Monday, February 9, 2015
Seva Abhilash
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
The lords return to Kaundanyapur
Dwarakadish again comes to Rukminis City after Kidnapping her, this time to kidnap the residents!
It was around 2:30PM! After having eaten nothing except a small pack of cookies and half a bottle of water since morning, the narrow serpentine roads from Dhamangaon to Kaundanyapur/Kaundinyapur seemed to never end! But slowly my love for nature lured me away from the thoughts of hurrying to reach the destination. I sat in the front seat of a ‘TATA Sumo’, with my eyes out the window trying to have a complete picture of rural Maharashtra. I had travelled to other regions of Maharashtra earlier like Pandharpur and Pune, but hadn’t gone into such rural areas before. This was really deep into the picturesque countryside with farms and orchards. The landscape looked more dry than wet and I was seeing such pitch black soil for the first time after only having read about it at school. We had learnt in our Geography classes how the Deccan Plateau of India is mostly black soil. And descriptions of the crops that I had read were also coming alive. Most of the landscape we passed by were dotted with cotton plants. Then I suddenly saw some trees in fenced areas with big round yellow-orange things hanging from them. The sight looked so beautiful and they seemed like fruits but I tried to make myself believe that they were just flowers because it was too good to be true! As it got closer I realized that they were really fruits, infact oranges! We passed by many such orchards on the way.
We frequently came across the typical Bullock-carts of Maharashtra fully made of Iron. It was also nice to spot bulls in distant fields tied to their ploughs while the farmers were having their afternoon meal. Oh meal! I mean prasadam, I needed some too!
I was waiting anxiously all week to jump into the ceremonies of the Inauguration of the Govardhan temple at Kaundinyapur in Maharashtra. It is around 40 kms from Amravati and 150 Kms from Nagpur.
Kaundinyapur, a hilly region on the banks of the river Wardha (Varada, giver of boons) was the birth place of Rukmini. So the lord had come here personally to kidnap her from the temple of Amba. The Temple of Amba still exists and is just beside our new temple. It is believed that Rukmini devi would take bath in river Wardha during the Kartik month. Even today thousands of devotees visit this place to take bath during the Kartik and a whole area becomes filled with shops(Mela) during the entire month. There is also an ancient temple of Vittal-Rukmini on the banks of this river,visited by many. I also found a very ancient temple of Dattatraya nearby.
Once on a visit to this holy place with many devotees, His Holiness Lokanath Swami found a big tree of Keli Kadamba and sat under it. Everyone was surprised to see this only Kadamba tree in that area. Maharaj explained how this is the tree from which the lord jumped into Yamuna to subdue Kaliya in Vrndavan. The only possible means of this tree coming up here could be that it fell from the crown of Lord Dwarakadish when he had come here to kidnap Rukmini. Otherwise there was no other way since this tree cannot be found anywhere else in the nearby areas.
So on the direction Lokanath Swami, devotees acquired that land and thus appeared this beautiful Govardhan Temple. The temple sits on a small mound. Just beside the mound is this Keli Kadamba tree which comes up from the ground in mainly 5 big branches. They also have a small goshala and the cows ofcourse looked so healthy and beautiful! And more lovely was the lotus and lily ponds! They had two huge tanks in the ground which supplied Lotus and Lily flowers of different colors for the Lord! It was captivating to see so many lilies blossom in different colors!
The ceremonies had already started when I had arrived but I was lucky to be there for the Welcoming/Placing of Govardhan Sila in the new temple. The yagyas were held in a pandal beside the temple where all the other ceremonies, cultural programs and Krishna Katha took place.
In the evening of 8th November, the Kalashas and Sudarshan was installed along with the Jaya Dhwaja and later we went on a Shobha Yatra with Rukmini Dwarakadish and Giriraj. After returning we had some wonderful Katha by HH Lokanath Swami, HH Rama Govinda Swami, HH Bhakti-Vijaya Narasimha Swami and HG Parameshwar prabhu from Chamorsi. The next day was reserved for the Grand Abishek of Sri Rukmini Dwarakadish and Giriraj! We also had wonderful kirtans and Katha and the pandal wasn’t actually sufficient that day to accommodate the entire crowd! HH Lokanath Maharaj was painting beautiful scenes of Krishna Kidnapping Rukmini by laying forward such detailed descriptions of how all the Kings were so enraptured by Her beauty and swanlike gait that they failed to notice the entrance of the Lord in the scene! All their weapons fell from their hands while several of them fell off their horses, elephants and chariots with their mouths wide open. All the devotees were similarly spell bound by the katha given by maharaj and were so engaged that none of them rushed for prasadam even though it was getting late!
