I have fallen far behind in writing my traveling diary. The last two months were action-packed and eventful, and then the Corona crisis hit....
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On our arrival in Mayapur on the 8th of December it took us a few days to settle into our nice ashram at the goshala and get into a regular daily routine. My two assistants had never been to India before, so I spent some time showing them around Mayapur so they could orientate themselves. Mayapur has become a big township by now....
On my last visit to Bangladesh in mid of November, the local devotees had arranged a three-week tour for me, mainly visiting the very North of the country. Here people are more simple and poor, and even more devotionally inclined. There are so many devotees in this area - simply amazing!
I had not been to Indore and Ujjain for the last five years, so I was excited to visit those communities once again.
I spent the weekend of the 9th and 10th of November in Indore, doing several house programs on both days, and meeting many enthusiastic devotees. Since they don't get many traveling preachers to visit their community, everybody was eager and excited to have a guest, and I was well taken care off by the devotees. I also distributed many copies of my books - everyone was eagerly accepting the knowledge into their lives. I arrived in Vrindavan on the 22nd of October - just in time to join the main festivals of the Kartik season: Govardhana Puja and Srila Prabhupada's disappearance.
After visiting the devotees in Nottingham/England I traveled further to Birmingham where I spent the weekend of the 12th/13th of October associating with the devotees in programs. During my visit I was well taken care off by a nice young couple, and I effortlessly distributed the 40 copies of my books to the eager devotees. On Monday evening we had a ladies' sanga, which was well attended in lively discussions on women's empowerment.
This was my second visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor, and I had a wonderful time - one of the highlights of my humble preaching efforts during this year! The devotees eagerly received me, and already two months before my visit they had lined up a wonderful variety of programs, which were well announced and promoted. I was busy with an outreach program for newcomers, a SB class, the Sunday feast lecture, house programs, a session with the brahmacaris, a session with the bhaktins as part of their training, a program with the mentors, and a program with the brahmacarinis and bhaktins. The most effective programs were during the SB slot on Sat and Sun, where I was invited to introduce my two books. Those programs always have the best attendance being on the weekend, with many more devotees watching over Mayapur TV.
This was my first visit to the community of devotees in Leicester. By Krishna's amazing arrangement the devotees had obtained a huge building for a very low price in perfect location: in the middle of the city - opposite the Town hall! The building was originally constructed in 1872-74 as a bank branch and has long been acknowledged as a landmark in Leicester’s Victorian architecture. In former times, the banks used to have an elaborate and almost majestic architecture in order to instill faith in the customers, that their money was in good hands. And now it has become the home of Sri Sri Radha Madhava, who had been residing in Belfast for many years and had then decided to come to Leicester.
Whoever has visited the temple at Soho Street in London can surely relate to my comparison with a transcendental submarine: narrow stairs going up and down, and corridors and tiny little rooms going off to all sides. I couldn't help but remember the song by the Beatles "We all live in the yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine....." And I remembered from my hippie days the little film clip, showing the smiling faces peeking out the windows of the yellow submarine and people waving. So I Krishna-ized the song into "We all live in Krishna's submarine, Krishna's submarine, Krishna's submarine...".
The Bhakti Sangam festival held in mid September in Ukraine was once again one of the highlights of my tour around Europe. About 8000 devotees assembled to absorb themselves in sravanam kirtanam for five full days, while 20 Maharajas and preachers selflessly offered their association - sharing their transcendental secrets in lectures and sublime kirtans.
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Devaki Devi Dasi's Traveling DiaryDevaki Devi Dasi is sharing her realizations and adventures in her Traveling Diary. Welcome to relish this nectar! Archives
March 2020
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