Nitai Gaura Nataraj

Its a long while since i blogged, though there have been many things to write about, i have stayed away, partly because i was busy and also partly because i just did not feeling like opening my heart out through the blog. Just as the elephant has two sets of teeth, the tusks and the actual teeth, i have been blogging in my mind, storing away all the treasures and gifts in the abyss of my brain and have been putting up pictures and miscellaneous stuff on the virtual blog..But recently devotees have been pushing me to write and share my thoughts again and this was approved by Gurudeva. In a class on Harinam Cintamani given during the holy month of Kartik, a few years ago, Gurudev mentions that in Kartik, one must read and share their realizations or even whatever they have been reading with others, therefore this post..

GURU IS ALWAYS RIGHT. A devotee family aspiring for HH Janananda Swami Maharaja, brought home new Gaura Nitai deities...All the expert artists who paint deities were away, so i ended up with the seva of painting the deities. HH Janananda Maharaja had named them, but except for him and Subal prabhu, no one knew the names. We have nimai nitai, nitai nawadwipchandra, nitai nadiabihari, nitai gaurasundar, nitai gaurachandra, in our congregation, so we were wondering what the names of these deities are going to be. Wanting to get into the right frame of mind before i paint the deities i decided to ask subal prabhu for the names. Though i did not want to breach the pact between him and maharaja that the names would be shared on the day of the welcoming, i thought it would help me meditate on their beautiful forms corresponding to those names. I knew it had to be something to do with sankirtan, given Maharaja's zeal for Sankirtan. Subal prabhu let me in on their names, Nitai Gaura Nataraj,the deities arrived in the first week of kartik and that they chose to come home to get painted puzzled me..After several hours of effort, i thought i had achieved the desired effect. Now it was time to move on to the clothes, see if everything fit correctly. They had beautiful accessories and while talking to the devotee, whose deities They were, she mentioned that Maharaja had inspected each and every piece of attire and jewelry and had remarked that the crowns might be too big. The crows were not removed from their packaging...i saw them and thought Maharaja must've mentioned the height, the height seemed too big and so tried them on and sure enough the crowns looked like overturned buckets and were way too big height and circumference wise. The lesson that i learnt is that Guru is always right. I also learnt that the deities being Nitai Gaura Nataraj were in a dancing mood and crowns would hinder their dancing. Because i had desired to meditate on the mood while dressing and painting them, they also gave me the seva of making turbans which required another 2 hours of effort, but it  as well worth it...one of the new devotees who has no prior exposure to ISKCON, or Gaura Nitai, could not take her eyes off them, in fact some of the photos are taken from her album, because she just could not stop herself..looking at their garlands and the way they were dressed, she said "Oh, so they are dancing." The names  had not been revealed yet. This made me smile, happy that the Sri Murti of the lord had achieved the desired effect of rousing a glimmer of our eternal identity of being Krishna's eternal servants and captivating the mind of atleast one person.

Mahatma Gandhi and Jagannath

It was a windy morning on Sunday, 2 October 2011. Sri Jagannath Baladev and Subhadramayi went on Their last Rathayatra of the year. The Destination was Queens Village, New York...As usual whether its someone's birthday, wedding anniversary or any other occasion, the devotees sneaked in the element of Krishna Consciousness by holding a Rathayatra along with the Mahatma Gandhi Peace March that was being held to commemorate the Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, father of the nation of India. While the crowds celebrated the peace march with a band and music and dance, the devotees reached out to the crowds with their exhilarating Kirtan. As the words " Gauranga, Gauranga GAURANGA" pounded the air, some people stood rooted to the sidewalk, others smiled and swayed slightly. Still others jumped into the kirtan in feigning enthusiasm. Jagannath Baladev and Subhadra, the most merciful forms of the Lord seemed to enjoy Their day out at Queens.
A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.
Bhagavad Gita 5.29
The devotees hoped to achieve just this, by distributing wonderful prasadam. The people gathered assumed that they were free from oppression, but freedom from the pangs of material miseries, beginning with the body and the senses is not easy unless one can reflect deeply on the cause of suffering and the ways to get out of it. Srila Prabhupada mentions in the purports of the 3 Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, that as long as creation exists, preaching will go on side by side to guide and connect the lost souls to Krishna. We pray to become instruments in this mission.
Here are some pictures of the Rathayatra......
https://picasaweb.google.com/kinkariofradha/October8201103?authuser=0&feat=directlink

The Swing Festival

In his description of the Jhulan Yatra festival Guru Maharaja HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami, gives us insight into the nature of activities that one must get ready for in the spiritual world. The Jhulan yatra is one such festival that celebrates the meeting of Radha Krishna and all the friends in the many groves of Vrindavan. We tried to recreate in our own small way with dolls, this beautiful pastime that takes place during the monsoon season.On the last day we dressed Srimati Radharani in a flower outfit and Shyam was dressed up as a uniquely charming blue bumble bee...Here are some pictures!

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

 Day 4

Day 5

Makanchor

Early this month (August) i was flooded with 4 visitors of a special kind. Each was a little baby whose reddish black hair was tied in a topknot, whose eyes were lined with kohl to keep those evil eyes at bay, whose dress fanned out like a blossoming lotus that encircled the nectar laden bee. In His chubby hands He held a laddu and was trying to crawl, maybe He was looking for His laddu crazy friend Batu, or maybe it is a butter ball which He is taking for His freind Dadhi.Yes, it was Laddu Gopal. He came from 4 different devotees who were on vacation, wanted to get painted etc.  Not one or two but 4 Gopals.I had a lot of fun caring for Gopal and reading about Him. In the photos you will find two of the  Gopals who visited.

