(My mother—affectionately known as Momji—and me, Estevan, Saskatchewan, 1958)
When I was a young man preaching in the Arabian Gulf countries— Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Oman—to the East Indian community, I was often asked how my mother was doing. Our life-members and friends were curious to know what kind of a woman would raise a son who became a member of the Hare Krishna movement at an age when most young men would be avidly persuing a career or attending university. It seemed rather unusual to them that a Canadian mother would have a son who eschewed the Western way of living to adopt the path of Krishna consciousness. I'll always remember their oft-repeated comment that "Mother is first guru." I have to be honest. I didn't take that comment too seriously then, but now I know different. I was blessed with a mother who was like a guru to me by virtue of her impeccable personal example. My mother was always kind, humble, polite, expert, hardworking and sincere in everything she did. And most importantly, my mother had firm faith in Krishna. She helped set the scene for me to meet my eternal spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada. For that—and for many other reasons—I'll always be grateful and indebted to my dear mother for pointing me in the right direction in life.
When I joined the Hare Krishna movement fresh out of high school, my mother was very happy for me. She accepted Srila Prabhupada as a bona fide spiritual master and pure devotee of Krishna. So my mother knew that I was in safe hands. From the day I first joined Prabhupada's mission, my mother never worried about me—even when I was running off to dangerous foreign lands to try and spread Krishna consciousness. When I was imprisoned in Beirut during civil war, my mother never wavered in her conviction that Krishna would save me. "Krishna can do anything" was one of her favorite sayings.
My mother passed away on August 6, 2015. Last year I wrote a eulogy for her which you can read by clicking on the link below. Some of her Krishna conscious artwork is reproduced there as well.
All glories to mothers everywhere—the unsung heroes of the world!
Pd
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