Alakananda mataji and myself arrived in Kathmandu on the 28th of March - it
was a relief to come to a cooler climate. This year it had been
exceptionally hot in India and Bangladesh, and Nepal being the Himalayan
country is always refreshingly cool around this time of the year.....
We spent time associating with the devotees in SB classes, evening programs
with Prabhupada Katha, and the weekly Saturday program in both the city
center and also at Budhanilkanta temple.
And we had a nice harinam through the old part of town, chanting the holy
name around the Tibetan Hindu temples, which unfortunately have become mere
monuments for tourists.....
My main focus was to prepare for our Bhakti Sangam festival, which was
sceduled from the 10th til 14th of April.
Bhatta Ragunath Prabhu, disciple of HH Radhanath Swami and temple president
of our Budhanilkanta temple, took up the mission of making all the necessary
arrangements, and he went out of his way to organise even little details -
putting up washing lines with clothes' pegs, so the devotees participating
in the festival could dry their cloth nicely, and setting up arrangements
for drinking water supplies, etc.
He had a nice crew of helpers coming from the preaching center in the city,
and he followed perfectly his Guru Maharaja's example of setting the mood of
Vaisnava hospitality and affectionate care......
Around six hundred practising devotees assembled on the 10th of April at
Hare Krishna Dhama in order to participate in the first Bhakti Sangam
festival in Nepal. Only devotees who are chanting a minimum of six rounds
daily were allowed to join this confidential assembly of sadhu sanga, in
order to ensure a minimal level of understanding and commitment to the
process of devotional service.
Devotees had come from the most hidden corners of the Himalayan country to
join this three-day event at our beautiful property in Budhanilkanta, 12
km's outside of Kathmandu city.
Sri Sri Radha-Govinda-Hari, Sri Sri Gaur Nitai and Sri Sri Jagannath,
Baladev and Subhadra are the Lordships of the establishment, situated on the
edge of the mountains and overseeing the valley towards Kathmandu.
The holy river Visnumati is flowing through this beautiful property, which
is further adorned with big rocks and trees giving it a special atmosphere
and natural beauty.
The facilities are nice: there is a temple building with residential
quarters, a guesthouse, a little restaurant, a small goshala, and on some
terrassed land flowers and vegetables are being cultivated.
For the festival the visiting devotees were camping in big tents, and the
hosting devotees had gone out of their way to create an atmosphere of
hospitality and affectionate care.
As special guests we welcomed HH Lokanath Maharaja, HH Bhakti Bringa Govinda
Maharaja, HH Bhakti Purusottama Maharaja, HH Mahavisnu Maharaja and HH
Prabhavisnu Maharaja, with my humble self being the host of the event.
The occasion was named "the festival of the Holy Names" - devotees were
deeply absorbed in hearing Krsna Katha during the day related to the Holy
Name, and the evenings were spent blissfully chanting Hare Krishna and
dancing for several hours in sweet and melodious kirtans - on the last
evening going past midnight.
The whole atmosphere was simply surcharged with great joy and jubilation,
giving devotees a direct experience of a higher level of happiness far
beyond the material platform of sense enjoyment - something they had never
witnessed before: the Vaikuntha atmosphere.
Devotees compared the event to a 'bomb hitting Nepal and creating a
wonderful explosion' - a revolution within their heart and consciousness!
HH Mahavisnu Maharaja, who has been serving the Nepal yatra as the regional
secretary for more than 30 years called it the most successful and wonderful
event in the history of ISKCON Nepal. In his closing comments he stated that
no other festival in Nepal has affected devotees' hearts as much as this
one.
In CC Madya 3,203 Srila Prabhupada comments in the purport:
"If one has the proper means and wealth, he should occasionally invite the
devotees of Lord Caitanya who are engaged in preaching all over the world
and hold a festival at home simply by distributing prasadam and talking
about Krsnsna during the day and holding congregational chanting for at
least three hours in the evening. This procedure must be adopted in all
centers of the Krsnsna consciousness movement."
All the devotees participating in this event could feel the spiritual
strength and unity gained through such festivals. Not only does our bhakti
lata receive extra nourishment through intensified sravanam kirtanam, but at
the same time the mood of service to the Vaisnavas is being cultivated more
deeply - otherwise such festivals simply cannot take place. Furthermore the
whole event was absolutely free of charge - no festival fees were taken,
which truly conquered the devotees' hearts. It was a festival of affection
and loving exchanges: hearing confidential topics and speaking
confidentially, giving and accepting tasty prasadam, and at the closing
ceremony gifts were presented to all the honourable guest speakers: woolen
chadars and the traditional Nepali hat, which symbolizes the Himalayan
mountains.
