After visiting Narottama Das Thakur's place we continued our tour and traveled further North. Nitai Priya Prabhu unfortunately had to return to Dhaka to fly out to Malaysia to join the first Kirtan Mela. We were missing his wonderful kirtans and his sweet association....
We visited our ISKCON temple outside of Thakurgaon and conducted another two-day retreat with around 150 student boys and matajis attending. Once again I discussed the topic of death on the first day, and chanting the holy name on the second, for around five hours each day. This time we had several groups performing role plays - how a materialist meets death, and how a devotee faces the same challenge. The devotees very nicely illustrated the different world views and consciousness, and it added a funny yet deep side to the retreat. We also had role plays on attentive and inattentive chanting, which always acts like a mirrow and reflects our bad chanting habits to us...
Sahasrajit Prabhu was giving nice SB classes in the mornings, and Visvambhara Prabhu was always ready to play mrdanga, and otherwise relished the Bangladeshi prasadam! Sometimes it was hard for him not to over-eat, and the reaction came in the form of belly pain at night. When I jokingly reminded him not to over-eat, he pleaded by exclaiming: "When else can I eat like this...?!"
I suggested to him to come to Bangladesh and learn how to cook, after he would finish his school. Wouldn't it be fantastic if he would become expert in cooking all these wonderful traditional Bengali dishes?! And then our Gauranga and Nityananda in Kharkov could feast like this?! It would be sensational! And he could pass on this culinary skill and culture to so many devotees in Ukraine....
Prabhupada once stated when returning from America: "Only Bengalis know how to eat well....."
We continued our travels to Rangpur - the base of our first Bangladeshi Sannyasi: HH Bhakti Priyam Gadadhara Maharaja. He eagerly welcomed us and took care of us in great Vaisnava hospitality. I had not visited this part of Bangladesh for many years, and everywhere things have been developing nicely, with the temple facilities improving, new devotees joining the ashram, and the congregation growing and maturing. I remembered my very first visit to Rangpur some 15 years ago, when we didn't even have an ISKCON temple here, and we were conducting a public Pandal program....
So much has changed meanwhile, and even here the student preaching is developing, and intelligent and educated youth is joining our movement - the future of ISKCON Bangladesh....
In the very North of Bangladesh people are more poor and simple hearted, and even more devotional. One can easily observe the direct connection between material opulence and loss of interest in spiritual life......
Also here I conducted a two-day retreat discussing the same topics. Since it fell on a weekend we had not only students but also many congregational members taking part, and everybody eagerly participated in the lively discussions and humorous role plays. I discovered such two-day retreats to be a very powerful way of leaving deep impressions on devotees' hearts.
Not only are three-day Holy Name Retreats an effective way of 'boiling the milk' and helping devotees to become burfi-like devotees - solid and sweet, but also such two-day retreats on various topics transform the hearts and bring the audience on deeper levels of spiritual practice.
This was a new experience for me, traveling the country and putting on such two-day retreats in various yatras. It might become a new style of traveling and preaching for me in the future....
Sahasrajit Prabhu was giving nice SB classes in the mornings, and Visvambhara Prabhu was always ready to play mrdanga, and otherwise relished the Bangladeshi prasadam! Sometimes it was hard for him not to over-eat, and the reaction came in the form of belly pain at night. When I jokingly reminded him not to over-eat, he pleaded by exclaiming: "When else can I eat like this...?!"
I suggested to him to come to Bangladesh and learn how to cook, after he would finish his school. Wouldn't it be fantastic if he would become expert in cooking all these wonderful traditional Bengali dishes?! And then our Gauranga and Nityananda in Kharkov could feast like this?! It would be sensational! And he could pass on this culinary skill and culture to so many devotees in Ukraine....
Prabhupada once stated when returning from America: "Only Bengalis know how to eat well....."
We continued our travels to Rangpur - the base of our first Bangladeshi Sannyasi: HH Bhakti Priyam Gadadhara Maharaja. He eagerly welcomed us and took care of us in great Vaisnava hospitality. I had not visited this part of Bangladesh for many years, and everywhere things have been developing nicely, with the temple facilities improving, new devotees joining the ashram, and the congregation growing and maturing. I remembered my very first visit to Rangpur some 15 years ago, when we didn't even have an ISKCON temple here, and we were conducting a public Pandal program....