One of the remarkable things about prasadam for me was the King size chapatis that the local Marathi Matajis made. It was almost 1sq ft in area! They were flipping it over with such ease using just sticks and normal ladles and were making fun of me for taking snaps of them! The chapatis were then cut into smaller pieces for distribution and surprisingly it was readily coming off as two wafers indicating how well cooked it was!
Kaundinyapur Album
The mela/market of the kartik month along the banks of the river was quite colorful! It had many things to offer starting from snacks and drinks to all household articles like tables and knives. There were also other piligrims attending our program and also visiting were the traditional Marathi devotees doing kirtan who walk to such holy places from their villages.
My stay ended with the late afternoon prasadam on the second day as I had to catch a train from Nagpur back to Hyderabad. I wished I had more time to spend there and prayed to come again .There is a window at the Amba temple worshipped for Krishna kidnapping Rukmini through it. How I wish Krishna Kidnaps me away from this world like he did with her!
The sun was setting in the distant fields and we were travelling in a local autorickshaw braving the bumpy roads getting blocked very often by all the cattle and Bullock-carts returning home. But no ‘go-dhuli’ was raised since it was Tar roads! What significantly struck me was the rarity of buffaloes. Most of the cattle were Cows, goats and sheep. Unlike many other regions of India, a buffalo was rare to spot. It was probably due to the lack of marshy sewage water swamps found in other places or probably just the love for Cows they had! I was also surprised to find busts of Sant Tukaram built in front of some houses with a quote from his Abhangs. Fortunately many Maharastrians still love Tukaram and his Abhangas/songs even to this day.
It was around 2:30PM! After having eaten nothing except a small pack of cookies and half a bottle of water since morning, the narrow serpentine roads from Dhamangaon to Kaundanyapur/Kaundinyapur seemed to never end! But slowly my love for nature lured me away from the thoughts of hurrying to reach the destination. I sat in the front seat of a ‘TATA Sumo’, with my eyes out the window trying to have a complete picture of rural Maharashtra. I had travelled to other regions of Maharashtra earlier like Pandharpur and Pune, but hadn’t gone into such rural areas before. This was really deep into the picturesque countryside with farms and orchards. The landscape looked more dry than wet and I was seeing such pitch black soil for the first time after only having read about it at school. We had learnt in our Geography classes how the Deccan Plateau of India is mostly black soil. And descriptions of the crops that I had read were also coming alive. Most of the landscape we passed by were dotted with cotton plants. Then I suddenly saw some trees in fenced areas with big round yellow-orange things hanging from them. The sight looked so beautiful and they seemed like fruits but I tried to make myself believe that they were just flowers because it was too good to be true! As it got closer I realized that they were really fruits, infact oranges! We passed by many such orchards on the way.
We frequently came across the typical Bullock-carts of Maharashtra fully made of Iron. It was also nice to spot bulls in distant fields tied to their ploughs while the farmers were having their afternoon meal. Oh meal! I mean prasadam, I needed some too!
I was waiting anxiously all week to jump into the ceremonies of the Inauguration of the Govardhan temple at Kaundinyapur in Maharashtra. It is around 40 kms from Amravati and 150 Kms from Nagpur.
Kaundinyapur, a hilly region on the banks of the river Wardha (Varada, giver of boons) was the birth place of Rukmini. So the lord had come here personally to kidnap her from the temple of Amba. The Temple of Amba still exists and is just beside our new temple. It is believed that Rukmini devi would take bath in river Wardha during the Kartik month. Even today thousands of devotees visit this place to take bath during the Kartik and a whole area becomes filled with shops(Mela) during the entire month. There is also an ancient temple of Vittal-Rukmini on the banks of this river,visited by many. I also found a very ancient temple of Dattatraya nearby.
Once on a visit to this holy place with many devotees, His Holiness Lokanath Swami found a big tree of Keli Kadamba and sat under it. Everyone was surprised to see this only Kadamba tree in that area. Maharaj explained how this is the tree from which the lord jumped into Yamuna to subdue Kaliya in Vrndavan. The only possible means of this tree coming up here could be that it fell from the crown of Lord Dwarakadish when he had come here to kidnap Rukmini. Otherwise there was no other way since this tree cannot be found anywhere else in the nearby areas.
