Druze Journey to India

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The Druze Journey

to Mayapur

>From a report by Hanuman Dasa, Written by Pournamasi Dasi

http://www.harekrishnaworld.com/stories/druze.htm

 

Mayapur, India—Just after Gurupuja, at 7:45 a.m., the Druze entered

the temple in Mayapur. This was the end of a very long quest for

these people, who live a secluded life in Israel. Their books have

predicted that their final teachings would be concluded in

India...and they have certainly become aware of this truth. Upon

entering the temple, the Druze offered all respects, including

offerings of flowers and incense to each Deity.

 

 

While sitting at the right of Prabhupada's Vyasasana, they sat

listening amongst such godbrothers as Prabhuvisnu Swami, Bir Krishna

Swami, Dhananjaya Dasa, Mahaman Dasa, and Kadamba Kanana Swami.

 

The first among them to address the devotees was Sheik Hussain, and

he spoke as follows:

 

"We have never felt God's presence as much as we do here today. We

wish to bless you all with the names of Hare Krishna and Hare Rama.

We have come from a place, which is also considered holy--and we also

have the holy names there. We respect the prophets, and we have come

from a group of people who are believers in One Supreme God. We

respect the messengers of the Lord, who bring us helpful guidance for

the human race. My people know, according to their own understanding

that 'the belief' does not belong to any particular race or

religion...but is available to us all.

 

"Therefore, when a man elevates himself according to knowledge, then

he can acquire an awareness of the nature of the Absolute Truth. Once

in knowledge, a man can see that God is existing in every one of us--

all over the universe. He can also see that the Absolute Truth is

available to everyone, regardless of race or creed. The father of

religion created His Doctrine when the universe was created. We can

consider ourselves as a part of this religion.

 

"If there are apparent differences in our rituals, we can still

understand the underlying similarities. "We have even found some

kindred spirits of your philosophy, embassies of your group, in our

village," Hussein continued. " We would like to assist such devotees

as: Yamuna, Vijnana, and Vibhusan, and others, and that is why we

have journeyed so far to come here.

 

"We pray that inspiration and illumination fall upon the head of each

of you here, and that there will be peace amongst the many races of

the world.Before coming, we met with people from the countries of

our forefathers in the Druze community, and they told us that it is

predicted in our books that our journey will reach its culmination in

India. We cannot say how much we appreciate that we are able to speak

to you here today, and we are so grateful to you devotees that we

cannot even express it properly.

 

"We appreciate the spiritual leaders in your Movement, and the

assembled devotees, and we present ourselves to you. Some of us are

very religious, and perform our duties faithfully. Some of us remain

in the world and serve as a cultural example to our community--which

is gaining influence.

 

"Since we have stepped on the land here at Mayapur, we have felt as

though we are finally home. Actually, there is no real distance

between us---and as such, I would like to invite you all to come to

our village. I am receiving much inspiration from my god-brothers

here...and I would like to finish by saying: Hare Krishna, Hare Rama."