The Original Nightclub Crawl

Yesterday, especially last night was a very special day in the Dham; a big festival was held here- Chandan Yatra! Because this day marks the intense heat of summer, Radha and Krishna are cooled by chandan, sandalwood paste. It is placed on their bodies, covering them head to toe; it looks like they got a complete makeover! They are nearly beyond recognition! The chandan can be very detailed and beautiful; I liken it to the fondit decorating an elaborate wedding cake. Being the first time I had seen deities covered in chandan, I was really astonished at their transformation and how lovely they look.
     To celebrate this day, all the temples in Vraja prepare a feast for Radha-Krishna including cooling, flavorful drinks and snacks, like sweetened rosewater, limeade, fresh fruits and cucumbers. Afterward, we all get to honor prasada (eat their food remnants but trying to have an attitude of serving versus enjoying).
     The day was special, but the night was absolutely amazing! The streets were completely filled with crowds of people wandering temple to temple to have darshan (see the deities), and inside the temples was music, dancing, festivities, etc. Each temple had its own flavor, its own unique mood. Like in America and other places I'm sure, many of us have attended Club Crawls at night, going from one club to the next experiencing different music styles, visuals, atmosphere, fighting the crowds, etc. It was kind of like that, but this was centered around Radha-Krishna- it was for their pleasure; whereas club crawls are centered around... I guess our own enjoying spirit.
    I'd like to share the different darshans and a little bit about the atmospheres at each temple. At Krishna Balaram Mandir, the atmosphere was traditional Indian style, as Hindi bhajanas rang through the temple space. Some people were dancing for the deities, but mostly people sat and relaxed and took their darshan. (see pics below).

Radha Lalita Madhava at Krishna Balaram Mandir are decorated with chandan

Krishna Balaram Mandir has a traditional feel- Hindi bhajans, fairly low key

     Rupa-Sanatana Temple had a totally different feel. Sri Krishna was the only deity cooled down with chandan (not Radharani or Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu). So Krishna really stands out (see pic below). It was a club atmosphere inside. The bhajans actually had a techno-style beat. How it is possible, I don't know. But it led to a high energy crowd dancing, smiling and really feeling the beat!

Sri Krishna at Rupa-Sanatana Gaudiya Matha is decorated with chandan

     Finally, I went to Radha-Damodar Temple see pics below). It was magnificent! It seemed to be the most popular place because it was shoulder to shoulder crowded, you had to push your way through the thick crowd to  enter and exit the temple and to get close enough to see the deities. All the Radha-Krishna deities at Radha-Damodar Temple (there are four sets) were decorated in chandan. There was music playing- bhajanas colored with a hint of punk rock. Really. The ambiance was definitely like a music concert. People were throwing their hands in the air, there was a bit of a mash-pit in the front, there were even crazy fluorescent green drinks (non-alcoholic of course). The difference, however, is if a live band is on the stage at a music concert or club in America, then audience is enjoying the performance. But in Vrindavan Dham, actually when the curtains open, the deities are enjoying us. Vrajavasis have an attitude that I am dancing, singing, or standing in front of the deities for their pleasure,not mine. Actually, the deities are having darshan of me. It's a win-win!

Lalita Radha-Damadara steal the show

Decorations at Radha-Damodar temple

The deities are on the stage as countless numbers of people come for darshan

Smiles are Contagious

First of all I offer my unlimited obeisances at the lotus feet of my Guru Maharaja, Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Damodara Maharaja. Praying for a particle of mercy to be able to say something of value.

Remember the last time you felt lousy about yourself... something happened to you, and you wish you had acted differently, been stronger, taken a stand? But you were just a coward and felt terrible afterward? And then we keep replaying the scene in your head, like, "Oh, I should have, could have, would have, but didn't." I will not go into detail about the incident, but with each sunrise is a new day, right? And with each prayer comes answers, in some form or another.... Especially in Vrindavan Dham, praying for mercy or to receive a sign of some sort has almost eerie and instantaneous results.
    I got the answer I needed just before Yogamaya Arati began. I looked out to the street and saw a cow walking by- she lowered her head (which had horns) and headbutted a monkey who was sitting on a storefront stoop. Maybe the monkey was antagonizing her, I don't know. (Actually, it wasn't until this happened that I realized cows have horns-- I though it was just bulls.) But there was my answer, so simple and clear, "Sometimes a girl just needs to grow horns and headbutt a two-legged monkey." 

