South India Trip

2/20/01

 

Left Mayapura at 4:30 AM. We were planning to leave at 2:00AM but the devotees took a lot of time in getting ready. So therefore we got caught in the Calcutta rush hour traffic.

 

The bus was supposed to be a luxury bus but was actually about 10 years old. We hope that it will hold up the for the trip.

 

The weather is comfortable, about 87 degrees.

 

Bhakti Marg Maharaja and Bhakta Rupa are traveling with us to Bhuvanesvara.

 

We had Mongal Aroti on the bus. All the devotees were very enthusiastic.

 

Finally we reached the Orissan border around 2:45 PM and found that the border was closed till 3:30 due to the noon siesta!

 

The border tax was 1,500 Rs. Which was less than we expected.

 

During the trip we read about Ksiracora Gopinatha and talked to Bhakta Rupa about how this area of Orissa is the birthplace of Gaudiya Vaisnavism.

 

I made sure the devotees took some fruits and coconut on the way.

 

We had some discussion about the computerized Vaisnava calendar versus the onld standard. We discussed Bhakti Sukriti in relationship with Ekadasi.

 

Orissa is a very poor state. Much of the road that we are taking is dirt and not paved.

 

We arrived at the Ksiracora Gopinatha temple around 6:00 PM. The devotees happily took darshan of KCG and danced in ecstacy. These Deities were personally carved by Lord Ramacandra. Sita asked what Lord Rama looked like in Dvarapara Yuga. Rama answered by carving these Deities with his arrow. The Deity is bas relief. Gorgeous deity. There are two other Deities accompanying the main Deity.

 

After darshan everyone got a pot of Kheer and became intoxicated. We read the story of KCG.

Then we went to the samadhi of Rasikananda which is in the adjoining courtyard.

 

Nearby we took darshan of the samadhi of Madhavendra Puri.

There was also the lake that Sita bathed in when she was visiting with Lord Rama.

 

The devotees took prasadam really late: about 9:30 PM that night. I was so full after taking the pot of sweet rice that I could not eat any more that night. I took rest at 8:30 PM while most of the devotees stayed up to honor prasadam. The facilities were very basic there and not so clean, so I opted to sleep in the bus that night. Mathur and Gopinatha also slept in the bus.

 

While we were unloading the bus Gopinatha hurt himself as suitcase that he was taking down from the top of the bus fell on his face, scratching him. He was scratched under his eye and his lip. Jayasri is taking care of his. Thank God for Jayasri.

 

2/21/01

 

I woke before everyone at 2:30 AM. I bathed in the empty street with a Bisleri water bottle as the bathrooms and rooms where the other devotees were staying were locked. I chanted alone on the pavilion on the street in front of the temple gates. The devotees woke up about 4:00 AM. Because the doors were locked they could not get out of the rooms where they were.

 

I banged on the temple door with my stick. I wanted to wake them so that they would let the devotees out and let me in to chant. They woke up and unlocked everything.

 

Mongal Aroti was at 6:30 AM. I led the chanting. The locals tried to do their own chanting but we drowned them out. So we had a regular mongal aroti. During ma the pujari took the coverings off the Deities. Everyone was dancing.

 

After this we offered obeisances to the Deities and bid farewell to Remuna. Getting in the bus I remembered to get some more kheer. So I had the devotees get out and get tons of little jars of kheer (most of which were taken by Mathura later. The kheer was 20 Rs. A jar.

 

The bus ride to Bhuvanesvara was pretty smooth except the devotees wanted to stop every hour for prasad and to go to the rest room

 

The Bhuvanesvara temple is wonderful. There are three parts to the temple: the samadhi of Gaura Govinda Maharaja, the main temple (with the Deities of Krishna Balarama, Gaura Nitai, and Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra), and the Lotus temple with the replicas of Gaura Govinda Maharaja’s personal Deities. Gaura Govinda Maharaja has certainly offered something wonderful at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada.

 

Across the street from the temple are the personal Deities of Bhaktivinode Thakur-Sri Sri Radha Madhava. We were fortunate enough to have darshan of these Deities even though they had already taken rest. The pujari graciously gave us a special darsana.

 

The devotees ate in the attached restaurant while I went to see a devotee Bhakta das who was in a nearby hospital.

 

After prasadam we proceeded to the Birla Guest House in Puri. On the way we stopped at the Saksi Gopala temple but were not allowed in because we were not born in Hindu families! Visvambara who was born in Gujarat was let in. He told them, “I am a Gujarati Brahmin.” I tried to get in telling them that I was a “New York Brahmin”, but this ruse did not work. I tried to get Jaysri in too (she has a black body) but they did not accept that she was a Dravidian. They almost hit us with their sticks. Then by Krishna’s arrangement there was the sound of several lightning bolts that were hitting the ground very very close to the temple. Crash Crash Crash! I then yelled at the pandya who were not allowing us entry into the temple. I said, just see! Lord Nrsimha is very very angry with you for not allowing us in. You must let us in or else. Then there was another loud crash. But still they did not let us in!

 

Then we entered the holy dhama of Puri. The bus was not allowed to proceed to the guest house, but somehow or other after giving gifts to numerous officers we were allowed to enter this area and park the bus right next to the Guest House. The Birla Guest House is a wonderful hotel in a secluded area of Puri where many ISKCON devotees stay. It is right on the beach which affords one the opportunity to chant japa in the morning while getting one’s feet wet in the sacred ocean where Lord Caitanya bathed the body of Haridasa Thakura. Also it is in walking distance from the major Vaisnava shrines in the area.

 

Upon arriving at the guest house we found Ramai Swami, BB Govinda Swami, Bhakti Marg Maharaja, Vipramukhya Maharaja, and many other exaulted Vaisnavas.

 

The devotees took prasad together and got to rest at 10PM.

 

2/22/01 Jagannatha Puri

 

I woke at 4:30 PM and chanted on the beach till the sun rose.

