THE GREAT SPIRITUAL ADVENTURE OF FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF LORD CAITANYA MAHAPRABHU
When we think about India there is one person which we cannot ignore. That person is the most merciful incarnation ever – Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. When Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took the renounced order of life, He traveled through South India and in His ecstasy visited many places and temples.
By His mercy and the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, HH Bir Krsna Goswami is leading a tour of 40 devotees to South India in order to reawaken the remembrance of Krishna’s amazing pastimes.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said that in every town and village all over the world the Holy name of Krishna will be chanted. At this moment devotees from all over the world (Fiji, USA, Australia, Europe, and New Zealand) are traveling through South India to be recipients of the mercy of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Day 1: 19th February 2007
Devotees from all over the world assembled in the Holy Dhama Mayapur and prepared themselves for the adventurous tour to South India. On the 19th February early in the morning (at 3am) the luggage of the devotees was put on the bus. Although everyone was sad while leaving Mayapur, at the same time the excitement in our hearts grew more and more. Gurudeva encouraged us and while driving through the gates of Mayapur we were singing prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva to protect us.
On the bus we saw a movie about Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. After an 11 hour drive we arrived in Remuna. The little town of Remuna is the home place of Ksira-chora-gopinatha. The local people were looking at us, strange western devotees, very curiously while we were searching for our rooms. A few of the devotees did harinama in the small village square outside the temple, and were distributing books. Little Padma, who is 8 years old, distributed here first two books, for 50 rupees! After putting our bags into the rooms, we had delicious prasadam in the temple. Remuna is famous for having the best Kheer (sweet rice).
The pure devotee Madhavendra Puri wanted to taste the kheer so that he could figure out the ingredients to make the sweet rice and then offer it to his Deity. But he felt very guilty having the desire to taste food before offering it to the Lord. In the middle of the night Gopinatha came in a dream to his pujari and told him that He had hidden under His skirt a pot of sweet rice for His devotee Madhavendra Puri. So the pujari woke up and went to Gopinatha Deity. There he saw the pot under His skirt. He immediately went to the market and called out for Madhavendra Puri. He said : “You are the most fortunate person because the Lord has hidden some maha-prasadam for you”. Madhavendra Puri was very happy. After eating the sweet rice he kept the pot and ate a small piece of it every day for the rest of his life.
The Remuna temple has three Deities : Ksira-chora-gopinatha, Madana Mohan and Govinda. Gopinatha is a relief Deity of Lord Rama. When Sita asked Lord Rama how He looks like in Kali Yuga, Lord Rama carved himself as Gopinatha. The devotees ate a lot of the delicious Kheer in Remuna.
After seeing the Deities we got the opportunity to take the dust of the footprints of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Gurudeva explained that we will see Lord Chaitanya’s footprints in every place we visit, so we really follow the footsteps of Lord Chaitanya.
Gurudeva took us also to the Samadhi of Madhavendra Puri that was near the temple. When we came there, a local man gave us instruments to have kirtan in front of the Samadhi. After having a beautiful kirtan, Gurudeva explained that in order to experience ecstatic love for Krishna we have to be connected with Madhavendra Puri. Later on, the devotees went to their rooms. All the ladies were staying in a small house with six rooms and we all had to sleep on the ground. Although it was a night full of austerities, Gurudeva encouraged us. Since the ladies went to bed about 6pm, most of them woke up at 11.30 pm thinking it was time for Mangala aratik, so they took showers and dressed. After they finished everything they realized it was not 3 o’clock in the morning but only 11.30pm!! They started to laugh very loudly and so they woke up all the others that were sleeping. After some time they all went back to bed again!!
Day 2: 20th February 2007
The devotees woke up early for Mangala aratik. Unfortunately the men’s bathrooms were locked so they had to take a shower in the street. Although Mangala aratik should have been at 4.15am, Gurudeva and the devotees waited for more than one hour for the temple to open. When the temple finally opened the local people were singing their prayers to the Deities and they had a very loud microphone. Because of that, Gurudeva and the devotees had to sing our samsara prayers as loud as they could. The temple is very small, and when 50 people sing that loudly in it, all the voices mix. Gurudeva and the devotees sang so loudly that the local people could not be heard. They got angry and tried to stop our kirtan but the devotees were singing with all their heart and could not be interrupted. After that we all quickly got on our bus and drove out of Remuna.
Our next destination was Jagannatha Puri. In the bus most of the devotees were sleeping, eating or chanting. On the way we stopped to see the Shakshi Gopal temple. The Shakshi Gopal Deity is also called the witness Deity.
There was once an old and a very young brahmana. The Young brahmana was very poor. He helped the old brahmana while they were traveling in South India. So the old brahmana, who was very rich, promised to give his daughter to the younger brahmana in order to thank him. To prove his promise, both brahmanas went to Shakshi-Gopal and made the promise before the Deities. When the two brahmanas went home to prepare everything for the wedding, the old brahmanas family was angry and they didn’t want that his daughter be married to this poor young Brahman. They said that the young Brahmana gave something to the older brahmana so that he lost his mind and made this promise. So the young brahmana had to leave because he had no evidence. The young Brahmana went back to Shakshi-Gopal and prayed to Him to come and testify about the promise. After a while the Deity responded. Gopal said that is impossible for a Deity to walk from South India to north to be witness in this special case. But the young brahmana told Gopal that if He can talk, then He can also walk. So Gopal finally decided to go to the north to be a witness, though He gave one condition, that the young brahmana should not turn back to look at Him. He would hear the ankle bells with the steps of Shakshi-Gopal and be sure that the Deity was right behind him. When they got closer to the old brahmanas house, the young brahmana couldn’t hear the steps of Shakshi Gopal anymore. Therefore he quickly turned to look back at Gopal, and at that place the Deity stopped and is now installed. So the young brahmana brought the old brahmanas family from the village to that spot and Shakshi-Gopal told them about the promise of marriage. So the family had to give the daughter to the young brahmana.
