We have arrived in Vrindavan

The Lifting of Govardhana Hill
Hare Krishna Nama
Radhikastakam - Rashik Priya - www.rashikmusic.com
I like Vrindavan - Rashik Priya - www.rashikmusic.com
Fields of Vrindavan - Rashik Priya - www.rashikmusic.com

Finally the goal of our journey has been achieved, we have arrived in the holy dham of Vrindavan. We reached our guest house after some difficulties. Economic development does not stop in Vrindavan. Developers have firmly moved into the city. It is a good investment opportunity as property prices are spiralling out of control. What was once a forest and later a village has become a city, however, with much underdeveloped infrastructure and sewage systems. It is another example of uncontrolled economic development.

There are some small changes at Krishna Balarama Mandir too. Security has been stepped up and one needs now a gate and camera pass. The altar and some of the temple's inside has also been re-painted, however, Radhe Syam, Krishna Balarama and Gaura Nitai look as splendid as ever. Standing in front of Radhe Syam's altar feels like being back home. I am surprised by the little difference between my meditation on the divine couple and being actually in front of Them and I am reminded that Vrindavan is a state of consciousness.

I wonder if Radharani still remembers me when I take my usual place right in front of and slightly to the left of the altar. I hardly stand there gazing at Srimati Radhika's ever enchanting lotus face when the pujari throws a flower garland over my head. How could I have doubted as tears roll down my cheeks. The queen of Vrindavan has welcomed me as I am standing there speechless and in utter astonishment.

I don't want to leave this best of all places in the entire universe, the spot I have become so accustomed to in my meditation and I have to be dragged away by the others for prasadam at the MVT restaurant.

The evening arati and the damodara prayers are like an ocean of spiritual bliss. Devotees from all over the world have assembled here in Vrindavan to celebrate this best of all months, namely kartik. Any devotional service performed in Vrindavan counts a 100 times and in this month of kartik an additional 1000 times. I feel very fortunate of having been allowed to be here.

It is a wonderful sight to see devotees offering lamps to Their Lords, much like an ocean of lights moving past the altars. It is inspiring to see all this devotion in the faces of so many Vaishnavas from all around the world.

Today is Bahulastami and the appearance of Radha Kunda. Radha Kunda is considered the most sacred body of water in the entire universe, being the liquid form of Srimati Radharani's prema or love for Sri Krishna. It is described by Rupa Goswami in his Nectar of Instructions that bathing in her waters will definitely awaken ones love of Godhead.

There is a midnight bathing in Radha Kunda and a harinam chanting procession around its shore. However, I am down with the flue staying back and in bed. Writing this I actually feel already better and with some medicine I will be back on track by tomorrow or the day after I hope.

The others in our party have gone for the midnight bathing and I pray they will have a wonderful experience. I don't feel too bad as I have been bathing in the sacred waters at least twice before.

In the afternoon we went shopping in Loy Bazar to get some new outfits for our beloved deities back home in Leicester, Sri Sri Nitai Saci-Sundar. I pray They will be pleased with our humble endeavours. Praying for the welfare of all of you I beg to remain your servant in the service of Sri Sri Radha Syamasundar and Srila Prabhupada.

Akshardham, a spiritual Disneyland

Jaya Madhava Madana Murari 2
Varsana Hill
Jaya Jaya Radhe Jaya Jaya Syam 2

We have arrived in Delhi and are staying at the ISKCON guesthouse. The Air India flight was not a propellar machine but a small jet plane which brought us to Delhi in just over 2 hours. They served some nice food too.

We took a local taxi from the airport to the ISKCON temple. It was rush hour and the journey took a very long time. Delhi is booming economically and there is no sign of a recession here, however, it can not cope with its overwhelming traffic and pollution. Most of the time the traffic stood still and even a major traffic jam on London's M25 seemed like paradise in comparison.

I feel much for the people of India as they enter sleep walking into the global Coca Cola culture, which promises them happiness through economic development. Little do they know about the side effects of it. The big multi national companies are everywhere. Oil seems to be cheap and concret and steel seems easily available. Anti pollution is unheard of. Delhi must be one of the most polluted cities on the globe. Many people have scarves rapped over their mouth and nose.

Having been in Delhi 3 years ago it seems the traffic is doubling every year. The city seems to burst in its seams without any solution in sight. All traffic is on the road as there is no underground transport system.