Some may argue that worshipping Gopal is not in line with the Gaudiya tradition. To them I would like to copy the following lines from Srila Prabhupada's Nectar of Devotion, where Srila Rupa Goswami describes the exquisite beauty of Gopal.  

The childhood ages of Kṛṣṇa are divided into three periods: the beginning of kaumāra age, the middle of kaumāra age and the end of kaumāra age. During the beginning and middle of the kaumāra age, Kṛṣṇa's thighs are fatty, and the inner part of His eyes are whitish. There are signs of teeth coming out, and He is very mild and gentle. He is described as follows: "When Kṛṣṇa had only three or four teeth coming out of His gums, His thighs were fatty, His body was very, very short, and He began to enhance the parental love of Nanda Mahārāja and mother Yaśodā with the activities of His childish body. He was sometimes stepping with His legs again and again, sometimes crying, sometimes smiling, sometimes sucking His thumb and sometimes lying down flat. These are some of the different activities of the child Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa was lying down flat, sometimes sucking the toes of His feet, sometimes throwing His legs upward, sometimes crying and sometimes smiling, mother Yaśodā, seeing her son in such pastimes, did not show any sign of restricting Him, but rather began to watch her child with eagerness, enjoying these childhood pastimes." In the beginning of Kṛṣṇa's kaumāra age, the nails of tigers were set in a golden necklace about His neck. There was protective tilaka on His forehead, black mascara around His eyes and silk thread around His waist. These are the descriptions of Kṛṣṇa's dress at the beginning of the kaumāra age.

When Nanda Mahārāja saw the beauty of child Kṛṣṇa, with tiger nails on His chest, a complexion like the new-grown tamāla tree, beautifully decorated tilaka made with cow's urine, arm decorations of nice silk thread, and silk clothes tied around His waist — when Nanda Mahārāja saw his child like this, he never became satiated by the child's beauty.

In the middle kaumāra age, the upper portion of Kṛṣṇa's hair falls around His eyes. Sometimes He is covered with cloth around the lower part of His body, and sometimes He is completely naked. Sometimes He tries to walk, taking step by step, and sometimes He talks very sweetly, in broken language. These are some of the symptoms of His middle kaumāra age. He is thus described when mother Yaśodā once saw Him in His middle kaumāra age: His scattered hairs were touching His eyebrows, and His eyes were restless, but He could not express His feelings with proper words; still, when He was talking, His talk was so nice and sweet to hear. When mother Yaśodā looked at His little ears and saw Him naked, trying to run very quickly with His little legs, she was merged into the ocean of nectar. Kṛṣṇa's ornaments at this age are a pearl hanging from the septum of His nose, butter on His lotuslike palms, and some small bells hanging from His waist. It is stated that when mother Yaśodā saw that the child was moving, ringing the bells on His waist, smiling at her with a pearl between His nostrils and with butter on His hands, she became wonderfully pleased to see her little child in that fashion.

While Kṛṣṇa was in the middle of His kaumāra age, His waist became thinner, His chest became broader, and His head was decorated with His curly hairs, resembling the falling of the wings of a crow. These wonderful features of Kṛṣṇa's body never failed to astonish mother Yaśodā. At the end of His kaumāra age, Kṛṣṇa carried a small stick in His hand, His clothing was a little longer, and He had a knot around His waist, resembling the hood of a snake. In that dress He used to take care of the calves near the house, and sometimes He played with cowherd boys of about the same age. He had a slender flute and a buffalo-horn bugle, and sometimes He played on a flute made from the leaves of trees. These are some of the symptoms of the end of Kṛṣṇa's kaumāra age.

When Kṛṣṇa was a little grown up and was taking care of the small calves, He would often go near the forest. And when He was a little bit late returning home, Nanda Mahārāja would immediately get up on the candra-śālikā (a small shed built on the roof for getting a bird's-eye view all around), and he would watch for Him. Worrying about the late arrival of his little son, Nanda Mahārāja would remain on the candra-śālikā until he could indicate to his wife that Kṛṣṇa, surrounded by His little cowherd friends, was coming back with the calves. Nanda Mahārāja would point out the peacock feather on his child's head and would inform his beloved wife how the child was pleasing his eyes.

Mother Yaśodā would then address Nanda Mahārāja, "See my dear son, whose eyes are white, who has a turban on His head, a wrapper on His body and leg bells which tinkle very sweetly on His feet. He is coming near, along with His surabhi calves, and just see how He is wandering upon the sacred land of Vṛndāvana!"

Similarly, Mahārāja Nanda would address his wife, "My dear Yaśodā, just look at your offspring, Kṛṣṇa! See His blackish bodily luster, His eyes tinged with red color, His broad chest and His nice golden neck lace! How wonderful He looks, and how He is increasing my transcendental bliss more and more!"

When Kṛṣṇa, the beloved son of Nanda Mahārāja, steps into His kaiśora age, although He becomes more beautiful, His parents still consider Him to be in the paugaṇḍa age — even though He is between the ages of ten and fifteen. When Kṛṣṇa is in His paugaṇḍa age, some of His servants also accept Him as being in the kaiśora age. When Kṛṣṇa performs His childish pastimes, His general practice is to break the milk and yogurt pots, throw the yogurt in the courtyard and steal the cream from the milk. Sometimes He breaks the churning rod, and sometimes He throws butter on the fire. In this way, He increases the transcendental pleasure of His mother, Yaśodā.

From the Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 43 Parenthood.

 Gopal before and after.

 Huggies, Luvs or Pampers lose out before this designer wear.