Living in
Sridhama Mayapur is like living in another dimension. Life revolves around
Sri Nama and the
maha mantra oozes from the pores of all the living entities. The island itself exhibits the finest in bike culture, cow culture, temple culture, and brief glimpses of
Vedic culture. But no fear, the technological
advances of the modern world are no stranger to
Mayapur.
The island of
Mayapur is most significant because it is the birthplace of
Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Thus, this spiritually potent
tirtha is covered with temples. On the weekends, I try to visit some of the temples and take
darshan of the deities. The actual
neem tree where Lord
Caitanya was born under is less than one mile from the
ISKCON mandir! It is an eventful walk, full of colorful, local characters.
The water buffalo are my favorite. They are so well-mannered and work like anything. They are
massive and their strength is incomprehensible.
This is rural living. Most of the island is under cultivation. The
brilliant green of youthful rice paddies stretches far into the distance.
A day in the life of a
MIHET (
Mayapur Institute for Higher Education & Training) student...
Here are some shots from my classroom. You can imagine how intense it is to study
Vedic philosophy. Yet, the teachers are expert and engage us in various interactive
exercises that make the philosophy come to life.
My classmates are awesome. We are around 30 women from over 15 countries including
Sweden, Greece, China, South Africa, Slovenia, Russia, Peru,
Uruguay, Chile, England, Spain, Germany, etc. The diversity is amazing and makes everything so much sweeter.
There is a core group of hardcore
Hari Namsters who go out on
Hari Nam every single day. Often times they will leave
Mayapur and travel by boat to neighboring islands. The
accordion always comes along. Whenever I hear it, my heart skips a beat and I get excited the way a little girl feels when she goes to the circus.
Accordion plus the
maha mantra equals bliss.
Unfortunately, I am not able to accompany the
Hari Nam during the week, being so busy with class and all, but on the weekends I try to represent. I have always been a sucker for fancy dance moves, and, most of the time, the locals so us how its really done.
Every Saturday night since December, the small Radha-Madhava deities come out of the temple and are royally treated to a ride around the complex on their bull-driven chariot. The atmosphere is surcharged with excitement, the air filled with incense, and flower petals are showered from the rooftops. 
Everything about the procession is beautiful. Yet, despite drums, bells, cymbals, and kirtan, the bulls remain calm and composed. They are gentle giants and embody the self-realized quality of tolerance. 
The deities are offered opulent foodstuffs along the way and occasionally we are treated to their remnants (prasadam). Reach, reach, reach!
One maha cherry and one maha grape! My life is complete (at least my Saturday night)!
The kids are stoked.
Before the procession, many devotees draw and design elaborate chalk and sand paintings on the pavement throughout the streets.
And thus goes by another surreal Saturday night in Sridhama Mayapur.
We all need some education...
Unfortunately the world is lacking qualified teachers...
But 
Hey! Kids...
Tad 
All and all, it's just another book on the shelf.