In the south of Delhi is Faridabad, the industrial heart of the city. One can see steel and concrete everywhere as a huge flyover is being constructed to relief the exploding traffic. India's middle class is blooming and housing estates are springing up everywhere, most of it high rise tower blocks. No wonder that India is one of the world's greatest polluters but people want economic development more than anything else. One advertisement read so typically, 'we are selling dreams'. This dreams of a better life will soon turn out to be a nightmare and India's people are sleep walking right into it. Spiritual values and India's great spiritual heritage seem to disappear quickly, becoming nothing more than hollow imagery and empty rituals. It is painful to see this ignorance.

Next day we went to Akshardham, a Swami Narayana temple on the outskirts of Delhi. It is a huge multi million dollar complex of finely carved marble with perfectly ornamented gardens, a true masterpiece of Vedic architecture. It is a spiritual Disneyland and museum, albeit without any real spiritual life or the chanting of the names of God. It is an educational heritage of Vedic culture but unfortunately spiritually dead.

One can see many Vedic scenes from ancient times singing the glories of India's great past, an underground boat ride with dioramas right and left, an incredibly well done film on a huge screen about the life of Neelkanth, the child yogi, who was later known as Swaminarayan.

The film was shot in 108 locations in India and features a cast of 45,000 people. It is certainly worth watching. Akshardham is a 100-acre cultural complex. It showcases India's glorious traditions of art, architecture, wisdom and spirituality. It took 300 million man-hours to carve 300,000 stones and create the entire complex. One can see 20,000 superbly sculpted figures and an over 2 km long double-storeyed parikrama path. Modern technology is an intrinsic part of the whole experience. The cultural garden has 22-acres of lush lawns and trees with 900,000 saplings and shrubs of 250 varieties. It would have taken 50 years to build such a complex, however, it was completed in just 5 years by mainly volunteers.

The highlight of our 5 hour visit was a gigantic musical water display with many moving and rotating fountains and colourful lighting, all computer synchronized to Indian classical music. It puts any firework display to shame. It is certainly worth a visit.

Bye bye Puri, bye bye Jagannatha

Lautha Baba, Dhan Gati, Udhava Kunda and Badrinath
Aindra - Hare Krishna
Aindra in Sridham Mayapur

We have left Puri and are now at the Bubanshwar airport. We are quite sad to have left Puri. We fell in love with it more than we ever expected. Puri is actually quite a small conservative and cast conscious town. The other day when I was at the beach I changed my gumcha and had my brahminical thread wrapped around my ear when a local gentleman asked me in a kind of amused tone if I was a brahmin. I said yes and he eventually said something like good or ok.

I unfortunately missed the preaching opportunity of telling him the verse from the Gita "catur varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah" etc., namely that we are brahmin, ksatriya etc. by karma and guna, i.e. by the particular mode of nature we are situated in and by our practical engagement. Krishna never says by 'janma' or by birth.

Varshana Kishori mataji is typing this on the airport's free computer. When we left Puri the waves of the Indian Ocean were even higher than when we arrived. It is almost impossible to take a bath now. Yesterday all roads into the centre of Puri were closed because it was the last day of Laxmi Puja. There was live music and a procession through town. It was almost impossible to get a rickshaw, however, we managed to find our way to the Grand Restaurant for our last meal in Puri.

Samir got very much attached to taking darshan of Lord Jagannath. We all will miss our japa walks along the beautiful beach of Puri, where the wind blows so gently and where the waves crush unto the sea shore with a thundering noise spreading a fine salty spray everywhere. O Purusottama Ksetra we love you dearly and hope to be back some time in the future. Please grant us this desire. We pray to Lord Jagannatha for all those who asked us to pray for. Please be merciful to Your devotees so they can always remember Your lotus feet. Please give your full protection to all of them!

A visit to Tota Gopinatha temple

Jaya Jaya Radhe Jaya Jaya Syam
Aindra - Sounds of Braj
Vaiyasakhi - Shyamol Sundara Shyam

When we woke up this morning it was raining again. This is quite unusual for this time of the year. The rain eventually died down later in the morning, which enabled us to visit some important temples and locations in Puri.

Our first visit was to the Tota Gopinatha temple. This is the place where Lord Caitanya is said to have entered into the deity of Tota Gopinatha. We were told that when one visits this temple at 5 AM the pujari will show one the crack in the foot of the deity where Lord Caitanya is said to have entered the deity. There are other accounts too that say the Lord walked into the sea when winding up His pastimes in this world. At this temple we met a group of devotees from Argentina, who are on their way to Sri Dham Mayapur. Just outside the temple we took the group photo above.

