NST Artcile:Blessings abound with lamps

Damodara Month ~Festival of Lights 2008~ Launch 1

Damodara Month ~Festival of Lights 2008~ Launch 2

The Gap Between Pink Slip and Red Lips

By Vrndavanlila Devi Dasi

(Dr Vrinda Baxi)

We had just got down from Faluknama Express and ran frenziedly to enquire about the next train taking us to Mayapur. It was a passenger train which took us to Nabadwip Station. By the time we reached there it was pretty late at night and no boats were available to ferry us across to Sridham Mayapur. We decided to spend the night at Station Retiring room. As formalities were being worked out by my husband at the station, my little daughter Radhika was standing perplexed beside me. The stench, vulgarity of the general passengers and crushing crowd of a general bogie was still fresh in her mind. She innocently asked me, “Mamma where are we going?” Trying to read her, I said, “You know it beta, we are going to Mayapur to take darshan of your favorite lord Narsingha dev and of course beautiful Sri Sri Radha-Madhavaji.” She was still not satisfied and further asked, “Has Mayapur changed its location?” “Why, what makes you feel that? How can a place change its location?” She still had that puzzled look on her face and continued, “But earlier when we used to come, it never took us sooo loooong to reach Mayapur. I never saw people who would never get up to give me seat and would rather push me and shove me from all sides. Nobody yelled and shouted, but this time the journey is not coming to an end at all. After this long also, we have still not reached Mayapur.” I could quickly understand her mind and told her soothingly, “You know this is something new for you to learn. Mayapur is at the same place, but earlier, we used to go by flight and then a direct taxi to Mayapur, so it never took us so long. This time you have come by train that is why it took us little long.” “But earlier in the train they used to give us blanket, bedsheets, and towels, but how come this time they did not give us anything. It was all so dirty and people were spitting wherever they felt like… .”
I tried to explain, “Earlier we were travelling in AC coaches, so you were getting all those things, now we are travelling in Sleeper Class that is why there is a change. But everywhere you have people isn’t it? And they all have expansion of the Lord within them. Why to feel so bad about it?”
“Hmm Yeah, they have the Supersoul situated in their heart but then why were they not aware that I also have the same Lord in my heart. They did not love me or care for me at all. I did not like it.” That was her innocent way of seeking explanation to the vulgar behavior that so pervades the general class and way of securing her little Krsna-centric world of love, which was so different from what she was experiencing.
“It happens dear, not all the time people will be the same. When you do not like something, you should immediately try to learn that you do not repeat those things in your life and hurt others.”
“Hmmm. But next time I do not want to travel like this. Why cannot we travel the way we did earlier? Mamma please I like only that.”
I had always found her contented with everything that she had, she hardly ever asked for anything. I had never seen her act stubbornly, shouting or demanding things greedily generally the way other kids do. Now seeing her so perturbed, was little disturbing for me. For more than the material discomfort and my inability to fulfil her little desire, it was the emotional quotient that lay in her plea which mortified me.
Holding her tight, I just said, “Yes dear I understand that. May be now we cannot because…..”
Before I could complete the sentence, she added “I think we have become poor after you stopped going to office. That is why we cannot travel the way we used to earlier, isn’t it?”
With great effort I could just mumble, “Yes, perhaps you are right.”
She continued without paying much attention, “Does not lord love me, I think He should not make me suffer like this when He knows that I do not like it that way. And that too I am going to take His darshan only.”
I tried to infuse some cheer in her heart, “This is where you are mistaken dear, you know how much he loved his brahmana friend Sudama but even he had to lead a very difficult life. So it happens. It only proves that He loves us all. We are the children of such a richie rich father, Lord Krsna. He is the supreme, the most opulent one, why should we worry? Is it difficult for Him to give us a few pennies or to fulfil your desire to travel in an AC coach or by flight, but He is choosing to do it otherwise. There is a reason behind everything, but we sometimes tend to understand it later and sometimes that later also never comes. But we should have firm faith in Him and in His love. He is taking interest in you that is why He is not so easily just fulfilling what you desire but seeing that everything helps take you towards Him. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes, if you say that, it has to be right….” Then exclaiming suddenly she almost shouted, “True. He does not forsake me. You know even though we have become poor, He still comes in my dream. Yes, He loves me mamma, you are correct. He really loves me.”
The next day we took a boat and reached Mayapur dham. Bamsi bhavan was full, only a few rooms were available on high payment. So, with the help of devotee friends we arranged for our stay in humble Namhatta building. Radhika was looking forward to her incubated baby bed as she used to get in Bamsi bhavan, big well ventilated room and a beautiful garden with Krsna dancing on Kaliya’s hoods. Here we had dark room, next to some dark godown on the ground floor with narrow beds where we had to literally squeeze ourselves to make us fit on the same bed.
To my surprise, she was just fine and said, “You know Mamma I am very happy that this time Gangaji was so close to us for so long as we were crossing in the boat. Isn’t He merciful? Then just when I was thinking where my baby bed is, I realized I will be sleeping so close to you.” He had made things so easy for me to face. Her words almost brought tears of gratitude towards the Lord and my guru maharaj in my eyes. I wrestled to control them.
We had time just enough to dump our luggage there and leave towards the Shankha building for the GBC-SPT meeting. There again children were not allowed inside and also we were late for taking the prasadam. We ran towards Govinda’s, made her eat some prasadam. I was worried for her. She had to be left at a devotee’s house till evening till the meeting got over. This was a shock development even for us, for which even we were not prepared. But it had to be addressed immediately. My husband immediately thought of his old devotee friend whose house was next to the goshala, a place my daughter loved. With a beating heart, I slowly shared with her how we’ad planned for her. In a soft tone, I said, “You know guddi (Radhika’s pet name) beta, today is the day of test and austerity for you. Children are not allowed in the meeting, so you will be at that beautiful mataji’s house whose house is just next to goshala, where you have hundreds of friends….so many many calves and cows to play around. What do you think of this?” I asked with a faked air of jubilation.
“So you and papa will not be with me till evening? Why? You know that I am a very good girl, I will sit there peacefully without disturbing. You can tell the GBCs.”
“I know it dear that you are very good and that is why Krsna wants you to play with your calf friends and also do little sacrifice in staying away from us. You will see every evening when your austerity is over, you will get a reward.”
“Yes, Mamma He is so merciful. Today I saw Him in the same blue dress what I had got in my dream. I am so happy. He really loves me.” All the way even amidst little shades of distress of prospective temporary separation from us, she tried to chuckle all the way. She picked up the leaves that had dropped down from the trees for feeding them to the calves and the cows at goshala.
Our days used to be hectic. Getting up early in the morning, rushing from Namhatta to Lotus building for darshan and prasadam, then dropping her at friend’s place and then returning to Shankha building for meeting, from there proceeding to Chaitanya Bhavan for break away sessions and then to disperse for lunch for an hour to meet again. So we were together for a brief time during the lunch, when I used to rush from Chaitanya Bhavan (venue for meeting of our break away session committee) to Goshala (the place where our friends used to stay) in the scorching heat. Sometimes I used to go alone to pick her up as my husband engaged himself in carrying or arranging for a few things for our guru maharaj (His Holiness Bhakti Raghava Swami), or when available then with my husband. She was not used to staying away from either of us, especially me. Then in the evening we used to take our light dinner prasadam at Shankha building. The devotees at the counter were very warm and compassionate. She used to look forward to meeting them. Later one night as we prepared to sleep, she said, “Mamma now I understand how much the Lord loves us. You know every day when I miss you He sends one calf to make me happy. And then we are together for lunch. Again when you go away, the calves in the goshala make me feel little happy. You know even their mothers stay separately in a different room, so we understand each other. I play with them till evening…and when my austerity and sacrifice is over I get a reward. I get hugs from Radhanath Maharaj, darshan of my guru maharaj and blessings from soooooo many sannyasis. I am so happy. You know Balbhadra prabhu blessed me so nicely. He has beautiful blue eyes and so many cows. He told me and I remember having seen him on the website. I am very happy mamma.”
All my fears had melted in her sweet words. The next day we were leaving for my husband’s village, again in the same passenger train. But this time though she was physically with us, she was oblivious of her surroundings. She was happily ecstatic, cheerfully looking forward to reaching the village. Excitedly she was speaking, “You know we will get to see our cows and baya (my father in law) was telling me that there are two calves with whom I can play, I can run in the fields, I can go and play in Swarnarekha river … Oh I am so happy.”
He is so simple in His ways of love, we make it so complicated. Pleasure and pain, comfort and discomfort everything is so relative but wise are those who can rise above. Even in her small gesture I could see that the self same experience which had once proved to be the cause of so much disturbance earlier, now no way mattered to her, she was happy as ever.
mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
āgamāpāyino ‘nityās
tāḿs titikṣasva bhārata [BG 2.14]
[O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.]
But is this state so easy to acquire? Prahlad maharaj was subjected to great sufferings and tortures, but he was totally unaffected by them. But we do not even hold a candle to him. I was reminded of my constant pangs of pain when I was down with dengue not so long ago. I remember how with every shooting pang of pain, I used to remind myself “I am not this body, I am a spirit soul”, but I was still very much aware of the pain. I could not transcend the body. I was somehow managing to chant my rounds, but I know how those sixteen rounds itself had become so challenging for me during my sickness (body-consciousness days). No wonder we need varnasrama dharma, which recognizes our material body and tries to engage us according to our basic nature. In the close company of mother cow and mother earth, it gets so much easier to develop the qualities of servitude towards Him. Everything is so subtle but is very scientific. Westerners call our traditional agriculture as a gamble of monsoons, and ridiculed it suggesting technology to replace bulls and other methods of irrigation. But what will they understand of devotion and surrender? Traditional way of agriculture is godly as it keeps one constantly thinking of the Lord, as he sows, irrigates or does whatever he is reminded of his dependency on the Lord and thus constantly thinks of Him as His only servitor. Naturally every action in agriculture is anointed in His love. His cows and bulls remind him of Him. As the bulls till the land, their urine and dung make the soil more fertile pest-resistant, the fertility of soil remains intact as only the top layer is tilled, mother earth is not gnawed to yield forcibly. No wonder every Indian festival is deeply connected to the Lord. We do not have Valentine’s day or Mother’s day etc, we rather have Diwali where we celebrate the return of Sri Ram to Ayodhya or festivals like Khichdi, lohri, pongal etc where first crop is offered to the Lord. Our entire ecosystem is Krsna-centric, but slowly the modern so called science is demoniacally trying to replace the lord with scientists – GM seeds, living beings and what not. The thought itself is so demoniac.
While at one end I see this demoniac nature, I also see how adversity makes a person realize his spiritual identity and know his true friends. The pink slip has proven to be a boon in disguise in getting closer to Him. Many of my ‘friends’ have forsaken me for we are not so comfortably placed and it is below their status to acknowledge our presence, a few have tried to take advantage of our difficulties while a few have defined the beautiful family that Srila Prabhupada left for us in heritage. It is with the latter’s help and inspiration that I am what I am, still somehow or the other able to serve devotees and my guru. I could publish two books (The Fourth Wave and Gosamvardhan), come out with a free monthly e-newsletter, The Eight Petals. Had it not been for them, this period could have been so dark and trying. With the mercy of pink slip now I know who my true friends are, my kitchen fire is never off, our deities wear wonderful dresses hand-stitched by me and we have covered a newer realm of spiritual realization. Besides it has been a humbling experience.
Earlier when Srila Prabhupada said in his prophetic voice about cities crumbling down and people turning jobless, its seriousness never got registered in my mind- “I am a doctorate with good knowledge and industrial experience, what can happen to me?” Now that myth is broken.
Sometimes when I think of my little Radhika, wondering about her future as I have taken a little enterprising decision of homeschooling her. Her disarming uncontaminated innocence and deep loving nature and deeply rooted spirituality sometimes does rake up a few disturbing thoughts in me, but deep down I know the Lord is there to take care of all of us. We are the children of the most opulent and most loving father. It is just that we have to keep the umbilical cord of parampara and mahamantra connected to Him. The gap between pink slip and red bimba lips of the Lord can be radical. The moments of difficulty are so delicate and if our determination is fragile the gap can be immeasurable. However on the other hand if our faith is firm and we have the good fortune of guru’s mercy and prayers of vaishnavas the gap between the pink slip and red lips becomes so narrow, that it turns next to negligible.
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

