Nitya Upaadhi: March 2012

Thursday, March 29, 2012

India Series: The place where Danda Mahotsav took place aka Panihati!

Mother Ganga

Thirsty devotee takes a sip of the Ganga water

Tulasi Maharani

After a dip

Tired Onlooker

India Series: Swarupganj, Surabhikunj and Swananda Sukhadha Kunja

Swarupganj/Swarupgunj, in West Bengal is the place where we can find the residence of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. Across the Hoolor Ghat, Swarupganj has wider streets and somehow has a more posh appearance than Mayapur itself, with English medium schools dotting the place.

In Swarupganj, we visited the home of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, Swananda Sukhada Kunja and also Surabhi Kunj where Khoda (Broker) Nitai started distributing the holy names of the Lord. The place is beautiful, situated on the banks of the Ganga, It is also the place from where Srila Bhaktivinod Thakura had a vision of the 'Adbhut Mandir' the present day Chandrodaya Mandir which is springing forth in the very place that Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur envisioned. While at Surabhikunj I desired to sing Khoda Nitai and Doyal Nitai Caitanya and had taken my song book along, but being too shy to sing i just hung around with my daughter who in turn was having a wonderful time feeding 'Budho baba' a hairy blackish-grey skinned calf , his matronly mother and his sisters Kajoli and Chetna. Budho baba had his fill of bamboo leaves and burped with pride from all the attention that he was getting. Soon it was time to Visit Swananda Sukhada Kunja, across from Surabhikunj. We bid goodbye to the caretakers who graciously extended a lunch invite to us. Thrilled at the though of honoring prasadam in the very place where the Sankirtan movement was started, we accepted and hastily hurried to our next stop. At Swananda Sukhada Kunja, we saw the bhajan Kutir of Srila Gaura Kishore Das Babaji Maharaj, beautiful Gaura Gadadhara deities of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur and participated in a Aroti ceremony for Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur at his Samadhi Mandir. We also visited his kutira where the Thakura would chant extensively, but had to retreat because a group of devotees from one of the local Maths was gathered to listen to their leader speak in the very place.

The next day we visited Prouda Maya at Parom tala, Mahadev and Dhameshwar, all at Nawadvip and then got into a rickshaw for the ghat..The Rickshaw ride that day was memorable, cause we were late, the roads were blocked for some reason and we had a fabulous rickshaw driver who spun his wheel around and wove through the crowds and sped till we reached the ghat. On reaching there we were pleasantly surprised to meet a Sannyasi, HH Bhaktivedanta Avadhoot Maharaj of Gaudiya Math whose parents were taking care of the house and the new temple that was coming up. Maharaj was talking to an Australian devotee and we joined. To my great surprise Maharaja started singing Khoda Nitai, Doyal Nitai Chaitanya and Akarodha Paramananda Nityananda Rai. We followed and read the translation. All obvious differences of Math, nationality etc., melted away, there was pure kirtan and everyone had Nitai's names on their lips. I was happy beyond my wildest imagination. I was thinking of two songs the previous day. Not only did i get those two but also a bonus one plus a small explanation by Maharaja and a glimpse into the original handwriting of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur. I was musing over our good fortune at being allowed a peek into the past in this wonderful way.

Vrinda and I stayed on Surabhikunj and rolled in the dust, something which we had learnt from our canine friend in Ekachakra.That day we met a very special boy who was barely 7. He had a beautiful name

" Nawadvip" which he said he had received from HH Bhaktivedanta Avadhoot Maharaj. His original name was Piyush. Nawadvip had deep penetrating eyes, black, oiled hair and an infectious smile. He quickly became Vrinda's friend. Vrinda speaks broken Hindi and Nawadvip can only understand Hindi but cannot speak but they were communicating with ease. Another reminder that when it comes to Krishna and Krishna consciousness we are all in it together, worshipping the same Lord, without any barriers. Isn't that what the the Thakura prophesized and visualized? He taught her some lessons in Vaisnava etiquette like handling the song sheets with the right hand etc...We then sat on the cement benches atop the steps leading to the Ganga/Bhakti Vinod Thakur Ghat and chanted while waiting for the Prasadam. Nawadvip told us that the river was actually Yamuna and he said it with the seriousness of a soul who knows the place at a different level. When we asked him if he chanted the Mahamantra he said he did and when we said that we did not see him chant he replied by saying that he chanted in his mind. That blew us and we quietly smiled at this smart,old soul.

Prasadam was sumptious with sak, fried eggplant wedges, paneer sabji, dhal, puris fried in ghee and creamy kheer...Maharaj personally served us though we were reluctant to receive seva from him. We finished prasadam and headed back to Mayapur, we needed rest from the day's happenings and the heavy meal.

The following words taken from the website of Surabhikunj and HH Bhaktivedanta Avadhoot Maharaja sums up my experience here:

Qualification gives the right to chant the Name. Disqualification means no rights to the Name. The qualified can take any of the above mentioned posts.

Qualification : whether brahmin, ksatriyavaisya, sudra or lower, or whether sannyasi, brahmacari, grhastha, or vanaprastha, if one has pure devotion, he can become an employee of the Nama Hatta, and take up any of the posts.

(Eradication of all material desire, freedom from jnana and karma, and favorable service to Krsna, comprises pure devotion. According to the devotion in ones heart one has qualification, and according to the devotion there will be freedom from disqualifications).

Here is a link to the website http://surabhikunjamath.blogspot.com/ and here is another for Swananda Sukhadha Kunja http://mayapur.com/node/1407

Khoda Nitai is our only hope!

Friday, March 16, 2012

India series: Simple and Sublime Ekachakra Dham.

