Yesterday October 24, 2024, my last encounter of the day was the best encounter because of Joan’s age and wit. When I asked her age, she pronounced 98. She was sitting on a bench next to the supermarket Coles, while her daughter was doing the shopping. We had a bit of a chat and funnily enough, she kept on repeating mantra-like: “It’s better to wait a little”. She has probably been saying this to death for a while too and that’s why she is still with us.

She definitely deserves her own post. Perhaps she might be the oldest person I have met on Prabhupada Book Distribution Samkirtan ever. She pronounced the word Krishna at least two times. That is called kirtanam and is one of the nine limbs of devotional service, as in Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.23-24:

sri-prahrada uvaca

sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam

iti pumsarpita visnau
bhaktis cen nava-laksana
kriyeta bhagavaty addha
tan manye ‘dhitam uttamam

TRANSLATION

Prahlada Maharaja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Visnu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Krsna through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.

One has to be careful as not to put unnecessary pressure on people that age. So I was treading very carefully. But she was smiling a lot. Her body had obviously undergone some shrinkage. Just remember Srila Prabhupada’s body at the last stage. If my memory is correct, the Kaviraja said there was only skin. nerves and bones left. Not a comfortable situation!

She had no laksmi with her, so she could not be engaged in Krishna’s service in that way. I gave her a complimentary copy of Krishna, the Reservoir of Pleasure and my very best wishes towards her preferred outcome and I am repeating it here again. All glories to Joan’s established connection to Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also called Vishnu Sambandha.