So on the direction Lokanath Swami, devotees acquired that land and thus appeared this beautiful Govardhan Temple. The temple sits on a small mound. Just beside the mound is this Keli Kadamba tree which comes up from the ground in mainly 5 big branches. They also have a small goshala and the cows ofcourse looked so healthy and beautiful! And more lovely was the lotus and lily ponds! They had two huge tanks in the ground which supplied Lotus and Lily flowers of different colors for the Lord! It was captivating to see so many lilies blossom in different colors!
The ceremonies had already started when I had arrived but I was lucky to be there for the Welcoming/Placing of Govardhan Sila in the new temple. The yagyas were held in a pandal beside the temple where all the other ceremonies, cultural programs and Krishna Katha took place.
In the evening of 8th November, the Kalashas and Sudarshan was installed along with the Jaya Dhwaja and later we went on a Shobha Yatra with Rukmini Dwarakadish and Giriraj. After returning we had some wonderful Katha by HH Lokanath Swami, HH Rama Govinda Swami, HH Bhakti-Vijaya Narasimha Swami and HG Parameshwar prabhu from Chamorsi. The next day was reserved for the Grand Abishek of Sri Rukmini Dwarakadish and Giriraj! We also had wonderful kirtans and Katha and the pandal wasn’t actually sufficient that day to accommodate the entire crowd! HH Lokanath Maharaj was painting beautiful scenes of Krishna Kidnapping Rukmini by laying forward such detailed descriptions of how all the Kings were so enraptured by Her beauty and swanlike gait that they failed to notice the entrance of the Lord in the scene! All their weapons fell from their hands while several of them fell off their horses, elephants and chariots with their mouths wide open. All the devotees were similarly spell bound by the katha given by maharaj and were so engaged that none of them rushed for prasadam even though it was getting late!
One of the remarkable things about prasadam for me was the King size chapatis that the local Marathi Matajis made. It was almost 1sq ft in area! They were flipping it over with such ease using just sticks and normal ladles and were making fun of me for taking snaps of them! The chapatis were then cut into smaller pieces for distribution and surprisingly it was readily coming off as two wafers indicating how well cooked it was!
Kaundinyapur Album
The mela/market of the kartik month along the banks of the river was quite colorful! It had many things to offer starting from snacks and drinks to all household articles like tables and knives. There were also other piligrims attending our program and also visiting were the traditional Marathi devotees doing kirtan who walk to such holy places from their villages.
My stay ended with the late afternoon prasadam on the second day as I had to catch a train from Nagpur back to Hyderabad. I wished I had more time to spend there and prayed to come again .There is a window at the Amba temple worshipped for Krishna kidnapping Rukmini through it. How I wish Krishna Kidnaps me away from this world like he did with her!
The sun was setting in the distant fields and we were travelling in a local autorickshaw braving the bumpy roads getting blocked very often by all the cattle and Bullock-carts returning home. But no ‘go-dhuli’ was raised since it was Tar roads! What significantly struck me was the rarity of buffaloes. Most of the cattle were Cows, goats and sheep. Unlike many other regions of India, a buffalo was rare to spot. It was probably due to the lack of marshy sewage water swamps found in other places or probably just the love for Cows they had! I was also surprised to find busts of Sant Tukaram built in front of some houses with a quote from his Abhangs. Fortunately many Maharastrians still love Tukaram and his Abhangas/songs even to this day.
Friday, December 12, 2014
Bhaktivedanta EcoFarm updates
I was in for a pleasant surprise today morning chatting with Rupa Goswami prabhu who takes care of the Bhaktivedanta Eco Farm at Vrindavan Dham.
It lies between Radhakund and Vrindavan, where the Demon Aghasura was killed!
Eco Farm Album
Inspite of all the difficulties they have been facing in developing the project, He has brought it to such a stage that you will fall short of words praising his service.
It was so gladenning to hear from him that now the basic building structures have been completed, they have a pure source of drinking water, a 42000litre water tank and the best of the best news, they are now producing their own vegetables. The list he mentioned was Palak, Radish, Carrot, Beetroot, Oakra, Tomato, Flat Beans, Green Peas, Bitter Gourd, Pumpkin, Eggplant, Wheat, Corn and more to come!
Besides developing this into a very Productive self sustained Eco Farm, he also has many other plans. One of them is, increasing the green cover in and around to make todays desertifying Vrindavan into a real forest like in the past!
Previously the All India Padayatra, which travels on foot across India all around the year had seen great heights in his leadership for a decade. He now struggles in this remote farm, braving the scorching summers and freezing winters of Vrndavan, to develop this project into a beautiful example of Sustainable Organic Farming!
Any help or volunteering is always welcome.
