Volume 4 - Chapter 2

[Guest guest]

Diary of a Traveling Preacher

 

Volume 4, Chapter 2

 

October 9-25, 2001

 

 

"O brother! When you close your eyes in death, where will your loving wife,

children, brothers and relatives be? Where will your good qualities be?

Where will your fame be? Where will your pride, wealth, education, control

over others, powers and opulances be? O learned and intelligent friend! Why

do you not renounce these things and run to Vrindavana?"

[Vrindavan-mahimamrta, Sataka 1, Text 81]

 

Before flying to India I was deluged by e-mails, phone calls, and faxes

warning, advising and pleading with me not to go because of the risk of

terrorism and, more so, tension between India and Pakistan. Many of the

arguments were logical, but I finally decided to go after coming across a

relevant purport in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, which I read the morning before

my flight. I was unsure of what to do, until my spiritual master gave me

clear advice:

 

"Sometimes the members of the Krsna Consciousness Society are afraid of the

impending danger of world war and ask what would happen to them if a war

should occur. In all kinds of danger, they should be confident of their

protection by the Visnudutas or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as

confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati).

Material danger is not meant for devotees. This is also confirmed in

Srimad-Bhagavatam. Padam Padam yad vipadam na tesam: in this material world

there are dangers at every step, but they are not meant for devotees who

have fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord. The pure devotees of

Lord Visnu may rest assured of the Lord's protection, and as long as they

are in this material world they should fully engage in devotional service by

preaching the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Krsna, namely the

Hare Krsna movement of Krsna consciousness.

[srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.18, purport]

 

On October 8, I flew from Warsaw to New Delhi with Sri Prahald and his wife,

Rukmini Priya dasi. After a brief stopover in Vienna, we were the first

passengers to reboard the airplane. Knowing it was a full flight, I settled

into my seat and observed the rest of the passengers as they boarded,

curious to see who might sit beside me for the nine-hour journey. I noticed

one woman coming down the aisle who appeared to be extremely nervous. Upon

seeing me she seemed to calm down, and appeared relieved when she discovered

her seat was right next to mine. We exchanged a few pleasantries, but

otherwise didn't speak the entire flight.

 

Hours later, when we had landed in Delhi and were preparing to leave the

plane, she said to me, "Can I share something with you?"

 

I said, "Yes, of course. What is it?"

 

She said, "I have a phobia about flying, which has increased because of the

recent terrorist attacks in America. I was very anxious as I boarded the

flight, but when I saw you, a monk dressed in saffron robes, I prayed to

God, 'Please Lord, let me sit near him and everything will be all right.'

And it was. Thank you for being my guardian angel."

 

Being taken by surprise, I managed to say only, "You're welcome," as we both

joined the flow of passengers leaving the plane.

 

As we were all walking down the stairs to immigration and customs, a man and

his wife stopped me. The man said, "Thank you."

 

Amused, I said, "Thank you for what?"

 

He replied, "For being on that flight."

 

With that, they walked on. Once again, it confirmed for me that many people,

more nervous than ever because of the terrorist attacks, are appreciating

the shelter of spiritual life.

 

It was well after midnight by the time we had cleared customs, and we

immediately took a Tata Sumo van out to Vrindavan. In my excitement, I was

unable to sleep during the two-hour journey and merely counted the minutes

until we arrived at 4am. Even at that hour, Vrindavan was fully awake and

bustling with activity. Unlike the West, most people in Vrindavan are up

well before sunrise, either on their way to one of the 7000 temples in the

village or simply beginning their daily activities of cooking, cleaning and

getting ready for work. As we stepped out of the van, my senses were

enlivened with the sweet smell of night blooming jasmine, the sound of

temple bells ringing, and the sight of people quickly moving through the

streets to visit their favorite temple. Only the hot humid air was

unpleasant, and I was quickly drenched in perspiration as I unloaded my bags

from the van.

 

But I wasn't complaining. Having been to India many times, I was familiar

with the austerities of heat and cold, simple food, crowded streets and

occasional lapses of water and electricity. Such austerities afford little

opportunity for sense gratification, and ultimately serve to make one a

little callous towards material existence. Among other things, visits to

holy places are meant for performing austerity and decreasing one's bodily

demands. Krsna says clearly in Bhagavad-gita 18.67:

 

idam te natapaskaya

na bhaktaya kadacana

na casusrusave vacyam

na ca mam yo bhyasuyati

 

"This confidential knowledge may never be explained to those who are not

austere, or devoted, or engaged in devotional service, nor to one who is

envious of Me."

 

But the rewards of visiting such a wonderfully auspicious place like

Vrindavan far outweigh any austerities one has to undergo! The benefits of

devotional service performed in the land of Vrindavan are magnified 1000

times, and the beauty of Vrindavan is nicely described by Srila Prabhupada

in the Krsna book. One passage in particular, though short and simple, has

always been for me, and many ISKCON devotees that I know, the classic

portrayal of that transcendental land: "Vrindavan is such a nice place.

Flowers are always blooming, and there are even various kinds of decorated

deer. Birds are chirping, peacocks are crowing and dancing, and bees are

humming. The cuckoos there sing nicely in five kinds of tunes."

 

After settling in, I visited the Krsna-Balarama Mandir and Srila

Prabhupada's samadhi, and then took a long walk through Vrindavan, carefree

and happy, visiting different temples. It was a moment I had been waiting

for a long time. Often during the past year, on our festival tour in Poland,

I would mentally visit different holy places in Vrindavan - to get relief

from the constant opposition we faced, or simply for divine inspiration. It

helped to meditate on Vrindavan from a distance, but actually coming

regularly and having darsan of Vrindavan's many holy places personally gives

me the strength to go on in devotional service year after year.