 

At 7:00 we went to the Tota Gopinatha temple for our morning program. We had a wonderful Mangala Aroti let by HH Vipramukhya Maharaja. The after Mangala Aroti we proceeded to Siddha Bakul (Haridas Thakur’s bhajana kutir), the Gambira (where Lord Caitanya resided), the ISKCON temple, and finally the Samadhi of Haridasa Thakura. At each place we discussed the pastimes of the Lord and His pure devotees.

 

We finally made it back at 11:30 AM, took prasadam together on the front lawn of the guest house and rested a bit. At 2:00 AM we all went swimming in the ocean. Lord Caitanya informs us that the ocean is a place of pilgrimage due to the fact that Haridasa’s Thakura’s body was bathed there after Haridasa left this world.

 

The waves were very very strong and the side undercurrent rapidly carried us down the beach. If we had stayed in the water we would have been carried to Konarka temple which is where Lord Caitanya was carried to when he jumped in the sea overwhelmed with ecstatic love. The Konarka temple is some 30 km away from Puri.

 

In the evening I caught up on my email till prasad time (about 6 PM). I took prasad outside in the garden of the hotel. I was completely exausted and took rest early.

 

2/23/01

 

I woke at 4 AM and chanted again on the beach till we were ready to proceed to the Tota Gopinatha temple for our morning program. I chanted gayatri as the run rose on the eastern horizon.

 

After Mongala Aroti at the Tota Gopinatha temple, we read from Srila Prabhupada’s Caitanya Caritamrta about Gadadhara Pandit Goswami’s ksetra sannyasa.

 

Then we proceeded to Haridasa Thakura’s samadhi where we read from the Chaitanya Caritamrta about the passing away of Haridasa Thakura. Fortunately I had my computer with me which contains the entire works of Srila Prabhupada (the Vedabase).

 

At Haridasa Thakur’s samadhi there was a group chanting: “Nitai Gaura Radhe Syama Hare Krishna Hare Rama.” I told the story to the devotees with me how Srila Prabhupada was displeased with this concocted chanting.

 

While leaving the samadhi, we were fortunate to find the temple of Jagadananda Pandit who assisted Caitanya Mahaprabhu in his pastimes. Jagadananda Pandit was considered an incarnation of Satyabhama. We saw his beautiful Deities are were warmly received by the Brahmin brothers who are caring for the Deities. In contrast to many other temples in the area we were received very very warmly by the Brahmins. The devotees generously gave donations for the seva puja of the Deities.

 

We spent the rest of the day resting, reading, taking prasadam, doing email, and studying Srila Prabhupada’s books. We informed the devotees that we would be leaving at 2:00 AM the next day for Vishakapatnam (Simhacalam).

 

2/24/01`

 

I got up at 2 am and prepared to leave with the devotees. By the time we were all packed it was 3:30 AM. Velli Matti (from Finland) was really sick. Jayasri treated him, but still we had to stop every hour to allow him to take care of his physical needs. Therefore the trip took longer than expected. The devotees were in excellent spirits though.

 

We had mongal aroti on the bus, but it was too noisy to have class. The roads are still quite bad in Orissa.

 

Dir T. Rao met us at the Madhyalay Bus Stop on the outskirts of Vishakapatnam at about 5:30 PM. He took us to a local temple where he had arranged for us to stay the night. Devotees finally took prasadam after 9:30 at night. I took a little dried chappatis and cheese. I have been eating very very little during the trip as the bouncing in the bus could cause me digestive problems if I ate normally.

 

2/25/01

 

I slept on a wood platform without any mattresses as I gave the mattress they provided to one of the devotees who needed it. I could not sleep very well so I got up at 2 AM and got my rounds chanted early.

 

I went to the mongal aroti at the temple but they were playing the gongs so loud I felt pain in my head, stomach and other internal organs so I had to leave after taking darshan of the deities. The Brahmins there were very kind to us.

 

At 6:30 AM we left in our bus for Simhacalam where Lord Nrsimha resides in a very special form. He has the head of a boar, the body of a human, and the tail of a lion. He is enclosed in sandlewood which is only removed once a year on Candana Yatra. So all the devotee can see normally is a lump of Sandlewood that looks like a Siva Linga! Srila Prabhupada said that this sandlewood is applied to keep him “cool headed.”

 

It took us about ½ hour to climb the 1,000 steps leading to the temple. Everyone walked to the top rather than taking the bus.

 

Immediately we were given darshan of the Lord. Because we were so early we got a very long darshan with Him and were able to chant the Nrsimha Mantras. I chanted the same Mantra that Lord Caitanya chanted especially: “sri-nrsimha, jaya nrsimha, jaya jaya nrsimha prahladesa jaya padma-mukha-padma-bhrnga”

 

“‘All glories to Nrsimhadeva! All glories to Nrsimhadeva, who is the Lord of Prahlada Maharaja and, like a honeybee, is always engaged in beholding the lotuslike face of the goddess of fortune.’

 

We were able to offer Puja to the Lord and receive His remnants.

 

We took many pictures of the building (we were not allowed to take pictures of the Deity though). There were impressive paintings and carvings depicting Krishna’s pastimes.

 

We went back to the city afterwards, took prasadam and left to drive to Kovor (Vidyanagara) where Lord Caitanya met Ramananda Raya on the banks of the Godavari River.

 

We reached the town before Kovor (Rajamahendri) about 7 PM and spent about an hour looking for a hotel. The one we found was alright but quite dirty. At least they let us set up our stove and cook on the veranda. The cost was ok though, about 100 Rs. Per room. Everyone took prasad and went quickly to sleep.

 

2/26/01

 

I woke at 3 AM, chanted my rounds and called the temple in North Carolina to make sure that everything was going well. After the morning program the devotees ate a full meal cooked by our excellent cook Atmarama and proceed to Kovor.

 

At Kovur we saw the beautiful Deities of Lord Caitanya and Ramananda Raya.

