Update on Eye Operations for 102 Year Old Sadhu Brahma Chaitanya Das

Back in February we had written about a senior sadhu in our area, Brahma Chaitanya Das, who needed to have cataract operations on both of his eyes, as due to his advanced age of 102 years he was no longer able to see clearly. Now that it is all complete we are able to inform you of the final update on everything.

Last month we took him for his final eye check up after having completed both eye operations earlier in the year and having given proper time for recovery. Everything has gone smoothly, and his eye sight has been restored in both eyes, allowing him to see everything clearly and in detail.

We did each operation separately and gave several months time in between for each eye to recover fully and to be sure it was successful. During the recovery period we had kept Baba at our ashram in Bhadrak so that we could apply the medicated eye drops for him. He needed to apply a total of five different eyedrops, each 4 to 5 times a day, which would have been too confusing for him to do alone, so we assigned one of our devotees to stay with him for several months to apply the eyedrops throughout the day.

Before the first eye operation the special test to check if the eye still functioned was inconclusive, as the cataract had become completely solid. The doctor warned us that he was already too old and that it was possible the eye may not be able to see after the operation, as the doctor was not able to see through the cataract to know the status.

By the divine grace, after completing the operation he was immediately able to see, and once the recovery period was finished his eyesight was very sharp. Baba would later comment that sitting in the room we provided he was able to look through the window and see far away into the temple hall, seeing all the fine details on the deities in perfect clarity.

Despite Baba’s age, while recovering he would not sit idly at all, and every day he would go into the temple garden to pull out weeds or sweep the road to the temple. Every morning and evening he would attend the arati and kirtan in the temple, and afterwards he would spend time talking with devotee visitors.

Baba pulling out weeds in the temple garden, something he would do every day.

Once it was clear that the first operation was successful the doctor agreed to perform the second eye operation, which also turned out successful. Again Baba stayed at our ashram for several months so that we could administer the recovery medicines and eyedrops on time. Once the course of medicine had been completed we brought Baba back to his ashram in the forest at Chakratirtha, and returned periodically to take him for his later eye checkups.

Both eye operations were done in Cuttack using the latest laser technology. The operations were completely painless, and the best quality imported lens was used as recommended by the doctor. The total cost of the two operations and recovery treatment was around Rs. 200,000 ($2,500 USD). We thank everyone who donated for this service and made it possible.

The following are some pictures from both operations and then Baba’s return to his ashram.

The First Eye Operation:

The Second Eye Operation:

Returning to His Ashram:

On the way back to his ashram, when we came to the village of Chenapadi, Baba asked us to stop and buy vegetables for the ashram. He told us don’t buy from just any seller, we have to find one particular Alekha sampradaya devotee whom he had known from many decades and buy from him. We tried to find the person, but were not able to, at which point Baba told us, “If you can’t find him then we don’t need to buy vegetables, we will go back to the ashram.”

Just as we were about to give up, Baba saw him and told us this is the devotee we should buy vegetables from. The devotee offered namaskaram at Baba’s feet, and asked us to take the vegetables for free, but Baba insisted that we should pay him for the vegetables.

After taking the vegetables for the ashram, we continued on into the forest, where devotees of Baba were happily waiting for his return after many months.