Ekachakra Dham, is a beautiful place incredibly mystical and simple. The ride from Mayapur to Ekachakra is about 41/2 hours, the last stretch is really bumpy, the roads are practically non existent and are full of ditches. On reaching Ekachakra a beautiful arch welcomes you to the birthplace of Nityananda, the most merciful Lord. The ISKCON temple is home to a set of very beautiful deities Nitai Gaurachandra, who appear to be like two naughty little boys ready to play a prank on the so called caste brahmanas. The place is like a hidden jewel, still untouched by the commercialism, that has now hit Mayapur with full intensity. Also present is a very life like murti of Srila Prabhupada. The first two days in Ekachakra were very austere. Being winter, the bath water was bone chilling and to top it there was no mirror in the guest house. That was a greater austerity than the cold water..No mirror, for a narcissist like me is an Austerity indeed. With crooked tilaks and plain faces we went downstairs for the deity greeting.

The actual Janmasthan or birthplace of Nityananda Prabhu is a stone's throw from our ISKCON temple. The deities there (see the video attached) are extremely beautiful. Big kohl lined eyes and bright smiles greet a weary visitor to Janmasthan. The powerful energy in the place draws you into a quiet introspection where time stands still. You are in the association of mercy personified and you want to grab every bit of it. The deity of dancing Nimai there is so captivating. Every day of the 4 days that we were there, we made it a point to have darshan of these deities and spend time chanting under the banyan tree and in the courtyard of the temple. A little distance away from Janmasthan is the temple of the Chaitanya Saraswat Math. where we encountered beautiful, tall, huge deities of Gaura Nitai, a Goshala and an enthusiastic Mataji who preaches the glories of Harinam.

We visited a few places in and around Ekachakra. Among them what stands out in my memory are the roguish boys who were near the Banka Raya Temple. The temple where Nitai is said to have merged into the Banka Raya deity. Taking pictures is prohibited there, so i do not have any. A blind Prabhu was completely absorbed in singing for Nitai and recounted some pastimes, this made us feel that he had vision, but of another kind, and was on another dimension, not of this world.That side of Ekachakra is more boisterous and reminds one of Vrindavan. The kids stretch out their hands screaming " Haribol Paisa do!" Little do they know that they have the wealth of all the worlds in their grip. The dust from Nitai's lotus feet!

All around Ekachakra one can strongly feel the presence of Nitai and his Dwadasa Gopalas. At Sarva kund, or Hantugada Kunda, we witnessed Him in his serpentine form. My husband sat down to worship his salagram shilas, while Vrinda and I waited, chanting and looking. All of a sudden we noticed a streak in the water, which was heading towards the bank of the kunda. As it neared us, we could see him, a water snake, blackish in color, suddenly he turned course and went away towards the floating debris. Still mesmerized by the water and the temple spire that is above the water, we saw another one go up the temple spire and curl around the Sudharsan chakra atop the spire. Vrinda and I felt a chill running through our spines.. As we filled the Charanamrita from the kunda that had bathed our shilas into our bottle, i hesitated for one second before grabbing the bottle and having a sip of Charanamrita. Can't say what thoughts were going on in my mind, except for the thought that Nitai is very much present there.

Another incident that happened during Mangal aroti..As they were concluding the Mangal arotik song, in our ISKCON temple, there was a huge knock on the gate and clanging of the chains that held the gates together, accompanied by loud voices demanding something in Bangla...At 5 AM in the morning it felt a little out of place.The security guards surveyed the gate warily. My wild mind; started running in a negative direction thinking that it must be some dacoits, maybe it was a riot, never once did it think, "We are right in front of Nitai Gaurachandra and Prabhupada, what harm can befall us?" That is my Komala Shradda, weak faith. It turns out that they were a bus load of tourists on their way to some festival, stopping by to have darshan of Nitai Gaura. I heaved a sigh of relief settling down for japa, trying to understand my lessons from this incident. The Lord seeks out Arjuna's intelligence and argues with him to convince him to surrender to him in the second Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. Through Arjuna He taught us that though He was present before the the confused Arjuna, Arjuna at that point in time was unable to see that. Here, I was experiencing what it means to surrender, at my level. I was no less than a Mayavadi then, thinking that the deities were mere wood or stone. Begging Nitai to reveal the secrets of surrender i chanted intensely in a more humble frame of mind.

The devotees there are very friendly and practise what they preach. One morning after the Shringar Arati, i found Kanai prabhu mopping the floor and washing the temple floor. It so happened that one little girl from a neighboring village had passed urine on the floor. Kanai prabhu did not complain, did not grudgingly pick up the mop. It was just so natural a response that the Lord's temple has been dirtied and needs to be cleaned. The entire group of devotees were in that mood. "When will I develop such a mood?"The most remarkable attitude seen in almost all devotees there is complete focus on harinam. We were treated to the most melodious harinam that stirs your soul in an unique, inimitable fashion. All that we did in Ekachakra was eat chant and sing in Kirtan. Simple living. Nitai rules and is the center of all activities. You are greeted with a Jai Nitai on the streets and the rickshaw wallah knows more sthala Purana than anyone else.

There were many places that we visited in Ekachakra and I made very secret prayers to our Nitai Gaura deities to fulfill them and remember me after this lifetime if cannot remember Them. All I can say is that I lost my heart in Ekachakra. Its a beautiful place so full of mercy that everyone must attempt to, desire to visit it, In the pictures and video we have captured a small glimpse of Ekachakra for your viewing pleasure and pray that we all get a chance to visit this magical place of Nityananda Avadhuta as many times as we can.
Nitai Nitai Sitanath Gaura Premanande.

Here is the link to the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7B_tLoUAfI&feature=g-upl&context=G28a12fcAUAAAAAAAAAA