 

In the Chaitanya Caritamrta Srila Prabhupada informs us:

 

“After visiting the temple of Jiyada-nrsimha, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the banks of the river Godavari, to a place known as Vidyanagara. When Srila Ramananda Raya went there to take his bath, they met. After introducing himself, Sri Ramananda Raya requested Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to remain in the village for some days. Honoring his request, Caitanya Mahaprabhu stayed there in the home of some Vedic brahmanas. In the evening, Srila Ramananda Raya used to come to see Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Ramananda Raya, who was clothed in ordinary dress, offered the Lord respectful obeisances. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu questioned him on the object and process of worship and also asked him to recite verses from the Vedic literature.”

 

After taking darshan of Lord Caitanya and Ramananda Raya we proceeded to Vijayawada. We were met at the Hanuman Junction (about 30 KM before Vijayawada) by Dr. Rao. Dr. Rao the brother of my disciples Ramanuja and Narottama. He is in charge of one of the branches of the Andhra bank and was to be our host and guide in the Vijayawada area. I met his friends and went with him to the first class hotel where he had booked rooms for us. He and his family were paying for our visit. What a first class reception.

 

I was also happy since I was able to connect to my email here.

 

The devotees informed Dr. Rao that they could not eat anything not cooked by a Vaisnava so he graciously opened his home to our devotees so that they could cook. The devotees again ate really late in the evening.

 

2/27/01

 

I woke really early in the morning, got my rounds done and did some email.

 

At 7 AM we all left for Mangala Giri where Lord Nrsimha resides. This is a self manifested Deity. He drinks half of whatever His devotees give Him and leaves over half for His devotees. Usually he is given Gur (Sugar water).

 

We also got a special darshan with the Lord here and we were able to give Him His drink. We heard Him drink! It was amazing. Then after the pot was half empty, He refused to take any more sugar drink. The devotees relished His remnants. It was like drinking celestial nectar.

 

After leaving Nrsimha’s temple we proceeded a little further up the hill to a temple of Laxmi and prayed for Her blessings. On the side was a temple of Ranganatha Swami and also there was a cave that the demigods used to come and take darshan of all the Deities.

 

This whole temple complex is closed every afternoon so that the demigods can come and worship the Lord.

 

After leaving Mangalagiri we proceeded to an ancient five story cave temple of Krishna that was thousands of years old. The sign on the gate leading to the temple said that the entrance fee was 5 rupees a head, but when we approached the gatekeeper said that this fee was only for native Indians and that we would have to pay 5 dollars a head (except for those of us who were Indians). I was so upset that I told him that because of his attitude he wasn’t going to get one rupee from anyone, and we all left the area. We were able to get some nice pictures of the outside of the temple though.

 

Then we went and saw a temple of Durga known as Indrakila where Arjuna was supposed to have performed his austerities to please Lord Siva, and Lord Siva appeared in the form of a hunter to bless him.

 

We returned to our hotel by 12:30 PM and left at 3:00 for a program at Nuzvid which was about 1 ½ hours away. Nuzvid is the ancestral home of Ramanuja and Narottama. We had a wonderful evening program. Everyone liked the chanting. We stayed up late and got back to the hotel by 10 PM. The next day we were supposed to leave for Ahovalam by 4:00 AM. We were supposed to stop on the way in Guntur to pay our taxes for the permit to use the bus from Mayapura for another week in the state of Andhra.

 

2/28/01

 

Due to Dr. Rao’s kindness we all had a good nights rest. We rose at 4:00 AM, packed our bags, and left at 5:15 AM. Dr. Rao was so kind that he and his family rose up early to see us off. May Krishna bless him and his family!

 

We arrived at Guntur about 6:15 and asked for directions to the tax place so that we could pay our taxes to use the West Bengal bus in Andhra Pradesh for another week. Everyone we asked gave us different instructions and different directions. This is very common in India. People are very kind and always try to help, but if they don’t know the directions they are embarrassed to say so, so they still give you some directions (even if they are completely in the opposite direction)! Some people said the tax office would not open to 10. Others said that we could pay the taxes anywhere on the road. Others said that if we did not pay the taxes soon we would have a fine of over 100,000 rupees. We were really confused, so we parked the bus near some other buses and decided to ask around.

 

Krishna arranged a miracle. Right in front of our bus was a better bus that was already licensed for Andhra Pradesh. The bus company manager was there and we struck up a deal whereby we rent the Andhra bus and send back the other one. In this way we would save money by not having to pay the taxes for our West Bengal Bus as it could leave the state before the taxes were due. The taxes were 9,600 Rupees per week! Also the driver for the new bus was familiar with all the roads in the state whereas the West Bengal bus driver was not. We were heading for the backroads next in our visit to Ahovalam so we wanted to be fully prepared with a driver who knew the route.

 

The new bus was much more roomy as South Indians are taller than Bengalis and the buses are made accordingly. So at 9 AM we were ready to head to Ahovalam. The bus ride there was quite bumpy as it was mainly on back roads. Even I felt a little sick on the bus. I prayed to Krishna to guide me to take something that would make me feel better. So when I got out of the bus, guided by supersoul I headed right to the hot pepper wallas. They wanted to donate them to me as in Andhra there is much respect given to sadhus. I insisted upon paying them though. I offered the peppers to Krishna and took several. The devotees looked on in amazement but I felt better within moments.

 

For the next portion of the trip I was able to field questions from Bhakta Scott. Bhakta Scott is from Boston and has tons and tons of questions, which is great when you are on a long trip. It really makes time fly. Of course the other devotees were always thrusting the tape recorder into our faces in an attempt to record what was being said. Sometimes I had to tell them to shut it off if questions of a more personal or sensitive nature were being asked.

 

Devottees were in really good spirits throughout the journey feeling happiness at the impending meeting with Lord Nrsimha’s many forms. We decided to stop for the night at Nanyal which is a medium size city about 1 hour away from Ahovalam because we were warned by many people that to be traveling at night in this area was extremely dangerous as there were many dacoits on the road. They would blockade the road and trap you in the dark!

 

3/1/01

 

We woke up early and left about 7AM from the hotel in Nandyal. We arrive by 8:30 AM in Lower Ahovalam where we booked our rooms in the TTD guest house. It was basic but nice facility. Each room had private bath, bed and fan. Throughout the trip I have been pushing the devotees to do their pilgrimages early in the day before eating because later on the sun is up and the crowds are there. It has been good that we followed this regimen.