Investing into devotees' spiritual upliftment is truly the best investment -
it is of eternal benefit. If we take care of devotees and ongoingly give
nourishment and inspiration, then they will in return give their very life
to the service of the Lord and His devotees.......
I enjoyed playing the role of the host, opening the festival by offering
glorifying words about every guest speaker - also Mahavisnu Maharaja and
Prabhavisnu Maharaja, who are well known to the Nepali yatra and don't
really require an introduction.
I couldn't help but remember HH Niranjana Swami's mood when he opens the
festival in Ukraine - aspiring to follow in his footsteps.....
The closing ceremony was similarly nice - each Maharaja said some words of
gratitude and shared some realizations, and I gave a concluding speech
giving the credit to HH Niranjana Swami - my source of inspiration, and to
my father, who left me the financial means to facilitate the event. He had
been very fond of the Nepali Himalayas and the Kaligandaki River, and he had
several times visited our temple here at Budhanilkanta. And I felt assured
that he would be fully satisfied at seeing this festival.
Mahavisnu Swami's comments truly touched my heart - very humble, honest and
sweet. He confessed in the opening ceremony that he was first a little
doubtful about the idea of this event. He told how he once had attended the
Russian festival, and how he had felt a little lost there - like a moskito
amongst elefants. And since then he had tried to avoid such kind of
festivals.....
He concluded: "Looks like Krsna knows best what I need - now Devaki mataji
is bringing this festival to Nepal....."
He made a sweet comment in the closing ceremony, saying: "Yes, I was
wondering what the effect will be of this festival. And I have to admit: it
certainly had a deep and wonderful effect on my heart! I came to understand
that also Sannyasis sometimes need a mother who gives us what we need....! I
hope we will have many more such kind of festivals, and then I will also get
a chance to develop actual love to Krsna....."
Mataji Monika from Dhaka had come to take part in the event, and so did
several of HH Prabhavisnu Swami's disciples who are serving now in
India - even Nimbarka Prabhu came, who was one of our first devotees joining
in Riga/Latvia in the early ninethies'.
Alakananda mataji and Monika were busy cooking the prasadam for the VIP's,
together with local matajis.
I enjoyed taking care of all the Maharajas, trying to make them feel
comfortable and happy, and arranging the scedule for their seminars. I
derived great pleasure and satisfaction seeing every devotee as my
personally invited guest, and devotees happily reciprocated with blissful
smiles and glances, offering appreciative words of gratitude. Devotees
perfectly reciprocated by humbly and affectionately accepting the little
gift I was presenting.....
We tend to forget that accepting is also part of the loving exchange - not
only giving.
Sometimes this is even more difficult than giving....
At the closing ceremony the matajis presented some gifts to me - three
woolen chadars of different sizes and qualities, and some donations.
Again and again devotees expressed their gratitude and appreciation,
explaining how this festival had given them a very new and wonderful
experience - something they would like to relish twice a year, and for more
than three days.....
The effect had gone far beyond my expectations......
On the 14th of April - Nepali New Year, we concluded the whole event with
the annual commemoration of the opening of the temple. Many life members and
Hindu people came, there were various ceremonies and an abhisekha of
festival Deities, a lecture and cultural programs with drama and dancing.
However, the mood and atmosphere on this fourth day was indeed different
than during the other three days - less condensed.....
It was a public program - the intimacy and sweetness was noticebly diluted.
I had the opportunity to take BB Govinda Maharaja's team with Alakananda
mataji and Monika to some places of interest in Kathmandu. We spent time at
the Bodnath temple of Lord Buddha, and we also visited the banks of the
Bagmati River near the famous Pashupatinath Temple of Lord Siva. Along the
banks are the burning ghats where dead bodies are being cremated - always a
sobering sight.....
And I spent some time in discussion with Maharaja. His kirtans had been a
real hit in Nepal - devotees had felt so amazingly blissful......
Maharaja assured me his participation in the following years to come - I
could sense he liked Nepal....
Maharaja decided to spend three days in seclusion, traveling up to Muktinath
in the Himalayan mountains - walking and chanting.....
On the 20th of April I returned to Dhaka - Alakananda mataji flew off to
Riga/Latvia, where we will meet again on the 12th of May.....
