Simhachalam in Germany is for me the BEST place to celebrate Nrsimha Caturdasi - a MUST in my yearly schedule. Even Mayapur can not compare to this....! In this rural community situated in the Bavarian Forest, around 3 hours away from Munich, the devotees serve big Lord Nrsimhadeva in a devoted way, and His appearance day is celebrated in a grandiose style over 5 days. It is one of the main festivals - not only within Germany, but in Europe. Many devotees assemble from the neighboring countries such as Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and even all the way from the UK. This year we had the good fortune to welcome many saintly personalities: HH Sacinandana Swami, HH Candramauli Swami, HH Jayadvaita Swami, HH Bhakti Vaibhava Swami, HH Bhakti Mukund Swami, HG Krishna Premarupa Prabhu, and many young generation kirtaniyas.
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In the beginning of May I had an opportunity to visit Karuna Bhavan, a rural community in Scotland. I had heard a lot about this temple embedded in the beautiful nature of Scotland and always wanted to come here....
For many years I was contemplating the idea of visiting the Vaishnava community in Cardiff - I had met several times a nice group of devotees in Mayapur who come from this part of England. Now, in the beginning of May, I finally found an opportunity to do so.
Wales seems to be a bit of a conservative region of the UK - they even speak some old celtic language here: all public signs are in English and Welsh! Also the devotees seem to be in a more traditional mood - most of them are disciples of Sivarama Swami and Devamrita Swami. They have a new temple project, renovating an old part of a building and extending it further into a new temple. There are a lot of young Western bodied people coming to the temple, with around 8 brahmacharis living in the ashram and traveling on Sankirtan. So the mood is vibrant and has a youthful spirit. It was nice to return to Cologne which has served me as a base in the Western world for many years now....
I arrived in the morning of Ram Navami coming all the way from Durban in South Africa - just in time to join the celebration in the same evening and meet all the devotees again. After offering a few programs over the following days I moved on to London, visiting the temple at Soho Street. |
Devaki Devi Dasi's Traveling DiaryDevaki Devi Dasi is sharing her realizations and adventures in her Traveling Diary. Welcome to relish this nectar! |
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