27/02/2026
HH Badrinarayan Swami Disappearance
25th of February was a normal day. Maharaj was in a nice mood; we went to Mangal arti and came back
to the apartment at the MVT for chanting. Maharaj told me that he will not go to Srimad Bhagavatam
class today. Later, as usual, he gave me some errands to run. He had his breakfast Prasad while I went to
the restaurant to have mine. Maharaj also told me to contact our usual auto/toto driver, Gopal, since he
wanted to go to Loi Bazaar to settle some bills and to get some first class rose and sandal incenses.
So, after 2 30 pm, we set out for Loi bazaar. We went to Ganga Prasad shop first and then to Radha
Rasabiharilal to settle those bills. Then we went to Ranganath temple because Maharaj wanted some
south Indian style lamps. We looked for those in the shops in front of the temple, but with no success.
Then Maharaj said we will have darshan of Ranganath in the temple. Gopal told Maharaj that if we go
from the front gate, we will have to walk a lot while from the back gate, there is less to walk.
However, Maharaj insisted on going from the front gate, he said that darshan of the Supreme Lord is not
cheap; one has to take some trouble to go to see the Lord. With that mood, we started to walk through
the gates of the temple and Maharaj felt a bit exhausted by doing so. He told me that he will not be able
to walk that distance back, so I should tell the driver to come pick us up from the back gate. We had
darshan and Maharaj gave a donation of rs 1000. On our way back, Maharaj was feeling uncomfortable.
He wanted to go back to the MVT but we still had to get the incense. We went back to Loi bazaar, got
samples of the incenses and then we came back to the MVT.
Once at the apartment, Maharaj said he will rest. I asked him about Prasad, he told me he will not eat
anything now. Maharaj was also planning to go for a “motorized”Govardhan parikrama (as he calls it)
the next day at 6 30 am. I asked Maharaj about breakfast Prasad for the next day, he said to get
anything I like, he will think about it the next day itself. I had dinner Prasad, packed something for the
next day and came back to the apartment. I checked on Maharaj, he was sleeping and I went to my
room. At night, Maharaj called me and asked for some juice from the fridge. I gave him, he drank and
went to bed again.
The next day, on the 26th of February, I woke up for mangal arti, got ready and saw that Maharaj was
still resting. I preferred not to disturb him and starting chanting in my room. At around 5a.m, I went to
check on Maharaj again and saw that he was still resting and did not seem well. So, I called the MVT
manager and told him that Maharaj will not be able to go on parikrama, hence we will not need the car.
Later Maharaj walked to the kitchen to have juice, I helped him to get the juice and back to his bed.
During the day, Maharaj would be resting and he would be calling my name every 30 minutes or every
hour. And when I would go to see him and tell him that I am here, he would say nothing. Sometimes, he
would struggle to sit and I would help him. Many times, I could hear him taking the Names of Krishna.
During my service to Maharaj for many years, we had had such episodes, even more severe. But
Maharaj always managed to recover.
In the evening, I went to get Prasad from the restaurant at around 7pm. I got the Prasad packed and
came back to the apartment at around 7 30pm. I checked on Maharaj and he appeared to be resting
peacefully. I had my Prasad and then went to see some devotees who came from Bareilly. I came back
to the apartment at 8 30pm and took some rest on the couch outside of Maharaj’s room. Normally,
when Maharaj was sick like that, I used to sleep just outside his room when we would be in Vrindavan.
After a short while, I was intrigued that Maharaj had not been calling me for quite a long time. This was
around 9pm. I went in Maharaj’s room and called him. I shook him gently and saw that he was not
responding. I felt something was really wrong and I was overcome by fear and confusion. I called
Sankarshan prabhu, a devotee from San Diego, who came to give Maharaj some Lakshmi for Radha
Giridhari’s silver paraphernalia that Maharaj wanted to be made. He came and checked his pulse, but
there was no sign of any heartbeat. I went to the reception to ask if any doctor could come. The
receptionist gave me a number but no one picked the call. Then I called Pancagauda Prabhu and told
him about the situation. He said that he will be sending some devotees. I also informed HH Bhakti
Anugraha Janardana Maharaj. After a short while, a doctor came and confirmed that Maharaj had left
his body.
Maharaj was so immersed in the service of Sri Sri Radha Giridhari and of Srila Prabhupada. He was
always thinking about giving the best to Their Lordships and he never missed an opportunity for sharing
Prabhupada’s pastimes. He came to India after 2 years to finally go back to the eternal pastimes of Sri Sri
Radha Giridhari.
HH Badrinarayan Swami Maharaj ki jay!
Srila Prabhupada ki jay!