Unfortunately only Indian devotees are allowed to enter the temple and see Shakshi Gopal. The Western devotees cannot go in, but the devotees from Fiji could enter as they are from Indian descent. The local people didn’t even let Gurudeva enter the temple, even though he is a sannyassi!
Some of the brave Fiji devotees took pictures of Shakshi-Gopal even though it is strictly prohibited. In front of the temple there were a lot of people trying to give us maha-prasadam in order to get some donations. They were telling us they would curse us if we don’t give donations. But as we entered the bus, Gurudeva pacified the devotees by informing us that the people had no potency to curse us if we don’t offend them. After this very interesting experience we continued on our tour.
We stopped at Bhuvaneshvara. Gurudeva arranged prasadam for all of us at the local Iskcon temple. It is one of the most beautiful temples, with Deities of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, Sri Sri Krsna-Balarama and Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Lady Subhadra. After taking a quick darshan, Gurudeva took us to the Samadhi of Gaura-Govinda Maharaja, who founded the Iskcon temple here in Bhuvaneshvara. Also there is a small temple there were we saw his personal Deities. It was really amazing to see all that. After this was prasadam that the local devotees had kindly prepared for us. We went back to the bus and continued driving to Jagannatha Puri. During the trip we watched a movie about Srila Prabhupada and the first Ratha Yatra in San Francisco.
We finally arrived in Jagannatha Puri in the afternoon, and our hotel was right on the beach front. Most of the devotees went straight for a bath in the ocean. Even Lord Chaitanya was bathing in this ocean in Jagannatha Puri and sometimes His servants would find Him floating kilometers further down the coast passed out in His ecstasy of great separation from Lord Krishna.
Gurudeva and the boys went immediately to take a bath in the ocean. The ladies washed their clothes and also took a bath in the sea. The ocean is beautiful and the water is dark blue with big waves. The water wasn’t cold so the devotees enjoyed every moment. In the evening the devotees from Fiji prepared spicy but very delicious prasadam. After that we all went to sleep. We stayed in very nice rooms in a hotel that was right on the beautiful beach.
Day 3: 21st February
This morning Gurudeva took us to the Tothagopinatha temple for Mangala aratik. Tothagopinatha is the Deity of Gadhadar Pandit, and it is a Deity that is sitting down.
When Sri Gadhadar Pandit got too old for dressing the tall Deity, Tothagopinatha with his kindness and compassion sat down so that Gadhadar Pandit could still reach him. The deity has a golden streak on his right thigh.
When Lord Chaitanya disappeared, He entered the right thigh of the Deity.
All of the devotees got the opportunity to see the golden streak on the right thigh of Tothagopinatha, but first we had to pay 100 rupees each to the local brahmanas. The pujari then raised the dress of Tothagopinatha and those who played could see the golden streak. It was an amazing experience.
After that Gurudeva gave class, and was reading us a description of the Ratha Yatra in Jagannatha Puri at the time when Lord Chaitanya was present. All of a sudden Bhakti Caru Swami and his disciples entered the temple. Gurudeva was so happy to see Bhakti Caru Maharaja and they greeted each other with great affection. We all stayed in the temple together at the darshan time.
Again some brave devotees found a way to take pictures of the Deity so that the local brahmans couldn’t see them.
When it was time for Bhakti Caru Swami to leave, we all went out and took a lot of photos in front of the temple. It was very nice to see how Gurudeva was happy to see Bhakti Caru Maharaja.
Next we went to see the Samadhi of Haridas Thakura. There were also a lot of pictures of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Deities of Lord Nityananda, Sri Adwaita Acharya, Sri Gadhadhara, etc. Gurudeva was explaining to us the importance of the mercy of Haridas Thakur in order to understand Lord Chaitanya. We all had our opportunity to pray to Haridas Thakura.
After that we went to Siddha Bakula. Siddha Bakula is the place where Haridas Thakura chanted under a wish-fulfilling tree which is now hollow. We touched it with our hands and put our head on it and prayed for the fulfillment of our desires. Of course Gurudeva advised us to have spiritual desires. The reason why the tree is hollow is because some devotees in the past wanted to cut the tree to make a Jagannatha cart, even though such a sacred place needed to be preserved. Then the tree became hollow over night and proved useless for building, so it was saved. Some of the devotees used the time there to chant but most of them were praying for pure love for Krishna.
After that we went to Gambhira. There is a small room where Lord Chaitanya was living during His time in Jagannatha Puri. There He experienced ecstatic symptoms in great separation from Krishna. His servants had to guard His room and at night they locked Lord Chaitanya in from the outside so that He wouldn’t escape and hurt Himself. But still when they opened the room in the morning they saw that Lord Chaitanya had escaped somehow, and at times they would find Him in the ocean ecstatically calling out for Krishna. This whole day was very interesting and it is amazing that we had the opportunity to see all these places. Gurudeva then took us to the Iskcon temple for breakfast. We were all very hungry, as usual, and the prasadam was delicious.