Note: I am writing this post on my own accord, without his permission as a witness to his hardwork and dedication to Govinda/Gopal, who gives pleasure to the Cows and Earth.
It lies between Radhakund and Vrindavan, where the Demon Aghasura was killed!
Eco Farm Album
Inspite of all the difficulties they have been facing in developing the project, He has brought it to such a stage that you will fall short of words praising his service.
It was so gladenning to hear from him that now the basic building structures have been completed, they have a pure source of drinking water, a 42000litre water tank and the best of the best news, they are now producing their own vegetables. The list he mentioned was Palak, Radish, Carrot, Beetroot, Oakra, Tomato, Flat Beans, Green Peas, Bitter Gourd, Pumpkin, Eggplant, Wheat, Corn and more to come!
Besides developing this into a very Productive self sustained Eco Farm, he also has many other plans. One of them is, increasing the green cover in and around to make todays desertifying Vrindavan into a real forest like in the past!
Previously the All India Padayatra, which travels on foot across India all around the year had seen great heights in his leadership for a decade. He now struggles in this remote farm, braving the scorching summers and freezing winters of Vrndavan, to develop this project into a beautiful example of Sustainable Organic Farming!
Any help or volunteering is always welcome.
Note: I am writing this post on my own accord, without his permission as a witness to his hardwork and dedication to Govinda/Gopal, who gives pleasure to the Cows and Earth.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
A wonderful partner
Many Celebrated yesterdays Unique date 11/12/13 in different ways. Some started a new business while others signed a new agreement. Another lot got married when informed by some astrologers that it was auspicious! Hyderabad itself saw more than 1000 couples tie the knot yesterday noting the unique date.
At the other corner of the city, I met my wonderful partner after a long wait, for the
first time yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised when I actually saw her the first time.She is from the Seagate family, quite cute and small and not at all obese.
Her little mono eye blinks when she is properly connected. She is quite happy with the
power given to her and doesnt ask for additional. Nor does she make fuss about the old traditional slow USB 2.0 but humbly adapts herself inspite of her capacity for high speed connection. Officially she can take upto Thousand giga bites, but she cant actually handle that much in reality.
On the negative side, she is super fragile and seems that she might fall apart if dropped just once, so she requires a lot of care and protection.
As you know we really cant trust anyone these days no matter how good they might seem, so I made sure there was a kind of agreement with her Dad. If she misbehaves without any fault on my side, she will be sent back home to return better again. And if her behaviour is way too bad, he will replace her. And this agreement he said is for 3 years. So thats not really bad, is it?
And this is how thousands of roots of the Banyan tree keep on increasing day by day, until one day you will be forced to leave it all; Better be ready with the sword of Knowledge.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
The Diwali Big Bang!
BooooooMMM!!!
I was watching some kids in the neighbourhood light fire crackers. Prem was running around lighting each cracker as his little sister kept throwing one by one, onto the
road, helping him. They were enjoying bursting crackers by trying it differently each time. Then from the next street came 2 little kids, who were hardly a bit more
than toddlers. They came runninng to watch the firecrackers while playing with some torn ribbons. But the moment Prem lit each cracker, they ran away from it, plugging
their ears with their index fingers.
They were only a bit more than toddlers, what did they understand?
well, they just used mere common sense to know that an explosion of even a tiny fire cracker, would cause DESTRUCTION.
So they clearly understand that EXPLOSION causes DESTRUCTION.
But Im not sure about how much common sense todays so called scientists use. After all their pages and books of calculations, for days and nights, months and years, they conclude that the biggest explosion possible, created this perfectly fuctioning Universe.
I was watching some kids in the neighbourhood light fire crackers. Prem was running around lighting each cracker as his little sister kept throwing one by one, onto the
road, helping him. They were enjoying bursting crackers by trying it differently each time. Then from the next street came 2 little kids, who were hardly a bit more
than toddlers. They came runninng to watch the firecrackers while playing with some torn ribbons. But the moment Prem lit each cracker, they ran away from it, plugging
their ears with their index fingers.
They were only a bit more than toddlers, what did they understand?
well, they just used mere common sense to know that an explosion of even a tiny fire cracker, would cause DESTRUCTION.
So they clearly understand that EXPLOSION causes DESTRUCTION.
