Mayapur And All Its Beauty

[suchandra 1]

Posted by Bhaktin Petra, Friday, April 4, 2008 at http://bhnpetra.blogspot.com/

Mayapur And All Its Beauty

Mayapur and all its beauties

 

 

Few devotees asked me when I will post something on my blog from my pilgrimage to India . It is though to choose what to write and which pictures to share. Since I've spend 5 weeks in India and taken more than 1000 photos I will write in few parts. Well I don't know where to start... hum maybe at the beginning

As already said my first destination was Sri Dham Mayapur where I spend three weeks. As they say it is like spiritual oasis. Many wonderful devotees serve Lord there. Among there are also Abhinanda Nitai Prabhu (Slo) and his wife Vraja Prema (Fiji) which kindly let me to stay in their apartment. Many family devotees from western countries live there and they have special complex of houses – grihasta area. Half of year they spend in Mayapur and the rest in the West earning money in different ways and of the year they spend (in summer temperature are 40, 50 degrees).

 

View on Prabhupada's samadhi from the top of the roof

Each appartment bloc is named. I was staying in Narasimhadev.

 

Raising children in such a nice spiritual environment is really great blessing.

 

 

 

Children follow their parents and turn into sweet vaishnavas serving devotees. Every day they distribute carinamrita...

 

 

 

Laxmimoni mataji

 

The center of Mayapur are deities of Lord Narasimhadeva

 

 

 

Sri Panca Tattva

 

And most sweet Radha Madhava and eight gopis

 

 

Every day matajis make soooo many beautiful garlands for Them

 

 

 

 

After evening Bhagavad-gita lecture Pankajangri Prabhu distributes Narasimhadeva maha prasada. Mercy at every step. In the morning you can hnour maha pizzas and many other sweets.

 

 

The first person that I’ve met whom I’ve known from before was Bhn. Kristina. She was just finishing her Bhakti Sastri course. Next day she took me around Mayapur and gave me some practical advices.

 

 

 

Lotus garden

 

 

Entrance to the temple

 

 

Beautiful sunset

 

 

My first close darshan with holy river Ganga at Prabhupada Ghat who mercifully appeared just to be close to the Lord. This time I just put three drops on my head and offered obeisances.

One of my first days I also met Gauranga Lila who is second generation devotee and I know her from Radhadesh. We talked for a while about many things, also about Mayapur deities and their amazing outfits. She told me that her father (SP’s disciple) wanted her to become a pujari in their temple in Spain. That’s why she wanted learn how to make such a nice outfits. When I was leaving Bharata Prabhu also asked me just to check how they are stitching this wonderful outfits hoping that one day we can also offer something like this to our Panca tattva. So together with her husband we went to check out… Hum it's not so simple as it looks like. Actually it takes half of year just to learn first step in this special method of stitching. And this men they are working even 14 hours per day before big festivals (like Gaura Purnima). This part is Radharani’s sari which she wear on Gaura Purnima.

India is also know by ayurveda – vedic medicine. Definitely I didn’t want to miss opportunity of visiting real ayurvedic doctor. He is very nice vaishnava gentlemen and many devotees visit him. Well I left with 2 kgs of medicines. With doctor and his wife

Just across the street Vraja Prema was bargaining with one of the sellers at sabji market

To come to island of Navadvip you have to take boat and then riksa

Have you ever wondered how they make mridangas?

 

For a week GBS's had meeting and also our GBS - HH Bir Krishna Goswami was there. We had great forute to offer some service since Maharaj was staying and having meals in Abinandana's apartment. I have to say I was impressed by his perfect sadhana - every day he goes to bed at same time withoul fail. He eats only raw food just to keep his body fit for preaching. He invented 'donation machines' (somethink like ITM) which are places in few temples in USA where people can donate to Krishna just by pulling their credit cards. Among many GBC's also HH Paramgati Swami was there. Always faithful serving Srila Prabhupada.

Before the ‘big parikrama’ which consisted of 4000 devotees I wanted to see holy places of the eight islands of Navadvip in more intimate mood. I joined Ukraine group of devotees who were every day going to some other island. Here we went to Navadvip and visited many places… To be continued...

 

Posted by Petra at <a class="timestamp-link" href="http://bhnpetra.blogspot.com/2008/04/mayapur-and-all-its-beauties.html" rel="bookmark" title="permanent link"><abbr class="published" title="2008-04-04T14:08:00+01:00">2:08 PM</abbr> 0 comments

Labels: travel

Sunday, March 2, 2008

 

Mercy at every step

 

Since my last blog post so many things happened that I would need hours to write down everything. Definitely holy place is something that everyone is experiencing in different way. For me first two days were very much purifying and I somehow by mercy of vaishnavas figured out why – I wanted to experience and enjoy the Dham write here right now. Than I approached it in more serving and submissive mood and then my consciousness changed.