 

On the first day, I made it a point to visit the five personalities that

bestow the greatest mercy upon aspiring devotees in the holy dhama;

Gopisvara Mahadeva (Lord Siva), Vrindadevi, Yogamaya, the Yamuna River, and

Govardhan Hill. I prayed to them that my stay in Vrindavan would be fruitful

from the transcendental point of view.

 

Walking around, I met many old friends that I'd known through the years -

pujaris in temples, shopkeepers, sadhus, even rickshaw wallahs (drivers).

What impressed me most in those encounters was that in each case we simply

talked about Krsna consciousness. The pujaris told me of the outfits the

Lord had worn during the recent hot season, the shopkeepers talked about the

festivals they had observed, the sadhus spoke of the Lord himself, and the

rickshaw wallahs - well, they bargained for lower prices. But it was all

music to my ears, for nowhere did I hear about terrorism, the main subject

matter of discussion in every other part of the world. Though the threat of

such evil is real, it seems that through the advancement of information

technology, the world has never been more focused on a single event in the

history of mankind. But like all world events, large and small, it will come

and go. In the meantime, the valuable time remaining in our lives, which

could have been used for inquiring about eternal, spiritual matters, will

have decreased.

 

Mundane news has to be taken in small doses, otherwise it preoccupies our

lives and gives rise to uncertainty and fear. Devotees must give more time

to sastra than they do the daily news. Srila Prabhupada is very clear on

this point:

 

"Caitanya Mahaprabhu has advised, grama-katha na sunibe, bhala na khaibe na

bhala na paribe - don't indulge in gramya-katha ( village talk ). Therefore

we always advise, 'Don't read newspaper. Don't read any other book,' because

it is full of gramya-katha. Avoid it as far as possible. There is no need.

What is the news of a gramya-katha newspaper? The same thing repeated. 'Here

there is flood, where there is train disaster, where there is accident,

where one politician is giving speech, another politician is giving speech.'

This externally very attractive news - we should avoid it completely. We

shall simply talk of Krsna. That is the safest method."

[ Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 6.1.64 - 9.1.75 ]

 

The beauty of Vrindavan is that the "village talk" is mostly about Krsna. Of

course, I suppose if one is determined to hear news of the outside world,

the BBC comes in loud and clear and there are plenty of newspapers, even in

Vrindavan.

 

Srila Prabhupada explains that as important as the holy place itself, are

the saintly persons who live there. In my first few days in Vrindavan, I was

fortunate to meet such Krsna conscious individuals in most unexpected ways.

While doing Govardhan Parikrama with a small group of devotees, we visited

the temple of Dauji (Balarama), not far from Govinda-kunda. As we entered

the temple, an 11-year-old girl approached and encouraged us to come forward

to see the Deity. After paying obeisances, we sat before the Deity,

marveling at His transcendental form. Noticing that the girl was carefully

observing us, I spoke to her with my disciple, Dauji Krsna dasi,translating.

 

I said, "Do you live here?"

 

Looking fondly at the Deity, she replied, "Yes. My father is the priest here

and I help him worship the Deity before I go to school. Every morning I

bathe the Lord and then serve Him prasadam."

 

I was impressed. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I said.

 

She replied, "I will do whatever Dauji desires. We are not independent - we

cannot do anything without His sanction."

 

Amazed that such a young girl had so much devotion for the Deity, I

continued, "Do you want to live in this village all your life?"

 

"Yes, of course," she said. "I never want to leave Vrindavan. This is where

Krsna and Balarama play."

 

By this time I was not only impressed, but embarrassed. This girl was

displaying so much natural affection for the Deity and the spiritual land of

Vrindavan. It seemed disproportionate - I have been practicing Krsna

consciousness for 31 years and am still struggling to muster some sincere

sentiment for the Lord, while this young girl's love for Krsna seemed so

spontaneous and natural.

 

"Would you like to visit America?" I foolishly blurted out.

 

"Why would I want to go to America?" she replied. "If it is so nice there,

why have you all spent so much money to come here to Vrindavan?" Then

answering her own question, she said, "Because Dauji is here, and He's the

most attractive person."

 

I thought for a moment, "Who is this little girl? Then I remembered the

words of Lord Jesus Christ, "And a child shall lead them."

 

She completely won my heart by her response to my last question. Recognizing

that she was a real devotee desiring to do service, I said, "Do you need

anything?"

 

She replied, "I'd like a book that I can learn English from, so that when

foreigners come I can tell them everything about Krsna."

 

"Is that all you want?" I said.

 

But she didn't reply. She just gazed at the Deity and remained silent. I

thought to myself, "Of course you don't want anything more. You have

everything here. You have Krsna. I hope in my short stay in Vrindavan I can

obtain just a little of the devotion you have for Lord."

 

As she continued staring at the Deity, we quietly paid our obeisances and

left the temple. I looked at my arm and my hair was standing up. That little

Vrajavasi girl was no ordinary soul. Does it matter that she has never heard

of the present woes of the world?

 

"I pray that I may engage in the service of the moving and non-moving

residents of Vrindavan. What are Brahma and the other demigods in comparison

to them? The residents of Vrindavan are more glorious. They are very dear to

Vraja's king. Their forms are eternal, spiritual, and full of nectar. Their

glories are limitless. They are the root that sprouts into the bliss of the

Upanisads."

 

"Don't do anything! Don't say anything! Forget everything you've seen!

Remember the fair and dark couple that pains kamadeva, flee the common

people and go to transcendental Vrindavan!"

[Vrindavan-mahimamrta, Sataka 1, Texts 61; 32]