But Im not sure about how much common sense todays so called scientists use. After all their pages and books of calculations, for days and nights, months and years, they conclude that the biggest explosion possible, created this perfectly fuctioning Universe.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Patriotic Killing
It was 2130 hours, on Wednesday, on the rough road, full of gravel and potholes,five of us were driving back after an ecstatic Rathyatra. We were trying to follow the GPS on a friends smartphone as none of us knew the exact way leading to the main road, but it ultimately seemed so confusing that we decided to just use common sense. The traffic was as usual, buzzing, honking, dusty and smoky!
A truck drove in, staying just a few feet ahead of our car, when we noticed that it was loaded with sacks, filled with something. But what caught our attention was that some liquid was dripping from the truck onto the road all the way, probably seeping through the bags. On a closer look, we were horrified to see that the liquid was red! It was BLOOD!! There were also small pieces of bones sticking out here and there!!! A truck full of murdered animals!!!
Bolo Bharat Mata Ki, jay! Bolo Gandhiji ki, Jai!
A truck drove in, staying just a few feet ahead of our car, when we noticed that it was loaded with sacks, filled with something. But what caught our attention was that some liquid was dripping from the truck onto the road all the way, probably seeping through the bags. On a closer look, we were horrified to see that the liquid was red! It was BLOOD!! There were also small pieces of bones sticking out here and there!!! A truck full of murdered animals!!!
Bolo Bharat Mata Ki, jay! Bolo Gandhiji ki, Jai!
Monday, October 1, 2012
A visit to Nanda Gokulam
VVVVVVVVVVVmmmmmmmmmmm.........it was a really low hum, i
looked all around the little hill, standing on the topmost crest.I stopped my hum of chanting and also tried stopping in my tracks to find out the source of the far-buzzing-low-hum.I just couldnt. I then tried concentrating more, with my ears up and eyes on the ground.
Theeeeeeere!!! The little sunken places on the rock seemed carpeted beautifully with little plants bearing flowers of different shades. And what else can you expect, the bees feasted on the nectar, collecting as much as they could, and so many bees all around all over the area was creating this low humming buzzz!
It was 6 'O' clock in the morning, with the sky scattered in bits n pieces of clouds. The soil and plants around were still wet from the rainy night.
The trees and hills in the distance seemed heavenly, with the misty look. And there was the reddish huuuggee SUN rising in the horizon, with parrots flying by in the sky, the bul-buls chatting, different birds chirping in the bushes and the calling of the peacocks in the distant trees.
I was strolling along the small rocky hill, moving each bead as i chanted on. It was a really pleasant experience at "Nanda Gokulam", a farm community around 65 Km from Hyderabad, India. This project, a brainchild of Madhav Gopinath prabhu, who is materially childless, is not just a farm community, but also a haven for a budding Gurukul with 12 kids now.
Like any village surrounded by forest n fields, even this place has wild flora and fauna, like Monitor lizards, snakes and scorpions, but the splendour of the place gave me a feel of vraja bhumi, Vrndavan, with peacocks calling every evening n morning. The kids were quite interested to learn Mrdanga, and i felt priviledged to teach a 4 year old kid also, Narayan;probably the youngest i have ever taught.LOL
looked all around the little hill, standing on the topmost crest.I stopped my hum of chanting and also tried stopping in my tracks to find out the source of the far-buzzing-low-hum.I just couldnt. I then tried concentrating more, with my ears up and eyes on the ground.
Theeeeeeere!!! The little sunken places on the rock seemed carpeted beautifully with little plants bearing flowers of different shades. And what else can you expect, the bees feasted on the nectar, collecting as much as they could, and so many bees all around all over the area was creating this low humming buzzz!
It was 6 'O' clock in the morning, with the sky scattered in bits n pieces of clouds. The soil and plants around were still wet from the rainy night.
The trees and hills in the distance seemed heavenly, with the misty look. And there was the reddish huuuggee SUN rising in the horizon, with parrots flying by in the sky, the bul-buls chatting, different birds chirping in the bushes and the calling of the peacocks in the distant trees.
I was strolling along the small rocky hill, moving each bead as i chanted on. It was a really pleasant experience at "Nanda Gokulam", a farm community around 65 Km from Hyderabad, India. This project, a brainchild of Madhav Gopinath prabhu, who is materially childless, is not just a farm community, but also a haven for a budding Gurukul with 12 kids now.
Like any village surrounded by forest n fields, even this place has wild flora and fauna, like Monitor lizards, snakes and scorpions, but the splendour of the place gave me a feel of vraja bhumi, Vrndavan, with peacocks calling every evening n morning. The kids were quite interested to learn Mrdanga, and i felt priviledged to teach a 4 year old kid also, Narayan;probably the youngest i have ever taught.LOL
Monday, July 16, 2012
An urban encounter?
