Anyone who’s visited Bali will attest to the fact that there is no place like Bali anywhere in this world! Known as The Land of Gods, Bali is not only famous for its volcanic landscapes, terraced paddy fields, pristine beaches, friendly locals but also for it’s rich and colourful Balinese Hindu culture.
Bali is also home to more than 1000 practicing ISKCON devotees with 7 main ISKCON temples. In the recent years ISKCON devotees have been facing some challenges in practicing Krishna consciousness in the public sphere in Bali. Devotees have not been able to do Nagar Sankirtan, food and book distribution or even wear devotional attire in public for fear of back lash from the local authorities. Devotees have been trying to keep their enthusiasm alive by increasing their study of Srila Prabhupada’s books, discussing scriptures in small groups or via zoom meetings etc.
ISKCON Singaraja temple president, HG Sudhama Gopal Das, was meditating on how to keep the devotees enthused in these difficult times. He envisioned a program in an outdoor setting where devotees could chant and dance in the open and come dressed in Vaishnava attire without any anxiety.
By Krishna’s inconceivable arrangement, HG Rati Manjari Devi Dasi, the owner of a chain of resorts in Bali, very graciously offered her resort in Kirana, Tembok for this Cida Dahi Utsav. This resort is located by the beach on the Northern part of Bali.
Devotees were thrilled at the prospect of once again coming together and chanting the Lord’s Holy name in the open without fear. Devotees throughout Bali started making plans to travel to North Bali for this festival which was held on 21st May 2023.
HG Sudhama Gopal prabhu extended a special invitation requesting HH Subhag Swami to grace the festival with his presence. HH Subhag Swami arrived 2 days prior to the festival to encourage and guide the devotees in the preparation for the festival.
Preparations started 2 weeks before the festival with sending out invitations to the different temples and various senior leaders of ISKCON Indonesia. Devotees from various parts of Bali as well as other parts of Indonesia started arriving the day before the festival. About 100 devotees came together to set up the altar, decorations, flower arrangements etc.
The program started with the arrival of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai – 6 sets of Gaura Nitai deities from the different temples took Their seat on the altar. HH Subhag Swami then went on to perform the arati ceremony. The devotees then joined Sri Sri Gaura Nitai in procession to the adjacent beach where Their Lordships engaged in sporting activities in the water.
This was followed by a special Abhiseka and a discourse on the Cida Dahi pastime by HH Subhag Swami. Maharaj reinforced the point that once will not be able to receive the mercy of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu unless he first receives the mercy of Lord Nityananda Prabhu.
tomāra kṛpā vinā keha ‘caitanya’ nā pāya
tumi kṛpā kaile tāṅre adhameha pāya
“No one can attain the shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu without Your mercy, but if You are merciful, even the lowest of men ca attain shelter at His lotus feet.” – CC Antya 6.131
Youth from various temples performed 2 dramas for the pleasure of Their Lordships and the assembled devotees. One drama depicted the Cida Dahi pastime and the other was a depiction of the pastime of Krishna experiencing a headache.
The next part of the festival with the preparation of the Cida Dahi offerings. HG Suniti Devi Dasi expertly prepared all the ingredients under the guidance of HH Subhag Swami and Maharaj enthusiastically mixed all the ingredients and prepared the offerings for Sri Sri Gaura Nitai.
No festival is complete without Prasadham. In addition to the nectarean Cida Dahi prasadham, HG Sanjaya Das and his team of devotees made sure all the devotees were fully satisfied by preparing sumptuous Balinese prasadham.
Devotees spent the rest of the evening associating with one another after a long period of not being able to meet. Many devotees became emotional while expressing their gratitude to the organisers as after such a long time they had an opportunity to once again gather together and perform Sankirtan for the pleasure of Their Lordships.
Devotees returned to their respective homes with renewed enthusiasm. They felt confident that their troubles would soon be mitigated and once again they will be able to commence their preaching activities such as Nagar Sankirtan, Food distribution, Book distribution, University preaching etc.
Our gratitude to the senior members of ISKCON Indonesia who joined us for the festival – HG Sundarananda Das, HG Prema Manjari DD, HG Agastya Muni Das, HG Nirsingha Chaitanya Das, HG Adi Purusha Das and others. They have been the backbone of preaching in Indonesia and have been dedicated to spreading the message of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu all over Indonesia.
ISKCON Singaraj would like to thank the GBCs for Indonesia, HH Ramai Swami and HH Kavichandra Swami for their valuable guidance and support. Our heartfelt gratitude to HH Subhag Swami who is always inspiring devotees in Indonesia to find innovative ways to preach Krishan Consciousness in this largest Muslim country in the world.
Jaya Cida Dahi Mahotsav ki…Jaya!
Jaya Srila Raghunath Goswami Ki…Jaya!
Jaya Sri Sri Gaura Nitai Ki…Jaya!
Jaya Srila Prabhupada Ki…Jaya!
More photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CiA61KoR74EuJJXzkNp4eS9dhZ_1NZ-Z?usp=sharing
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=109143
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