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February 5, 1975 : Honolulu

Srutakirti: We were in a car accident. I was sitting in the front passenger seat when a car went through a red light and slammed into our driver's door. It turned into a four-car collision. My door flew open and out went both Hamsavatar and me. I landed on my tail bone and was taken to the emergency room of a nearby hospital. My back was the source of great pain for months to follow. Because I had been in the hospital that night, I did not give Srila Prabhupada his evening massage.

The next day Paramahamsa Maharaja located me and said, "Srila Prabhupada wanted to know where you were last night." I told him my tale of woe. He went back to Srila Prabhupada and explained my situation. My compassionate spiritual master said, "Oh! Call him here." In a great deal of pain, I made my way to Srila Prabhupada's room and slowly offered my obeisances. "What has happened?" he asked in a gentle voice. "I heard you were in a car accident." I told him the details of the accident as he attentively listened. "Accha!" he said. "If it wasn't for Krishna's mercy, you would be dead." "Yes, it was very frightening," I said, with a forced smile.

Over the next few days I had the good fortune of being in Srila Prabhupada's room on different occasions. Each time I was there with other devotees Srila Prabhupada brought the conversation around to me. Very dramatically he said, "Srutakirti, he was in a very serious accident. If not for the mercy of Krishna he would have died." After hearing this for the third time it finally sank into my thick skull. If not for the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna I would have died. Finally, I understood and realized that Srila Prabhupada was speaking the absolute truth. It was the most wonderful experience to have my compassionate Guru reaffirming how Krishna saved me.


Reference: What Is The Difficulty? - Srutakirti Dasa