Your servant, Devaki dd
was a relief to come to a cooler climate. This year it had been
exceptionally hot in India and Bangladesh, and Nepal being the Himalayan
country is always refreshingly cool around this time of the year.....
We spent time associating with the devotees in SB classes, evening programs
with Prabhupada Katha, and the weekly Saturday program in both the city
center and also at Budhanilkanta temple.
And we had a nice harinam through the old part of town, chanting the holy
name around the Tibetan Hindu temples, which unfortunately have become mere
monuments for tourists.....
My main focus was to prepare for our Bhakti Sangam festival, which was
sceduled from the 10th til 14th of April.
Bhatta Ragunath Prabhu, disciple of HH Radhanath Swami and temple president
of our Budhanilkanta temple, took up the mission of making all the necessary
arrangements, and he went out of his way to organise even little details -
putting up washing lines with clothes' pegs, so the devotees participating
in the festival could dry their cloth nicely, and setting up arrangements
for drinking water supplies, etc.
He had a nice crew of helpers coming from the preaching center in the city,
and he followed perfectly his Guru Maharaja's example of setting the mood of
Vaisnava hospitality and affectionate care......
Around six hundred practising devotees assembled on the 10th of April at
Hare Krishna Dhama in order to participate in the first Bhakti Sangam
festival in Nepal. Only devotees who are chanting a minimum of six rounds
daily were allowed to join this confidential assembly of sadhu sanga, in
order to ensure a minimal level of understanding and commitment to the
process of devotional service.
Devotees had come from the most hidden corners of the Himalayan country to
join this three-day event at our beautiful property in Budhanilkanta, 12
km's outside of Kathmandu city.
Sri Sri Radha-Govinda-Hari, Sri Sri Gaur Nitai and Sri Sri Jagannath,
Baladev and Subhadra are the Lordships of the establishment, situated on the
edge of the mountains and overseeing the valley towards Kathmandu.
The holy river Visnumati is flowing through this beautiful property, which
is further adorned with big rocks and trees giving it a special atmosphere
and natural beauty.
The facilities are nice: there is a temple building with residential
quarters, a guesthouse, a little restaurant, a small goshala, and on some
terrassed land flowers and vegetables are being cultivated.
For the festival the visiting devotees were camping in big tents, and the
hosting devotees had gone out of their way to create an atmosphere of
hospitality and affectionate care.
As special guests we welcomed HH Lokanath Maharaja, HH Bhakti Bringa Govinda
Maharaja, HH Bhakti Purusottama Maharaja, HH Mahavisnu Maharaja and HH
Prabhavisnu Maharaja, with my humble self being the host of the event.
The occasion was named "the festival of the Holy Names" - devotees were
deeply absorbed in hearing Krsna Katha during the day related to the Holy
Name, and the evenings were spent blissfully chanting Hare Krishna and
dancing for several hours in sweet and melodious kirtans - on the last
evening going past midnight.
The whole atmosphere was simply surcharged with great joy and jubilation,
giving devotees a direct experience of a higher level of happiness far
beyond the material platform of sense enjoyment - something they had never
witnessed before: the Vaikuntha atmosphere.
Devotees compared the event to a 'bomb hitting Nepal and creating a
wonderful explosion' - a revolution within their heart and consciousness!
HH Mahavisnu Maharaja, who has been serving the Nepal yatra as the regional
secretary for more than 30 years called it the most successful and wonderful
event in the history of ISKCON Nepal. In his closing comments he stated that
no other festival in Nepal has affected devotees' hearts as much as this
one.
In CC Madya 3,203 Srila Prabhupada comments in the purport:
"If one has the proper means and wealth, he should occasionally invite the
devotees of Lord Caitanya who are engaged in preaching all over the world
and hold a festival at home simply by distributing prasadam and talking
about Krsnsna during the day and holding congregational chanting for at
least three hours in the evening. This procedure must be adopted in all
centers of the Krsnsna consciousness movement."
All the devotees participating in this event could feel the spiritual
strength and unity gained through such festivals. Not only does our bhakti
lata receive extra nourishment through intensified sravanam kirtanam, but at
the same time the mood of service to the Vaisnavas is being cultivated more
deeply - otherwise such festivals simply cannot take place. Furthermore the
whole event was absolutely free of charge - no festival fees were taken,
which truly conquered the devotees' hearts. It was a festival of affection
and loving exchanges: hearing confidential topics and speaking
confidentially, giving and accepting tasty prasadam, and at the closing
ceremony gifts were presented to all the honourable guest speakers: woolen
chadars and the traditional Nepali hat, which symbolizes the Himalayan
mountains.