After the prasadam the devotees from Fiji went to see the big Deities of Lord Jagannatha. Baladeva and Lady Subhadra at the main Jagannatha temple in Puri, but the Western devotees went back to the hotel as locals only allow Indians to enter the temple. Some of the Western devotees went to the temple and offered obeisance’s in front of the gates, and some did harinama and book distribution there. When the Fiji devotees came back they brought a lot of Maha-prasadam and distributed it to the ones who didn’t see the famous Deities. Somehow it was very sad because the temple was only 3 kilometers away from our hotel but still not all of is had the opportunity to see the wonderful Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Lady Subhadra.
In the evening we had delicious prasadam made by the Fiji cooks and we all went early to bed. The day was very intense and very interesting. Sometimes it is hard to understand everything but our dear Gurudeva is very patient with us and he always reminds us of the great mercy we got to experience this tour.
Day 4: 22nd February
We continued our tour very early. Our next destination was Vishakapatnam. Even though our bus was not very fast and it was hot, Gurudeva decided to visit Kurmaksetra. The devotees actually voted whether to visit Kurmaksetra or not, and at the end we all agreed to use this rare opportunity and go and see Lord Kurma.
When our bus stopped in front of the temple, the devotees there greeted us very nicely with garlands for each of us. The local brahman was so happy to see Gurudeva that he immediately started to explain the importance of this temple.
When Lord Krishna wanted His back to be scratched and His jewels polished He took the form of a tortoise, and that is Lord Kurma. The local Brahman took us to see Lord Kurma and made offerings to the Lord for all of us. He also put a turban on Gurudevas head so that he was looking like a king.
In Kurmaksetra there is a stone structure built in the 2nd century and renovated by devotees. There were also original drawings from Krishna’s pastimes from the 12th century. Every corner of the temple had its own amazing story. After the Brahman finished the offering to Lord Kurma we went to the hall to have prasadam. The hospitality was truly amazing. Devotees from Iskcon at Vishakapatnam made a big feast for us with lots of preparations and brought it with the bus from Vishakapatnam to Kurmaksetra. Every time when they out new preparations on our banana leaves they were more and more delicious. The devotees truly cared for us and they had great respect for Srila Gurudeva. They made so much prasadam that we couldn’t eat everything. This was our first meal in South India Style which meant having preparations like samba.
After that we went to see the foot prints of Lord Chaitanya. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited this temple in the 15th century and we had the opportunity to see His footprints. All of these shrines of Lord Chaitanya’s feet that we visit on the tour have been installed by our acharyas, mostly by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Maharaja.
Sri Ramanuja Acharya wanted once to correct the Deity worship in Jagannatha Puri, but the pujaris there were on the spontaneous level, so Lord Jagannatha took the side of the pujaris and he threw Ramanuja Acharya all the way to Kurmaksetra. At first when Ramanuja Acharya got there he fasted thinking that this was a temple of Shiva. But when he understood that this was a temple of Lord Kurma he happily took prasadam.
The temple is a unique in the whole universe and the incarnation of Krishna in the form of a tortoise represents the real guru.
When we went back on the bus we discussed that it was a great time in the temple. Gurudeva told us that there are yogi’s who do austerities for thousands of years just to visit Kurmaksetra and we had the opportunity to see Lord Kurma by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada.
Then we drove to Vishakapatnam. On the way we started singing kirtan that went for over an hour on the bus. The temple is not very big, but very nice. We arrived just in time for late night aratik. Again the devotees from Vishakapatnam made some prasadam for us, and after that we went to our hotel to sleep.
DAY 5: 23rd February
The devotees had a lot of bags and every time it took us at least 30 minutes to put all the bags on the bus and this morning it took longer than usual. So we didn’t make it to Mangala aratik at the temple. Only Gurudeva was there with some devotees, because he stayed right next to the temple.
First we went to visit the land that the devotees from Vishakapatnam bought to build a big Iskcon temple. The land is beautiful and is right next to the ocean. The main constructions have already been built and they even have 8 cows there. The cows are very happy and they feed them nicely. The name of the temple will be : Temple for Universal Peace. After some time we continued on our tour.
The next stop was at Simhacalan. A few devotees from Vishakapatnam temple came with us to guide us. Simhacalan is an amazing place and it’s the home of Varaha-Nrsimhadeva. Varaha-Nrsimhadeva is so angry that He is covered all over His body with a thick layer of sandalwood paste, which is very cooling. Srila Prabhupada said that this Deity could burn the whole universe. The Deity is so beautiful that if it wouldn’t be covered, people would not want to go out of the temple. The Deity is called Varaha-Nrsimhadeva because Prahlada Maharaja wanted to see the person who killed his father and uncle at the same time. Only once a year they break the sandalwood paste. Since our dear Gurudeva is very much respected by the local people, he immediately went the stairs up to see Varaha-Nrsimhadeva. The brahmans made an offering for us and after that we went out of the temple.
After Gurudeva explained the meaning of the name of the Deity, little Padma, her father Mayapur Candra and Gurudeva made a performance of Lord Nrsimhadeva killing Hiranyakashipu. Gurudeva played Lord Nrsimhadeva, Mayapur played Hiranyakashipu and Padma played Prahlada Maharaja. The performance was amazing and no one knew that Gurudeva could act. After that we went down the hill to take prasadam. The devotees from Vishakapatnam made us delicious South Indian style prasadam. After we finished, we went back on the bus and continued on our tour.