[NOTE: About two years ago, I posted one article by the same name. It helped me get wonderful friends and string of well wishers. While I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to them, I also felt responsible to post another one as an update. Thank you for being around and for your good wishes. I also hope that this article is of help to those who are placed in a similar trying situation. Hare Krsna!]

By Vrndavanlila Devi Dasi (Dr Vrinda Baxi)
The author can be contacted at: vrindavanlila.brs@gmail.com

Article Source : Dandavats.com

Article Link: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=9602

FFL on Wesak Day

BY FFL KL Correspondent

Food for Life Program @ Brickfields on Wesak Day
 
The FFL-KL for the first time has distributed free meals at Maha Vihara Buddhist Temple, Brickfields on the 17th May 2011.
It was a Wesak celebration and there were thousands of Buddhist faiths flooded the streets of Brickfields.   
A team of 20 enthusiastic devotees assisted in distributing over 2000 plates of Prasadam.
It was Nasi Lemak special and the distribution exhausted within 3 hours.
A distinctive acknowledgement should go to HG Ekaleshvar Prabhu for mooting the idea and made all necessary arrangement for this accomplishment.
FFL-KL also would like to take this opportunity to express their gratitude to the cooks of SJMKL for churning out this wonderful feast.
For records, the FF-KL have distributed close to 12,000 plates of Prasadam for the month of May 2011 alone.
All this is not possible without the sincere support from our dedicated volunteers and committed donors.

Pls refer to the link below for pics…

https://picasaweb.google.com/natnirus/FoodForLifeWesakDayBrickfields#

 
 
Thank you.
Hare Krsna
krsna chandra dasa
FFL-Kuala Lumpur

Ghee Lamps in a Bag and the Lord in My Hands

By Indradyumna Swami

Diary of Travelling Preacher

In India I am always on the lookout for interesting puja items, so the other day in Jaipur, I visited the antique shop of Mr. Sharma, an old friend. As I walked in he greeted me and we sat down to talk.

“Do you have anything interesting for me?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I’ve kept aside a few small items you can use for puja.”

“Great!” I said.

As Mr. Sharma looked through the desk drawers for the items, my eyes were drawn across the room to what looked like a salagrama-sila sitting on a dusty shelf. I walked over and found it to be indeed a beautiful salagrama-sila, smooth and shiny with an indented reddish mouth.

“Looks like Lord Nrsimhadeva,” I thought, “Nrsimhadeva in a peaceful mood.”

Mr. Sharma started showing me the puja items — lamps, achman spoons, and plates. They were interesting, but my mind kept wandering back to the salagrama-sila.

“Mr Sharma,” I said, “I noticed a salagrama-sila on the shelf over there.”

“Oh that,” he said, looking toward the deity. “It’s not for sale.”

“He’s not an ‘it,’” I said. “According to scripture, salagrama-silas are deities. They are directly the Supreme Lord.”

Mr. Sharma shrugged. “Perhaps that’s why that stone was worshiped in the royal family of Jaipur for several hundred years.”

I gasped. “What?” I said.

“That salagrama was in the royal family for hundreds of years,” he said. “Priests would worship it on behalf of the royal family. One of their distant relatives brought it in the other day along with a number of silver items. She had come into difficult times and was selling some of her valuables. She mentioned that her great-grandmother had told her how special the stone was when she was young. But it hadn’t been worshiped in many years.”

“Mr. Sharma,” I said, “that salagrama is just sitting on that old shelf gathering dust. He should be worshiped.”

Mr. Sharma shrugged. “I keep it there for good luck,” he said.

“But He’s a deity,” I said. “He’s Krsna. If you invite an important guest to your shop or your home, it’s your responsibility to serve him properly, to offer him a seat, a place to rest, something to eat, what to speak of the most important person in the three worlds—Lord Krsna. If He somehow comes to your shop, you can’t just leave Him sitting on a shelf.”

Mr. Sharma thought for a moment. “I never thought of it like that,” he said. “When the salagrama came I knew it was an important item because of its history. And it had a special aroma about it, like musk or aguru. There was an old flower embedded in the dried sandalwood paste on top of the salagrama.”

He paused. “The best I can do is to dust it off regularly,” he said.

“It’s not enough to dust Him off,” I said. “The royal family didn’t do that. Obviously they worshiped Him in the proper way with aguru oil, sandalwood paste, and flowers.”

Mr. Sharma just shrugged again.

“If you don’t want to worship Him,” I said, “at least give Him to a local temple or a priest. I could ask my friend the Goswami at the Radha-Gopinath temple if he would take the deity. Shall I do that? They have a little altar of salagramas at the entrance of the temple.”

“No,” said Mr. Sharma. “Let me think about it more.”

“OK, fine,” I said. “I’ll be back tomorrow for one or two of the puja items.”

The next day I went back to the shop. Mr. Sharma was busy with another customer, so I looked around to see what other treasures he had. First, though, I wanted to see the salagrama, but when I came to the dusty shelf, He wasn’t there.

Mr. Sharma finished with his customer and came over to see me.

“I’ve decided to give the salagrama-sila to you,” he said.

“To me?” I said.

“Yes,” he said.

He walked back to his desk, opened a drawer, took out the salagrama-sila, and handed Him to me.

“I thought about what you said yesterday,” he began. “It made perfect sense, especially the part about taking proper care of a guest. I may not know much about the worship of deities, but I do respect the members of the former royal family. They are very much a part of our history and traditions. If they thought it was important to worship this salagrama, then so do I. I’ve known you for years. I’m confident you’ll take proper care of the salagrama.”

“Thank you Mr. Sharma,” I said.

Mr. Sharma smiled. “And don’t forget about the puja items you were interested in,” he said. “You’ll need them to worship this deity.”

Ten minutes later I walked out of his shop with the puja items in a bag and the Supreme Lord in my hands.

“It can only be causeless mercy,” I said to myself, shaking my head as I walked down the street.

Srila Prabhupada writes:

“Out of His causeless mercy, the Supreme Personality of Godhead presents Himself before us so that we can see Him. Since we have no transcendental vision, we cannot see the spiritual sac-cid-ananda-vigraha … We can only see material things like stone and wood, and therefore He accepts a form of stone and wood and thus accepts our service in the temple. This is an exhibition of the Lord’s causeless mercy.”

[Srimad Bhagavatam, 5.3.9 Purport]

Article Reference:  http://www.travelingmonk.com/

Gaura Purnima SJMKL 2011

By Bhakta Mayank

Shri Gaura Purnima Mahamahotsava 2011

19^th March’2011

 

nama om vishnu-padaya
krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta
swamin iti namine

I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.

 

namaste saraswati deve
gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi
pashchatya-desha-tarine

Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Saraswati Goswami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanyadeva and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.