It really is like spiritual world. Whatever you do wherever you are someone remember you on Krishna. When you are taking shower you hear harinama outside, when you go the the Ganges Bengalis scream after you Hare Krishna… everything is surcharged with Kris\hna consciousness. Krishna is in the center not us. If you want to be in center then you suffer. Every Saturday (fron Kartik to Gaura Purnima) they have a big parade with cota Radha Madhava. Gurukulis sing mantras, other vaishnavas play drums, kirtan party… The parade has several stops – at each vaishnavas bring bhoga (food or flowers, incense). People here really have personal relationship with the Lord. One other event shows this. Gaura Nitai deities were followed by harinama group. When we came to one samadhi one ‘coconut man’ immediately started cutting one. At first I thought maybe he will give it to Maharaja or just offer to some devotee. But I was wrong he brought it in front of Caitanya and another coconut one in front of Nityananda. So personal…

Few days ago we had harinama with Janananda Goswami and it was special event. We went with boat over the Ganges singing maha mantra. Our destination was Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s house (and at the same Bhaktisidhanta Sarasvati’s house). When I become conscious that Lord Gauranga was having huge harinama parties here I became so moved… Here is mercy at every step… and it is said that every step in Navadvip Dham is same as performing 10 millions asvameda yajnas and sleeping is like dandavat (paying obeisances). Well I try to avoid paying this kind of obeisences

There are so many things but I don’t want to spend my precious time sitting in cyber café… When I come home I will publish photos and wrote everything.

Sri Dham Mayapur ki jay!

Posted by Petra at <a class="timestamp-link" href="http://bhnpetra.blogspot.com/2008/03/mercy-at-every-step.html" rel="bookmark" title="permanent link"><abbr class="published" title="2008-03-02T14:45:00+01:00">2:45 PM</abbr> 0 comments

 

Monday, February 25, 2008

 

Coming to the lotus feet of Gauranga

 

After many tribulations I managed to come to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. If you have the eyes to see then it really is spiritual world. In Mayapur you can really feel save.

I traveled with Abinandana Nitai Prabhu to Delhi airport and I continued alone my way to Calcutta. At first I was scared to death – the fact that you are the only white person amongst 300 Indians in can be frightening. Yes I know we are not these bodies… but still. After checking in I wanted to go to the right gate but there was no number on the boarding pass. Even Indians did not really know where to go. So I went to the wrong gate for two times. Finally when I managed to get the system I peacefully sat down. When I become accustomed to the whole environment I get sms from Urukrama Prabhu saying there is general strike in Bengal. That means that it is possible that taxi will not wait for me. O my God… what now? He suggested not going to Calcutta. Well I was already waiting for the boarding and also what other option I have. What I could do at that moment was to check for taxi. I asked gentlemen sitting by me to lend me his mobile so I call taxi driver. He kindly gave it but as expected the taxi drive did not understood me what was I saying and I also did not understand him. I explained the situation to the gentlemen and he spoke with him. He confirmed that he was coming. Don’t believe until I see. At least in India is like this. I managed to take some rest during the flight and after landing I was prepared for another adventure. When I came out from the airport a whole bunch of taxi driver were shouting and showing there boards with names. I was looking their boards and praying to Krishna there will be also one with my name. Welcome to Mayapur Petra… Yes I am saved. No strike in Bengal. The first hour of drving with taxi through Calcutta I was just observing the scene. So many people doing whatever you can imagine – eating, sleeping, shaving, feeding animals, driving, walking in the street… The whole scene is quite amazing.

I tried to chant my rounds but you can hardly hear your voice because of all the notice coming from vehicles and horns. Then taxi driver says we are coming closer to Mayapur. It is quite a big thing to come to the land where 500 years ago God Himself was performing his pastimes. Wonderful feeling. For so many years listening glories of this Dham and now having chance to experience it.

Since arrival many thing happened. Highlights are definitely all the deities here and wonderful association of all Srila Prabhupada’s disciples and senior devotees. Today’s morning class was given by HH Radhanatha Swami. Since it is Bhakti Tirtha’s Swami dissaperance day he spoke his glories. Also he was speaking about importance of giving protectiong to devotees – physical, mental and spiritual. He was giving example how Srila Prabhupada take care of all this aspects. The first Gaura Purnima festival devotees celebrated with Srila Prabupada in Mayapur Dham was many years ago. When devotees fall asleep Srila Prabhupada would go to each and every devotee and check if everyone has a mosquito net. Maharaja also told his experience. Once he in New Vrindavan he was going through forest and he pick up a rose. He gave it to Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada thanked him in such a way as if he just built a temple of distributed thousands of books. All lectures can be found in www.mayapur.com (at least they announced so).

Fortunately I can not upload any photos… but I hope I will manage to write some more.