Rasavathi devi's impact as much as Mother Theresa

Mother Theresa needs no introduction. She embodied the biblical injunction below and was a great preacher of the catholic faith she was associated with

“‘Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me’; for I was hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, unwanted, untouchable – and you did it to me” (cf. Matthew 25:34-40).?[1]

Rasavathi devi does that and a bit more. She cooks for 300 - 500 people every day and loads the food truck with her group of Volunteers. These food trucks then travel to various parts of greater Seattle to distribute Krishna Prasadam to destitute, battered women, college students, the homeless and otherwise disadvantaged sections of the society.

The day starts at five A.M. with managala arati to the Lord. Then Rasavathi devi along with her group of volunteers, cuts the Vegetables, washes rice, make the Chapathi dough and prepares a full meal. There are atleast 30 large dishes to be washed. Sometimes she washes them herself and sometime she has a volunteer do it. Under the guidance of her spiritual father H.H Harivilas Maharaja she works continuously and has not take a vacation in the 21 years I have known her. She lives in the room given by the temple management and works continuously day after day for the welfare of struggling souls in the greater Seattle area teaching them Krishna Bhakti.

Rasavathi devi was the last child in a family of four boys and one girl. Their parents were wealthy by Fijian standards. She was born on the main Fijian Island in 1970. They had a good childhood where she grew vegetables in the backyard and had a pious life. She met her future Diksha guru HH Tamala Krishna Maharaja, a fearless preacher in Asia. She took initiation from her guru and obtained the name Rasavathi Devi dasi. Later she married a Hare Krishna devotee Lakshmipathi dasa. They moved to USA in 2000 and joined the Seattle temple. When I first came to the temple they greeted me every time came into temple and gave me a plate of hot prasadam. The temple was a old Ramshackle single floor "ranch" building and the floor creaked when devotees danced for arati. Rasavathi devi cooked tirelessly and catered prasadam for various events such as Telugu association, Bengali association, Indian Independence day celebration, Interfaith conferences, etc. She was instrumental in raising over a $1 Million in funds for the new temple construction.

She and her husband wanted to dedicate their lives to Krishna so they took 'Vanaprastha' or voluntary separation from married life in 2008. Since then Rasavathi devi became a one-woman army in managing the temple kitchen and deity services for Sri Sri Radha Neelamadhava, the presiding deities of the temple in outskirts of Seattle, in a town called Sammamish. She cooked for 7 days a week, made garlands for deities, conducted arati for the lordships (In ISKCON USA women are allowed to go up on the altar to perform arati).

She led various festivals such as Anandamela, Balamela, Interfaith conferences, Rath Yatra, Flavors of India, Colors of India (Holi), etc.

Rasavathi devi continues to serve the city of Seattle and always remains in the background. That prompted me to write about her and give her the adequate recognition.

Setting up a Govardhan, a form of Bhagavan Krishna in Mathura district replicated in Seattle

References:

1. https://motherteresasleadinglegacy.weebly.com/impact-on-others.html
2. https://www.vedicculturalcenter.org/
3. https://www.nwshare.org/