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!