Personal Diary: Message from Sri Bhakti Swarupa Damodara Swami

Sri Bhakti Swarupa Damodara Swami, an ardent devotee of Lord Sri Krishna is the founder of Bhaktivedanta Institute which promotes the study of the relationship between science and Vedanta. His name before sannyas was Dr. Thoudam Damodara Singh. His Holiness holds a Ph.D. in Physical organic chemistry from the University of California, Irvine. All his lectures are full of scientific jargons like DNA, RNA, Bio molecules, molecular bonds and chemical equations. So, a student of science would definitely appreciate his thought provoking lectures.

Fig: Sri Damodara Swami (Dr T D Singh) with Nobel Laureate William Daniel Phillips in 2005 

Credit: This photo has been reproduced from www.tdsingh.org with permission

The author was fortunate to interact with Sri Damodara Swami on Aug-05-2006 while pursuing engineering in Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, then University College of Engineering, Burla, Odisha.  Sri Damodara Swami was invited as a dignified guest to interact with students on science and spirituality. That was author's first and last meeting with His Holiness. Upon request, His Holiness was kind to write a few lines for the author as follows.

"Life is a journey. You may have to encounter many ups and downs in the journey. But you have to face these challenges with strength and wisdom. These principles you will get from cultivating spiritual knowledge and wisdom. Be brave and face the challenges praying for the blessings of your teachers and of Lord Krishna."

Fig: Message from Sri Damodara Swami

Fig: Dr T D Singh on the day of receiving his Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine

Credit: This photo has been reproduced from www.tdsingh.org with permission

Around three months after his meeting with this great devotee, the author learnt that Sri Damodara Sami left his mortal body at the age of 68 on Oct-02-2006 in Kolkata.