Bio of Sridevi dasi/ Dr. Lakshmi Dajak.
How did you meet your spouse and how long have you been married?
I met my very dear husband, His Grace, Nanda Suta das at the farm in
New Talavana. A senior devotee in our community thought we’d make a
good match and we met officially at his place. As this is a second
marriage for both of us, we were enormously particular about making
sure our astrological charts matched- both of us were very serious
about marriage and commitment. By the mercy of Guru and Krsna
everything was favorable and my Guru Maharaj, even without meeting or
seeing my husband wrote to me that this seems to be “the best match for
me,” and that is how it has turned out! We have been married for almost
4 years and pray that together we will continually grow in service to
Guru and Krsna.

What type of services have you done?
My services have been myriad-from making ghee wicks to daily sweets
for Their Lordships, Sri Sri Radha Kanta and cooking once a week,
greeting and helping guests on Sundays and holidays, but my main
service has been putting up cultural entertainment on festival days. My
dear husband and I work together on these last two services mentioned.
The kids of the gurukula are very dear to me and I work with them. I
happen to be a prayer partner at www.vaisnavascare.com,
as I am deeply interested in hospice care. I am also offering my
services as a marriage and family therapist to devotees and others. My
dear husband, Nanda Suta das does a lot of work for the temple-from
employing devotees on the farm where he is the caretaker to harvesting
grass for Krsna’s cows, keeping bees, working the land, growing
flowers, fruits, vegetables, helping with the cows and bulls of the
farm, working on the temple board, and assisting at festivals, besides
a full-time job. His Grace has been with ISKCON since 1989 and has many
years of service behind him, while I have come to live with the
community of New Talavana since 2005, by Krsna’s mercy and I am trying
to serve devotees.

Above are the photos of the Most Beautiful Deities in the world,
according to me- SRI SRI RADHA RADHA KANTA, at New Talavana,
Mississippi, USA.

When did you join ISKCON?
I joined ISKCON the moment I saw the devotees, only I did not know
it then! That was October 9th, 2001. I interacted with them on a weekly
basis since that day without missing a single meeting at Penn State
Vedic Society. I was very fortunate to meet my very dear Spiritual
Father, His Holiness Candramauli Swami on campus in November of that
year and in my heart I got initiated there and then, so that’s how I
joined ISKCON. However my “officially” joining ISKCON took place on
June 11th, 2006 when I was given ‘diksha’ initiation at ISKCON,
Chicago. My dear husband, Nanda Suta das, joined ISKCON in 1989 and was
initiated by His Holiness Niranjana Swami in 1992. Here’s our photo-
happy at long, long last at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada!

Describe your professional background. How has it helped you in
your Krishna consciousness or your services to Srila Prabhupada?
I am a doctor and therapist by profession. I think my service as a
doctor made me very sensitive to the suffering and distress of the
people I cared for. As my practice grew in India, I found myself
wanting to use a holistic approach instead of merely treating the
physical body. Allopathic medicine as it is practiced became limiting
and frustrating for me and I wanted to learn more about the
mind-body-spirit connection. Mental and emotional health became my
concerns and I came to the USA and enrolled for a Ph.D. in Marriage and
Family Therapy after a six-month search for the right major! I cannot
but believe that Krsna has led me to this profession because now I am
very, very happy being a therapist. My Guru Maharaj greatly encouraged
me in my educational and professional goals because His Holiness said
that, “Krsna knows where you will be able to serve Him best.” And now I
am working toward licensure and hope to use my knowledge and skills to
help devotees with my Guru Maharaj’s blessings.

What brought about your involvement in the Grhastha Vision Team?
Believe me, I never even knew about GVT until Mother Krsnanandini
called me up one fine day and said, “Would you join us in our
teleconference?” and gave me a phone card to call in! That was the
start, in late 2002 or maybe early 2003 I think, and all GVT members
have kindly tolerated me, bumbling neophyte that I am, since then! Till
today I am amazed that M. Krsnanandini thought it fit to include me but
there you are- that is the mercy of kind Vaisnavas and Vaisnavees!

What are your concerns about contemporary Vaishnava families? What motivates you?
I am greatly concerned about how much ignorance is there about Vedic
knowledge in today’s world and how much it is needed to address all the
ills of society. Born and brought up in India by fairly pious parents,
yet I was totally ignorant about Krsna-consciousness. If this is the
situation in India, the land of spiritual knowledge, then what to speak
of the rest of the world?!?! How much Kali yuga has a stranglehold on
all of us in this day and age - this is of deep concern to me.
Contemporary Vaisnava families who have bravely taken the decision to
“swim against the current” need all the help they can get! My Ph.D.
dissertation on parenting as a Hare Krsna highlighted the urgent need
to help Vaisnava families at ALL levels- from day-care to schooling to
vocation, marriage, retirement, even grandparenting. My passion as a
therapist and an aspiring devotee is to help families have better
relationships and grow together in Krishna Consciousness because in
this is ‘anandambuddhi vardhanam’: ever-increasing bliss.

Do you have any children?

Yes, I have one precious daughter, Aparajita. Her name means
‘unconquerable’- one of the thousand names of Radharani. She is growing
up in India under the care of her father, my ex-husband. She is a very
bright all-rounder who wants to be an architect. She won the title “Ms.
Popular” and won the coveted “Best All-Rounder for Std. XII” Rotating
Trophy this year. She turns 18 on April 20th. Please give my child your
blessings, thank you!

In 20 words or less, what wisdom from your personal experience would you pass on to a new couple?

Marriage is a sacred covenant, keep Krsna in the
center and Guru and Krsna will always help you overcome difficulties,
no matter what.