We had decided to hold the Nepali Bhakti Sangam Festival this year at a new venue in the city of Bhirat Nagar - something we had never done before. Bhirat Nagar is on the South side of Nepal - South of the Himalaya Mountains and not far from the Indian border towards Siliguri.
A lot of planning and corresponding had gone into the preparations of this festival. Bhakta Madan, a medical doctor and congregational member in Bhirat Nagar had taken up the responsibility to coordinate the main arrangements, and it had been a pleasure to work with him - he was on the ball and a good communicator, always immediately answering my emails.
A lot of planning and corresponding had gone into the preparations of this festival. Bhakta Madan, a medical doctor and congregational member in Bhirat Nagar had taken up the responsibility to coordinate the main arrangements, and it had been a pleasure to work with him - he was on the ball and a good communicator, always immediately answering my emails.
On the 12th of February I had flown from Calcutta to Bagdogra, which is the Airport near Siliguri, and the devotees had met me to drive across the Nepali border to Bhirat Nagar.Our expected guest speakers and kirtaniyas were HH Mahavisnu Swami, HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami and HH BB Govinda Swami. Unfortunately HH Bhakti Gaurava Narayana Swami and Suresvara Prabhu had to cancel their participation because of bad health.
I had been frantically ringing around in Mayapur trying to find another speaker who could fill in the gap, but with such short notice absolutely nobody was available - every preacher was booked out and knew already what he would be doing.....
Besides this, until the very last minute it had been unclear who would accompany BB Govinda Maharaja in playing harmonium and mrdanga. It had caused me a lot of anxiety, and Maharaja had almost canceled his participation. After making announcements in the Mayapur community, and sending out messages to devotees in nearby yatras such as Vrindavan and Chowpatty, and after even involving HH Niranjana Swami in this question we finally managed to free Akincana Prabhu from his service in Vrindavan and flew him in.
As usual, in the very last minute Krsna made the necessary arrangements for the festival to be a great success.....!
Once again I could distinctly perceive Krsna being the Supreme controller, teasing me by sending one unexpected anxiety after another - simply wanting to see how much we would be endeavoring.....
I do like to endeavor to my utmost capacity, not leaving any stone unturned or any option unconsidered, and Krsna ultimately always reciprocates....
In such situations I like to remember the mood of Mother Yasoda when trying to bind Krsna with ropes - she never gave up and endeavored to get all the rope of all the neighboring gopis, even though it was always two fingers too short....
I had kept myself as the reserve speaker, and since BB Govinda Swami prefered to only have the main kirtan slot in the evening and not give any seminars during the day, I took the opportunity to give my seminar on
"Death - The Final Challenge". It was very well received, and some devotees commented how the discussion of this topic was much more than "transcendental entertainment", but rather made them wake up indeed to the urgency of developing their Krsna consciousness.
It is a fact - once we understand the topic of death more deeply, we do feel an urgent need not to waste any time and use every single minute in order to prepare for this final challenge. Our entire future existence is so much dependant on this crucial test, and every intelligent person will want to get ready for it, and stop wasting time by playing around like ignorant little children....
I had been frantically ringing around in Mayapur trying to find another speaker who could fill in the gap, but with such short notice absolutely nobody was available - every preacher was booked out and knew already what he would be doing.....
Besides this, until the very last minute it had been unclear who would accompany BB Govinda Maharaja in playing harmonium and mrdanga. It had caused me a lot of anxiety, and Maharaja had almost canceled his participation. After making announcements in the Mayapur community, and sending out messages to devotees in nearby yatras such as Vrindavan and Chowpatty, and after even involving HH Niranjana Swami in this question we finally managed to free Akincana Prabhu from his service in Vrindavan and flew him in.
As usual, in the very last minute Krsna made the necessary arrangements for the festival to be a great success.....!
Once again I could distinctly perceive Krsna being the Supreme controller, teasing me by sending one unexpected anxiety after another - simply wanting to see how much we would be endeavoring.....
I do like to endeavor to my utmost capacity, not leaving any stone unturned or any option unconsidered, and Krsna ultimately always reciprocates....
In such situations I like to remember the mood of Mother Yasoda when trying to bind Krsna with ropes - she never gave up and endeavored to get all the rope of all the neighboring gopis, even though it was always two fingers too short....
I had kept myself as the reserve speaker, and since BB Govinda Swami prefered to only have the main kirtan slot in the evening and not give any seminars during the day, I took the opportunity to give my seminar on
"Death - The Final Challenge". It was very well received, and some devotees commented how the discussion of this topic was much more than "transcendental entertainment", but rather made them wake up indeed to the urgency of developing their Krsna consciousness.
It is a fact - once we understand the topic of death more deeply, we do feel an urgent need not to waste any time and use every single minute in order to prepare for this final challenge. Our entire future existence is so much dependant on this crucial test, and every intelligent person will want to get ready for it, and stop wasting time by playing around like ignorant little children....
