pains, but the next morning he went on his morning walk. Prabhupada followed that doctor's instruction."

7 Km