 

At 9AM we reached Upper Ahovalam, where we proceeded to climb the hill to the Ugra Stambha, the pillar that Lord Nrsimha appeared from. The devotees were climbing very very quickly and the guide was so nimble he appeared to jump from rock to rock. First we on a dried up stream bed. Normally the water would be rushing down the hill making the progress much more difficult and dangerous, but now it was quite easy, but tedious.

 

Because I was trying to keep up with the devotees (who were all younger than me-I am 51 and also have some heart condition), 1/3 of the way up the hill I succumbed to exhaustion and collapsed. I had to lay down for awhile as my heart was beating quite fast and I was experiencing nausea. A few devotees stayed back with me while the others continued climbing. When I felt better I pulled out my portable computer and we had a very long Srimad Bhagavatam class. Practically we read the whole story of Prahlada and Lord Nrsimha from the Bhagavatam.

 

The other devotees quickly reached the top of the Ugra Stambha and enjoyed the spiritual pleasure of this journey.

 

The devotees who remained with me slowly went down the hill (with me also of course), and waited for the main group to come back. We also visited a number of temples on the way down. There are so many temples of Lord Nrsmha here. Different forms like Yoga Nrsimha, Ugra Nrsimha, etc.

 

The main group returned about 3 PM. They were really really happy. Balarama took plenty of pictures which I am getting copies of so that I can show the devotees what the top looks like. Of course I did not make it there, but I will keep that a secret.

 

When we got back to the guest house in Lower Ahovalam we all felt completely exausted so the rest of the day was spent resting. The devotees ate a full meal cooked by the local Brahmanas in their fast food restaurant!

 

The next morning I woke really early, chanted my round and joined the devotees on a walking tour of the temples beginning at 7:00 AM. We prayed to all the forms of Lord Nrsimha to free us from the anarthas that remained in our hearts. Devotees pray to Lord Nrsimha to protect the spiritual master, protect the Krishna consciousness movement, and to eradicate the demoniac mentality in the heart.

 

To see some of the temples in Lower Ahovalam it was necessary to take the bus.

 

After 11:30 we returned to the lodge. For the rest of the day the devotees rested, chanted, read, and ate prasadam. Because everyone is so young the eating process takes up much of the time of the trip. Of course then the bathroom process takes up a lot of time. So when we are traveling by bus we are continually stopping to buy bhoga, eat bhoga, or go to the bathroom! I figure on adding 50% more to the estimated times for traveling because of this.

 

After all the eating and other business, we had an evening program of bhajans, kirtans and a movie about Hanuman. I had brought with me some DVD’s of the Ramayana, so I showed the devotees some wonderful pastimes of Hanuman meeting Sita devi in the Ashoka forest, fighting the demons, allowing himself to be captured, and burning Sri Lanka up. Everyone loved the videos.

 

We rested by 10 that evening so we would be prepared for the next leg of the journey, the trip to Tirupati.

 

3/3/01

 

Woke early. Left Ahovalam about 7AM. We arrived in Tirupati about 2 PM and got rid of the bus. Revati Raman (the tp of Tirupati and a long term aquaintance) was waiting for us along with the devotees. We had the most wonderful reception from all the Vaisnavas. I can see that they are all well trained in Krishna consciousness. I felt that I was returning home after a long voyage at sea. The Vaisnava dealings here are some of the best I have ever seen. Everyone is enthusiastic to hear, chant and serve. This is like ISKCON in the early days. Immediately I was thinking that I had to be here for Gaura Purnima to celebrate the appearance day of Lord Caitanya. So in my mind I was redoing our itinerary to make that possible. This is the nicest temple in all of South India.

 

That evening I gave Gita class. About 75 people participated. The devotees were so enlivened that during the Jaya Radha Madhava prayers they all rose spontaneously and began dancing wildly. I gave class 18:68 about preaching and why the nature of the Lord is not revealed to those who are envious.

 

We planned the next days touring of the Tirumala temple where Balaji resides. Tirumal is about 22 Km from Tirupati. Either one has to climb the hill (4 hours) or one can take a car (about 45 minutes). We decided to take a car the next day and climb the hill when we came back for the Gaura Purnima festival.

 

After associating with the wonderful devotees in Tirupati I was so enlivened that I could not take rest till way after 10 PM.

 

3/4/01

 

Still I woke at 4:00 AM, paid obeisances to the Deities are 4:15 (mongal Aroti time here), and then left with the devotees in one Tata Sumo (Indian fancy jeep) and two regular jeeps. We had a special darshan scheduled with Balaji very very early in the morning. After a 45 minute ride up the hill we were met by a temple guard wearing Gaudiya Vaisnava tilak (everyone else is wearing Ramanuja wide tilak). Revati Raman (the TP of Tirupati) explained that he was an initiated devotee and would facilitate our tour.

 

We were able to quickly proceed past all the other waiting pilgrims to take darsana of the Lord. Normally the wait could be over 8 hours in regular darsan line and over 2 hours in the special paid line. Lord Balaji was very very kind to us.

 

We were amazed with the opulence of the temple and Balaji. There was enough gold around to fill Fort Knox (the gold repository in the USA). The Gopurams were gold plated. The Garuda Stamba was gold plated. The walls were gold plated. The crown and hands of Balaji were encrusted with valuable jems. Amazing.

 

We got a super long darshan of Balaji. Prabhupada explained that Balaji is child Krishna.

 

Here is a quote from Srila Prabhupada:

 

“Still there is very prominent temple, Balaji temple, Tirupati, Tirumalai. People are going, and the daily collection is more than one lakh of rupees still. Although they have been propagated so vigorously not to visit temples, but people… That is the birthright in India — they are automatically Krsna conscious, automatically. Therefore all the demigods, they also desire to take birth in India. Automatically.”

 

After taking darshan of the Lord we got some amazing lugloos. Hopefully we were able to save some of them for the devotees back home. Mathura seems capable of ingesting an unlimited quantity of maha prasadam, it may disappear soon.