 

jaya sri-krishna-caitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Gadadhara Pandit, Srivas Thakur, and all the devotees of Lord Caitanya.

Vanca kalpa tarubhyas ca

krpa sindhubhya eva ca

patitanam pavanebhyo

vaisnavebhyo namo namah

I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfil the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.

 

Hare Krishna

Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

The morning of the 19^th of March’2011 was a special one for Shri Jagannath Mandir, ISKCON, Kuala Lumpur. It was the first Gaura Purnima celebrations for the Sri Sri Nitai Sundar Gaura Hari after Their mercifully having graced the altar previous year, at the most auspicious Akshaya Tritiya and many devotees assembled in front of the altar to greet Their Lordships with a spirit of great anticipation and enthusiasm.

 

sarva-sad-guṇa-pūrṇāḿ tāḿ

vande phālguna-pūrṇimām

yasyāḿ śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanyo

‘vatīrṇaḥ kṛṣṇa-nāmabhiḥ

Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 13.19

 

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the full-moon evening in the month of Phālguna, an auspicious time full of auspicious symptoms, when Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advented Himself with the chanting of the holy name, Hare Kṛṣṇa.

 

The beauty and effulgence radiated from the ever beaming face of Sri GauraHari that the almost full moon, though shining bright in the early hours of the morning, appeared lurking behind the shade of the clouds. The devotees experienced great bliss being mesmerised in the beauty of the Lord and swayed to the Sri Gurvastaka led by HG Simhesvara Prabhu with great devotion.

 

The festivities had begun well in advance, all to culminate into this very day of the appearance of the Lord as the most munificent incarnation. The devotees got themselves completely drenched so as to cultivate the mood and to receive the mercy of the Lord in the same spirit with which Rupa Goswami prayed

 

namo maha-vadanyaya
krishna-prema-pradaya te
krishnaya krishna-caitanya-
namne gaura-tvishe namah

 

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Caitanya, who is the most merciful incarnation. He has appeared in a golden color for the purpose of freely distributing pure love of Krishna.”

 

 

The Navadvipa Manasa Parikrma was a special feature for the Gaura Purnima Festivities this year, where various speakers shared many wonderful pastimes of the Lord every evening, taking the audiences to a mental pilgrimage to the nine islands of the Navadvipa Dham.  Each island representing one of the nine processes of devotional service.

 

The Harinaams and Book Distribution Teams headed by HG Krishna Candra Prabhu also extended the causeless mercy of Srila Prabhupada. The Harinaams were being organised at the nearby places throughout the month and thus many devotees engaged themselves into reaching out to others and at the same time praying for the mercy to reach within.

 

The 4-day kirtan conducted in the evening to beg the Lord for mercy were another special attraction. These festivities and preparation filled the devotees with great anticipation to celebrate the most auspicious day of the appearance of the Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

 

The mercy continued to flow after the Morning Program, where the devotees adored the beautiful Darshan of the Lord at the Darshan Arati. The morning discourse was given by HG Sudarshan Prabhu, and the devotees relished the nectar as they plunged in the ocean of wonderful pastimes of the Lord.

 

HG Krishna Candra Prabhu led a team for Harinaam and Book Distribution to a nearby area. With a slightly overcast sky and a light drizzle spreading auspiciousness to the occasion, devotees engaged themselves in many other services for the much awaited evening program.

 

The evening program commenced with the Palanquin Procession of the Deities around the temple area. The palanquin was accompanied by a Kirtan team, followed by many enthusiastic devotees holding flags, dancing and all the while loudly chanting the holy names.

 

By the time Palanquin reached back to the temple, the Programs had started off with the Tulasi Arati followed by Srila Prabhupada Guru Puja. The crowd gradually increased in numbers as the time approached for the deities to be taken for the Abhishek Ceremony, where they were bathed with varieties of items amidst the chanting of hymns by the temple-pujaris. Simultaneously with the Abhishek, many visitors and guests were entertained at various booths and book stalls. A pleasant chanting of the holy names and at the same time watching Their Lordships being bathed filled the hearts of the devotees with great pleasure.

 

It was an opportune moment and a matter of great honor for Shri Jagannath Mandir to welcome The Chief Guests of Honor, Dato Sri Tan Kishu accompanied by His family. His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada in his visit to Malaysia stayed at the residence of Dato Sri Tan Kishu.

 

After the Abhishek, the devotees broke the day long nirjala-fast (abstaining from even water). While the Deities were being dressed for the Darshan, The Gaura Purnima English Discourse was given by HG Simhesvara Prabhu. The Tamil Discourse was given by HG Shanti Rupa Mata Ji.

 

The festival continued with the Prasadam being served and at the same time stage presentations comprising of a bhajan performance by Mahesh Prabhu and a drama presentation depicting various childhood and youth pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu enlivened everyone, capturing the minds into complete absorption in the pastimes of the Lord.

 

Begging for a taste in the holy names, which Lord Caitanya had descended to propagate, the devotees bid each other a Happy Gaura Purnima and a Happy New Year.

 

‘hari‘ ‘hari‘ bale loka haraṣita hañā

janmilā caitanya-prabhu ‘nāma‘ janmāiyā

 

Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 13.21

In jubilation everyone was chanting the holy name of the Lord — “Hari! Hari!” — and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then appeared, after first causing the appearance of the holy name.

 

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Nitai Gaura Premanandi

Hari Bol!

 

(An unworthy soul hereby seeks blessings of all the Vaishnavas in this insignificant endeavour to glorify the Lord, His Holy Name and His devotees.)

 

Nityananda Triyodasi 2011

By SJMKL IT Dept

 

Lord Nityananda Appearance day festival

Wednesday, 16th Feb 2011

nama om vishnu padaya krsna presthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine

namas te saraswate deve gaura-vani-pracarine

nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine

jaya sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu nityananda

sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare/

hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

“Nitai pada kamala koti candra sushi tala…”.

The divine lotus feet of Lord Nityananda are very soothing equivalent to thousands of moon.

Sri Jagannatha Mandir celebrated the festival of “Nityanada Triyodasi” in its traditional style, the evening of Wednesday, the 16^th of February. The temple hall was filled with divine love, which Lord Nityananda had himself propagated in the district of Nadiya (‘nadiya godruma nityananda mahajan’). The devotees had observed a fast until noon, as per the tradition, to show their eagerness and appreciation on the appearance of the most munificent incarnation and also to seize the wonderful opportunity to spend more time engaging in devotional service.

It being a working day, the celebrations began in the evening with Guru puja as Lord Nityananda is the adi-guru followed by the Gaura Arati. Their Lordships Sri Sri Nitai Sundar Gaura Hari were showered with different coloured flower petals with the Nityanandastaka composed by Vrindavan dasa thakur being recited simultaneously. It appeared as if the demigods themselves showered unlimited flowers from higher planetary systems in the glorification of the merciful nature of Their Lordships as sung by Locana dasa thakur in his devotional song “parama karuna pahu dui jana nitati gaura candra….” The environment filled the hearts with a sense of deep gratitude as their merciful Lords were delivering the fallen souls of Kali Yoga like me.

A melodious kirtan was then performed by the sweet and enthusiastic kirtaniyas of Shri Jagannath Mandir bringing about the actual mood of taking shelter of the divine lotus feet of the lord. It was later explained in a discourse which followed that Lord Nityananda is the shelter of the mercy in the panca-tatva associates of the Supreme Lord Shri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. We thus got an opportunity to meditate on the various activities of the Lord while meaningful prayers in the form of bhajans by previous vaishnava acharyas were sung glorifying Lord Nityananda.

HG Sudrashan prabhu later presented an enlightening discourse on the transcendental activities of Lord Nityananda. The festival approached it’s culmination with an ecstatic kirtan and a grand feast, truly satisfying to the body, mind and senses.

On this auspicious occasion, I pray to Lord Nityananda to give me shelter at his lotus feet and make me recipient of his causeless mercy as I am the most fallen in all my endeavors. I also remembered a prayer which HG Radha Gopinath prabhu recently shared with us-

“O my lord, give me the courage and humility to accept who I am, and intelligence to not remain where I am”.

Aspiring to be an instrument in the hands of ‘Nitai Gauranga’ and their loving servants.

Thaipusam Harinaam 2011

By Bhakta Mayank

 

Thaipusam Harinaam, Batu Caves

Thursday 20^th January’ 2011

 

nama om vishnu padaya krsna presthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine

namas te saraswate deve gaura-vani-pracarine

nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine

 

jaya sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu nityananda

sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda

 

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare/

hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

 

Prologue

 

We woke up to find texts on our mobile hand phones from HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu inviting us to the temple at 6.30am so that we could join a group of devotees to participate in the Maha Harinaam at Batu Caves, organized by the Sankirtan Ministry of Sri Jagannath Mandir, Kuala Lumpur, on the eve of Thaipusam.

 

 

Acknowledgements

I would like to sincerely thank the Sankirtan Ministry of Shri Jagannath Mandir KL for giving us such wonderful opportunities to be a part of this most potent service.

 

A special thanks to HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu for the text he had sent us early morning instructing us to join him, because of which we could be a part of such a wonderful event.

 

I feel grateful to all the devotees who attended the Harinaam Sankirtan and blessed us with their auspicious association. These experiences in the association of such pure souls are the only hope for me to develop any taste for this sublime process of Krishna Consciousness and thus endeavor with sincerity.

 

Kirtan in the KTM!

 

We were amongst the small group of devotees who set out for the event from the temple. We were to board a direct train to Batu Caves from Sri Petaling KTM Commuter station.