Investing into devotees' spiritual upliftment is truly the best investment -
it is of eternal benefit. If we take care of devotees and ongoingly give
nourishment and inspiration, then they will in return give their very life
to the service of the Lord and His devotees.......
I enjoyed playing the role of the host, opening the festival by offering
glorifying words about every guest speaker - also Mahavisnu Maharaja and
Prabhavisnu Maharaja, who are well known to the Nepali yatra and don't
really require an introduction.
I couldn't help but remember HH Niranjana Swami's mood when he opens the
festival in Ukraine - aspiring to follow in his footsteps.....
The closing ceremony was similarly nice - each Maharaja said some words of
gratitude and shared some realizations, and I gave a concluding speech
giving the credit to HH Niranjana Swami - my source of inspiration, and to
my father, who left me the financial means to facilitate the event. He had
been very fond of the Nepali Himalayas and the Kaligandaki River, and he had
several times visited our temple here at Budhanilkanta. And I felt assured
that he would be fully satisfied at seeing this festival.
Mahavisnu Swami's comments truly touched my heart - very humble, honest and
sweet. He confessed in the opening ceremony that he was first a little
doubtful about the idea of this event. He told how he once had attended the
Russian festival, and how he had felt a little lost there - like a moskito
amongst elefants. And since then he had tried to avoid such kind of
festivals.....
He concluded: "Looks like Krsna knows best what I need - now Devaki mataji
is bringing this festival to Nepal....."
He made a sweet comment in the closing ceremony, saying: "Yes, I was
wondering what the effect will be of this festival. And I have to admit: it
certainly had a deep and wonderful effect on my heart! I came to understand
that also Sannyasis sometimes need a mother who gives us what we need....! I
hope we will have many more such kind of festivals, and then I will also get
a chance to develop actual love to Krsna....."
Mataji Monika from Dhaka had come to take part in the event, and so did
several of HH Prabhavisnu Swami's disciples who are serving now in
India - even Nimbarka Prabhu came, who was one of our first devotees joining
in Riga/Latvia in the early ninethies'.
Alakananda mataji and Monika were busy cooking the prasadam for the VIP's,
together with local matajis.
I enjoyed taking care of all the Maharajas, trying to make them feel
comfortable and happy, and arranging the scedule for their seminars. I
derived great pleasure and satisfaction seeing every devotee as my
personally invited guest, and devotees happily reciprocated with blissful
smiles and glances, offering appreciative words of gratitude. Devotees
perfectly reciprocated by humbly and affectionately accepting the little
gift I was presenting.....
We tend to forget that accepting is also part of the loving exchange - not
only giving.
Sometimes this is even more difficult than giving....
At the closing ceremony the matajis presented some gifts to me - three
woolen chadars of different sizes and qualities, and some donations.
Again and again devotees expressed their gratitude and appreciation,
explaining how this festival had given them a very new and wonderful
experience - something they would like to relish twice a year, and for more
than three days.....
The effect had gone far beyond my expectations......
On the 14th of April - Nepali New Year, we concluded the whole event with
the annual commemoration of the opening of the temple. Many life members and
Hindu people came, there were various ceremonies and an abhisekha of
festival Deities, a lecture and cultural programs with drama and dancing.
However, the mood and atmosphere on this fourth day was indeed different
than during the other three days - less condensed.....
It was a public program - the intimacy and sweetness was noticebly diluted.
I had the opportunity to take BB Govinda Maharaja's team with Alakananda
mataji and Monika to some places of interest in Kathmandu. We spent time at
the Bodnath temple of Lord Buddha, and we also visited the banks of the
Bagmati River near the famous Pashupatinath Temple of Lord Siva. Along the
banks are the burning ghats where dead bodies are being cremated - always a
sobering sight.....
And I spent some time in discussion with Maharaja. His kirtans had been a
real hit in Nepal - devotees had felt so amazingly blissful......
Maharaja assured me his participation in the following years to come - I
could sense he liked Nepal....
Maharaja decided to spend three days in seclusion, traveling up to Muktinath
in the Himalayan mountains - walking and chanting.....
On the 20th of April I returned to Dhaka - Alakananda mataji flew off to
Riga/Latvia, where we will meet again on the 12th of May.....
Your servant, Devaki dd
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