Our next destination was Rajamundary. The Iskcon temple there is the most beautiful of all the ones we have seen on the tour so far. The devotees greeted Gurudeva and us with fresh garlands and kirtan. Then we entered the Radha-Gopinatha Mandire and had lunch. The devotees were very hungry and the prasadam was very tasty. Some of the devotees went to their rooms in the hotel and a few of us had a room in the temple. Gurudeva also stayed in the temple.
After lunch we did a quick tour to the place where Ramananda Raya met Lord Chaitanya and they had a famous conversation in which they discussed devotional service. We went to the temple and saw the Deities, and to the banks of the sacred Godavari river where the famous conversation took place.
At 7.30pm Gurudeva gave a class in the big Iskcon temple. Many locals came and looked curiously at us. Gurudeva spoke about the conversation between Lord Chaitanya and Ramananda Raya.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu met one of His most confidential associates in this town, Ramananda Raya. Ramananda Raya is Vishaka Devi in Krishna’s pastimes, but now She has appeared as the governor of Madras. After Lord Chaitanya came from the Simhacalan to the banks of the Godavari River, He recognized Vishaka, being Ramananda Raya. When They saw each other They could not keep Their energy, and while embracing each other, They fell on the ground in ecstasy. After that, Lord Chaitanya and Ramananda Raya met and They talked about the science of Krishna Consciousness. Lord Chaitanya took the position of a student and asked Ramananda Raya what the main goal of life is, and what is the method to achieve this goal. Ramananda Raya started answering the question first by explaining the material goals, like following Varnashrama Dhama. But Lord Chaitanya wanted to hear more nectarian answers. Then Ramananda Raya explained that one should offer everything to Krishna. But Lord Chaitanya wanted to have a deep and nectarian answer. After describing many different goals, Ramananda Raya at the end said that the main goal in our life is to understand the love that Srimati Radharani feels for Krishna. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was satisfied only with that answer. For 10 days, They discussed many important topics.
Gurudeva explained to us that we should pray to understand the loving exchanges between Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. He ended the class by giving the example that Srila Prabhupada once said that our movement will expand by the loving exchanges between Vaisnavas. After the class finished Gurudeva went to his room and the devotees went to the hotel. The day was very intense and everyone was tired. The devotees that stayed in the temple went early to bed.
DAY 6: 24th February 2007
At 3.30am in the morning the devotees went into the bus and the tour continued. Our next destination was Vijayawada and the Mangalgiri temple. There were around 600 stairs that we climbed up to see the temple. In the middle we saw the footprints of Lord Chaitanya. This temple is very important because Lord Nrsimhadeva manifested Himself in the mountain. The Deity has a big mouth and it drinks water with sugar.
It doesn’t matter how much water you put into Lord Nrsimhadevas mouth He would always drink half of it and half of it He would throw out of His mouth for the devotees to take as prasadam. The Brahmans made an offering for us. It is real amazing how Lord Nrsimhadeva appeared in this form in the mountains. After that we all had Maha prasadam water from Lord Nrsimhadeva and the devotees bought also some Maha prasadam laddu balls. As we left the temple we went more stairs up to see Laksmi Devi. The Brahman there made an offering for us and we all got blessings from Laksmi Devi. One of the most interesting things was that right next to Laksmi Devi was a cave. The cave was going through the mountain and Gurudeva explained to us that this is the cave where the demigods go through to come and see the self-manifested Lord Nrsimhadeva. This was very amazing. Some of the devotees tried to go through the cave but they came back very soon. After leaving the temple we took prasadam on the beautiful park land grounds of a Sikh temple, as it was a nice place to stop. The devotees from Rajamundary Radha-Gopinatha Mandire had made a lot of kitchery and chapattis for us so enjoyed the taste of prasadam. After this we went back on the bus and continued our tour.
Gurudeva showed us a movie about reincarnation on the bus. But the most interesting thing that happened in the bus was that Gurudeva did a group regression while we were traveling to Tirupati. This was the first time that Gurudeva did a regression in a bus, and it was great. Around 80-85% of the devotees experienced something. It was very unusual but very interesting. Because of the regression the time passed very quickly and soon we arrived in Tirupati at the Radha-Govinda and Ashta Sakhi temple.
The devotees greeted us with kirtan and fresh garlands. Then they all followed Gurudeva to his room and with great respect and love washed his feet in the room. The temple is huge and the most beautiful of all ones we have seen on our tour. The Deities Sri Sri Radha Govinda and Ashta Sakhi are incredibly beautiful. The temple opened 2 weeks ago and everything was new. The rooms of the devotees were big, clean, and very very nice. Gurudevas room has even two bathrooms. The devotees from the temple took care for Gurudeva and all the devotees. So after having prasadam we were all very tired and went to our rooms to rest.