It spread its hood, clearly displaying the beautiful serpentine marks of a Cobra as i tried to go nearer to it.
I could hardly believe what i saw in such a developed area, midst the concrete jungles of Hyderabad. As i looked forward towards the junction i was
heading, i saw a lady walking ahead, who kept turning around, staring at the side of the pavement. I wondered what made her turn like that so many times and gave a search-look to that place. There was a baby golden brownish snake slithering on the side of the pavement i walked on. I saw some unclear patches near its neck and felt pity thinking that it probably had gotten hurt by some passing vehicle. So i went nearer to watch it. I kept moving fine with no signs of pain or disability. I tried to go closer to have a better view of its neck. Sensing my presence getting nearer, it
unleashed its Cobra signs. There i saw a baby Cobra, with its hood spread. It wasn't longer than a foot and a half.
They aren't waterloving, i learnt, as i saw it trying to avoid the tiny pool of water on the roadside. This helped me get some respect for the forest like growth on the tiny hill near my room, the abode of Lord Venugopal. I remember how i went off the road a bit last week, to pluck some beautiful yellow flowers on my way back down the hill. I need to be a bit careful i guess next i do something like that over there.
I could hardly believe what i saw in such a developed area, midst the concrete jungles of Hyderabad. As i looked forward towards the junction i was
heading, i saw a lady walking ahead, who kept turning around, staring at the side of the pavement. I wondered what made her turn like that so many times and gave a search-look to that place. There was a baby golden brownish snake slithering on the side of the pavement i walked on. I saw some unclear patches near its neck and felt pity thinking that it probably had gotten hurt by some passing vehicle. So i went nearer to watch it. I kept moving fine with no signs of pain or disability. I tried to go closer to have a better view of its neck. Sensing my presence getting nearer, it
unleashed its Cobra signs. There i saw a baby Cobra, with its hood spread. It wasn't longer than a foot and a half.
They aren't waterloving, i learnt, as i saw it trying to avoid the tiny pool of water on the roadside. This helped me get some respect for the forest like growth on the tiny hill near my room, the abode of Lord Venugopal. I remember how i went off the road a bit last week, to pluck some beautiful yellow flowers on my way back down the hill. I need to be a bit careful i guess next i do something like that over there.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Drunken Transgender?
"Hijras also Drink alcohol"!!! That was a really horrible discovery.
Yeah, that might not be a big deal, but since it was my first time to seeing that, i was really taken aback.
Four Drunken Hijras surrounded me yesterday night while returning home with groceries, demanding money. All of them kept showering me with their drunken blessings of watever they were blabbering, placing their palm on my head.
"Hindi? Telugu? English? Urdu?, whats your language" they asked. I said "BANGLA" calmly, trying to free my self from their tight grip. I finally gotaway, but as i walked away not wanting the blessings of the Drunken Hijras, it dawned upon me that even Hijras do drink!!!
Yeah, that might not be a big deal, but since it was my first time to seeing that, i was really taken aback.
Four Drunken Hijras surrounded me yesterday night while returning home with groceries, demanding money. All of them kept showering me with their drunken blessings of watever they were blabbering, placing their palm on my head.
"Hindi? Telugu? English? Urdu?, whats your language" they asked. I said "BANGLA" calmly, trying to free my self from their tight grip. I finally gotaway, but as i walked away not wanting the blessings of the Drunken Hijras, it dawned upon me that even Hijras do drink!!!
Monday, June 11, 2012
The Transcendental fever
Sangeeth Theatre, Sec'bad.
11th June, Saturday 2012 5:00 Pm
She stood high up on a platform, not by her pride but where the masses put her, with her strong hearted frail body bent down, more due to humility than age.
It was a statue of Mother Teresa, well known for her service to humanity, at a triangular junction on the way to Sangeeth theatre, Secunderabad. I walked on watching her hands stretched forward to bless people, following the straight road from the Railway station to the ISKCON temple at Sec'bad.
I was wondering if the same security guard at the temple was still there, whom i had befriended, when i had been there 3-4 weeks ago for the first time ever. As i got nearer to the temple, halting at the traffic signals, i became friends with the traffic police this time. He was quite eager to know what ISKCON is all about and why some well educated and highly paid people he knew quit their jobs to 'join' Iskcon. As I excused myself to walk ahead to the temple, he promised to buy himself a copy of the Science of Self Realization, by Srila Prabhupad.
The temple here is really quite small and undisturbed by the buzzing world around. But as I took darshan of little Radha Gopinath, it really felt, that though this is a very small temple, Srila prabhupads centres are truly oases in a world like this.
