Vishnupriya Dasi, wife of ISKCON guru Sankarsana Dasa, has been hospitalized after a subarachnoidal brain hemorrhage.

It was October 3rd. A quiet, peaceful morning at the ISKCON temple in Copenhagen, Denmark, gave way to panic when Vishnupriya, who was leading the morning prayers, felt weak and sank to the floor. Despite experiencing extreme dizziness, she insisted on completing the prayers before laying down on the floor. Her husband rushed to call an ambulance while other devotees brought cushions to make her more comfortable.

She was whisked to a nearby hospital, where a scan revealed bleeding in her brain. Something had to be done immediately. But to Sankarsana’s alarm, there was no space in Copenhagen’s neurosurgery center.

With sirens blazing, Vishnupriya was rushed 140 kms to Odense University Hospital, where she was put on medication to stop the bleeding.

Doctors found that she had a ruptured blood vessel in her brain, which in 10% of cases results in instant death.

If they could find the exact location of the ruptured vessel, surgeons could access the brain through an opening in Vishnupriya’s mid-section and repair it with platinum thread. But they couldn’t find it.

On October 7, Vishnupriya was transferred to the Rigshospitalet, or “The Kingdom’s Hospital,” in Copenhagen. She is now slowly recovering from the effects of the hemorrhage, although her brain remains full of blood, giving her nausea and headaches.

Over several weeks these symptoms will subside as her body gradually absorbs the blood. On October 19, doctors will again examine her brain to see if the point of rupture can be located. If found, the rupture will then be repaired through brain surgery.

Vishnupriya’s husband Sankarsana begs Krishna’s mercy and requests the prayers of devotees around the world, explaining that such delicate surgical procedures are not without risk.

But he adds that Vishnupriya, who travelled around the world with him for many years teaching Krishna consciousness, is in relatively good shape considering the circumstances. “Throughout the initial ordeal, travelling all that distance to the hospital, she never lost consciousness or her presence of mind,” he says. “She reacted in a very detached, fearless, Krishna conscious way typical of her strong nature.”