Cow with horns

     So in Vrindavan Dham it doesn't just rain mercy, sometimes it pours. Some really beautiful things subsequently happened at Radha-Damodar Temple...
     Today when I offered a garland, the pujari immediately put it around the neck Radha (wearing the orange garland) who is with Madhva (see pic below). Today is the first time the deities accepted the garland right away. Surely that is mercy! And Radha-Madhva were smiling! Note: Today I realized that for anyone staying long-term in Vrindavan, weekdays might be a better time to offer garlands because there are fewer visitors than on weekends when many visitors bring offerings.

Radha-Madhva at Radha-Damodar Temple, worshiped by Jaidev Goswami

     Then I received mercy from the Vaisnavas. For example, when I walked by the pushpa-samadhi of Sri Srimad Bhakti Promoda Puri Maharaja, a god brother of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, his door was open and someone gave me maha-prasada (food remnants) from his pushpa-samhadi. He is always smiling!

Pushpa-samadhi of Bhakti Promoda Puri Maharaja

     Finally, I took a snapshot of a cow smiling :) She is probably just chewing, but still, it is a happy cow pic! The cows at Radha-Damodar Temple must be very happy since the are serving the deities by providing their milk! And cows are very dear to Sri Krishna!

California claims to have happy cows, but really they are in Vrindavan!

     So the deities are smiling, the Vaisnavas are smiling and the cows are smiling. So what is there to do besides join them?! Of course, in actuality, this can all be chalked up to mercy of my Guru Maharaja! Jai Gurudeva!

Yamuna Devi ki Jai!

First of all I offer my unlimited obeisances to the lotus feet of my Guru Maharaja, Sri Sripad Bhaktivedanta Damodara Maharaja, and ask for a particle of mercy that I may post something of value.

Boatman taking passengers across Yamuna Devi's waters

Today I went with a group of devotees to bathe in Vrindavan Dham's sacred Yamuna Devi! Rupa Goswami writes in Sri Yamunastakam that she is so purifying that even desiring to bathe in her waters, what to speak of feeling the breeze on her shores and actually taking bath releases us from the most heinous sins and the bondage of repeated birth and death. Taking bath in holy rivers such as Yamuna lies not in eliminating the dirt from our our gross, material body (actually Guru Maharaja says it is an offense to use sacred waters for material cleaning, like washing laundry, cleaning our skin with soap, etc. or even to view them as material substance) but rather their power lies in cleansing the grime that covers our spiritual nature. Many of us are familiar with traditions that acknowledge the purifying properties of holy waters, like baptism. One song that comes to mind is Alison Krauss' song from the movie, "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou", with lyrics, "All brothers/fathers/sisters/mothers/sinners let's go down, down to the river to pray."

Every day Vrajavasis and pilgrims bathe in her sacred waters

     Yamuna Devi is very dear to the Vrajavasis. Local residents transport people across her waters, young children sell paraphernalia that can be offered to her as it is custom, especially before bathing in her waters, to offer her ghee lamps, flowers, incense, songs, prayers, etc. 

Local boy selling flowers with ghee wick

Mathajis offering flowers, ghee lamp and prayers

Yamuna Devi's transcendental waters

     Guru Maharaja has described many of Yamuna Devi's glories, like she is younger sister of Ganga Devi (Ganges) but more glorious because she is liquid transcendence, flowing directly from the body of Sri Krishna. She is a blackish color, like Krishna, because she is always absorbed in thoughts of Him. But he emphasizes the real benefit is achieved by visiting the holy rivers in sadhu-sanga in order to bathe in hearing the nectar of their glories!
     I heard from senior devotees that Param Gurudeva said that not all of his disciples came to him during his manifest appearance, but when they are ready, they can come to the banks of Yamuna devi, and he will be there to greet them and that his love is ever-flowing like the waters of Yamuna devi.