 

After getting Balaji’s mercy we went to a nice temple of Lord Varaha by a lake. Then we took our vehicles up to the highest peak of the mountain so that we were thousands of feet above Balaji’s temple and could get a wonderful view of the temple and the surrounding area.

 

We then headed back to our ISKCON temple, took prasad and arranged for the next days travel to Sri Rangam. Instead of spending more time here and then proceeding further south we changed our plans to go south first and come back here for Gaura Purnima. The devotees in Tirupati want us to come back, so we have to reciprocate with the Vaisnavas plus it is so nice here in our temple that I can’t dream of doing anything else.

 

I gave the Sunday feast lecture to a nice crowd. Got everyone to chant responsively He Govinda He Gopala and also the Hanuman song! They really liked it. I explained to the guests how I had come to Krishna consciousness.

 

We rented two Tata Sumos (airconditioned) for the next travel. We are now only 14 devotees as Kuru and his wife Pushkarini are on their way to Bombay to celebrate Gaura Purnima and Balarama is so cheap he wants to stay in Tirupati and then proceed further south by rikshaw late on!

 

3/5 Left our temple in Tirupati at 4:30 after taking darshan of Their most merciful Lordships Sri Sri Radha Govinda. After an uneventful trip (other than bouncing around like crazy-most Indian roads are like one big speed bump) we arrived at Sri Rangam at 4 PM. We stayed at the Maya hotel which was clean and most important I was able to do my email from there. Devotees cooked at the nearby ISKCON temple and ate a feast really late at night.

 

3/6

 

Woke early again and left for the Sri Rangam temple about 6 AM with the devotees. This rising early and going to the temples as part of the morning program works out really well as we avoid the heat of the day (it is really really hot during the day-I already have heat rashes), and the crowds.

 

The Sri Rangam temple is situated on an Island on the Kaveri River. There are seven walls around the temple. There are so many gopurams that I have lost count. It is the biggest temple in India, and other than Ankor Wat in Cambodia (an old Visnu temple) it is probably the biggest in the world. This temple was constructed by the Alvars and Ramanujacarya. We could not see the main deity of Ranganatha as the temple was being renovated in anticipation of a very big festival that would take place in 10 days, but we were able to see the other Deities.

 

Particularly interesting was the samadhi of Ramanujacarya where his transcendental body was on display. His body was in the preaching mood displaying the jnana mudra.

 

We also got darshan of the Utsava (festival) Murti which was being taken on parade around the temple grounds when we just got there.

 

The most wonderful thing that happened during this visit was our visit to the Jagannatha Mutt where Lord Caitanya’s personal Deities were being cared for. When Lord Caitanya remained in the home of Vyenkata Bhatta for the four months of the rainy season, He felt so much separation from Lord Jagannatha, that He hand carved Deities of Lord Jagannatha. We had a wonderful kirtana in front of the Deities and were able to take pictures of them.

 

Across the street was the house of Vyenkata Bhatta where Lord Caitanya stayed. Vyenkatta Bhatta’s decendants still live there. So we decided to pay them a visit. When we entered the temple we were greeted by them. The first one asked me where I came from and I said the USA. He said yes I am a resident of the USA too. I reside in Malibu, California and I just came back here to my ancestral home to receive some special guests that are coming tomorrow, the Beach Boys.

 

I could not keep myself from laughing at this point, which slightly agitated our host. It seems that he was the priest of some temple in Malibu, California and was dealing with some of the famous people there. Very interesting, the Beach Boys in Sri Rangam!

 

The final temple we visited was the Laxmi Nrsimha temple.

 

After finishing our Sri Rangam tour we headed to Kancipuram the original home of Sripad Ramanujacarya.

 

We arrived early in the evening at our Hotel the Tamil Nadu Hotel which was close to some very nice devotee’s home. So Mathura went there and prepared prasadam for everyone while I hooked on to his phone line and communicated with the world.

 

3/7/01

 

Woke at 4AM chanted japa and got ready to visit the main temples in Kancipuram. The Varadavaraja temple is the original temple of Sripad Ramanujacarya. Arrived at the temple around 6 AM as the Deities were being woken.

 

We saw the most wonderful sight. It is considered very auspicious for the Deities to see the rear end of a cow first thing in the morning. So the pujaris had brought a cow and her calf into the temple room. When the Deities curtain opened, They looked mercifully on the cow and her offspring. The mood was so auspicious that you could practically see the mood in the air. The calf obediently passed auspicious urine on the floor as the curtains opened.

 

Then we got a special darsan of the Utsava murti of Lord Varadavaraja. This Deity is Svayambhu (self manifested) from fire. The priest performed puja in our names, reciting our names and gotra (family tree) before the Deities. I prayed for pure devotional service and eternal engagement in Srila Prabhupada’s service.

 

Then we got darsan of the Mula Murti of Lord Varadavaraja. He is one of the happiest Deities that I have ever seen. With a wonderful benedicting smile on His face, I could see how He was the well-wisher of all of His devotees. Fortunately I was able to get a photo of him from one of the shops outside the temple. We are not allowed to directly take pictures of the Deities in most of the temples, but it appears that the shops usually have direct photos of the Deities that they are willing to sell. You just have to ask them for it and they usually have it hidden under the other pictures they have on display.

 

After visiting this main temple in Visnu Kanci we visited two smaller temples and took darshan of Krishna.

 

About 9 AM we decided to return to the hotel and go shopping for saris for the deities. A sannyasi does not normally shop for saris but when the saris are for Krishna, even a sannyasi becomes very very happy. Madhavendra Puri was enthusiastic to learn how to cook sweet rice for Gopala, but not for himself.

 

It appears that Kancipuram is the best place in the world for handloom saris. For many years I have wanted to get different saris for my Deities of Sri Sri Radha Golokananda. Most of the saris I have seen elsewhere are pretty much similar to the ones we have already made outfits from, so I did not get saris anywhere else.