Around five hundred devotees had gathered for three days from all around Nepal to attend this Bhakti Sangam - a good turn-out for this part of the world. Many had undergone quite some endeavor to get there, traveling by bus during the entire night on narrow winding roads across the mountains. It is scary to take this route - on one side the mountains go up straight, and on the other side it goes down very steeply, and occasionally one can see trucks and busses which had been rolling off the cliffs...
I took it as a sign of intense greed for sadhu sanga that devotees had undergone the trouble of coming all the way from the Kathmandu Valley to attend this festival.
Infact, traditionally it is recommended to accept even more austerities and walk, as a pilgrimage tour....! And such endeavor is immensely purifying...!
'Yatantas ca drdha-vratah' - endeavoring with great determination.... (BG.9.14)
When Ragunath Das Goswami left his home and joined Mahaprabhu in Puri he had walked for twelve days through the jungle along the back paths, avoiding the main roads not to get caught by the guards who were employed by his parents in order to stop him from running away. Ragunath Das had not taken proper food for those twelve days, simply eating whatever had come his way, and walking tirelessly and with great determination.....
At our Bhakti Sangam I once again took the role of the hosting mother, welcoming the attending devotees and our guest speakers with affectionate words, and introducing our this year's topic of "Festival of Gratitude".
Throughout the three days we were fully absorbed in sravanam kirtanam, and the mood was focussed and sweet - full of loving exchanges.
Once again I realized how much deeper the mood is when the classes and kirtans are taking place in a closed hall, rather than an open pandal tent. The four walls help to contain the entire energy and stop the mind and body from roaming around....
I could perceive the difference to be so huge, that I decided to never again conduct the festival in a pandal tent. What is the use of spending so much laxmi and undergoing such big endeavors, if we loose so much of the effect simply by not performing it in a hall...!
I was fortunate to get a lot of personal association with our Maharajas.
The VIP prasadam was very tasty and healthy, and we enjoyed each other's company while honoring it.
I shared with Mahavisnu Swami the latest developments of our preaching in Bangladesh. He had been one of the pioneers there, and later moved on to Africa. So much has changed since his last visit to Bangladesh around 2003 or 2004 - in those days we did not do any student preaching! I urged him to come once again in order to witness the changes and see the longterm results of his endeavors of the early days.
It would also be nice for the young generation of devotees to express their gratitude to the pioneer preachers, since the present situation is always built on the foundation of the tapasya which the previous generation of devotees had undergone....
With Bhakti Purusottama Swami I discussed various plans and visions of developing the preaching in Nepal and Bangladesh, and we also had a meeting with all the preachers and leaders in order to plan the IYF Youth Festival in April.
BB Govinda Swami was once again showering his mercy and affection on me, and I truly enjoyed his kirtans! On the first evening he sang one of my favorite tunes, and on the second evening, just when I requested him to come to the stage and start singing, I quietly said to him: "Can I make a request in regards to tunes?" He smiling responded: "Which one?" And I quickly sang it to him, and fortunately he could immediately pick up which one I meant.....
Every tune carries a certain mood, flavor and deeper feeling....
I always favor those tunes which carry the mood of crying out in separation.
No doubt this Bhakti Sangam Festival had been the most successful one in Nepal! It had created almost a revolution in the hearts and minds of the devotees - everybody was swimming in an ocean of bliss.....! It had by far surpassed all the previous festivals, especially since the mood and focus was much more deep, personal and confidential.
And for the very first time the main expenses were covered by the local devotees! Madan Prabhu had inspired several life members to sponsor the general devotee prasadam, and he himself had stepped forward and sponsored the accomodation in the rented Dharma Shala, a rather big center with halls and rooms for social functions.
This was indeed a wonderful sign - infact a milestone in the history of ISKCON Nepal! Finally some devotees had recognised the importance of cultivating Vaisnava hospitality and generosity: inviting the devotees and sadhus, hosting them and feeding them sumptiously with prasadam while putting on a Sankirtan Festival - as Advaita Acarya had demostrated by welcoming Mahaprabhu and His associates....
This was so encouraging and inspiring to me - I had been hoping and dreaming of this day to come.....
The day of departure from our festival fell on Advaita Acarya's Appearance, so I took the opportunity to refer to Advaita Acarya's hospitality in our closing ceremony of the festival.
I stayed one more day in Bhirat Nagar, and Madan Prabhu arranged a house program for me which was attended by many of the life members who sponsored the prasadam. I felt deeply oblidged to them for feeding the devotees and wanted to offer something in return - transcendental knowledge and upliftment. We are only entitled to accept donations if we are prepared to offer transcendental instructions and knowledge in return. This is the loving exchange....
Often we tend to see life members as a source of funds rather than as conditioned souls who are in need of Krsna consciousness......
On my way back to Mayapur I stopped for one night at the Siliguri temple and gave an evening and morning class. It is a huge temple building - so big that one can almost feel a little lost. But there are only some thirty brahmacaris living there, who are struggling to maintain everything.
Any project grows in a healthily balanced way when the structure naturally develops according to the substance. But if we concentrate on simply developing a big structure, then it becomes difficult to fill it up with substance afterwards, and everybody feels burdened by maintaining the structure.