DAY 7: 25th February
The temple in Tirupati is gorgeous. Every thing is perfectly planned and the Deities Sri Sri Radha Govinda and Ashta Sakhi are beautiful. At 4.15am we had Mangala aratik. Even though devotees were tired from the tour, they woke up to greet the beautiful Deities. Gurudeva was giving class this morning. He talked about the time factor and how everyone is influenced by it. Then he spoke about the Universal Form of Krishna. The Universal Form is there to remind us that everything in this material world is temporary and belongs to Krishna. He explained the four kinds of devastation :
1) Constant devastation
2) Occasional devastation
3) Universal devastation
4) Final devastation
Gurudeva reminded us that whatever our consciousness at the time of death is, that type of body we will get in our next life. Therefore if we don’t give our heart to Krishna, fully devoted to the Lord, we will not be able to cry out for Krishna at the time of death and we won’t go back to Godhead. We should be able to understand on which level of spiritual advancement we are, and with that we change our heart and involve our subtle body into devotional service. Gurudeva explained that our determination has to be fixed and even though devotional service is a gradual process, with every step we become happier and come closer to Krishna. Then he explained that our enemies are not other persons, our enemies are our anarthas in our heart. We make ourselves angry because of our lust and attachment to enjoy in this material world. At the end Gurudeva told that we have to take responsibility for our own spiritual lives and we should always be enthusiastic, patient and determined and look at everything as an arrangement of Krishna.
After the class devotees had the whole day to rest, go shopping, go on sankirtan, etc. All the ladies went shopping and the men accompanied them. Tirupati is a nice city and the devotees had a very good time buying saris and jewelry. The rest of the day devotees used to enjoy the beautiful weather and rest.
Day 8: 26th February
At 2.30am a group of devotees went with the bus to Ahovalam. ‘Aho’ means ‘wonderful’, and ‘valam’ means ‘cave’. Ahovalam is a big mountain and about 20 brave devotees who still had strength went early that morning to the mountain. Ahovalam is very special because there are nine different self manifested Deities of Lord Nrsimhadeva. All the Deities are in different caves. To see the Deities was very hard for the devotees because they had to climb up many steps that led to different locations were the Deities were. Even though it was rough, the devotees enjoyed every moment in the beautiful mountains.
The devotees who didn’t have strength for the 7 hour bus and 2 hour climbing up the mountain at Ahovalam, stayed with Gurudeva at the peaceful Tirupati temple. After a beautiful Mangala aratik, Gurudeva gave class. He continued explaining the importance of the time factor. With every breath the time factor takes away our lives and we cannot reverse the past. Gurudeva said that living a long life without Krishna Consciousness is useless. Therefore we have to use every moment properly and engage in devotional service. A non-devotee is afraid of the time factor, but a pure devotee is not afraid, because he knows that with every breath and every moment he’s closer to Krishna. Therefore we should be patient and engage ourselves in devotional service.
After the class devotees had delicious prasadam and they used the rest of the day for shopping, sankirtan and associating with each other. Some devotees visited the temple Goshala, gurukula, and new movie theatre. The group that went to Ahovalam came back at 11pm and after exchanging impressions, everyone went to bed.
Day 9: 27th February 2007
At 5am in the morning we left Tirupati. Our next destination was Sri Rangam. Since we traveled further South it got hotter and Gurudeva arranged a new bus with air-conditioning. After a long drive we arrived at Sri Rangam. We left our bags in the hotel rooms and went to the Iskcon temple for prasadam. While walking to the temple we sung harinama sankirtan through the streets. The temple is not very big and there are small Gaura-Nitai Deities. The devotees were very hungry and the Ekadasi prasadam was delicious.
After that we went to the 3000 year old Sri Rangam temple. The temple was huge and there were no windows in it, and because of this it is very hot in there. The temple was about to close, so we had to walk very quickly around the large grounds. First we saw a huge Garuda Deity that was keeping guard of the temple. As soon as we saw the Deity of Ranganatha, we forgot all the austerities. The Deity represents Maha-Vishnu lying on Ananta-Shesha. It was amazing. The Deity is huge and it has big eyes. We couldn’t stay long to see the Deity because there were many locals who were waiting to see Maha-Vishnu too. It was very crowded, we were pushed aside by people, and had to wait in long lines to see the Deity. Then we went to see the Deity of Laksmi Devi. The pujari gave us some sacred paste to smear on our foreheads and on the walls and make a wish.
After that we went quickly to the Samadhi of Ramanuja Acharya but when we got there the local brahmans told us that the Samadhi was closed 5 minutes before. So we sat in the temple courtyard to rest. Suddenly come locals came and told us to go. We didn’t know why they were telling us so we kept sitting there. After a moment when we turned back, a huge decorated elephant was walking towards us. Quickly we stood up and moved aside for the elephant to pass. Some locals told us that it was the last day of the fruit juice festival and the brahmans were carrying the Utsava Deities on procession. It was very interesting to see this ceremony, with large crowds, people banging drums and gongs loudly, and many mantras being chanted with this music.
After that we went to the house of Vyenkata Bhatta. Vyenkata Bhatta was a devotee of Laksmi-Narayana and Lord Chaitanya stayed in his house for four months during the rainy season. Lord Chaitanya asked Vyenkata Bhatta why Laksmi wants to associate with Krishna when She is most chaste toward Narayana. Vyenkata Bhatta then told Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that Narayana and Krishna are non-different. Later on, Vyenkata Bhatta and his family became Gaudiya Vaisnavas.
After seeing all this, Gurudeva and the devotees went back to the hotel and went to bed. This whole day was intense but also very interesting. Seeing the Deity of Sri Ranganatha was a unique experience and the devotees were very much impressed.
