Fearlessness then, was one of Sankirtan Prabhu's most outstanding qualities. In the thirty years that followed, he fearlessly traveled throughout China, Taiwan and Hong Kong to distribute the holy name and Srila Prabhupada's books in cities, towns and villages too numerous to count. He was a genuine soldier in Lord Chaitanya's Sankirtan army!

As Narasimha Maharaja has nicely pointed out, Sankirtan Prabhu had a keen desire to preach and was always thinking of innovative ways to deliver the message of Krishna consciousness to everyone he met. He even taught himself how to play accordian, and would often be out on the streets chanting by himself if there was no one else to come with him. He had such determination.

He was learned in sastra and loved to teach it. That he did throughout China, Taiwan and even Hong Kong. But he was never proud about his ability to teach. He just saw that as another service.

His writing projects were also reflective of his preaching mood. He wanted to make Krishna consciousness accessable to those who were less likely to be directly attracted. And he hit his mark! I have seen many persons come to Krishna consciousness just by reading his books. This is quite remarkable when you think about it.

Sankirtan Prabhu was always humble and austere. He could live anywhere and speak to anyone about Krishna consciousness. These qualities especially endeared him to the devotees in this part of the world.

My last meeting with Sankirtan Prabhu was when I visited him in a Beijing hospital, where he was receiving a type of alternative treatment for his cancer. At that point, it seemed as though the treatment was working. As he described the treatment to me, I understood it was extremely painful for him to endure. Yet he tolerated that pain, all with a desire to restore his health for continued service to Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON.

But the amazing thing was that, even in the hospital he was preaching. In fact, when I entered the hospital, I saw a large banner that had been placed high on the wall above, welcoming the monk Sankirtan Dasa! When I entered his room, he had a large stack of Srila Prabhupada's books and those he had written, based on Srila Prabhupada's teachings, displayed prominently on a table. He ended up distributing many of these books to patients and staff.

We openly spoke about the possibility that the treatment might not work. He was fully prepared if it didn't. His plan was to try to recover for as long as things were working, and when it was clear they weren't, he was prepared to leave this world.

Sankirtan Prabhu left this world the way he lived in it. He loved Srila Prabhupada, he loved his diksa and siksa gurus and he loved the devotees. This love was reflected in the way he practiced sadhana, the way he preached, and the way in which he was prepared to do any service asked of him.