 

The train journey from Sri Petaling to Batu Caves brought back all the memories of the Harinaam that most of us had attended together on the same occasion of Thaipusam, the previous year, which was the first ever Harinaam I attended in my life. I was later mercifully blessed with the service to write an article for the same event bringing me a lot of appreciation consequently helping me to stay in Krishna Consciousness for this year! It reminds me a statement of our dear Chellappa Prabhu who while once being praised for his humility stated “The elevated souls glorify the neophytes in order to somehow keep their faith.”

 

The train gained momentum leaving Sri Petaling station, as I observed the scene. Most of the things remaining pretty much the same, the crowd however had grown by leaps and bounds.

 

The precarious situation of life as portrayed by Govinda das in his poem “bhajahu re mana” was made obvious to us, as we stood pressed to the doors. In the poem, Govinda Das explains in an analogy where he compares life to the drops of water tottering at the tip of the lotus petal. We found ourselves suffocating and pressed against the doors, and the thought crossed my mind that just like how the drop of water can be at anytime displaced from the lotus petal, similarly we felt that we could be easily thrown off the train anytime the doors would open!

 

While devotees around me took shelter of the holy names as they engaged themselves in chanting on the beads I somehow clung myself on to a pole nearby and prayed for the doors to remain closed as the train gained momentum.

 

It was the mesmerizing voice of our dearest Mahesh Prabhu, who led a soft kirtan to relieve us of the discomfort while providing great bliss to the hearts of devotees. I could once again find HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu entering a different dimension while closing his eyes and deeply engrossed in chanting the Maha Mantra while HG Karunanidhi Prabhu held his arms preventing him from ‘giving intimate association’, to people nearby, as the train swayed on either sides.

 

A few people in close proximity wryly smiled. I immediately shrugged off the thought of what they thought of us, and gave in to the Mahamantra.

 

Batu caves!

 

When we disembarked the train at the Batu Caves Station, it was over an hour and fifteen minutes of the kirtan, a few rounds of chanting on the beads and a few smiles shared with the people who so patiently tolerated us all the while as we “tortured” them with our singing of the Mahamantra. A huge crowd rushed out of the train, and for a moment I found it difficult to conceive how the train could have accommodated for such a crowd! For these few months in Krishna Consciousness, ‘inconceivable’ was getting to be a regular word for me.

 

The same scene welcomed us, like it had, the previous year with the towering rocks still holding themselves high, the crowd spread at the roots of the huge rocks like waves of the ocean going back and forth! To prevent getting lost in the crowd as we made way towards the book stall from where the Harinaam was scheduled to commence, I engrossed myself in following HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu who was engrossed in chanting. I had to be assured of being lead perfectly, and nothing beats a person engaged and engrossed in serving the holy name!

 

The diversity of the items put on the display in the various stalls, as we crossed them, could easily confuse someone on a lookout for a devotional atmosphere, as the event of Thaipusam traditionally signifies worship of Lord Murugan.

 

Meeting the devotees!

 

However for the devotees of the Supreme Lord, it was an opportunity to causelessly distribute to all without discrimination, the Supreme Grace, the holy names!

 

Our spirits soared as we greeted devotees at the book stall. The Harinaam team was graced with the presence of seniors from the Presidential Council like HG Vishnu Caitanya Prabhu and HG Rasika Murari Prabhu joined by HG Ramananda Gaura Prabhu and many other senior devotees. The presence of seniors added a distinct grace to the spirit of Harinaam and enthused the youths by volumes.

 

I caught a glimpse of the highly contrasting name of a nearby stall which sold CDS and played fast beat loud music at an unbearable volume. The poster outside the stall said “DEVOTIONAL MUSIC”!

 

Harinaam Begins! Let the Holy name roll!

 

The Harinaam team comprising of about twenty devotees, armed with mrdangas and kartals and flags of various colors then marched towards the Batu Caves Balaji Temple. The flags fluttered high as HG Ramananda Gaura Prabhu held on to the microphone leading the kirtan.

 

While going through the articles at the website www.iskconkl.com about Thaipusam Harinaam at Batu Caves which is a yearly event for Sri Jagannath Mandir, Kuala Lumpur, I got to learn that the Balaji temple had held witness and as a platform for numerous ecstatic kirtans performed by the devotees of the congregation of Shri Jagannath Mandir on many occasions.

 

After paying obeisances to the deities, it was time for what we had gathered there. As the beats picked up, and the nectar began to flow the devotees formed a circle. HG Rasika Murari Prabhu held on to the microphone leading the kirtan now. It didn’t take much long where the devotees captured the scene while gracefully dancing in traditional steps, chanting out loud the holy names.

 

Initially as the kirtan had begun only a few heads had turned towards us. But as the kirtan gained tempo, we were flocked on all sides by people clicking photographs of the blissful devotees. Many sat in the temple hall and watched with curiosity, while others clapped their hands or tapped their feet.  The vivid colors of Krishna Consciousness were at display and the atmosphere was euphoric with the sound of the Hare Krishna Maha mantra, the kartals, the mrdangas, the flags and the devotees dancing with their hands raised high. It was nothing but delight that defined the moment!

 

We circled the temple twice while chanting and dancing as we noticed the pictures on the walls of the temple which Srila Prabhupada would often refer to as “glimpses of the spiritual world”. These were the same pictures depicted in Srimad Bhagavatam and the other books by Srila Prabhupada. The picture depicting Lord Krishna displaying His “Virat Rupa” to Arjuna at the battlefield of Kurukshetra remains a personal favorite for me, demanding immediate surrender.

 

The team then headed for the Hanuman temple just around the corner, where stood a tall deity of Hanuman Ji tearing open his chest to display the Supreme Lord Rama and His eternal consort Sita Devi manifested within. The devotees prayed for the blessings and proceeded towards the main road distributing the nectar of the holy name all the while.

 

Beneath the scorching sun, drenched in sweat covered their heads under the ‘chaddars’ and amidst loud songs being played by different groups carrying the kavadis, which is a prominent sight for the festival of Thaipusam, the Harinaam team continued spreading the nectar of the holy name purifying the atmosphere as the microphone kept changing hands.

 

Feast Feast Feast!

 

The Harinam went on for about an hour at the roads before culminating at the residence of Prakash Prabhu who warmly welcomed the Harinam team with an open heart for Prasadam, thus fulfilling the definition for Harinam- “Festival of Chanting, dancing and feasting”.

 

After relishing the nectar of the holy name for over two and a half hours, the devotees sat together honoring Prasadam and sharing their experience of the Harinam. I was deeply touched by the hospitality of Prakash Prabhu’s mother for Mata Ji served each and every devotee twice and thrice with so much love and affection.

 

Another statement by our dear Chellappa Prabhu dawned upon me where he made another remark full of humility-

“It was for the most fallen souls like me, who can’t offer any service, that Srila Prabhupada so mercifully said that ‘honoring Prasadam’ is also a devotional service.”

 

Lessons Learnt!

 

A conversation, which I held witness to, at the Youth Training Academy Room a few hours after we had retuned back to the temple still remains fresh in my memory, when HG Padmanethra Prabhu out of his true humility shared the condition of my mind as he spoke about his experience at the Harinaam that it was difficult to appreciate the holy name in such distracting conditions of loud music, the disturbing sight of the intoxicated worshippers of Lord Murugan carrying the Kavadis with their body pierced. HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu shared his realization that sometimes such difficult situations help us to take shelter of the holy name with more determination as we strive hard to concentrate; otherwise there is a tendency to become indifferent towards the process.

 

Epilogue

 

After having witnessed the extreme austerity and penances being practiced by the people engaged in the worship of Lord Murugan, the following verse from Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 9, Text 23, which I had come across recently (thanks to the devotees who shared this with me as they prepared for the Bhakti Sastri Exam which was conducted recently at Shri Jagannath Mandir, Kuala Lumpur) brought solace to my troubled mind.

 

ye ‘py anya-devatā-bhaktā

yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ

te ‘pi mām eva kaunteya

yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam

 

“Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kuntī, but they do so in a wrong way.”

 

I simply prayed to be able to practice devotional service towards serving Krishna and His devotees with more dedication and determination in our ways of chanting dancing and feasting!

 

(An unworthy soul thus prays to always remain in the association of such pure devotees who are sincerely endeavoring towards glorifying the Supreme Lord and deeply relishing and distributing without discrimination His holy names.)

 

Japa Retreat

By Bhakta Mayank

JAPA RETREAT
28th to 30th January’2011,
Port Dickson

nama om vishnu padaya krsna presthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine

namas te saraswate deve gaura-vani-pracarine

nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine

 

jaya sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu nityananda

sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda

 

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare/

hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
On the behalf of the participants for the Japa Retreat’2011, I would like to express our sincere gratitude towards the Organizing committee and all the sponsors, who gave the youths of Shri Jagannath Mandir, Kuala Lumpur, a wonderful opportunity to be a part of this inspiring event.

Our heartfelt thanks to the members of the Youth Training Academy, HG Patita Pavana Caitanya Prabhu, HG Hemarupa Caitanya Prabhu, HG Veer Bhadra Nitai Prabhu, HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu and HG Navakishore Gopinath Prabhu, who despite being busy with their own engagements organized the program and successfully managed to pull off quite an enjoyable and spiritually nourishing weekend. We’d like to convey our special regards to HG Navakishore Gopinath Prabhu who spear headed this retreat and did a great job in getting an awesome spacious bungalow house with 5 bedrooms, kitchen, hall, and backyard!