Jahmuna Devi and I on boat

   

A Life Dedicated to the Highest Ideal

I offer my unlimited obeisances to the lotus feet of my Guru Maharaja, om visnupada Sri Sripad Bhaktivedanta Damodara Maharaja. Begging for a particle of mercy that I can post something of value.

In honor of my Guru Maharaja's Vyasa-puja...

It seems that many of us do not know what our highest ideal is, while some of us are aware of a high ideal but ignore it or keep it just in the periphery; we figure that it is something that is negotiable or we can focus on later in life. Still rare, few others have searched for and realized their highest ideal; spent their lives stepping ever closer, no matter how steep the climb and no matter how many obstacles stood in the way. I see my Guru Maharaja and others in the Guru-parampara as this last type of person.
     I would say, and maybe some will agree, that someone lives his highest ideal when he is not deterred by the distance he has to travel to find it nor by the number of times he has to leave, only to return again, nor no matter how many times he falls ill during the journey, seeking out, "Who is God?" Over the course of a couple years Param Gurudeva, Sri Sripad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami Maharaja, went back and forth between his job at the police station and the Matha, coming home to his family for shorter and shorter periods of time until Sri Krsna called him to leave his family life altogether and stay at the Math for good.
     But that is just the start... then to finally give up life as you know it to go the ones who know God and who protect and disseminate Absolute Truth. To find them what to speak of hang on tightly to their lotus feet, even amidst many storms in the form of chastisements and other austerities must take so much sincerity and determination.  In the book, Sri Guru and His Grace, His Divine Grace Swami B.R. Sridhar says, "An attitude of humility, sincerity and dedication are needed to approach Absolute Truth." For example, in the early days of the Sri Caitanya Matha, due to lack of funds Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gowami (at that time Sri Vinoda-bihari) and other Matha residents were sustaining themselves some days on just 200 grams of rice, split four ways. After it was offered to Thakuraji with prepared leaves from a drumstick tree,  the four brahmacaris would divide it and honor prasadam (source: Acarya Kesari Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Goswami, 2013). Also, Guru Maharaja mentioned that he spent six summers in Vrindavan [the temperatures can reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit (52 degrees Celsius)], saying if you really love Vrindavan, you can manage.
     If Sri Guru is merciful and leads the disciple to the watering hole, to life's highest ideal, then what? Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Madhusudana Maharaja says that there is no way to repay the ones who gave you everything. Merely saying "thank you" and going your own way is not sufficient. Instead he says that you stay and try to serve them. So my Param Gurudeva, my Guru Maharaja and many of his godsiblings did just that, stayed and served (click here to see some of Param Gurudeva's disciples who are serving). So then it seems they all have so much responsibility to preserve this thing given to them- to protect it from envious people or those who would try to destroy it, dilute it or mix in their own speculation. Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Goswami Maharaja writes, "Sri Bhagavan is not for the weak-hearted. In the Mundaka Upanisad (1.6.4) it has been said, 'nayamatma balahinena labhya - The Absolute Reality, that Supreme Soul, is not accessible to those who have no spiritual strength.' But cowards manipulate religion with false interpretations, proclaiming, 'all are correct, all are correct,' and thus reveal the feebleness of their conception of bhajana" (Rays of the Harmonist No. 21, 2010).
    So coming under the shelter of those who live their highest ideal, I am praying for a particle of their strength.
    

Guru Maharaja's Appearance Day Manana

First of all I offer my respectful obeisances at the lotus feet of my Guru Maharaja, om visnupada Sri Sripad Bhaktivedanta Damodara Maharaja. Begging for a particle of mercy to share something of value.