How nice Samir looks in his new dhoti and with tilaka marks on his forehead. It is the first time he wears dhoti and tilaka. He promised to carry on dressing as a Vaishnava once he is back in the UK. Now he not only looks like a proper Vaishnava on the inside but as one on the outside as well.

Next we visited the samadhi of Haridas Thakura, which is the place where Haridas Thakura's body is buried. It was his wish that he would leave this mortal frame with his eyes fixed on the beautiful face of Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya granted him this wish and while looking at the Lord Haridas departed from this world. Thereafter Lord Caitanya took his body into his arms and danced. Then he washed his body and buried him near the sea. The Lord ordered His devotees to arrange for a grand feast, which the Lord personally distributed amongst the thousands of Vaishnavas present.

We also visited Siddha Bakula, which is the tree under which Haridas Thakura performed his yajna of chanting 3 lakhs of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, which is 300,000 names and which must have taken him 23 hours leaving just one hour for eating and sleeping. This is why Lord Caitanya proclaimed Haridas Thakura as the Nama Acharya, the greatest teacher of the Holy Name. Haridas Thakura was the personification of Lord Caitanya's siksastakam prayers, namely to chant the Hare Krishna mantra in the mood of great humility, more humble than the straw in the street and more tolerant than a tree.

The straw in the street is not protesting when people walk over it and the tree tolerates all kind of weather conditions without complaining. This should be our mood when chanting Hare Krishna. Moreover, we should offer respect to everyone and not expect any respect for ourselves. In this mood we can chant Hare Krishna 24 hours a day.

Lord Caitanya regularly visited Haridas at Siddha Bakula after He had taken darshan of Lord Jagannatha. Many intimate discussion took place at this location. In the courtyard of the temple is a bakula tree. The tree was not always there and Haridas chanted his rounds in the hot sun. One day Lord Caitanya could not any longer bear such great austerities of His beloved devotee. He brought a toothpick from Lord Jagannatha and planted it in the ground where Haridas was sitting. In no time a beautiful bakula tree grew there and gave Haridas some protection from the hot midday sun.

Haridas grew up in a Muslim family and was therefore an outcast in the strict cast oriented society of Lord Caitanya's time, some 500 years ago. However, the Lord broke down all boundaries of cast. He distributed the Holy Name to everyone and all without any distinction. The cast system was so severe that when the shadow of a lower born sudra fell on a brahmana he would severely chastise the offender and would have to take a bath immediately, fearing that he was now contaminated.

When Lord Caitanya spread His sankirtana movement he embraced all, sudras and outcasts alike. Love of Godhead has no boundaries. In fact the Lord started a great social revolution, which eventually took places like Navadwipa in a great storm, culminating in a torchlight march of tens of thousands of Vaishnavas to the residence of the Kazi, on who's order a mridanga drum had been broken in his attempt to stop the sankirtana movement. Eventually the Kazi attended a discussion with the Lord and submitted to Him. To this very day a declaration of the Kazi and all his followers and dynasty is still honoured, namely that this sankirtana movement of Lord Caitanya will never be disturbed in any way. Harinam sankirtana ki jaya!

It may also be noted that Haridas Thakura was never allowed to enter the temple of Lord Jagannatha. The same counted for Rupa and Sanatana, because they were employed in the Muslim government of the day. We therefore feel we are in good company because we as Westerners are also barred to enter the Jagannatha temple.

The Gambira was our next goal. It is the place where Lord Caitanya spent much of his later years in Puri. One can see the small room where the Lord was sitting discussing Lord Krishna's pastimes with His most intimate devotees. Near the entrance of the temple one can see a most beautiful statue of the Lord with His golden complexion. We have taken a photo to show in a slide show on our return.

There is also a small ISKCON temple in Puri, which we visited too. It is at the location where the bhajana kutir of Bhaktivinode Thakura was. Bhaktivinode is one of the great Vaishnava acharyas in our sampradaya who wrote many books and songs, which we still sing today.

We concluded today's parikrama to the holy sites of Puri by taking a most delicious lunch prasadam in the Grand Restaurant, which is famous for its clean and good food. While I am sitting in a small Internet Cafe typing this short report of our pilgrimage the matajis have gone for a shopping trip near he sea front. There are so many things on offer and one can easily be carried away. I better finish here because the rain will surely come again this evening. I hope all of you who read this blog are well and happy. May Lord Jagannatha's mercy be upon you all.

A camel ride to the airport?