Day 10: 28th February 2007
In the morning Gurudeva and the devotees went to see the Samadhi of Ramanuja Acharya. Ramanuja Acharya’s transcendental body was still in the Samadhi. His body was mummified and covered with different types of herbs. Even though Ramanuja Acharya left his body in year 1137 AD, his hair and nails still grow. It was an amazing experience because we could actually see his face and the shape of his body.
After that we went to see the Deities that Lord Chaitanya personally carved with His hands. Because of His great separation He carved the Deities of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Lady Subhadra. The Deities have hands, and look truly beautiful.
Gurudeva explained to us that when a pure devotee sees the Deities of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Lady Subhadra, he actually sees the Deities with Their hands. So these special Deities are Lord Chaitanya’s personal realization of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Lady Subhadra. Even in Jagannatha Puri they worship the Deities of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Lady Subhadra in the form with hands.
After that Gurudeva showed us the place where the original Sri Vaisnavas, the Alvars, met. This place is called the Hall of the Thousand Pillars. The Alvars used to meet there to discuss Krishna Katha and write poems. Each and every pillar has its own nice stone carving decoration. Gurudeva told us that some of the Alvars were incarnations of Bhu, Sri, and Laksmi. This is the most sacred place of the Alvars, and extremely important in Gaudiya Vaisnavism.
After seeing all these sacred places we continued our tour. During the trip, Gurudeva told us amazing stories about the pastimes of Ramanuja Acharya. Even while the bus was traveling, the devotees made a performance of one of the Ramanuja Acharya pastimes:
| Once during a festival Ramanuja Acharya saw a man who was fanning his girlfriend, and he asked the man why he was so fascinated by the girlfriend. The man replied it was because of her beautiful eyes. So Ramanuja Acharya asked that if he could show someone with even more beautiful eyes, would he worship that person instead. So the man agreed, and when Ramanuja Acharya showed him the Deity of Krishna, the man immediately became a devotee. Then Ramanuja Acharya blessed him to marry his girlfriend and they both became excellent sankirtan devotees. |
Our sankirtan couple from Australia very enthusiastically performed this pastime of Ramanuja Acharya so Gurudeva gave them all the blessings to continue with sankirtan.
After some time we arrived in Kanchipura. Gurudeva gave us the instruction to “shop till we drop”. So after leaving our bags in the hotel, we all went to the most famous sari shop to do the best thing we know – shopping. The devotee bought many silk saris for their Deities and for themselves. Though two devotees from Australia took the opportunity to do sankirtan outside of the sari shop and soon found that the locals were very enthusiastic to buy Srila Prabhupada’s books. After the shopping we went back to the hotel for prasadam and went to bed.
Day 11: 1st March 2007
We assembled at 7 o’clock in the morning and went to see the Deity of Varadaraja. Varadaraja is known as the king of wish fulfilling Deities. The temple is huge and its one of the oldest temples in India. There are 3 Deities of Varadaraja. The main Deity is made of wood, carved by Vishvakarma, the architect of the demigods. So in order to protect the Deity it is kept under water. Every 40 years they take the Deity out of the water for 10 days. In 2019 the Deity will be brought out of the water again and Gurudeva already planned to come and see this special event.
First we went to see the Utsava Deity. The pujari was very nice and he allowed us to take pictures of the Deity.
While we were walking through the temple the atmosphere was very calming and we could feel the spiritual vibration.
After that we saw the 3rd Deity of Varadaraja, called the Moola Deity. It is a big beautiful smiling Deity decorated with different ornaments. The Deity is amazing and makes you feel very protected. All the devotees prayed to the Deity to fulfill their desires.
Then we had a lively kirtan and sang Mangala aratik in the hall of the temple. The local people looked at us very curiously. After the kirtan we went out and Gurudeva gave us special Maha prasadam from the Deity. He told us that if we eat a piece of it, our desires will be fulfilled. While the devotees surrounded Gurudeva, waiting to get a small piece of Maha prasadam some locals also came and Gurudeva gave them prasadam too.
In front of the temple we had more delicious Maha prasadam for breakfast. After eating the devotees bought some fruits and water and we continued our tour back to Tirupati.
When we arrived in Tirupati some hours later, the devotees had a whole afternoon to rest.
DAY 12: 2nd March 2007
After Mangala aratik we all assembled at the main gate and traveling in five jeeps went to Tirumala to see famous Balaji. Balaji is worshipped in South India as a form of Krsna, who is a young boy. On the road were interesting signs on which some messages were written, like “Smoking prohibited”, “Spitting prohibited”, “Overtaking prohibited” etc which is unusual for India. When we got to Tirumala we first went to see Lord Vishnu’s footprints. Gurudeva explained to us that Lord Vishnu wanted to go on vacation so He chose these hills, and these flower covered footprints represent the place where He landed.
After that we went to the Sri Varaha Swami Temple. We had to wait in a big line for about 20 minutes just to see the Deity, but it was worth waiting. After that we finally went to see Balaji. A devotee from Tirupati came with us as a guide. When he went to buy the tickets, we thought that he will come back soon. At the end local people were taking pictures of us, western Iskcon devotees, sitting on the ground and waiting. A couple of the devotees took the opportunity to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books, and the crowds were very receptive, they sold every book they had brought before we even got our tickets. After more than half an hour we got the tickets and entered the hall which leads to the temple. There were two lines. The ones who bought the 50 rupees ticket were in the left line and the ones who bought the 100 rupees ticket were standing in the right line, separated by metal gates. We bought the 100 rupees ticket because it should have been the line that passed more quickly. At the end there was no big difference. We waited for more than two hours to come to the temple. There were so many people, and all the time, we were squashed up together in the queue. Most of the time the devotees were chanting the Maha-mantra, and trying to get the local people to chant Hare Krsna also. As well as this the devotees gave out hundreds of invitation cards to Tirupati temple, to the other people in the queue. After two hours of waiting and slowly moving along in the queue we finally came in front of the temple. But there were more people who pushed others, and it was even hard to breathe properly. The boys had a lot of work to keep the people away from Gurudeva and the matajis. Hundreds of people were pushing each other in a huge line.
