This year I had decided to return earlier than usual to Europe in order to use the Easter holidays as an opportunity to conduct a retreat. So I arrived in Cologne/Germany already on the 18th of March - earlier than ever before! And it was still rather cold.....
The devotees happily welcomed me and allowed me to relax for a couple of days in order to adjust - it's always a bit of a culture shock to arrive back in Europe....
I was invited to conduct the Japa Workshop on Sunday morning and give the Sunday Feast lecture, which was well attended by eager devotees.
I consider Cologne temple to be the most lively yatra within Germany, and I had decided to give it a little more attention by visiting several times a year and thus establishing it as a bit of a base within Europe, where I would arrive when coming from India.
The devotees happily welcomed me and allowed me to relax for a couple of days in order to adjust - it's always a bit of a culture shock to arrive back in Europe....
I was invited to conduct the Japa Workshop on Sunday morning and give the Sunday Feast lecture, which was well attended by eager devotees.
I consider Cologne temple to be the most lively yatra within Germany, and I had decided to give it a little more attention by visiting several times a year and thus establishing it as a bit of a base within Europe, where I would arrive when coming from India.
On Monday I moved on to Zagreb/Croatia where I spent Gaur Purnima this year.
All these years I had always been for Gaur Purnima either in India or Bangladesh - it must have been during my brahmacarini days in Australia thirty years ago that I was last for Gaur Purnima in a Western country....!
All these years I had always been for Gaur Purnima either in India or Bangladesh - it must have been during my brahmacarini days in Australia thirty years ago that I was last for Gaur Purnima in a Western country....!
The flavor is certainly very different - no pilgrims, and a more personal and sweet mood centered around sravanam kirtanam amongst the practicing devotees of a yatra. In India or Bangladesh it is rather difficult to create such intimate festival atmosphere, since so many Hindus are also participating, who might not be regular devotees. But on the other hand the festivals in India and Bangladesh are often celebrated with more pomp and elaborate flower decorations, and big crowds of visiters also bring a certain flavor to a festival, which is missing in the West. So both places have their special mood and flavor.
Since the event fell on a working day, the festivities started only in the late afternoon, and during the morning you would hardly even believe that it was Gaur Purnima! The Zagreb temple is rather far outside the city, so devotees cannot so easily drop in before going to work, etc. I had given the evening class the day before in order to deepen our meditation on the upcoming appearance of Mahaprabhu, and I spent the day reading CC, all the while being in Mayapur within my mind....
| At 5pm the devotees assembled for the abhishek, which was conducted on the altar by the senior devotees and accompanied by a deep and prayerful kirtan. The big Deities were nicely dressed in Their new outfit, and the altar was decorated with beautiful flower arrangements. I was invited to give the main festival lecture. The Deities were offered many delicious preparations, and we concluded the celebration with more kirtan and a sumptious feast. It had been a sweet little festival in deep introspection, and at the same time it had given me an opportunity to connect with the devotees and get to know them, since this was only my second visit to this part of the world.  |  |
On the next evening the devotees invited me to conduct a kirtan program in the city of Zagreb, with newcomers attending who are attracted to chanting. All kinds of people turned up, who normally would not so easily come to the temple. A good outreach program, in order to bring new people to Krsna consciousness.
On the following day we drove to Lika, where the devotees had arranged for a Spiritual Culture Retreat over the Easter holidays. Our host was Murari Gupta Prabhu and his good wife Sundari Mataji, who are both medical doctors and live in a big house in the village of Lika. Over the years they have created wonderful facilities to be able to receive the devotees for such kind of retreats and even small festivals, setting a perfect example of grhstha life by opening their home to the devotees in a wellcoming mood of Vaisnava hospitality.
Around 40 grown-ups and 20 children assembled from various corners of Croatia, and also from a couple of neighboring countries. Some mothers offered a nice kids' program parallel to the course, so the parents could peacefully attend the seminars.
I gave the course "Men and Women in Spiritual Culture" in a tight schedule over the two and half days of the Easter holidays. Everybody participated very eagerly, including our only brahmacari who had also come to attend. I think it must have been the first course where we had so many senior men participating with such keen interest. Although many of the devotees had been already very familiar with various principles of spiritual culture, nevertheless they shared how the course had set everything into the right perspective and had given them a clear overall picture, adjusting things within their minds in a balanced way.
I gave the course "Men and Women in Spiritual Culture" in a tight schedule over the two and half days of the Easter holidays. Everybody participated very eagerly, including our only brahmacari who had also come to attend. I think it must have been the first course where we had so many senior men participating with such keen interest. Although many of the devotees had been already very familiar with various principles of spiritual culture, nevertheless they shared how the course had set everything into the right perspective and had given them a clear overall picture, adjusting things within their minds in a balanced way.
As usual the morning class was conducted by one of the participating devotees, and the first twenty minutes of the class was given in an interactive style appropriate for the children, who sat in the very front and eagerly participated. And after twenty minutes they left the temple room, and the class continued for the grown-ups. What a wonderful way to involve the kids and make them feel part of the whole retreat....!
The devotees put the most funny and hilarious role plays together - the audience was almost rolling on the ground in laughter! Somebody had filmed the laughing crowd, and when I watched it afterwards I could hardly believe that it was us during the course! It looked like some had indeed gone mad! The children also participated in the role plays, and they were happy to be part of the fun.
Devotees also came with personal questions, and I tried my very best to serve them. I always feel especially honored when I have an opportunity to serve senior devotees in such a way. Witnessing the wonderful realizations and transformations devotees received during those three days gave me once again great inspiration to continue with my humble preaching efforts, knowing it to be all worthwhile.
The devotees put the most funny and hilarious role plays together - the audience was almost rolling on the ground in laughter! Somebody had filmed the laughing crowd, and when I watched it afterwards I could hardly believe that it was us during the course! It looked like some had indeed gone mad! The children also participated in the role plays, and they were happy to be part of the fun.
Devotees also came with personal questions, and I tried my very best to serve them. I always feel especially honored when I have an opportunity to serve senior devotees in such a way. Witnessing the wonderful realizations and transformations devotees received during those three days gave me once again great inspiration to continue with my humble preaching efforts, knowing it to be all worthwhile.
Sundari Mataji and Murari Gupta Prabhu acted like the perfect hosts tirelessly serving the devotees with delicious prasadam, which created a very sweet atmosphere. The entire event was simply wonderful, and we decided to regularly conduct such events - maybe a Holy Name Retreat next year....
On the 30th of March I took the train to New Vraja Dham in Hungary.....
Your servant, Devaki dd
On the 30th of March I took the train to New Vraja Dham in Hungary.....
Your servant, Devaki dd
RSS Feed