Kamyavan
Nilacala Mahaprabhu
Aindra - Vrindavan Mellows 1
Aindra - Ecstasy of Kirtan Rasa

We are in Puri. Every night it is raining. It was pouring down like
anything yesterday. We were on a motor rickshaw when it started. I was sitting in the front along wit the driver and got completely soaked. The rickshaw has no side walls. It is all open. Some old plastic sheet hangs on the side which I had to hold down as a window to protect myself from the rain somewhat. People just walk in the rain or have a small hanky on their head, some have an umbrella. They lived with the rain their whole live. It is not a problem for them. Getting out of the rickshaw one steps into a little stream running down more or less every street and narrow lane. The other devotees were more lucky as they sat in the back of the rickshaw. There is always something to learn.

Our flight from Calcutta to Bhubaneswar was also adventurous. We flew with Kingfisher airlines. It was a very small airport and the plane was a propeller machine. It sounded like the WW2 blitz on London. Anyway, we made it. No, there were no goats on the plane. The service was actually very good. The fell over you to serve you. While sitting at the Kolkata airport the Kingfisher staff approached us several times and asked our destination and while approaching the check in counter at least three staff members jumped on us to help us with our suitcases. I have never seen this with any other airline. It was a very small plane and the Bhubaneswar airport was even smaller. Anyway, we got there.

Of course we had some trouble with our accommodation but we were
sorted eventually. We are staying in the Birla guesthouse, which is
directly on the beach of the Indian ocean. Therefore we always get a
fresh wind throughout our room. It is a two minutes walk to the beach.

This morning we went to the beach to take our bath. Nandini Radha and Varshana Kishori tried their luck with a Camel ride just in case we miss the taxi to the airport. It is not as easy as one would think and they were down quicker than they went up. I have wisely skipped this kind of exercise.

In the meantime Samir got a full one hour body massage for 100 Rupees, which is just over a Pound. The matajis took to an acupressure treatment for the same price. There are so many people offering any sort of treatments one can only think of. The pearl sellers are after us all the time. They have genuine perls from the ocean for a price one can only dream of in the West.

Samir and Varshana Kishori mataji went into the Jagannatha temple yesterday for darshan. Varshana has her own story to tell. Westerners are not allowed into the temple. I heard a story of an American tourist entering the temple unnoticed. They put him into prison for a month, cleaned the whole temple and threw all the offerings of the day away, - and the temple is huge.

Of course we know it is a misconception to think that a Vaishnava belongs to a particular nation, society, cast etc. Vaishnavas are transcendental. In fatc it is even considered an offence to refer to a Vaishnava according to those designations. Bhagavad-gita clearly explains that one is to be considered a brahmin, ksatriya, vaisya or sudra according to guna and karma, i.e. according to the particular mode of nature and according to the activity one is engaged in. The Gita never says according to birth.

Srila Prabhupada explains that a son of a doctor is certainly not qualified as a doctor just because his father is a doctor. No, he has to go to university and qualify. Then he is accepted as a medical
practitioner, not otherwise. Therefore we understand it is according to training and qualification. However, the cast system has degenerated in time and one became cathegorized according to birth only, but this is not what Krishna says.

Mayapur is flooded

Varsana Song
Aindra - Life in Vrindavan
Aindra - Vraja Vilasa 1
Aindra - Vraja Vilasa 2

We have just changed our room again. Making any official arrangements in India is a nightmare. Everything takes so much time and there is always so much bureaucracy. It is difficult enough to agree on anything between the four of us. Originally our room in Mayapur was booked till this Saturday, however, our travel arrangements with the overnight train to Puri has fallen through. Therefore we need an extra day in Mayapur. Yesterday it was agreed we could stay in our room but today we had to move into another room. No problem.

The only problem is that Mayapur is like a steam room at the moment. Last night we had another thunderstorm. It seems we are experiencing the last showers of the rainy season. It is so hot and wet that Samir got stuck in his kurta when he wanted to take it off because of sweat. It stuck to him like a wet cloth. I don't know how many hours he would have been stuck with the kurta over his head not being able to move neither in nor out. I had to rescue him. It was a similar situation with Nandini mataji I was told. After taking a shower one has to be very quick drying off, otherwise one is wet again from sweating.

We have not been able to get any places on the Puri train. Therefore we had to book a flight, which is more expensive of course. It means we are leaving Mayapur tonight at 1 AM. The accommodation arrangements in Puri are still valid we hope.

After we returned from lunch today it started to downpour again. The whole area flooded in no time. We got stuck in some passage way. While writing this it is still raining and it looks like it will do so for the rest of the day. The matajis were very brave and headed for our guesthouse. They must have got quite wet. I opted for the Internet Cafe. The blog posting from my mobile has not worked out so far but the Internet Cafe is only a few minutes from our guest house and all within the Mayapur complex.