And then finally we saw Balaji. As we were coming closer to take darshan, the people started to push even more. At the end it was so funny that all the devotees started to push the people too. We could stay in front of Balaji only for a few seconds before the people who guarded Balaji started to push us back and into the exit. It was amazing seeing all these people, so enthusiastically trying to see Balaji and praying for the fulfillment of their desires. Even though Gurudeva could go and see Balaji in a private darshan, because he is a sannyassi, he stayed with us all the time. When we got out, Gurudeva said that it is wonderful that all these people came and waited for hours just to see Balaji.
After that we went to see the kitchen. It was the first time that Iskcon devotees could enter the kitchen and see how the food for Balaji is being prepared.
When we wanted to leave the temple property we had to push again in the crowd. Finally when we got out, the guide and Gurudeva went to get us Maha prasadam laddhus. We were all so hungry and as soon as we got the laddhus we ate them and agreed they were some of the best ever.
Finally Gurudeva told us to go to the cars and drive back to the temple. We were all exhausted. As we were driving down the mountain there was a funny sign written : “Keep your nerves on the sharp curves”. Just 10 minutes before arriving back at the temple, the jeep that Gurudeva was in had a flat tire, so we had to wait till the driver changed it. When we arrived at the temple, devotees went to rest in their rooms. After that we had delicious prasadam and the rest of the day devotees used for washing clothes or sleeping.
Having the opportunity and mercy to see Balaji and experience all the waiting and pushing with other people was amazing and fun. The enthusiasm of the people to see Balaji was so strong that they didn’t care for anything else. Even though we waited for hours and got exhausted from all the pushing, it was worth each of the 5 – 6 seconds we had to see Balaji. Balaji is so attractive that you forget all austerities and just fix your mind on the prayers. This experience was one of the best we had during the whole tour. If we could ever be that enthusiastic in devotional service, we would soon become the happiest people in the whole universe.
Day 13: 3rd March 2007 GAURA PURNIMA
This was a very special day. The Appearance day of merciful Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. After a beautiful Mangala aratik, Gurudeva gave class. He talked about the importance of Gaura Purnima, and the internal and external reasons why Lord Chaitanya appeared.
Gurudeva explained to us that only Krishna himself can talk about the great intimacy in Goloka Vrndavana, so He appeared as Lord Chaitanya to give us the understanding of this high mellows. Krishna is very merciful, but if we want to get His mercy, we have to surrender to Him. In order that Krishna becomes even more merciful, He has to take the mood of Srimati Radharani. When Krishna takes the feminine mood that is manifested in Srimati Radharani, He becomes more sentimental. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna in the mood of Srimati Radharani.
By the mercy of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s devotee, Srila Prabhupada, we’ve got the opportunity to understand this high philosophy. So in the external reason for the appearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is to give us the highest truth : Krishna Prema, in the intimate mood in the presence of the residents of Vrndavana.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared with His associates: Lord Nityananda (Balarama), Sri Advaita Acharya (Incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead), Sri Gadhadhara Pandit (Srimati Radharani) and Srivas (Narada Muni).
But who is Srila Prabhupada?
Gurudeva told us that Srila Prabhupada was in Goloka Vrndavana with Krishna, and Krishna told him that he has to go to the earth and distribute books and preach. So Srila Prabhupada’s position is that he’s in the spiritual world with Radha and Krishna, but sometimes he comes to the material world to preach. Therefore Srila Prabhupada is fully manifested in his books and instructions. So whoever performs sankirtan, by distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books definitely has the mercy of the Lord.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared to save all condition souls and to spread Krishna consciousness. The internal reason for the appearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is that Krishna was interested to taste the love Radharani feels for Him. Gurudeva told us that there are three internal reasons for the appearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu :
1) To understand and relish Radharani’s love of him. Because with that love Radharani is able to control Krishna, so Krishna is actually a servant of Radha.
2) Krishna is unlimitedly attractive, so He wanted experience His own attractiveness through Radha’s eyes.
3) Radharani experiences 10 million times more happiness than Krishna does, so He wanted to taste this happiness.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appears only once in a day of Brahma. But for us it is 1000 devi yugas, and one devi yuga is 4,300,000 years. Gurudeva finished the class by reminding us how fortunate we are because Lord Chaitanya appeared just 500 years ago. So we should use this mercy and spread Krishna Consciousness.
At around 2pm was the abhishek of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The Tirupati temple was full with people. All devotees and guests were dressed nicely for this special occasion. The abhishek was amazing. First Gurudeva bathed the Deity of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and then the temple president and other brahmacari’s bathed the Lord’s golden form with milk, yoghurt, ghee, honey, and four colored waters, red, greed, blue and gold. At the end they poured different colored flower petals over Lord Chaitanya. Seeing all this was extremely beautiful.