A loud Haribol goes out for the Prasadam arrangement team led by HG Veer Bhadra Nitai Prabhu. All of us would like to sincerely express our gratitude towards HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu and Mahesh Prabhu who lovingly prepared a great feast for all, for the morning Prasadam.

We sincerely thank HG Srivas Caitanya Prabhu, who took his precious time off to drive all the way to Port Dickson to bless us his association. Out of his compassion and love towards the youth, he also offered a massive feast with a variety of rich and palatable preparations. We feel highly grateful to him.

We would like to convey our regards and sincere thanks towards all the senior youth devotees who took the efforts to organize the whole program despite their services and blessed us with their association; all the while being there to guide us. We are grateful to Nanu prabhu who inspired all of us with his presence.

On the behalf of the organizing committee and the YTA Members, lastly but by no means the least, we’d like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the youth devotees who attended this Japa retreat, in a wonderful mood full of love and enthusiasm.

PROLOGUE
-By HG Patita Pavan Caitanya Prabhu.

Inspiring location, wonderful and diverse association, ‘finger-lickin’ good Prasadam, fun-filled activities, and dramas; certainly lists all the ingredients for a fantastic getaway from our daily materialistic affairs and responsibilities. When you add the fact that, it all revolves around improving the foundation of our spiritual lives (our Japa), you would never want to miss it for the world!

I’ve attended several Japa retreats before and I can confidently say that the power of concentrated Japa, temple morning program (including bhajans/aratis), and providing a space to share our realizations, is so empowering and beneficial for the devotees.
In many cases one may have never really experienced a regulated temple life before, or haven’t experienced such at all. This retreat offered a sample of this. By experiencing a taste of the sweetness of this simple temple atmosphere (chanting, dancing & feasting with devotees), even for a few days, our connection to the holy name is emphasized and made prominent. Where respectful and loving Vaishnava dealings are encouraged, a powerful impression is formed in the heart.

An ideal life to aspire for, a goal to work towards and that’s what for the Youth Training Academy (YTA) of Sri Jagannath Mandir Kuala Lumpur was established. Surely without a clear impression of what we want to achieve in this brief life and how to attain that goal, it wouldn’t be possible to proceed at a respectable, reasonable pace in our spiritual life.

I’m convinced, time and again, by creating this space for Sri Nama to flourish, a very powerful, nourishing, and lifelong impressions come in the heart. This is our goal, to become more attracted to this process of chanting and remembering the Lords Holy Names and pastimes rather than striving to fulfill our various material desires and ambitions. When we leave this world our practice of this chanting will be sufficient to carry us to a much higher birth and beyond. It is primarily through this process that the realization of Krishna can take place.

Srila Krishna das Kaviraja Goswami writes:

tattva-vastu-krishna, krishna-bhakti, prema-rupa
nama-sankirtana-saba ananda-svarupa

“The Absolute Truth is Sri Krishna, and devotion to Krishna in pure love is achieved through congregational chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all bliss.” (CC Adi 1.96)

DAY1

It was the Friday of 28th January’2011 when a caravan of about twenty five youth devotees packed their bags and headed for a weekend far from the regular lives of study, work and social obligations only to come closer to their real self, to introspect in the association of advanced souls by humbly seeking their blessings, hearing their realizations and thus endeavoring sincerely to improve themselves so as to be used as instruments in the service of the Supreme Lord and His devotees.

We drove for about two hours on the evening of 28th January’2011 from the temple before halting permanently at the entrance to this beautiful Bungalow at Port Dickson, named ‘Langkawi’. The lawn was lush green covered with soft grass. The main hall was spacious and served perfectly well for the planned programs to be conducted.

As soon as we reached, some of us occupied ourselves with arranging the furniture and securing bags and other luggage, while some engaged themselves in the cleaning the hall.

HG Navakishore Gopinath Prabhu along with a few other devotees went on to set up a beautiful altar with the deities of Gaura Nitai and a deity of Sri Radha Madhava and the Asta-sakhis of Sri Chandrodaya Mandir at Mayapur (framed photograph).

As soon as everybody had checked in and all the arrangements were well taken care of everyone honored Prasadam. Everybody then glued themselves to an amazing and a spellbinding slide show presentation by Surintan prabhu, “Reminiscing the Japa Retreat 2010”. We all had a hearty laugh relishing the pictures and videos depicting devotees in various aspects of such events, one of them being wildly dancing in an ecstatic Kirtan!

Thereafter an introductory session was facilitated by HG Hemarupa Caitanya Prabhu and HG Patita Pavan prabhu, where every devotee introduced himself along with sharing one’s expectations from the event. Quite synonymous with the name of the event, “Japa Retreat”, almost all the devotees unanimously addressed their sincere wish and an urgent need to improve the quality and number of daily rounds of chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha mantra. Another important expectation or an area to work upon for many of us was to build strong and loving relationships with the devotees, to be able to appreciate each other and understand each other thereby helping each other to progress in Krishna Consciousness.

The clock displayed a tiring and a drowsy 11.30pm as everybody departed to bed to wake up for the morning program.

DAY 2

The morning program started as scheduled at 05.00am as all of us gathered in the main hall. The program started off with the recitation of the “Shikhsastakam Prayers” followed by an intense Japa Session for one hour.

Surintan Prabhu later shared, out of his true humility that it was inspiring for him, especially to see new devotees taking up chanting, to take chanting more seriously. He actually summed up the feeling of all the devotees after the intense chanting sessions.

HG Patita Pavana Caitanya Prabhu led the Mangal Arati at 06.00am after instructing the devotees to be attentive and to dance together in the graceful “Swami step” while raising the hands. HG Navakishore Gopinath Prabhu later shared that the session he liked the most was the Mangal Arati which kept all of us charged through the rest of the day so that we could appreciate other activities.

The Mangal Arati was followed by the Nrsimha Pranaam and the Tulasi Arati, after which HG Hemarupa Caitanya Prabhu while giving a discourse on a verse in Bhagavad Gita shared some of the hilarious experiences of his initial days of coming to Krishna Consciousness. The session was made lively and refreshing with other YTA members chipping in to share similar experiences from their lives. Everybody felt enlivened and was inspired to see such exemplary examples around us who took the process just like us, facing same awkward situations at home with parents or college and at work with colleagues and have come to benefit a lot out of the process being sincere and full of faith.

It was soon time for the much awaited “Japa walk” by the beach. It was a fresh and peaceful morning as we stepped out towards the nearby beach in enthusiasm, holding on to the bead bags.

The ocean extended till the horizon, complimented by the grey cloudy overcast sky. Some looked mesmerized by the vastness of the ocean, while a few ran around collecting shells and stones. HG Hemarupa prabhu, noting everyone’s amazement while observing the sea, shared that everything wonderful and great like the vastness of the sea is just a tiny spark or splendor of Krishna. To see everything in relation to Krishna is the simplest meaning of being Krishna Consciousness!

We soon returned back to the Bungalow where a wonderful feast awaited us. Before Prasadam however, it was an energetic kirtan led by HG Patita Pavana Caitanya Prabhu which served as the ‘appetizer’.

While all of us had spent a good time chanting, discussing or simply relishing the beach, HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu and Mahesh Prabhu labored in the kitchen preparing breakfast Prasadam for all, presenting yet another example of sincere and dedicated serving attitude in Krishna Consciousness. Their love was well received as everybody applauded their efforts and it was their love which manifested in the taste. The breakfast was simply delicious!

Hot stuffed sandwiches were served, while this family of young devotees found time to relax and share their hearts, sitting at the porch.

After the Prasadam and after a bit of relaxation, it was time for some ‘Krishna Katha’, where HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu led a discussion on the importance of “Vaishnava Relationships”.

Some of the ‘points for contemplation’ as discussed were-

• The first step towards any relationship is the acceptance of our position that who we really are!
• The gauge for our happiness in spiritual life is how eager are we to serve!
• Importance of cooperation among devotees-
  • Cooperation should not be superficial.
  • Genuine Cooperation beings gratitude. Without being grateful one cannot appreciate relationships with Vaishnavas.
  • The importance of developing the virtue of simplicity at heart. Being strict to oneself and lenient to others.
• Importance of the association of devotees- gives the inspiration to develop the qualities of gratitude and simplicity.
• The mood of a Vaishnava
  • One should really be happy to see another devotee advancing and should be sensitive towards the needs to others. Only this would lead to affectionate dealings.
• Ability to share hearts- the sharing of the heart should be so as to glorify the Supreme Lord and should contribute to develop love for Him.

As everyone was deeply engrossed in the discussion, where most of the seniors shared their experiences from their daily life substantiating the points mentioned above, we failed to notice that almost three hours had passed! The session definitely helped all of us to appreciate and take inspiration from the loving exchanges between the senior members of YTA. The purity of love and respect they felt for each other deeply touched the hearts.

HG Hemarupa Caitanya Prabhu later shares his views about the sessions-
“The session, although seemed long, we’re in fact very honest, simple and deep. It created a sense of responsibility among the YTA members.”

While waiting for the lunch Prasadam to be provided by the nearby ISKCON center, we feasted together relishing the Bhajans from different acharyas.

After the Prasadam, while most of the devotees departed to take rest, a few still held on to their chanting bags extracting the most out of this atmosphere of purity, gratitude and humility which is   exclusively conducive to serve the holy name.

In an attempt to wake the sleeping devotees up, as well as to create the right mood before hitting the beach for the Harinaam we took shelter of a heavy kirtan once again chanting His holy names.

