This past weekend I travelled to
Gita Nagari in Port Royal, PA in order to celebrate the Victory Day of Lord Ramachandra over the demon Ravana, who is the personification of lust, anger and greed. I have always been fascinated with medieval forest epics like
Robin hood,
Willow, and
Lord of the Rings, but little did I know of the ancient classic, the epic of all epics, the
Ramayana. What is far out though is that the
Ramayana is no fictional tale, it is factual history. Lord Rama is considered one of the ten primary incarnations of Lord Krishna, along with Lord Buddha and Lord Nrsimhadeva.
It was such a blessing to return home. Gita Nagari has felt like home since the first time I visited. I immediately paid my respects to all of the great personalities in the neighborhood like Mother Kaulini, Mother Jagannatha, and Mother Kartamisa, along with Gopa, our three-legged dog, the cows, the calves, the watermelon plants, the tomato plants, the sunflowers who are still holdin' on, and certainly to the newest batch of kittens in the barn.
Soon the entire gang started filtering in and I was greeted by big smiles and open arms. Everyone is family at Gita Nagari, where everyone knows or wants to know your name and you feel free to just be yourself. I spent the morning cleaning the gorgeous hard-wood floor in the temple and the not-so-glorious floor in the prasadam hall and was cleaned up just in time for the arrival of His Holiness Varsana Swami, the resident sunnyasi at New Vrindavan. When Mother Kaulini and I approached his car to welcome him, Mother Kaulini called out, "AHA, finally we have captured you!" Maharaj blushed and with a little boy's smile replied, "I am very delighted to be captured!".
Maharaj gave lecture and recited most of the Ramayana with great enthusiasm and detailed intricacies. Afterwards, the kirtan started and we marched outside and down the path to the pasture where a 12-foot tall Ravana stood, complete with 10 demons heads and faces. Mother Kaulini told me the hair was harvested from a couple of goats some devotees take care of down the road.
Varsana Swami took a torch, lit it in the fire, and struck Ravana straight in the gut. Ravana immediately went up in flames, and to the onlookers surprise, fireworks began exploding from his heads. The crowd was delighted, giggling, dancing, smiles all around. Suddenly, fireworks began shooting into the crowd and the devotees were squealing, running, and clutching one another in fright. Thankfully no one was hurt and laughter ensued. The kirtan didn't skip a beat.
I found myself in such a state of bliss. I looked around and felt totally in love with everyone around me.
I couldn't stop taking pictures, especially close-up ones so I could really high-lite their facial expressions and genuine eyes, deep wells of compassion.
The kirtan continued back down to the temple and sumptuous prasadam was served out.
The last 8 days or so I have been engaged, perhaps, unengaged, in an intestinal cleanse, drinking only liquids, so I passed on the feast and served instead. Serving is where all the nectar is anyways.
The following morning, I woke up at 3am thinking it was 4. This ended up to be a great boon, for who should have walked into the temple bright and early but Varsana Swami himself. I had been fortunate only a handful of times to catch Varsana Swami in the temple at New Vrindavan early morning before 5am. This is an opportunity I recommend all to experience at least once in this lifetime. To hear Varsana Swami chant, is Vaikunta. It was and is beyond this realm, literally out of this world, and he kindly transports all within his vocal frequency to accompany him in the delight of Sri Sri Radha Damodara's pastimes.
Hare Krishna, party people! In Sri Mayapur Dhama, the party starts at 4am and the temple is packed full with hundreds of pilgrims every day. It's helpful for the ego to get a nice kick in the head while offering prayers and dandavats. But what can I say, I am in awe and reverence of the sincerity of the devotees here and have been blessed with this opportunity to see what it really means to love God.
I apologize for not keeping up with my posts. I actually arrived in Mayapur around November 13th, literally walked into the dhama after three days of travel, and was greeted by thousands of devotees on yatra celebrating Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance Day. An auspicious sign to say the least. The last two and half months have been full. Classes started at the end of November and we've already finished studying Nectar of Devotion, Nectar of Instruction and the first nine chapters of Bhagavad Gita. Four papers, 25 memorized verses, and one open and one closed book exam later, sastra is oozing out of my pores. Lets see if I can't apply it in my so-called devotional life.
All glories to the bucket. Living in India, one's life revolves around a bucket. Bathing, heating up water, washing my clothes, rinsing, cleaning, carrying, all your daily needs in the convenience of a large plastic bucket. Myself and Evelyn share a small room in the old ladies' ashram and it is hardly austere. The roof is the best part and I call it my office. 
Rice, dal, sabji, chutney, and sweet rice are also oozing out of my pores. Two words- maha prasadam. I have discovered the glories of black salt and the magnificent khirkadum. Papaya juice, black grapes and succulent mandarin oranges for breakfast. Fresh samosas, paneer sandwiches, ginger tea and gulabjamons for dinner. Yes, you can expect a feast when I return. 
