Radha Bhakti Devi Dasi (bottom right) with members of the Bhaktivedanta Hospital Spiritual Care Team; book cover.
On December 22, 2025, Magic on Mira Road: Stories from the Bhaktivedanta Hospital, a poignant new book by Radha Bhakti Devi Dasi, was released in paperback and e-book globally. The work chronicles the remarkable journey of Bhaktivedanta Hospital & Research Institute in Mumbai, an institution that has grown from humble beginnings into a 300-bed, NABH-accredited, multi-specialty hospital serving more than 1.5 million people in the Mumbai metropolitan area and beyond.
The story spans decades of visionary service blending modern medicine with spiritual care, offering a rare glimpse into how devotional principles can transform healthcare delivery in a deeply impacted urban environment.
A Seed of Service Takes Root
In 2013, Niranjana Swami blogged about the Bhaktivedanta Hospital and the transformation of the heart that occurs within its walls through the holistic care provided by the entire staff. He asked for an English-speaking writer to visit the hospital and document the stories of staff and patients into a book. At the insistence of a couple of friends, Radha Bhakti put her hand up, and a few months later, found herself travelling from Toronto to Mumbai to carry out this service.
She admits her nervousness about taking on this project because she has an aversion to hospitals and illness. Yet when she arrived in Mumbai in 2014 to document the hospital’s work, that early resistance gave way to deep appreciation.
“The moment I arrived at the Bhaktivedanta Hospital, I felt transported. It was at their Annual Day, when they held a festival of sorts to appreciate the staff. The entire festival was on the hospital lawn and parking lot. The twinkle lights, the camphor, the incense, the kirtan, the devotees – everything made me feel like I was in the spiritual world,” she recalled. At that moment, she said, she reoriented her understanding of the book. “This project was not about me,’ she realized. “It was so much bigger than me.”
The main entrance of Bhaktivedanta Hospital on Mira Road during Radha Bhakti Devi Dasi’s first visit in 2014.
From Outreach Camps to Comprehensive Care
The institution’s origins date back to 1986, when a group of Krishna-conscious medical students first offered free medical camps in Maharashtra’s underserved regions. These early outreach efforts planted the seeds for a formal facility. By 1998, a modest hospital in Mira Road transitioned into a full multi-specialty institution. Today, Bhaktivedanta Hospital integrates traditional allopathy with Ayurveda, homeopathy, and spiritual counseling.
Its breadth of services now spans 37 specialties, with modern operating theaters, 24/7 emergency care, advanced diagnostics, and extensive community outreach programs. The hospital’s spiritual care department has provided emotional and devotional support to more than 7,500 patients and their relatives, reinforcing the belief that healing is more than just physical recovery.
Impact Through Numbers and Outreach
The hospital’s community impact is both broad and deep. Through regular annual health camps, it provides preventative care and screenings to tens of thousands of individuals in rural and tribal districts, extending access to medical support far beyond the hospital’s walls. Over 5,000 village outreach camps have been conducted, bringing free examinations and treatments to communities that would otherwise lack access to basic healthcare.
Specialized initiatives include Barsana Eye and Dental Camps, started in 1992, which have cumulatively screened and treated hundreds of thousands of villagers, often performing free cataract surgeries and restorative dental care. These camps alone have benefited more than 550,000 individuals, a testament to the institution’s commitment to preventive and restorative care in regions that previously had limited services.
In addition, the hospital serves patients with chronic conditions through subsidized care; its dialysis unit has administered over 131,000 free or low-cost sessions, and cancer outreach programs continue to educate and treat patients across socio-economic lines.
Writing the Book: A Personal and Sacred Journey
Magic on Mira Road blends these broader themes with Radha Bhakti’s personal journey, authoring a book that is, at its heart, a devotional offering. Far from a bird’s-eye institutional history, the narrative unfolds as a tapestry of raw human stories and heartfelt reflections.
The book contains interviews with founders, trustees, patients, and staff, along with some of Radha Bhakti’s personal journal entries documenting her experiences at the hospital. “In the end, this book kind of wrote itself,” says Radha Bhakti. “I tried my best to preserve the voices of each interviewee, to reveal a beautiful story that is deeply devotional and deeply human.”
These stories, she believes, are the true pulse of the institution, and they are what the book aims to preserve.
Asked if this is a book for non-bhakti practitioners, she replied, “I tried to write the book in such a way that a non-bhakti practitioner can read and understand the contents of the book. I do think there are several concepts that can feel foreign to a person not familiar with our philosophy. Interviewees talk about things like gurus, obeisances, and an animate hill in Vrindavana. I give a brief introduction to bhakti at the beginning of the book, and I created footnotes throughout the text as well, hopefully making it easier for anyone to understand and follow along. If someone picks up the book with an openness to learn about bhakti and this hospital, and knows that none of it is an imposition, then I think they will see the essence of this book, of this hospital, and of our philosophy – that we are one human race, united on the level of the soul, no matter what one’s bodily designations are. The hospital is so inclusive, and I hope that comes out in the text as well.”
The project stands enriched by contributions from senior Vaishnavas, including Niranjana Swami, who wrote the foreword, and an interview with Radhanath Swami.
“This book is a humble and loving offering to so many pure devotees,” Radha Bhakti remarked. “When I first began this project, I had big dreams for it. And quite early on, I realized that for me to have the audacity to dream big for Krishna, for me to serve such pure devotees, I had to try to become purer myself. Writing this book sent me on a personal journey of giving and receiving forgiveness for some things and of going deeper into my personal sadhana. I cannot explain all the ways this hospital, this project, has helped me to grow.”
Giving Back: Proceeds that Serve
In keeping with the hospital’s mission of service, all proceeds from Magic on Mira Road will be donated back to Bhaktivedanta Hospital. The intention is that the book will not only inspire readers but also tangibly support ongoing care, outreach, and expansion of services to underserved communities and beyond. “Every copy sold is an offering of seva,” she noted. “I want readers to feel like they’re participating in this mission, not just observing it.”
Srila Prabhupada presides in the hospital’s main lobby, a constant reminder of its spiritual foundation.
Hospital staff gather daily to offer prayers before Srila Prabhupada in the the main lobby.
Looking Forward: A Message of Hope
Radha Bhakti hopes that the book will serve as a bridge, connecting hearts to the realities of healing and service and encouraging others to consider how healthcare, compassion, and devotion can coexist. “This is more than a book,” she reflected. “It’s a testament to what is possible when service flows from love, not transaction.”
Magic on Mira Road is now available worldwide on Amazon in paperback and e-book formats, with all profits dedicated to supporting Bhaktivedanta Hospital’s ongoing mission of compassionate, holistic care.
By Atma Tattva Dasa.
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