We are still experiencing the end of the rainy season I have been told. It could last till Diwali but major flooding is not expected after Durga Puja, which has already passed. However, Ganga is entirely independent and can do whatever she wants. In any case tonight we are out and even if it is raining continuously till then it is highly unlikely that we will not be able to leave Mayapur, but one never knows. India is full of surprises.

While writing this my thoughts travel back to Leicester and to tonight's Saturday programme, which will be at Keshava's house, 31 Barkby Road. The timing will be the same, namely 7 PM. I very much hope all devotees will come. Our Lordships Sri Sri Nitai Saci-Sundar are already there. I hope the programme goes well. I am sure it will. Any of our devotees reading this before the programme please do extend our warmest well-wishes to all the devotees there and especially to Keshava Prabhu, who has kindly agreed to look after the deities and host the programme in our absence. Please give him your full support. Our next posting will be from Puri.

A visit to the Gurukula

Varshana
Krishna Kanhaya
Hamsaduta - Meeting the Swan
Hamsaduta - Path to Mathura
Hamsaduta - Entering Mathura
Hamsaduta - Krishna's Palace
Hamsaduta - Lalita's Message
Hamsaduta - Radha Speaks
Hamsaduta - Final Petitions

Today is our second full day in Mayapur. All of us have settled in nicely. The best part of the day is mangal arati at 4:30 AM when so many wonderful Vaishnavas assemble and chant Hare Krishna. Sri Sri Radha Madhava looked so gorgeous today in Their night outfit. Japa time was also very wonderful. Devotees sit in groups around tulasi devi (sacred plant) and chant Hare Krishna. I managed to chant 12 rounds during this japa period.

Just before 7 AM the maha prasadam stall in the courtyard opens. There one can buy all sorts of delicious sweets and even pizza. These items are directly offered to Their Lordships, which makes them spiritually very potent. It confirms to us how nice and blissful spiritual life actually is. I could not resist buying one of our newly discovered sweet, a round ball with sesame on the outside and custard filling inside. It is so sweet and delicious, that it becomes irresistible. Here in Mayapur we don't count the calories nor cholesterol. That we will do when we are back.

After the morning programme we had some light prasadam at Govinda's, namely masala dosa pancakes with potatoe filling, dhal and coconut chutney. It seemed a very small portion but it filled us up eventually. One can not eat very much in such a hot climate and if one does, one becomes ill immediately. We also had freshly pressed apple and orange juice, which was delicious and refreshing. It doesn't compare with juice from the super market.

Our tickets to Jagannatha Puri with the over night train are still in question. We want to book an AC sleeper ticket, which means air conditioned apartments with four foldable beds. The compartments are divided by curtains. This would ensure that we are amongst ourselves. The air condition consists usually of some vents in the wall which blow out a stream of cold air, so cold and drafty that one easily gets ill after a nights journey. Last time I traveled this way I blocked the vents with some cloth to make it somewhat bearable. I actually had a light cold for the last two days, which mainly meant a running nose. It is hard to believe that one can catch a cold in such a hot country such as India. It is mainly due to drafts, fans and air condition.

We have also booked our accommodation in Puri, namely the Birla Guesthouse. We are lucky that Samir as well as Varshana Kishori speak Hindi, which really helped with the booking arrangement. The guesthouse is right next to the beach of the Indian Ocean. In Puri the ocean is considered a holy place of pilgrimage because Lord Caitanya bathed there. He also washed the body of Haridas Thakur there after his disappearance. Haridas Thakur is one of the greatest Vaishnavas, who is teaching us by his example how to chant Hare Krishna.

We just returned from a visit to the Mayapur Gurukula, a Vedic school for children. It is away from the main temple complex and is thus sheltered from the steady stream of pilgrims. We have seen boys of all ages who live and study here according to the motto 'simple living and high thinking'. Entering the complex one feels transported to a different age. One meets simple bamboo structures which support deep overhanging straw roofs. The cooking is done on clay stoves, which are fired with dried cow dung paddies. The water supply is provided by hand pumps. There is also a small temple room with a range of deities and saligram silas, which the boys worship daily. The temple room also houses a large library. The gurukula is built on high ground because of the annual flood by mother Ganga. Besides being expert musicians, especially on the mridanga drum, the boys also learn martial arts and many other subjects. All in all they grow up in a spiritual atmosphere sheltered from the influence of materialistic civilization.