When the sun moves to touch the horizon, a recording of the beautiful shehnai begins. It's not the sound of a bird, but a magical-sounding horn accompanied by drone and tabla. When our guru attended this annual festival, which he inaugurated in the early ‘70s, he hired professional musicians to play and enhance the meditative spirit. He, Prabhupada, was very pleased with the sound of the shehnai. It was recorded. https://youtu.be/r9nVtgyZoyw
As that shehnai was projected over the loud speaker outside the samadhi where I was chanting japa, who should appear? Not Krishna, not the great monk, Chaitanya, but Gaura, my friend. He came to tell me that although there are some physical challenges for him in India—allergies—he's really appreciating the company around him. Spiritual people are a reinforcement for the soul, we concluded.
In Mayapura, bhakti yogis come from all over the world, annually. These pilgrims, some trained, some less so, are here for a shakti/bhakti boost. It's true that the place has a certain draw for some locals as if it's Disneyland. The cameras are out shooting all the features of the place. The visitors, especially the women, come dressed in the most colourful saris.
Meanwhile, at the meeting, I admired the terracotta water pitchers that we were supplied with. Gone are the plastic water bottles. That is a sign of progress.
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