 

Throughout our South India trip I have been feeling much separation from them and wished that I was with them. I have a small card with their pictures on it. Whenever we went by bus or car somewhere I set up this picture in front of me. In fact during our Tata Sumo ride I put the picture on the dashboard (I was sitting next to the driver) and told the driver that he should worship these Deities and all his problems would go away.

 

There is a funny story about our driver. While we were driving he was telling me how much trouble he had at home since his mother and wife were always arguing. I told him that the solution to all these problems was to continually chant the maha mantra. So throughout the journey he was chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!, and worshipping Radha Golokananda. He has two sons named Rama and Laksmana.

 

Getting back to Kanci sari shopping. We stopped in one shop that an older gentleman took us too but we were not satisfied. Usually people who take you to a shop get a large percentage of whatever you purchase there. So we decided to go to a shop that Muralidhara and Jayasri had visited the day before. This shop had its own weaving facility in the basement.

 

We were not at all disappointed. First we visited the weaving facility and were impressed with the quality of the work being done. The hand looms are quite amazing. They use a punch card process to put the designs into the sari. It is like a computer that is hundreds of years old!

 

And the sari shop had an unlimited quantity of saris. I was ready to buy the whole shop for Radha Golokananda. Plus the owner told us he would give us a 30 percent discount (since he did not have to pay any kickback to someone who brought us there).

 

Because I did not want to spend unlimited amounts of money, I decided on 7 nice saris for Radhagolokananda. Muralidhara and Jayasri paid for some of them. I took pictures of more saris there so that our pujaris could see them and we could come back at some future date to get them. I also worked out some arrangement with the owner to be able to have him ship saris to us in the future.

 

After this we went back to our hotel, and bathed. The devotees took prasad at the house of a member who was very very enthusiastic to render service to the Vaisnavas. Later I found out that this member had prepared Idlis without salt (I can’t take salt because my problem with high blood pressure) for me too so we packed these up for the trip back to Tirupati. We left for Tirupati at 1 PM and arrived at about 4:15. The whole trip the driver was enthusiastically chanting the Maha Mantra!

 

I felt more happiness arriving at our temple in Tirupati than I felt visiting any other temple in South India. I realized that that this was Srila Prabhupada’s home and this was where we belonged. The devotees were very kind to us and gave us nice facility to stay in.

 

3/8/01

 

Rose early as usual and went to the entire morning program. Mongal Aroti at 4:15, the Tulasi worship, and japa till 7:30. Then greeting the Deities, Bhajana, Guru Puja, and class. The program was over by 10 AM.

 

Spent the day reading, resting, typing etc.

 

3/9/01 Gaura Purnima!

 

Mongal Aroti at 4:15. Then normal program but the Deities were greeted at 9:00 to allow more time for special dressing. Gave class on Caitanya Caritamrta Adi lila; the external and internal reasons for Lord Caitanya’s advent.

 

The morning program ended at 11 AM. We prepared for the evening program which would consist of kirtana, abhiseka for Gaura Nitai, bhajans and class. We wanted to present a special program of bhajans for Lord Caitanya and have the lecture consist of comments on the bhajans. Luckily we were able to locate a guitar for Veli Matti so that he could accompany us.

 

We decided on three bhajans: Udila Aruna, Nama Sankirtana and Gay gaura madhur svare. We did them in a responsive fashion encouraging the audience to chant along. Especially unusual was the last Bhajan (Gay Gaura Madhur Svare) which we chanted continually changing the rhythm. Everyone really liked the bhajans and explanation, and practically everyone was chanting and dancing in ecstacy during the program. About 300 people attended.

 

We finally got to rest about 11 PM.

 

3/10/01

 

Woke early before 4 for mongal aroti. Because of the intense day we had yesterday I was completely exausted. I wanted to climb up to the temple (9 KM up a mountain) but felt too tired to do so. Some devotees went. I decided to rest after the morning program and go up later in the day.

 

I tried to climb the mountain at about 2 PM, but it was just too hot. I only got up 1,000 steps (there are over 4,000 total) and then decided to go down. On the way down I was talking to the devotees about the superiority of South Indian temple architecture and planning how we could integrate some South Indian designs in the structure of the new temple we are planning. The Gopurams are so amazing that if we had one in the US on a major highway (which is where we have the new land for the temple) we could attract large amounts of people to visit. I will talk to the temple president here about bringing workers from here to the United States (no one knows how to do this work in the USA). It seems that it is quite feasible.

 

After the attempted climb I was so tired that I could not do anything for the rest of the day other than my correspondence.

 

3/11/01

 

Had a great mongal aroti for their Lordships Radha Govinda. After that packed my bags, finished my email and got ready to leave at 7 for the train station at Renigunta. The train is actually at 8:25am and it only takes 15 minutes to get to the station, but my policy is to be at the trains stations at least 1 hour before the departure of the train, and at airports one hour before the departure of the plane.

 

Revathi Raman was surprised to hear this. He is accustomed to the itinerary of his spirtual master who arrives at train stations 1 minute after the departure of the train. The last train that he brought his spiritual master to catch they had to chase down the tracks and literally throw the bags in as the train was leaving. Also Revathi Raman was supposed to catch that same train and he missed it as he was tossing the bags into it. Therefore he spent about 200 dollars hiring a taxi to take him to where the train was going.

 

I pointed out that in addition to the passion of last minute waiting money and time are lost by this procedure. He agreed with me.

 

We had an interesting train trip. It was supposed to be 30 hours from Tirupati to Mathura, so we settled in for a long trip. Even though we went 2nd class AC it was dirty inside and like living inside a sardine can for 30 hours. Fortunately we had the association of devotees and we had extensive talks about Krishna consciousness. Scott as usual had tons of questions.

 

The funny thing was that some of the devotees (of course Mathura was included) were so enthusiastic to eat, that they jumped out at every train station (except in the middle of the night) to buy more food. Also salesmen entered the train at almost every station selling all sorts of snacks, like peanut brittle, dried mango, nuts, etc etc. So the eating went on almost continually throughout the train trip. Fortunately we had 4 bathrooms (2 at each side of the train car) so the devotees did not have to stop the train (like they did with the bus) to go to the bathroom.