So much has changed meanwhile, and even here the student preaching is developing, and intelligent and educated youth is joining our movement - the future of ISKCON Bangladesh....
In the very North of Bangladesh people are more poor and simple hearted, and even more devotional. One can easily observe the direct connection between material opulence and loss of interest in spiritual life......
Also here I conducted a two-day retreat discussing the same topics. Since it fell on a weekend we had not only students but also many congregational members taking part, and everybody eagerly participated in the lively discussions and humorous role plays. I discovered such two-day retreats to be a very powerful way of leaving deep impressions on devotees' hearts.
Not only are three-day Holy Name Retreats an effective way of 'boiling the milk' and helping devotees to become burfi-like devotees - solid and sweet, but also such two-day retreats on various topics transform the hearts and bring the audience on deeper levels of spiritual practice.
This was a new experience for me, traveling the country and putting on such two-day retreats in various yatras. It might become a new style of traveling and preaching for me in the future....
On Saturday, the 29th of November we flew from Saidpur to Dhaka and on to Sylhet, where we planned to inaugurate the Prabhupada marathon. The devotees here had never observed the book marathon, and last year I had promised them to visit their yatra during this time, and introduce this wonderful and exciting event of the Prabhupada marathon. And of course, Sahasrajit and Visvambhara Prabhus would be part of the fun.....
Sunday evening I gave a seminar on book distribution and the significance of the Prabhupada marathon. The devotees had made a big banner announcing the event, and many temple devotees and congregational members participated and received inspiration to take part in distributing Prabhupada's books.
Over the last years I have established the tradition in Bangladesh, that on my birthday on the 1st of December I feed all the devotees of the yatra which I am visiting with pizza and German pudding. I usually stand all day in the kitchen and make pizza for 150 devotees: 48 big trays! Of course, I have a team of boys who help me, and this year Sahasrajit and Visvambhara Prabhus were part of the fun.
Sunday evening I gave a seminar on book distribution and the significance of the Prabhupada marathon. The devotees had made a big banner announcing the event, and many temple devotees and congregational members participated and received inspiration to take part in distributing Prabhupada's books.
Over the last years I have established the tradition in Bangladesh, that on my birthday on the 1st of December I feed all the devotees of the yatra which I am visiting with pizza and German pudding. I usually stand all day in the kitchen and make pizza for 150 devotees: 48 big trays! Of course, I have a team of boys who help me, and this year Sahasrajit and Visvambhara Prabhus were part of the fun.
| Just when the pizza was ready to be served, one of the senior boys came to me and said:" Mataji, we are having a program now...." They had made a surprise for me: without my knowledge they had arranged a little birthday program and invited so many devotees. And then some of the senior devotees stepped forward and offered some words of affection and gratitude. Some devotees described me as the Mother of Bangladesh, and when Sahasrajit Prabhu spoke, he said: "Well, we see mataji as mother of Ukraine and Kharkov! So looks like we now have some competition here!" And everybody was laughing... And they had even made a birthday cake aswell....! |
The next morning I received a wonderful surprise coming from Kharkov/Ukraine. They had compiled a video with many devotees from the congregation and ashrams expressing their good wishes, appreciation and gratitude for my humble attempts to serve them. And they sent me the link to watch it on youtube! It was indeed a very sweet surprise - my heart was melting when I saw them expressing their feelings with so much affection and sincerity. I was indeed moved to tears.
Only then I fully realized how dear they all are to me....!
These are truly loving exchanges amongst devotees.....
Sarvatma Prabhu, the chairman of the Temple Council was even offering me a little birthday cake on the video......How sweet.....!
To conclude the birthday program here in Sylhet the devotees requested me to speak, and I shared some thoughts.....
As devotees, when we are glorified, we naturally feel a little uncomfortable and embarrassed, because we don't feel that we deserve all these nice words. But what I happily accept is all the devotion and affection, with which they are offering these words. This encourages me very much in my humble attempts to continue serving.