The team then proceeded towards the public beach in an attempt to present a glimpse to the people in general, of the happiness derived from the blissful process of Krishna Consciousness and to distribute the holy names. The breeze lifted the spirits to great heights as devotees smiled their way to the beach and started the Harinaam.

It didn’t take long for everyone to be lost in the mood of chanting and dancing as the mrdangas and the kartals complimented the voice of Mahesh Prabhu who led an ecstatic kirtan. The enthusiasm of the youth was at full display as the kirtan progressed on.

With a minor interruption of a drizzle, we took shelter under a huge canopy where the kirtan continued led by HG Patita Pavana Caitanya Prabhu and HG Padmanethra Prabhu. The loud chanting and dancing was like the rumbling of the clouds which drenched everyone in the rain of the holy names.

We then returned back to the temple for a yoga session by HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu demonstrating the “Surya-Namaskar” posture. We were soon blessed with the association of HG Srivas Caitanya Prabhu and HG Gadadhara Pandita Prabhu. It was inspiring to see HG Gadadhara Pandita Prabhu, despite the discomfort and pain in ailing from a recent surgery made an attempt to come for the event.

HG Srivas Caitanya Prabhu then addressed the youth on the importance of taking Krishna Consciousness seriously and being properly trained. He also shared many of his realizations through the years of experience in Krishna Consciousness. The lecture was followed by a massive Feast, which he had so kindly prepared and was later humbly served to all by him.

Before departing finally to bed, the devotees savored on a hilarious yet meaningful drama, on the pastime of ‘Ajamila’, who was prevented to be taken by the Yamdutas, and was given a second chance to perfect his life, for he had simply called out the name of his son, Narayana while being on the death bed. The pastime lifted from Srimad Bhagavatam was wonderfully narrated by HG Veer Bhadra prabhu and it brilliantly highlighted the theme of the event, emphasizing the importance of the holy names. The spontaneity and creativity of the YTA members taking the lead roles left most of us rolling on the floor laughing!

DAY 3

It was an Ekadasi and the morning began quite like the previous day which had been full of enthusiasm and high spirits to chant the holy names, as devotees assembled in the hall again for the Japa Session followed by Morning ‘Aratis’.

For many devotees it was a struggle, both to wake up first and then to be awake while chanting, after a tiring day filled with Krishna Consciousness, but it was the feeling of combined struggle that kept us endeavoring throughout the whole Japa Session.

The Japa session was followed by the concluding and the most interactive session of the treat facilitated by HG Hemarupa Caitanya Prabhu and HG Patita Pavana Caitanya Prabhu as the heavy downpour had prevented us to have any outdoor activity. The session was titled “Gratitude”, and the devotees were asked to share their feelings on “who are we grateful to, for being in Krishna Consciousness!”

The devotees unanimously expressed their gratefulness towards Srila Prabhupada displaying their deep love and dependence on the Founder Acarya of the Movement.

It was a session coated with laughter, as many incidents unfolded about the lives of devotees, before coming to Krishna Consciousness. While deep inside, everybody felt a deep sense of gratitude, a feeling of appreciation and acceptance towards each other. Many devotees also revealed their hearts sharing how they were touched by the care and affection of all the YTA members which was the main and the underlying factor for them coming to Krishna Consciousness.

Surintan Prabhu shares about the session-
“I noticed that all were friendly to each other, so to speak, after the ‘gratitude’ session. So, I guess such group activities were an awesome idea in the retreat, just to bring devotees and other boys getting to know each other closer.”

HG Navakishore Gopinath Prabhu highlights his views in similar lines-
“It’s good to see some of our participants who are getting closer with the YTA boys and revealing their hearts to us too. It’s a good sign!”

The main idea of the session as highlighted by HG Hemarupa Caitanya Prabhu was to allow that sense of appreciation for other devotees to surface, allowing us to feel grateful.

HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu amalgamates this wonderful thought beautifully-
“My learning from retreat is that our Japa depends on attentively hearing the holy names and to be attentive in our endeavor the heart should be at peace and this peace comes from having very healthy and grateful relationship that we share with other devotees.”

The devotees felt nourished having drenched their hearts with the nectar of deep realizations pouring from the seniors.

Pretty soon, yet another Feast prepared by none other than HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu and Mahesh Prabhu added taste to the ongoing discussion and taught us another important lesson that the feeling of gratitude consequently results in loving service towards the Lord and His devotees. Beyond doubt, their sincerity to serve was reflected in the delicious and exquisite fruit salad preparation!

It was now time to pay obeisances to the beautiful place that held witness to the intense execution of various aspects of the process of devotional service. Everyone got engaged in cleaning the rooms and arranging the things to their proper place following the true principle quality of a devotee to leave a place as clean as it was earlier (if not better)!

On the way back to Kuala Lumpur, as it rained heavily, the devotees visited the Lukut Center of ISKCON at Port Dickson where HG Veer Bhadra Nitai Prabhu led a sweet kirtan for the pleasure of Their Lordships.

HG Patita Pavana Caitanya Prabhu gave a discourse on the “Glories of the holy names”. It was towards the end of the class while speaking on the purifying potency of the holy names; when his voice trembled and soon tears of deep humility swelled in his eyes. It was a long silence which followed, before he moved the microphone away and in his ever sweet smile, reflecting the genuine purity of his heart, asked for the Prasadam Prayers to be recited.

EPILOGUE

Days later, what followed this wonderful retreat was a sharing of experiences and realizations by the participants-

“By participating in this program, my attachment to the holy name and bond with the Vaishnavas is getting deeper and deeper with each passing day, making me experience more spiritual bliss. Association of other Vaishnavas inspires me to be more serious in my devotional service.”

-HG Veer Bhadra Nitai Prabhu.

“I liked the flow of the event. Nanu prabhu was really really really happy with the retreat. He said that he wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to be in the list of participants, at first place. It seems that when HG Navakishore Gopinath prabhu was listing the participants, Nanu Prabhu happened to be there. He later thought that HG Navakishore Gopinath prabhu was obliged to put him in the list. Nevertheless, out of his sheer humility, he said he needed to attend more of such events to keep him inspired and progress in his spiritual journey. He told that he’s trying really hard, but he can’t do it all by himself, and that it’s tough. Coming to that retreat really was a boost for him. Well, the journey was long, so he told me lots of other stuff.”

-Surintan Prabhu

“Firstly, I’m really glad for being invited for the Japa Retreat. The classes were good; all the speakers were great and really inspiring even though all of them are younger to me in age. Another thing that I really liked was that all the boys were well disciplined, polite and humble, compared to boys at many another youth events that I have attended.”

-Nanu Prabhu

“YTA plans to carry on conducting such activities for boys who are inclined towards Krishna Consciousness, and would like to further progress through the association of devotees. Overall, with all the early morning classes, fantastic kirtans, Harinam by the beach, and boys being boys, with Krsna in the center….the Retreat was perfect. It was a perfect weekend the boys spent with Krsna.”

-HG Hemarupa Caitanya Prabhu

“The whole event was very enlightening and we need to continue with this mood including myself.”

-HG Navakishore Gopinath Prabhu

“I would like to express my sincere and deep gratitude to all youth devotees who attended the Japa Retreat and inspired me in their own ways. I would like to thank all senior youth devotees for guiding me and would like to specially thank Nanu prabhu to be part of the event and inspiring us.”

-HG Gauranga Vihari Prabhu

Vote of Thanks-

I would like to sincerely thank HG Gaura Chandra Prabhu for bestowing upon me this service of writing a report on the Japa Retreat, and it was only by his blessings and encouragement that despite lacking the purity, I could take up this service, for my own purification and the pleasure of the devotees.

I find great shelter and hope in all the YTA members who have showered so much love and affection towards all of us. I acknowledge the fact that they have been so caring and sensitively guiding all of us in our spiritual life. Personally though, I pray to someday get tired out of consistently letting them down, by being complacent.

I would like to sincerely thank all of them who so compassionately agreed to share their experiences, thoughts and realizations on the Japa Retreat and helped me in compiling this insignificant report.

An unworthy soul begs for blessings from all to remain in the association of such inspiring devotees, and in that association incessantly endeavor to learn and deeply imbibe the values of love and affection, appreciation, simplicity, gratitude, humility and to selflessly serve and please the Lord and His devotees.

 

KLVS 2011

By Sriman Mayank pr

KLVS’2011,
Port Dickson
11th to 13th February’2011.

The congregation of Sri Jagannath Mandir, Kuala Lumpur set out on a spiritual getaway from the routine life, to spend a weekend of solace and complete absorption in the hearing and chanting about the glories of the Lord in the association of sincere devotees and to deepen relationships amongst devotees.

The Convention was held at NUBE Training center at Port Dickson. The facility at NUBE perfectly catered for the needs and requirements of such a convention. The main hall was spacious and easily accommodated over two hundred devotees who had gathered from all corners. The rooms and dormitories were well furnished, and it was only due to such basic needs being well addressed that the devotees could completely get themselves absorbed in the seminars to follow, free from anxiety. The children were also well taken care of, under the guidance of experienced teachers, who engaged them into learning various subjects and arts while the parents could comfortably attend the seminars.

It was however the presence of expert and experienced speakers from Shri Shri Radha Gopinath Mandir, Chowpatty, Mumbai which overwhelmed the hearts of the audience, as they found themselves attending sessions lasting over six to seven hours a day! HG Radha Gopinath Prabhu, a senior Brahmachari and one of the members of the Presidential Council of Shri Radha Gopinath Mandir, enlightened the audience with an interactive Seminar on “Taking care of Krsna’s devotees” divided into three sessions for each day.