Guru Maharaja leading Vrindavan parikrama, August 2013

Tomorrow is the Appearance Day of my Guru Maharaja, om visnupada Sri Sripad Bhaktivedanta Damodara Maharaja! Since he has a tendency to honor Vaisnavas and the Lord and the Lord's associates prior to, the day of, and sometimes after their Appearance Days (e.g., this year we got to hear Gaura katha one week before and one week after Gaura Purnima), I want to try to follow suit by blogging something on the lead up to his Appearance Day. Guru Maharaja has told us that the Appearance and Disappearance days of Vaisnavas are very merciful, and we should speak something and hear attentively these days.
     But today I feel the best way I can honor Guru Maharaja is to post links to his biography and hari-katha audio files (note: once the page displays, scroll down) and submit an entreaty that has already been perfectly composed to his lotus feet. I believe Sripad Dhyanachadra Goswami composed it since it is noted as coming from Arcana-paddhati:

he sri guro jnanada dina-bandho svananda-datah karunaika-sindho

vrndavanasina hitavatara prasida radha-pranaya-pracara

Oh Gurudeva, you bestow transcendental knowledge and you are the friend of the fallen. You bestow the spiritual bliss that exists within your own heart and you are an ocean of mercy. You are a resident of Vrndavana and the incarnation of auspiciousness. You preach about Sri Radha's love for Sri Krsna. Please be merciful to me.

    I also want to mention that tomorrow is also the spiritual birthday of Malati Dasi, who is one of the Didi's (the other being Madhu Mati) who came to preach in Philadelphia last summer. I am so grateful for her (both of them) because otherwise I would not be in Vrindavan, and I would not have met my Guru Maharaja.

Malati Didi (in white) at the samadhi of Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur

      One of our senior Vaisnavas told me that similarly, the person responsible for leading Param Gurudeva, Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Nayarana Goswami Maharaja, to the lotus feet of his Gurudeva, Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Goswami Maharaja was Sri Srimad Bhakti Kamala Madhusudana Maharaja, whose pushpa-samadhi can be found at Radha-Damodara behind the pushpa-samadhi of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada. Click here (and scroll to the section titled, "Sadhu Sanga") to read more about how Param Gurudeva came to this sanga and to his Gurudeva.
     Param Gurudeva wrote in his article, "The True Conception of Guru-Tattva" that there are five kinds of guru. A Vaisnava who speaks fundamental truths about spiritual life and introduces the sadhaka to a sad-guru is called patha-pradarsaka-guru. So Malati dasi and Madhu Mati are my patha-pradarsaka-gurus. Then of course Guru Maharaja is my diksa (one who initiates faithful sadhakas in krsna-mantra and bestows sambhanda-jnana) and siksa guru (one who by imparting specific instructions on sadhana and bhajana, helps the sadhaka to enter into the realm of bhajana). The other two gurus are caitya-guru, Bhagavan Himself in the heart and sravana-guru, who by the medium of his hari-katha, attracts the sadhaka toward Bhagavan and helps him in sadhana-bhajana.

Jaya Guru Maharaja!

     

    