The longer I am in Krsna consciousness, the more I realize that we are simply a product of mercy and blessings coming from the Vaisnavas. Without their mercy we are nothing. Whatever little they see in me of value, is simply received from others. On my birthday I rang my mother in Germany and thanked her for having been such a wonderful mother. She certainly was my first Guru and planted the seed of devotional life in my heart. And then there are so many more personalities we are eternally indebted to: in my case three Diksa Gurus, so many Siksa Gurus, sadhus and Vaisnavas! And without Srila Prabhupada's mercy I would be completely lost in this material world.
And naturally, when we receive so much mercy, we want to pass it on to others. So whatever little preaching I can do is simply a feeble attempt of passing on all the mercy which I have received. I by myself have nothing to give. It is simply the effect of mercy from the Vaisnavas.
Also I realize more and more that the secret of success is to serve the devotees. I want to be fully absorbed in how to please and serve them. And even there we are dependant on their mercy, because they have to be willing to accept our service! Otherwise how can we serve them...?!
So I expressed my gratitude to all of the assembled devotees for accepting my humble attempts of serving them. Even after 15 years, they still allow me to come and serve. And I fully realize that it is not always so easy to tolerate me! Sometimes I am pretty harsh and heavy, and get my big danda out and beat some of them a little! And they kindly are tolerating me, and still give me the opportunity to go on serving them. What would I do without this opportunity?! Serving the devotees is the greatest mercy, and I am simply praying that they will always allow me to serve them.
I requested the devotees in Kharkov by email to allow me to feed them on the following Saturday morning program, which is attended by all the sincerely practicing devotees. And I asked them to cook a specially nice breakfast feast.....
On the next day of the 2nd December we started the Prabhupada marathon.....
Your servant, Devaki dd
Only then I fully realized how dear they all are to me....!
These are truly loving exchanges amongst devotees.....
Sarvatma Prabhu, the chairman of the Temple Council was even offering me a little birthday cake on the video......How sweet.....!
To conclude the birthday program here in Sylhet the devotees requested me to speak, and I shared some thoughts.....
As devotees, when we are glorified, we naturally feel a little uncomfortable and embarrassed, because we don't feel that we deserve all these nice words. But what I happily accept is all the devotion and affection, with which they are offering these words. This encourages me very much in my humble attempts to continue serving.
The longer I am in Krsna consciousness, the more I realize that we are simply a product of mercy and blessings coming from the Vaisnavas. Without their mercy we are nothing. Whatever little they see in me of value, is simply received from others. On my birthday I rang my mother in Germany and thanked her for having been such a wonderful mother. She certainly was my first Guru and planted the seed of devotional life in my heart. And then there are so many more personalities we are eternally indebted to: in my case three Diksa Gurus, so many Siksa Gurus, sadhus and Vaisnavas! And without Srila Prabhupada's mercy I would be completely lost in this material world.
And naturally, when we receive so much mercy, we want to pass it on to others. So whatever little preaching I can do is simply a feeble attempt of passing on all the mercy which I have received. I by myself have nothing to give. It is simply the effect of mercy from the Vaisnavas.
Also I realize more and more that the secret of success is to serve the devotees. I want to be fully absorbed in how to please and serve them. And even there we are dependant on their mercy, because they have to be willing to accept our service! Otherwise how can we serve them...?!
So I expressed my gratitude to all of the assembled devotees for accepting my humble attempts of serving them. Even after 15 years, they still allow me to come and serve. And I fully realize that it is not always so easy to tolerate me! Sometimes I am pretty harsh and heavy, and get my big danda out and beat some of them a little! And they kindly are tolerating me, and still give me the opportunity to go on serving them. What would I do without this opportunity?! Serving the devotees is the greatest mercy, and I am simply praying that they will always allow me to serve them.
I requested the devotees in Kharkov by email to allow me to feed them on the following Saturday morning program, which is attended by all the sincerely practicing devotees. And I asked them to cook a specially nice breakfast feast.....
On the next day of the 2nd December we started the Prabhupada marathon.....
Your servant, Devaki dd
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