HG Dwaraka Dish Prabhu and HG Vishaka Priya Mataji were the other guest speakers for the event who shared their experiences on the ‘Practicing Krishna Consciousness in the Grhastha Ashram’ throughout the convention.

The day would begin with Mangala Arati at 05.30am, with the worship of a number of deities who graced the altar and blessed the devotees with Their auspicious presence. We had Jagannath Baladev and Subathra who extended themselves to be with the congregation, we had Sri Lakshmi Narasimha dev who must have been very pleased with all the seminars on devotee care. And we had about 7 or 8 sets of Sri Gaura Nitai Deities just showering their blessings upon all of us. Oh and we also had LaduGopal ji. It was inspiring and highly motivating for all, to attend the morning programmes, especially to sit together in a circle and chant as the hall reverberated with the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra.

The kirtans during the Guru Puja were euphoric and left everyone fully drenched after dancing their hearts out, for the pleasure of the Deities and Prabhupada as an expression of joy and spiritual bliss.

The rest of the day would then progress attending various seminars addressing significant aspects of Krishna consciousness. The sessions were deeply enlivening and highly nourishing and kept the audience
fully absorbed in the realizations and the wisdom shared by the speakers.

The Prasadam was delicious, like always, and the devotees feasted on an array of dishes. The great serving spirit of young devotees, who blissfully and tirelessly served the congregation, added to the taste and their potent service was well appreciated and acknowledged. While having Prasadam, the devotees would sit together and engage in the churning process of sharing their thoughts and realizations after the seminars, helping others to learn and progress individually and collectively in Krishna Consciousness.

The weather was soothing and many devotees would stroll down the nearby beach in the evenings for a Japa Walk. Some of us were quite fortunate to have joined HG Radha Gopinath Prabhu for one such walk. Amongst many things he shared was a pastime of Srila Prabhupada where His Divine Grace saw a crab crawling towards the ocean and asked one of his disciples, HG Brahmananda Prabhu, to catch it. HG Brahmananda Prabhu immediately ran to catch the crab and after a lot of struggle with splashing the waves at the shore, returned, but in vain. Prabhupada later described that Brahmananda prabhu even though being so powerful couldn’t catch the crab, once the crab entered the ocean. Similarly if a living entity takes shelter of the Supreme Lord, he can cross over the material energy which is so powerful and impossible to overcome.

Prabhu also shared many learning experiences from his life. The devotees were most intrigued to learn how he came to Krishna Consciousness! The devotees felt touched by his simplicity and innocence and inspired and motivated by his realizations as the time spent with him impressed itself upon many hearts.

The three days were spent full of bliss in the association of devotees, far from the daily chores of material life to appreciate this most valuable gift of Krishna Consciousness presented by Srila Prabhupada.

As the Convention concluded, there was enough for each devotee to learn from, be inspired with and most importantly to work upon. Even though there was much more for the speakers to share and for the audience to hear and learn, it was inevitable time which separated them both. With a feeling of being spiritually nourished and having spent valuable moments in the wonderful association to be cherished for long, the devotees bid NUBE, Port Dickson a Hare Krishna!

But here I must add, that having said all that, the feeling of being in the company of so many devotees and hearing and sharing Krsna katha for three consecutive days really made a huge impact on us. The prevalent feeling was that of security and warmness being in the company of close family. I’m sure many of us feel closer to one another and experienced Srila Prabhupad’s infallible and ever merciful shelter in the unity of our congregation. Sri Jagannath Mandir family ki – JAI!

The Sacred Necklace

Diary of a Traveling Monk – Volume 11, Chapter 11 – November 21, 2010

By Indradyumna Swami

One morning in Vrindavana, I was sitting in my house chanting my rounds when my disciple Narottam Das Thakur Das came to see me. He offered his respectful obeisances and then spoke. “Guru Maharaja,” he said, “it’s been a long time since I have visited Govardhana Hill. If you don’t have any service for me today, I would like your blessings to go on Govardhana parikrama.”

“You’re free to go,” I said. “Just be back in time for the program tonight. I would go with you, but I have some important things to do.”

As he was leaving I had another thought. “Keep your eyes open,” I said. “You never know what special mercy might come your way during parikrama in Vrindavana.”

Early the next morning he burst into my room as I was chanting my rounds. “Guru Maharaja,” he said excitedly, “the most amazing thing happened to me yesterday.”

It seems that Narottam had taken a taxi to Govardhana Hill and begun his parikrama at Kusum Sarovara. He set a quick pace and reached the southern tip of the hill in a few hours. He felt tired, so he wandered into a forested area to take a short break.

Suddenly he saw a sadhu sitting and chanting on japa beads. The sadhu was thin and lean, with matted locks tied neatly on top of his head, dressed only in a loin cloth with a chadar around his shoulders. His eyes were closed, and he seemed peaceful and equipoised, absorbed in his meditation on the holy names.

Narottam went up to him. “My dear sir,” he said, “may I ask who you are?” The sadhu opened his eyes. “I am the servant of Giriraja,” he said. Narottam was attracted by the sadhu’s saintly bearing, so he sat by him and began chanting. After thirty minutes the sadhu rose and turned to Narottam. “I am on Govardhana parikrama,” he said. “Would you like to join me?”

“Yes, of course,” Narottam replied.

They soon came to Apsara Kunda, a sacred lake at the foot of Govardhana and stopped for a moment to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

“Where do you live, sir?” Narottam asked.

“I live around Govardhana,”the sadhu said. “And each night I stay in a different asrama.”

“And how do you get food?”

The sadhu smiled. “It’s never a problem,” he said. “No one goes hungry in Vrindavana. I beg from the villagers, and they always give more than I can eat. Usually I end up sharing my meals with the cows or the monkeys.”

At that moment they passed a group of pilgrims on a picnic. “Jai ho Babaji!” a man called out. “Please come take prasada with us.”

The sadhu smiled again. “You see?” he said. “Giriraja provides everything for His devotees.”

After having lunch with the other pilgrims, Narottam and the sadhu washed their hands in a nearby pond and continued walking. As they passed into an area of thick foliage, the sadhu gazed affectionately at Govardhana.

“This hill, Giri-Govardhana,” he said, “is the best devotee of Krsna. Radharani, Krsna’s beloved, once said to Her friends: ‘Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best. O my friends, this hill supplies Krsna and Balarama, as well as Their calves, cows and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities – water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers, and vegetables. In this way, the hill offers respect to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus feet of Krsna and Balarama, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant.’”

They walked only another fifty meters when the sadhu stopped. “Let me show you a special place where I sometimes go to chant,” he said.

They turned left off the parikrama path and made their way into the forest, then stopped just behind an asrama. The sadhu pointed to an opening in a rise on the ground. “Just over there is Raghava Pandit’s cave,” he said. “Raghava Pandit was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya and would do his bhajana in this cave whenever he visited Vrindavana. It is a very sacred place. Let us go there and chant at the entrance.”

While they were sitting near the cave chanting on their beads, Narottam turned to the sadhu. “Baba,” he said, “how old are you? You’re obviously not young, but you do have a youthful bearing.”

The sadhu chuckled. “I’m ninety years old,” he said.

“And do you spend much time here?” Narottam asked.

“I’ve lived here my entire life,” he said. “And I’ve done Govardhana parikrama every day since I was ten years old.”

Narottam was amazed. “That’s every day for eighty years,” he said. “How many Govardhana parikramas is that?”

“The number is not important,” the sadhu said. “When one circumambulates Govardhana Hill, the heart is purified and gradually one’s devotion for Krsna is awakened.”

Narottam thought about the sadhu’s words. Then he spoke. “My spiritual master,” he said, “is a disciple of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, who left Vrindavana at an advanced age to spread love of Krsna all over the world.”

“I know of Swami Bhaktivedanta,” the sadhu said.

“My spiritual master is helping to advance his guru’s mission,” Narottam continued. “He tells people about the glories of Vrindavana in places like Eastern Europe and Russia. Every year during the month of Kartika he takes groups of devotees on parikrama around Vraja.”

The sadhu’s eyes opened wide. “Oh that is very nice,” he said.

“And he carries a Govardhana-sila with him wherever he travels,” said Narottam.

The sadhu’s eyes opened even wider. “That really is very nice,” he said.

As they continued chanting japa, Narottam studied the sadhu and noticed he was wearing two strings of large Tulasi beads around his neck. One consisted of dark-colored beads that appeared polished through years of being worn, and there was a large silver kavaca on it. The second set of beads was smaller and newer.

Narottam suddenly had an idea. He took a deep breath. “Babaji Maharaja,” he said, “I’ve noticed you are wearing two sets of large Tulasi beads around your chest.”

He paused for a moment. “Do you think I could have one to give to my guru as a present?”

The sadhu stopped chanting and thought for several minutes. “Yes,” he said, “I can give.”

Narottam was stunned. He hadn’t expected the sadhu to give the beads.

The sadhu put his chadar on the ground and then carefully placed his japa beads on it. He then removed the newer set of beads. “I carved them myself,” he said as he dropped them into Narottam’s hands.

Narottam couldn’t believe his good fortune as he looked at the beads, but when he looked up, he noticed the older beads now hanging in plain view on the sadhu’s chest. The finely carved beads were made from knotted wood and appeared as if from another era. There was something mystical about them.

“Babaji,” Narottam said, almost pleading, “my spiritual master would be most appreciative of the older set.”