 

Sometimes the train would start pulling away when the devotees were at the station buying more bhoga, and I would get in anxiety over whether or not they would be able to hop on the moving train. One time Muralidhara was also out and he is not known as “sir speedy.” The train was pulling away really fast and Jaysri (his wife) was having a heart attack because she thought he was left behind. Fortunately Mathura made sure that he made the train.

 

I was telling the devotees how important it was to always eat grains cooked by devotees and to be extra careful to make sure that the food they ate was prepared properly and cleanly. But, their hunger got the better of them.

 

One time Mathura and Scott got back on the train and they had really guilty looks on their faces. I didn’t think much of it at the time. In preparation for taking prasadam I went to wash my hands in the sink that was right next to the bathrooms in the corridor between cars. Hiding in the corner of the corridor I found Mathura and Scott chewing away on the kachories they had bought at the train station. Their faces turned red in embarrassment.

 

 

3/12/01

 

We arrived in Mathura about ½ hour behind schedule at 7:00 PM. Because it was dark I did not want to take the auto rikshaws or a tonga (horse driven cart) so we looked for a taxi. There are many dacoits on the road. We found two taxis, but by that time Gopinatha and Rasarani had left on a rikshaw. I was praying for them all night.

 

We arrived at the MVT, and settled down for the night about 8:00 PM.

 

3/13/01

 

Rose early for Mongal Aroti as usual. It was painful for me to see Prabhupada’s samadhi. I don’t like to be reminded that he left us. Of course he is still with us in sound vibration, but to not have his physical presence is devastating. I guess after 24 years I still haven’t fully dealt with his departure.

 

I was really happy to see the Deities in the temple. All of Them were smiling. Vrindavana is the happiest place.

 

My normal schedule in Vrindavana is that after Tulasi worship I go to Prabhupada’s room and sit in front of him chanting my rounds. It is very intimate in this room (this is the room that Prabhupada left this world from), and the chanting is very very special here.

 

I did guru puja. I am really attached to worshipping Prabhupada on the Vyasasana.

 

Rested and read for the day.

3/14/01

 

Pretty much the same as the day before. I gave Bhagavatam class on the Pralambasura demon who represents the anartha of lust. So I spoke about the anarthas, overcoming them in general, and in specific overcoming lust.

 

Later I gave second initiation to Anuradha, Visvambara Prabhu’s mother. She is very old and in frail health. She expressed her determination to remain in Vrindavana till the end. She is so happy just to chant the names of Krishna and Radha. I wish that I had the same attraction to the holy names.

 

I told her after the initiation, that she is sure to go back to Godhead soon, and when she does she should mention me to Krishna. She should tell Krishna that I am suffering here in this material world and she should beg Krishna to give me His mercy.

 

Met with Gopal Krishna Maharaja in the afternoon concerning the ritvik issue. He is doing so much service single handedly. Certainly Srila Prabhupada is very very pleased with his mood of surrender and devotion. I only wish that I could please Srila Prabhupada in the same way. Compared to him I have really performed little or no service for Srila Prabhupada.

 

Rested and read for the day.

3/15/01

 

Same as the previous two days. I have being taking advantage of these three days to rest, read, and catch up on my email. Most of the other devotees went shopping and took care of other business.

 

We planned out the next day’s agenda of parikrama around Vrindavana.

 

Vinodbhai Topiwalla came to join us in our pilgrimage. He was very very enthusiastic. He is one of our best members from North Carolina and was visiting his family in Gujarat as well as taking care of some business. He rushed through his business to join us on pilgrimage.

 

3/16/01
After Mongal aroti we started walking on the parikrama path around Vrindavana. First was the Krishna Balarama tree. We tried to stop at all the places in the book but that was not possible, so we stopped at all the major temples except for Radha Govinda which we will visit separately before we leave Vrindavana. We saw Imlitala, the tree that Lord Caitanya would chant under and cry in separation from Radha and Krishna. We saw Advaita Vata, Syamananda Tilaka Stana (where he got the tilak from Radharani by having her press her nupura to his head), Syamananda’s Samadhi, Radha Raman Temple, Gopal Bhatta Goswami’s Samadhi, appearance place of Radha Raman, Radha Damodara Temple, Prabhupada’s rooms, Samadhi of Rupa Goswami, Madana Mohan Temple, Samadhi of Sanatana Goswami, countless other samadhis, Radha Gopinatha, Asta Sakhi Temple, Radha Gokulananda Temple, Sadbhuja Mahaprabhu Temple, Mirabhai Temple, Kesi Ghat, Nidhivan, etc.

 

One exciting thing happened. At Kesi Ghat a monkey suddenly grabbed Rangadevi’s glasses. I ran towards him and tried to hit him with my stick. He of course climbed up one of the buildings and was laughing at us. Finally by throwing mahaprasad to him he gave up the glasses.

 

We continued walking around Vrindavana, resting only briefly at the spot where Lord Caitanya rested when he circumambulated Vrindavana. We returned to the temple exausted at 12:30.

 

I took prasadam and rested and read for the rest of the day. I decided to postpone our Govardhana Parikrama till the 18th as to give us some time to rest our feet and legs.

 

3/17/01

 

Went to Mongal Aroti and chanted rounds in Prabhupada’s room as normal, but was completely exausted from the previous day’s walk around Vrindavana. So after chanting I rested a little and then went to greet the Deities and do guru-puja.

 

After the morning program, Scott and I went to Loi Bazaar to shop for some things. I wanted to get some different types of neck beads to give devotees as presents. Also I wanted to get 7 inch Radha Krishna Deities so that we could have an Utsava Murti at New Goloka. Where I traveled in South India, I observed that the Utsava Murtis (processional Deities) were extending Their mercy to their servants. In Sri Rangam for example, the utsava Deity of Ranganatha daily leaves the temple compound (there are seven gigantic walls surrounding the compound), and goes to His devotees houses to bless them. Upon seeing this I became inspired to increase our service to Their Lordships Radha Golokananda in the same way.

 

We shopped all around for the Deities but I was not at all satisfied with the quality of the workmanship. Finally we decided to order a set from Govindram Prabhudayal who produces amazing Deities. When I saw the quality of the Gaura Nitai Deities that he was just finishing up I was astounded. Of course he charges twice what everyone else does and he takes two weeks to special order high quality deities, but it is worth it.

 

So I will have to arrange for someone else to take the Deities back as we are leaving in three days for the west.

 

Also I had to change some money to lend the devotees. Gopinatha and Mathura were running short of funds, so I had to lend them money to continue to live and buy things. I guess the Kali Yuga sannyasis have the money and the grhastas come begging from them!

 

After shopping we came back to the temple. This evening I am giving Gita Class on the 16th chapter of the Gita: the Divine and Demoniac Natures!

 

3/18/01

 

Woke up early in anticipation of circumambulating Govardhana Hill and visiting Radha Kunda. After Mongal Aroti and Tulasi worship, went to Srila Prabhupada’s room to chant Gayatri before we left. Then I ran to where the bus was that we had rented for our group. I was disappointed to find out that Scott and Mathura could not go because of sickness. Anyway we all got in the bus and proceeded to Govardhana!

 

At 6:15 we started Govardana Parikrama at the Harideva temple which is the traditional method. First one has to get permission from Harideva to circumambulate Govardhana.

 

The circumambulation of Govardhana was the culmination and perfection of our entire India trip. I could see how everything was building up to this point. And when we finally reached Radha Kunda I explained to the devotees that we had now achieved the highest perfection, shelter at Radharani’s lotus feet.

 

We also got a chance to bathe Govardhana with milk. There is one town alongside of Govardhana where hundreds of people are continually bathing Govardhana. There is such a great quantity of milk being used that it runs in the ditches, and the street dogs are very very fat in this village, constantly delighting in taking the transcendental bath water of Krishna!

 

We finally finished the circumambulation at 3:00 PM. The final few kilometers were very very hard for me as the road, sand, gravel or whatever else we were walking on were very hot. It was like walking on coals. I have to confess that for the final section I cheated a bit by putting on some socks. If I had not done this, I would have had to wait till the evening to finish. I pray that I did not commit any offenses by doing so.

 

All the devotees in our party completed the trip, even the devotees who were sick. Krishna gave all of us His full mercy this day.

 

3/19/01

 

Somehow or other I hobbled over to Mongal Aroti this morning. After the previous days walk, I thought that I would be in great pain for several days, but somehow or other the inconvenience was minimal. Krishna is so kind.

 

Today was spent getting ready to leave the holy dhama of Vrindavana for the west. We planned to leave early the next morning to visit our Delhi temple for the day and then proceed to the airport where we had a midnight flight scheduled.

 

The devotees with me finished up their shopping. I made final arrangements for Gopinatha and Rasarani to pick up the Deities in Loi Bazaar and I took some final photos for the slide show that I am preparing.

 

Kavicandra Maharaja has just arrived in Vrindavana, so I spent some time associating with him. As always he is very enlivened about preaching and especially protecting the innocent devotees like children and women.

 

3/20/01

 

Left early in the morning (7:30 AM) for Delhi after greeting the Deities and begging Them to forgive me for the offenses that I have committed while in the Holy Dhama.

 

The trip to Delhi was uneventful with the usual stop at the mid way restaurant to allow the driver to take his Chay (tea). This is a great addiction in India. Many people would not be able to function without tea.

 

We arrived early at the Delhi temple, the Glory of India Project,” Lat time I saw the temple was several years ago. I was very very pleased to see that the project is almost completed. It is very impressive to say the least. I ran up to take darshan of Radha Paratha Sarathi, Gaura Nitai, and Sita Rama Laxman Hanuman. Their temple room one of the most unusual in the movement. It is circular, dome shaped. I took many pictures of the project.

 

The rest of the day was spent in touring the project and resting for the upcoming trip to the west. I was pleasantly surprised to see Niranjana Maharaj there at the temple. He informed me that he was on the same flight as myself to Amsterdam. Krishna was so kind to give me the association of this advanced Vaisnava. The most painful thing is being separated from the Vaisnavas. The most wonderful thing is to have their association.

 

The Vaisnavas at the Delhi temple were very very kind to us. Whatever we wanted they were happy to get. I can see that Gopal Krishna Maharaja is training the devotees very well. Both here and in Tirupati we experienced great Vaisnava culture. Of particular note was Janardana Prabhu, who arranged everything for us including a ride to the airport with three temple vehicles.

 

We left the temple a little after 9 PM and arrive at the airport at about 9:30. Our flight was supposed to be at 1:30 the next morning. Everyone was surprised that we wanted to go so early to the airport but because of my experience in traveling I knew that it was important as the Indian airports are not models of efficiency, plus we had tons of luggage to check in. When we got to the airport there was already a line for our flight. It was lucky that we arrived early as there were a number of unforeseen events that occurred. For one thing some of our bags split and we had to repack and combine bags. Anyway one expects the unexpected in India and one should always be prepared for it both practically and psychologically.

 

3/21/00

 

We got on the plane about 1:00 AM. Krishna had another surprise for us. There was a small mechanical difficulty which the pilot assured us would be fixed in about 10 minutes. As usual ten minutes turned into 4 hours. By the time the right part was located and brought to the plane time had run out. The crew of an aircraft is only allowed to be on duty for a certain amount of hours. So if they had continued with the flight and counted the time that they had to wait in the plane they would have exceeded their allotment.

 

So about 4 AM we were escorted off the airplane and driven to the best hotel I have ever stayed in the Hyatt in New Delhi. Everything was clean and first class. Even there was hot water in the bathroom! Northwest paid for everything. We were informed though that if we made any calls over the 3 minutes allowed that NW was paying for we would have to pay through the nose (about 4 times the actual cost of the calls). That is how hotels make their money. Mathura made a call that lasted 20 seconds over his allotment and had to pay 6 dollars for this 20 seconds.