On the 19th of February I returned to Mayapur - happy to be back with my two assistants Vicka and Julia, and with the cows......
Your servant, Devaki dd
I took it as a sign of intense greed for sadhu sanga that devotees had undergone the trouble of coming all the way from the Kathmandu Valley to attend this festival.
Infact, traditionally it is recommended to accept even more austerities and walk, as a pilgrimage tour....! And such endeavor is immensely purifying...!
'Yatantas ca drdha-vratah' - endeavoring with great determination.... (BG.9.14)
When Ragunath Das Goswami left his home and joined Mahaprabhu in Puri he had walked for twelve days through the jungle along the back paths, avoiding the main roads not to get caught by the guards who were employed by his parents in order to stop him from running away. Ragunath Das had not taken proper food for those twelve days, simply eating whatever had come his way, and walking tirelessly and with great determination.....
At our Bhakti Sangam I once again took the role of the hosting mother, welcoming the attending devotees and our guest speakers with affectionate words, and introducing our this year's topic of "Festival of Gratitude".
Throughout the three days we were fully absorbed in sravanam kirtanam, and the mood was focussed and sweet - full of loving exchanges.
Once again I realized how much deeper the mood is when the classes and kirtans are taking place in a closed hall, rather than an open pandal tent. The four walls help to contain the entire energy and stop the mind and body from roaming around....
I could perceive the difference to be so huge, that I decided to never again conduct the festival in a pandal tent. What is the use of spending so much laxmi and undergoing such big endeavors, if we loose so much of the effect simply by not performing it in a hall...!
I was fortunate to get a lot of personal association with our Maharajas.
The VIP prasadam was very tasty and healthy, and we enjoyed each other's company while honoring it.
I shared with Mahavisnu Swami the latest developments of our preaching in Bangladesh. He had been one of the pioneers there, and later moved on to Africa. So much has changed since his last visit to Bangladesh around 2003 or 2004 - in those days we did not do any student preaching! I urged him to come once again in order to witness the changes and see the longterm results of his endeavors of the early days.
It would also be nice for the young generation of devotees to express their gratitude to the pioneer preachers, since the present situation is always built on the foundation of the tapasya which the previous generation of devotees had undergone....
With Bhakti Purusottama Swami I discussed various plans and visions of developing the preaching in Nepal and Bangladesh, and we also had a meeting with all the preachers and leaders in order to plan the IYF Youth Festival in April.
BB Govinda Swami was once again showering his mercy and affection on me, and I truly enjoyed his kirtans! On the first evening he sang one of my favorite tunes, and on the second evening, just when I requested him to come to the stage and start singing, I quietly said to him: "Can I make a request in regards to tunes?" He smiling responded: "Which one?" And I quickly sang it to him, and fortunately he could immediately pick up which one I meant.....
Every tune carries a certain mood, flavor and deeper feeling....
I always favor those tunes which carry the mood of crying out in separation.
No doubt this Bhakti Sangam Festival had been the most successful one in Nepal! It had created almost a revolution in the hearts and minds of the devotees - everybody was swimming in an ocean of bliss.....! It had by far surpassed all the previous festivals, especially since the mood and focus was much more deep, personal and confidential.
And for the very first time the main expenses were covered by the local devotees! Madan Prabhu had inspired several life members to sponsor the general devotee prasadam, and he himself had stepped forward and sponsored the accomodation in the rented Dharma Shala, a rather big center with halls and rooms for social functions.
This was indeed a wonderful sign - infact a milestone in the history of ISKCON Nepal! Finally some devotees had recognised the importance of cultivating Vaisnava hospitality and generosity: inviting the devotees and sadhus, hosting them and feeding them sumptiously with prasadam while putting on a Sankirtan Festival - as Advaita Acarya had demostrated by welcoming Mahaprabhu and His associates....
This was so encouraging and inspiring to me - I had been hoping and dreaming of this day to come.....
The day of departure from our festival fell on Advaita Acarya's Appearance, so I took the opportunity to refer to Advaita Acarya's hospitality in our closing ceremony of the festival.
I stayed one more day in Bhirat Nagar, and Madan Prabhu arranged a house program for me which was attended by many of the life members who sponsored the prasadam. I felt deeply oblidged to them for feeding the devotees and wanted to offer something in return - transcendental knowledge and upliftment. We are only entitled to accept donations if we are prepared to offer transcendental instructions and knowledge in return. This is the loving exchange....
Often we tend to see life members as a source of funds rather than as conditioned souls who are in need of Krsna consciousness......
On my way back to Mayapur I stopped for one night at the Siliguri temple and gave an evening and morning class. It is a huge temple building - so big that one can almost feel a little lost. But there are only some thirty brahmacaris living there, who are struggling to maintain everything.
Any project grows in a healthily balanced way when the structure naturally develops according to the substance. But if we concentrate on simply developing a big structure, then it becomes difficult to fill it up with substance afterwards, and everybody feels burdened by maintaining the structure.
On the 19th of February I returned to Mayapur - happy to be back with my two assistants Vicka and Julia, and with the cows......
Your servant, Devaki dd
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