After the abhishek finished Gurudeva again gave class. The temple was full of people and they all carefully listened to Gurudeva. He began by doing a fired up kirtan that got all the devotees on their feet dancing. Gurudeva talked about the eclipse of the moon that was about to happen at 4am the next morning. Because Rahu influences the material nature at that time, we stop the Deity worship because of the contaminated nature at that time. The only thing that Gurudeva told us to do during the eclipse is to chant.
After that Gurudeva told some very interesting stories about the pastimes of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said that He will appear to save all souls, but some of them will run away from Him. Those people who run away from India, He will save by sending one very important person, who is Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. So Srila Prabhupada came after all the ones who run away from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Gurudeva ended his class by inviting everyone to chant HARE KRSNA and join the Krsna Consciousness movement.
After the class there was a wild ecstatic kirtan with all the hundreds of guests, while aratik was preformed.
At 6.30pm Gurudeva prepared a music and dance program in the temple’s new auditorium. The program began as Gurudeva and one distinguished guest from the Tirupati – Tirumala spiritual community management both cut the ribbon at the auditorium door to inaugurate the venue. Gurudeva then perform aratik inside, and we sung kirtan, Nrsimhadeva prayers, and bhajans to Lord Chaitanya.
After we all sat on the nice new chairs in the theatre, the Temple President, Gurudeva and guests gave speeches.
Then Gurudeva started his musical program by playing guitar, singing the Maha-mantra and the devotees were clapping to the melody. Also Gurudeva had a band with flute, drum, and harmonium. After that he showed a slide show with pictures and information about Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. After that we saw a beautiful Bharat Natyam dance by Gurudeva’s disciple Champakalata.
But the highlight of the whole music program was when the 13 year old KrsnaPriya danced on the stage. Even though she is so young, she is already a professional, and the devotees were fascinated to see her dance. Then Gurudeva sang Nitai Gaura Radhe Shyama, Jai Krsna Balarama, and he explained how Srila Prabhupada once spoke this mantra, when in Vrndavana.
And the dancers showed us the accompanying dance – mudras so that we all danced enthusiastically along with the song. The devotees were so happy while dancing, so that Gurudeva sang also the Hanuman song, and the Mexican Hare Krsna Maha Mantra song. After this amazing program, Gurudeva sent us all to bed as we had to get up early and start chanting during the 4 am eclipse.
Day 14: 4th March 2007
Gurudeva told us to chant this morning from 4 till 7 o’clock in the morning because of the eclipse. So all the devotees were in their rooms, or from 5 am in the temple, chanting. After 7 o’clock we all went to take a bath again because of the eclipse.
At 8 o’clock Gurudeva gave a class in the temple. Since today is the Jagannatha Misra festival, Gurudeva talked about two things: Rahu and initiations. First he told us the reason for the eclipse.
When Lord Danvantary came with the nectar of immortality, He wanted to give it only to the demigods. But the demons wanted it also. So Mohini murti appeared and She was very beautiful. Even though She told the demons not to trust Her, they told Her that they will accept everything what she decides for the distribution of the nectar. She gave the nectar to the demigods and the demons were so enamored with Her that they didn’t move, but Rahu realized what was happening, so he hid between the Sun and the Moon and started to drink the nectar. The Sun and Moon saw him and told Lord Vishnu that He is drinking the nectar and Lord Vishnu immediately cut Rahu’s head with His Sudarshana cakra. The nectar only went down to his throat. So only his head is immortal. Rahu for 48 minutes from time to time tries to attack the Sun and the Moon and that is the reason for the eclipse.
So the eclipse is very inauspicious, because after the attack, Sudarshana cakra appears and whoever worships the Lord at this time will always be protected by the cakra.
Gurudeva then talked about the importance of initiations. Jagannatha Misra was Lord Chaitanya’s father, and at this particular day 500 years ago, Lord Chaitanya got His name, Nimai. Initiations are very important for the devotees. With the initiation we actually surrender to our Spiritual Master and we follow his instructions. Gurudeva explained that a pure devotee of Krishna has no other motives then to take his disciples back to Krishna’s lotus feet. Our spiritual master is like a channel between Krishna and us. We get instructions, faith and taste for the Holy Name. Lord Chaitanya has given the Maha-mantra to everyone, but we need the initiation in order to chant purely.
After the class we all went behind the temple because Gurudeva was about to give initiation to his disciples. There were four devotees who got the first initiation and four devotees who got the second initiation. The whole yajna was amazing. The devotees were nervous but Gurudeva was very relaxed. After the fire sacrifice finished we all went to the temple to take darshan with the Deities.
At 2pm in the afternoon we had a meeting with Gurudeva in his room. He explained everything to us about the tour and stay coming up in Vrndavana. After that, at 5pm in the afternoon there was a big feast in the prasadam hall, since today is Jagannatha Misra (Lord Chaitanya’s father) feast. The prasadam was very delicious and the rest of the day devotees used to pack their bags and rest.
During our tour through South India, the Tirupati temple was like a home for us. The temple president and the devotees took loving care for Gurudeva and us. Everything was nice and perfect. The devotees from the temple are very loving, caring, and trusting. They do everything with devotion and love, from distributing prasadam to helping others. The temple is very much supportive to book distribution and Gurudeva respects this a lot. Hopefully we will have again the opportunity to visit the most beautiful temple in South India: The Sri Sri Radha Govinda Ashta Sakhi and Girirajji Lotus Temple, Iskcon.
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