Peaceful People

Prabhu who sells the garlands at Radha-Damodar Temple

I took a picture of this man who sits near the entrance to Radha-Damodar Temple and sells flowers and garlands. It is customary to offer something to the deities (garlands, rupees, incense, ghee lights, etc.), so he makes flowers and garlands available. Hopefully by looking at this photo, you get a sense for how peaceful the people here are and how receptive they are to people, and tolerant of people like me - sometimes I barter, sometimes I do not have small bills and sometimes I forget my rupees altogether. He never seems to mind. I went to pay him last night for garlands I got the day before and he smiled and handed me a little garland and flowers that I could use for my home altar.
     In the West, especially in cities, life is moving at such a fast pace, we oftentimes become task-oriented, (versus relationship-oriented). We are focused on getting a task accomplished so that we can move onto the next task and then the next and ultimately try to fit so much into one day. And when we do not finish one day's "To Do" list, things spill over into the next day, and we become even more overwhelmed. This might happen with at the workplace where we seem to accumulate more and more responsibilities or in our individual or family lives- or all of the above. We are trying to accomplish this task and that task, which seems to be so important. But somehow in this mode (of passion), we lose sight of being relationship-oriented, noticing or acknowledging the people we are encountering along the way.
     I remember one day going to the Whole Foods on a busy weekend and approaching the free sample counter. There was hustle and bustle all around, but I paused to ask the lady refilling the samples how her day was going. I remember her stunned yet somewhat grave facial expression, and she said, "You know all day, you are the first person to talk to me, even acknowledge me?"
     Another example, which is much less mundane, is that I ran into one very dedicated devotee, Bhagavat Ananda who hits the streets every day to preach the message of Krishna Consciousness and one fellow he was with; they were having a friendly conversation. When I approached, he man described to me his first encounter with Bhagavat Ananda. He said, "I was walking from my workplace (in downtown Philadelphia) to take office mail to the post office. I had my head down and was walking really fast, not noticing anything around me. Then this guy (referring to Bhagavat Ananda) approached me at a red light where I was pacing, waiting to cross the street. He was saying something to me, but I was not paying attention, and I said, 'Listen, I do not have time. I have to get to the post office before it closes.' Then to his surprise, Bhagavat Ananda pulled out a tape player and said, 'I won't take more than two minutes of your time. I just want you to hear something.'" Bhagavat Ananda played the Hare Krishna Mantra for one to two minutes, and this man listened to the music and mantra and said his whole mood changed- he felt his urgency wash away and felt so much lighter. Then he stopped to talk with Bhagavat Ananda and hear the message of Krishna Consciousness. On the day I encountered them, they were discussing ways to try to distribute prasadam at one of the parks in South Philly.
     It seems we cannot put a price tag on inner peace. It is so invaluable, and if we really stop to think about it, who has more wealth, Westerners or Vrajavasis? And like these little encounters illustrate, real peace comes from a Krishna-centered life -  like this man in Philly, if we stop and concentrate on Hare Krishna, even for a minute, our whole mood and day can change :)

We are All Serving Someone

Lalita Priya sanding

Today Lalita Priya and I served at the Guesthouse by sanding the the doors, and tomorrow we will cover them in a fresh coat of paint. This place has been our home for a while now, so getting the chance to give something back in the form of service is sweet. Plus these doors open up to guest rooms, which will serve many aspiring devotees for years to come- literally provide them with shelter.
     But those who come to Vrindavan are really seeking spiritual shelter, not shelter for the body. I will take a stab at the meaning of shelter (but please don't take this to the bank)-  to be under guidance of Vaisnavas in a setting where we can learn and grow by watching firsthand these living examples perform their bhajana. Jaiva-Dharma says, "The root bhaj is used specifically in the sense of seva, or service, but in a general sense bhajana refers to spiritual practices; especially hearing, chanting, and meditating upon the holy name, form, qualities, and pastimes of Sri Krishna." One thing that becomes apparent is that the Vaisnavas are always absorbed in seva, always serving Sri Krishna and His parts and parcels (us!) with body, mind, and words. So they are performing bhajana in a big way, while I am just doing bhajana in a teeny-tiny way, if even. Maybe just a shadow of bhajana. But maybe one day I, like the door, can get sanded down to a smooth surface and then receive a fresh coat of paint.
     A couple instructions I remember getting while being here are that:(1) opposite genders should be cautious about serving each other because performing service to someone creates a bridge between those two hearts- a materially-based bridge- it may be intentional or unintentional, but it will develop regardless and (2)  there is a difference between material service and spiritual service. We should be cautious about viewing seva for Vaisnavas and Sri Krishna as the same as mundane service [worldly service is upside down because a servant is like a slave but spiritual seva brings joy and fulfillment to the one in service]  (3) it seems (speaking from my experience) only through mercy of the Vaisnavas can we receive seva and also only through their mercy can we perform it successfully.
     In his book, Science of Self-Realization, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains:
"Actually our position is that we are always rendering service to someone, either to our family, country, or society. If we have no one to serve, sometimes we keep a pet cat or dog and render service to it. All these factors prove that we are constitutionally meant to render service, yet in spite of serving to the best of our ability, we are not satisfied. Nor is the person to whom we are rendering that service satisfied. On the material platform, everyone is frustrated. The reason for this is that the service being rendered is not properly directed. For example, if we want to render service to a tree, we must water the root. If we pour water on the leaves, branches, and twigs, there is little benefit. If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is served, all other parts and parcels will be automatically satisfied. Consequently all welfare activities as well as service to society, family, and nation are realized by serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead."