Beloved ISKCON guru Jayapataka Swami has emerged from the operating room at a hospital in Chennai, South India after successful liver and kidney transplants. 

He has now been shifted to the ICU, while his medical team waits to see how his body accepts the new organs – a crucial phase.

“Thank you all for your sincere prayers and offerings to the Lord,” wrote Jayapataka Swami’s secretary Maha Varaha Das to disciples and other supporters. “We thank the Lord for His mercy on Guru Maharaja and all of us. We now all need to continue to pray that Guru Maharaja does not have to encounter any of the multiple post operative complications possible in such a major surgery.”

As Jayapataka Swami will be on immunity suppressing drugs, making him more prone to infection, doctors have cautioned that no visitors will be allowed for the next thirty days. Instead, Maharaja’s care team ask that devotees send videos and reports of activities in their congregations to be posted to Jayapatakaswami.com. 

“This will enable Guru Maharaja to remain connected with you in this recovery period and will help him get well faster,” Maha Varaha says. 

Jayapataka Swami has had ongoing health complications since he suffered two brain hemorrhages in October 2008, with constant prayer and support from wellwishing devotees.

On this occasion, before his surgery the GBC Executive Team consisting of Madhu Sevita Das, Bhaktivaibhava Swami, and Ramai Swami wrote: “Dear Jayapataka Maharaja, we are relieved to know that a suitable organ donor has been found and pray that this surgery will be completed successfully. There is no doubt that you are under the complete protection and care of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava, Prahlad-Nrsimhadeva, Panca-Tattva, and our dear Srila Prabhupada. Nevertheless, we, along with devotees around the world, are praying with all our hearts for the best possible outcome today and to have many more years of your association in the service of Srila Prabhupada.” 

Indeed, devotees all over the world met on the Zoom video conferencing app for a 24-hour kirtan and Nrismhadeva prayers throughout the entire night before the operation.

In the run-up to the operation, Jayapataka Swami’s care team also requested devotees to do a variety of auspicious activities for his wellbeing, including chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra in groups, performing yajnas, Tulasi parikramas and puja, reading Srimad-bhagavatam and Chaitanya-charitamrita, and fasting from food and water (Nirjala).

According to jayapatakaswami.com, worldwide offerings include 16,401 Narasimha Kavachas, 117,957 Tulsi parikrama participants, 207,070 extra rounds of maha-mantra chanted, 6,120 street Harinama participants, 46,168 ghee lamps offered, and 11,347 books distributed.

On August 15^thJayapataka Swami wrote in response, “To my dear devotees, thank you to all of those who have been praying the whole night. Thank you to those of you who have been very strict in their devotional service.”

According to his care team, Jayapataka Swami has been very touched by the support of the devotees, as well as the many messages he received from godbrothers and ISKCON leaders worldwide.

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Update from Bhaktipurushottam Swami on August 19, 2018: 

“As you all know, HH Jayapataka Swami was admitted in the hospital in Chennai onTuesday Aug 14, 2018 for Liver and Kidney transplant. Maharaja was admitted ina VIP room and extended all facilities to suit his requirements.  Meanwhile,tests to ensure compatibility of the organs and the health of organs etc., werestarted. 

On Aug 15 (Wednesday) Maharaja was taken to the Operation Theatre at 08:40 hrs.The Liver transplant started first, followed by the transplant of the kidney.The procedure took almost 11 hours for completion and then he was shifted to ICU at around 19:30 hrs. 

The Surgeons team declared that the transplants were successful and the organswere responding well. He was sedated and he is now on recovery mode.  

On Aug 16 (Thursday) Maharaja started coming out of sedation and he started moving his hands to communicate to the doctors. Reports from the hospital indicated that his other parameters were under control.

On Aug 17 (Friday) towards midday seeing his progress, the doctors decided to extubate him on a trial basis to see if he can breathe on his own.  Heinitially responded well but later towards the early hours of Aug 18 hedeveloped some difficulties. Tracheostomy, which is a standard procedure insuch complicated operation, was performed to ease his breathing and clear any obstructions in the airway.  

As of now, Maharaja is communicating well with the doctors with helps of an alphabet chart. He also started immediately chanting his rounds using a clicker whenever he is awake. Even in semi-conscious stage he is responding to Srila
Prabhupada’s chanting which is running in the background 24/7.

The doctors have cautioned us that the next few months will be a criticalperiod as Maharaja is on immunity suppressants to ensure the acceptance of thenew organs. This means that his natural immune system is compromised and he is easily susceptible to infections. Their advise is to strictly maintain hygienestandards and keep the visitors to bare minimum post discharge. The greatest challenge now is to keep him infection free. 

We are sending out regular updates almost thrice everyday to keep the disciples and well wishers informed of his progress. 

We are very thankful on behalf of HH Jayapataka Swami for your well wishes andprayers for his speedy recovery. 

We will keep you updated on his recovery process.”