However the curtains of Jagannath were down because he was enjoying his transcendental 'FEVER' behind the curtains, which he got due to being bathed too much by his devotees out of love. I spent my time chanting and looking around the temple as i saw the 3 men team of Saturday Nagarsankirtan go out and return. I stayed for the Gaura arati and returned home by nightfall.
11th June, Saturday 2012 5:00 Pm
She stood high up on a platform, not by her pride but where the masses put her, with her strong hearted frail body bent down, more due to humility than age.
It was a statue of Mother Teresa, well known for her service to humanity, at a triangular junction on the way to Sangeeth theatre, Secunderabad. I walked on watching her hands stretched forward to bless people, following the straight road from the Railway station to the ISKCON temple at Sec'bad.
I was wondering if the same security guard at the temple was still there, whom i had befriended, when i had been there 3-4 weeks ago for the first time ever. As i got nearer to the temple, halting at the traffic signals, i became friends with the traffic police this time. He was quite eager to know what ISKCON is all about and why some well educated and highly paid people he knew quit their jobs to 'join' Iskcon. As I excused myself to walk ahead to the temple, he promised to buy himself a copy of the Science of Self Realization, by Srila Prabhupad.
The temple here is really quite small and undisturbed by the buzzing world around. But as I took darshan of little Radha Gopinath, it really felt, that though this is a very small temple, Srila prabhupads centres are truly oases in a world like this.
However the curtains of Jagannath were down because he was enjoying his transcendental 'FEVER' behind the curtains, which he got due to being bathed too much by his devotees out of love. I spent my time chanting and looking around the temple as i saw the 3 men team of Saturday Nagarsankirtan go out and return. I stayed for the Gaura arati and returned home by nightfall.
Friday, June 8, 2012
The supreme power house
'OH Goddd, there was a powercut for 3 1/2 hours at night today, i just couldn't sleep. I was soaking wet in this summer.'
Iv been hearing that quite many times these days from colleagues at office.
But I'm really lucky, because that isn't the case with my nights. And how is that? I don't depend on the local power supplies to sleep at night. I get supplies of cool breezes all night, from HIM, who is the ultimate source of all power houses. He never runs out of supply.
The roof of my room is extended towards the staircase, creating a little open shed.
When i go home every night, i sprinkle enough water on that area and by the time i finish cooking and having dinner, it is ready for the night.
I prepare my bed, put up the mosquito net and happily go to sleep with cool breezes flowing all night; no power cuts and no disturbances.
Even waking up is easy with the birds chirping, the sky growing brighter, sounds of the milk men and sounds of the construction workers.
The day starts with Darshan of Tulasi devi, whos just beside the bed, at my head. Its been more than a month and a half like this.
Iv been hearing that quite many times these days from colleagues at office.
But I'm really lucky, because that isn't the case with my nights. And how is that? I don't depend on the local power supplies to sleep at night. I get supplies of cool breezes all night, from HIM, who is the ultimate source of all power houses. He never runs out of supply.
The roof of my room is extended towards the staircase, creating a little open shed.
When i go home every night, i sprinkle enough water on that area and by the time i finish cooking and having dinner, it is ready for the night.
I prepare my bed, put up the mosquito net and happily go to sleep with cool breezes flowing all night; no power cuts and no disturbances.
Even waking up is easy with the birds chirping, the sky growing brighter, sounds of the milk men and sounds of the construction workers.
The day starts with Darshan of Tulasi devi, whos just beside the bed, at my head. Its been more than a month and a half like this.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Gurudev kripa bindu diya
I took one glance at Lord Nrsimhadevs smiling pic, bedecked in the window frame visible from the doorway, for his protection before turning the key to lock the door. While i walked away i started praying to him to keep me safe n alive till i return back. "NO, NO, not necessary" i thought. So I restructured the prayer and said "my lord, keep me safe and alive till i see my Guru Maharaj today". Little did i know then what amount of treasure lay ahead for me. I would be celebrating my Gurumaharaj's Vyasapuja on the day of Ram Navami. Did i dream of this day? I wondered many times before if i would ever be able to get close to serving him like i did a few years ago, all alone with him, no one else around to serve him? He is always with lots of assistants around guarding and caring for him, Would i ever be able to get back that lucky day? But he showered more mercy than i even could imagine, he let me do more service than ever before. ~
"Dont go anywhere, stay with him!" said one of Guru maharaj's assistant referring to the other assistant with Gurudev, who was preparing Gurudev for his bath.