The sadhu’s eyes opened wide. He fingered the beads. “I received this set from another sadhu forty years ago,” he said. “He got them from his guru when he was a small boy, and his guru had received them from his own guru many years before that. They are more than a hundred years old.”

Narottam lost all hope.

“They have circumambulated Govardhana Hill thousands of times, bathed in Radha Kunda every day I have lived here, and are imbued with the spiritual potency of all the prayers and mantras I have chanted in my appeals to Giriraja,” said the sadhu.

Narottam nodded and returned to his chanting. Then the sadhu spoke again. “But I will be happy to give them to your guru,” he said. “Tell him to continue spreading the glories of Vrindavana wherever he goes.”

Then he took off the old Tulasi beads with the silver kavaca and carefully placed them into Narottam’s trembling hands. Narottam sat staring at the beautiful necklace, a transcendental work of art permeated with the devotion of a saintly person.

“But you must give me back the other necklace,” the sadhu said with a chuckle. “What’s a baba without beads?”

Narottam handed back the newer set and placed the older one in his bag.

“All right,” the sadhu said with a smile, “let us continue our parikrama. Giriraja-Govardhana, ki jaya!”

He stood up and began walking so quickly Narottam could hardly keep up with him. “This sadhu has so much energy,” he thought. The sadhu’s japa got louder as his pace increased, and after a while Narottam fell behind. Gradually the saintly person, intent on his daily ritual of circumambulating Govardhana, disappeared.

Narottam stopped and checked in his bag to see if the sacred beads had really been more than a dream. “Gurudeva will be so happy,” he thought.

I sat in my room spellbound, listening to Narottam’s story. He stopped talking and finally took out the beads and placed them in my hands. As I looked at them, I realized I had received a gift of unlimited mercy.

I slowly placed them around my neck and turned to Narottam. “How do they look?” I asked.

“Well, they’re quite big, Guru Maharaja,” he said. “Not what the general devotee wears.”

“Nevertheless, I must wear them,” I said. “They are a gift from a saintly person. Besides, they’re saturated with spiritual potency. I’m leaving for Brazil in a few days for a seven-week festival program. These beads will be my inspiration as I leave this holy abode of Vrindavana. I’ll be carrying Vrindavana with me.”

“Yes,” said Narottam. “The benediction was timely.”

As I studied the beads I asked Narottam what was in the kavaca. A look of embarrassment came over his face, and he blushed. “I forgot to ask,” he said.

“Huh?” I said. “You didn’t ask the sadhu what was inside the kavaca?”

“No, Guru Maharaja,” he said. “I was overwhelmed by the moment.”

“That’s all right,” I said. “It adds to the mystery of the pastime. For sure, whatever is in the kavaca is spiritually potent and precious.”

I pressed the necklace close to my chest and then went back to chanting my rounds.

“I will wear this sacred necklace for the rest of my life,” I thought, “and one day, like the sadhu, I will pass it on to another devotee who will benefit from its charm.”

My mind went back to 1972, when Srila Prabhupada kindly handed me a dhoti from his suitcase. “A gift from a Vaisnava is a very special thing,” he said. “It should be treated with all respect.”

Indradyumna.swami@pamho.net www. travelingmonk. com Audio lectures: www. narottam. com Facebook: Indradyumna Swami

 

Harinam Sankirtan

Kundang Harinaam

Tuesday 7th of Dec, Sungai Buloh

 

By Bhakta Mayank

 

nama om vishnu padaya krsna presthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine

namas te saraswate deve gaura-vani-pracarine

nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine

 

jaya sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu nityananda

sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda

 

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare/

hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

 

Hare Krishna!

Please accept my respectful obeisance.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

It was all auspiciousness that accompanied the devotees of the congregation of Shri Jagannath Mandir, Kuala Lumpur as they headed for a yet another Harinaam at Kundang near Sungai Buloh to establish the words of Lord Caitanya -

 

“I declare that My name will be preached in every town and village of this earth.”

(Caitanya Caritamrita Antya Lila 4.126)

 

The devotees participating in the Harinaam received blessings from His Holiness Janananda Goswami Maharaja during the Bhagavatam Class in the morning of Saturday 04^th December’2010. It was a hilarious moment, when enquiring the name of the place where the Harinaam was to be conducted (Near Sungai Buloh), Maharaja made a comment that the name to be rather changed to “Hari Buloh” (pronounced as “Hari Bolo”). As smiles glittered across the faces, Maharaja made yet another comment “It’s Horri-ble, if it’s not Hari-bol” displaying a well-timed and a sharp transcendental sense of humour as well his natural perception of everything in relation to the Lord and His holy name.

As the class ended, Maharaja enquired whether the Prasadam was being served. Left with mostly blank and vague responses by a few devotees who were present in the hall, Maharaja himself answered saying that the sudden disappearance of most of the devotees immediately after the Bhagavatam class indicates nothing but that the Prasadam is being served and the devotees are in the queue!

After the breakfast Prasadam, the caravan of devotees started off for Kundang after taking blessings from Their Lordships Sri Jagganath Baladeva and Subhadra, Sri Sri Nitai Sundar Gaura Hari, Sri Sri Radha Syam Sundar, The Guru Parampara and His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.

The journey was an hour drive from the temple. With a heavily overcast sky and the cool breeze refreshing the hearts, the weather too seemed to express joy for the event.

We entered Kundang, as the roads narrowed, bordered on both sides with lush greenery of vast pastures and lakes and Golf Courts. The scenery spoke volumes of the serenity and peace in its life.

As the devotees gathered at the parking lot, the spirits of the Harinaam soared with the winds. Three teams were formed taking care of the book distribution, Prasad distribution and kirtan.

Taking shelter of the Lord Caitanya and His associates and Srila Prabhupada, HG Ramananda Prabhu held on to the microphone and thus led the kirtan party. While everybody chanted the holy names, the book distribution team under the guidance of HG Krishna Chandra Prabhu and HG Tattvavit Prabhu, went about enthusiastically as they approached different shop keepers and people by the roadside.

A special enthusiasm manifested in the distribution of the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, commemorating the appearance of this timeless scripture “Bhagavad Gita” (or “the Song of the God”) on the 17^th of December.

 

Along with the holy name and the distribution of Bhagavad Gita As It Is, what also flowed incessantly was the mercy of Their Lordships in the form of Prasadam (delicious ‘Halwa’) and the simplicity with which the people in general accepted and reciprocated with the devotees clearly illustrated the natural attraction and inclination of the living entity towards the Supreme.

It was the compassion and dedication towards serving the Lord that kept the ‘Vaishnavas’ moving on, under the scorching sun at noon and the weather turned humid. Taking the chanting the holy names to be only shelter, the Harinaam was still in full swing, purifying many hearts and many houses.

The kirtan team would at times split when invited by the people to perform the sankirtana in their living rooms. The devotees would then enthusiastically gather and chant the holy names invoking auspiciousness.

Spreading the glories thus for about two hours, the devotees assembled at the residence of the mother of HG Prema Pushkarini Mataji. It was an atmosphere, anyone would crave for, as the group of about 30 devotees sat together, chanted together, laughed together as a closely knit family sharing the divine and transcendental mellows of Krishna Consciousness.

The ceremonious counting of the Lakshmi collected as a result of the book distribution was the most exciting moment of all. It was declared that the book distribution had resulted in the collection of RM 460.00. However it was recounted for confirmation and the figures now reached a whopping RM 560.00. A loud uproar of “Hari Bol” went into the living room, while a few jokingly requested for the third count as the Lakshmi had somehow increased with the second, which was probably a miscalculation at the first count.

A special moment that the devotees shared together was the concluding address by HG Krishna Chandra Prabhu, where he thanked all the devotees who participated and congratulated for assisting the movement of Sri Krishna Caitanya, especially the distribution of Bhagavad Gita As It Is. The stomach churning humour was in the simultaneous translation being given by HG Patita Pavan Caitanya Prabhu.

Finally expressing their heart felt gratitude and taking the blessings of the Mataji the devotees headed back towards the parking lot, to get back to the temple for the Prasadam.

Some of the special highlights as the devotees unanimously agreed to, as they honoured Prasadam back in the temple premises, were the house of one particular person who warmly welcomed the devotees to chant in the living room. The devotees were amazed to see big-sized postures of a movie star all around the house. The family seemed a stout fan of the movie personality to the extent of all most worshiping the movie star.

However the dormant devotion towards the Supreme Lord, in the heart of the house owner, was prominently revived as he nicely served the devotees and chanted the Mahamantra, at the same time being receptive to the Bhagavad Gita.

A young kid named Suren, who had attended the first ever Sunday Feast at Shri Jagannath Mandir the previous week, won the hearts of devotees and probably Prabhupada as well, by showing extraordinary enthusiasm for book distribution. The devotees of the Book distribution team recalled him, running into almost every door step and approaching anyone and everyone with a request to purchase a book. The devotees received a huge sense of inspiration from this soul who had come about to render such wonderful loving devotional service of Book distribution.

A garbage truck kept following the Harinaam team while patrolling the area for trash and was yet another highlight. The devotees though found it a bit hard to appreciate, considering the air around the truck to be heavy with stink of damp and foulness. Imagine chanting with your noses chocked with your hands!

Nevertheless, the whole experience thus registered itself into the memories of all the devotees who would long cherish this particular journey as yet another step in their own evolution towards their true identity, of being a humble, menial servant and an instrument in the hands of the Lord.

 

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Nitai Gaura Premanandi Hari Hari Bol!

 

(An unworthy soul hereby seeks blessings of all the Vaishnavas in this insignificant endeavour to glorify the Lord, His Holy Name and His devotees.)