Took off the black rubber band and untied the long golden flowy shikha, let it down to flow while bathing him.
The same lotus feet for which thousands throng to have a glance and touch,Washed those lotus feet with my hands, soaped&scrubbed n washed&dried.
Touched n bathed the same body which travels around the world tirelessly preaching and liberating thousands, overloading the boat of Srila Prabhupad with
more n more souls from this horrible world.
I consider myself more lucky than those devotees of lord Shiva who follow different rituals and vows waiting for the day to bathe lord Shiva, pouring holy
waters of Ganges on his head, because i got a greater opportunity;he represents God himself!!! And it is the same head that touched and bowed down to the lotus
feet of Srila Prabhupad.
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?...WHAT DO YOU DO?...WHAT LANGUAGE?... DO YOU KNOW JAVA?...ONE DEVOTEE WAS PREPARING A JAVA APPLICATION FOR PREACHING ON FACEBOOK, IT IS HALF DONE, BUT HE NEEDS A PROFESSIONAL TO COMPLETE IT..."
WHAT DO YOU SPEAK, BENGALI? ENGLISH?...JOL DAO, JOL, WATER"
When i came to Hitech City railway station, could lord Bramha tell me that this awaited me?
Boarded the train, people looked at me strangely at the railway station and the train too beholding the Indian attire of dhoti n kurta. The trio sitting on the train beside n in front of me gave me the same weird looks but started speaking up. The ice hardened instead of breaking unlike my expectation, bcos they assumed i was a priest whom they could hire for the inauguration rituals on Ram Navami. But my one worded-back-turning answers disappointed them and silenced them bcos every priest they tried for the next day was already on some appointment.
They fell back to conversing to themselves and i relaxed and murmured a few more mahamantras on my counter.
Walk left or walk right? I was at Nampally station, had to reach the temple on "nampally station road"! Was walking towards the right, as directed by a truck
driver. "How do i go to Pulla reddy sweets?" i asked. "Keep walking this way and you will find it right in front of the Hare Krishna temple" he said. Should i start laughing or just look like a fool to myself because i had asked him that question to find the hare Krishna temple itself! So i just kept walking towards my destination smiling to myself.
"Dont go anywhere, stay with him!" said one of Guru maharaj's assistant referring to the other assistant with Gurudev, who was preparing Gurudev for his bath.
Took off the black rubber band and untied the long golden flowy shikha, let it down to flow while bathing him.
The same lotus feet for which thousands throng to have a glance and touch,Washed those lotus feet with my hands, soaped&scrubbed n washed&dried.
Touched n bathed the same body which travels around the world tirelessly preaching and liberating thousands, overloading the boat of Srila Prabhupad with
more n more souls from this horrible world.
I consider myself more lucky than those devotees of lord Shiva who follow different rituals and vows waiting for the day to bathe lord Shiva, pouring holy
waters of Ganges on his head, because i got a greater opportunity;he represents God himself!!! And it is the same head that touched and bowed down to the lotus
feet of Srila Prabhupad.
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?...WHAT DO YOU DO?...WHAT LANGUAGE?... DO YOU KNOW JAVA?...ONE DEVOTEE WAS PREPARING A JAVA APPLICATION FOR PREACHING ON FACEBOOK, IT IS HALF DONE, BUT HE NEEDS A PROFESSIONAL TO COMPLETE IT..."
WHAT DO YOU SPEAK, BENGALI? ENGLISH?...JOL DAO, JOL, WATER"
When i came to Hitech City railway station, could lord Bramha tell me that this awaited me?
Boarded the train, people looked at me strangely at the railway station and the train too beholding the Indian attire of dhoti n kurta. The trio sitting on the train beside n in front of me gave me the same weird looks but started speaking up. The ice hardened instead of breaking unlike my expectation, bcos they assumed i was a priest whom they could hire for the inauguration rituals on Ram Navami. But my one worded-back-turning answers disappointed them and silenced them bcos every priest they tried for the next day was already on some appointment.
They fell back to conversing to themselves and i relaxed and murmured a few more mahamantras on my counter.
Walk left or walk right? I was at Nampally station, had to reach the temple on "nampally station road"! Was walking towards the right, as directed by a truck
driver. "How do i go to Pulla reddy sweets?" i asked. "Keep walking this way and you will find it right in front of the Hare Krishna temple" he said. Should i start laughing or just look like a fool to myself because i had asked him that question to find the hare Krishna temple itself! So i just kept walking towards my destination smiling to myself.
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