Prison Preaching Expands to Gwalior

[Guest guest]

Our Vrinda Kunda Prison Preaching expanded to Gwalior Central Jail on Saturday,

17th June. Jankinatha Das, a disciple of Gopal Krishna Maharaja, who runs this

program, contacted one of our life members in Gwalior, Dr. Suneet Misra to

arrange a program in the Gwalior Central Jail. His relative, Sri Suneet Sharma

is the Deputy Jailor there and he was very enthusiastic to have us come.

 

He talked to Sri Raja Ram Dangi, Head Jailor, and he was also very anxious for

us to do our program in their jail. Actually some other group who believes that

Gayatri is the mantra for the age of Kali had already done some programs there

and, seeing the result, they were happy to also have us come to enliven and

enlighten the prisoners.

 

Even in temple and other religious gatherings I have seldom seen the type of

welcome we received. Sri Dangi himself entered our names and particulars in the

register, a formality that we always have to do before entering any jail. They

have these huge wooden doors and inside is like a vestibule with offices on

either side and then another set of huge wooden doors. They always lock the

first set behind us before opening the second set. When the second set swung

open, we were suprised to see a brass band in full uniform waiting to escort

us.

 

The band broke into a famous Mira Bai song and we walked between neatly made

white chalk lines on the path for about 100 meters. Then for the next 200

meters to the door of the grand courtyard there were about 100 prisoners in

clean yellow uniforms with little yellow Nehru caps to match. They were raining

flower petals on us and chanting Veda Stutis, om indra devatah, om surya

devatah, om candrama devatah, om vayu devatah...

 

We were completely flabergasted. Sri Dangi, seeing my surprise, leaned over in

my ear and said that the other group had made some of the prisoners into

purohits. Then we entered the doors of the courtyard, where 3,000 prisoners

were all sitting in the shade of the trees there. They all stood up and

applauded as we entered. Then we were escorted on to a very large stage where

they had already placed a picture of Radha Krishna on a makeshift altar with a

large brass lamp next to Them. They even had a nice but simple Vyasasana set up

with cushions all around it.

 

I then lit the five wicks on the lamp and we garlanded Radha Krishna, and the

pictures of Radha Shyamsundar, Krishna Balaram, and Srila Prabhupad that we had

brought with us. We sat down and then the prisoners themselves had a bhajan

group with a very expert singer who played harmonium, while another prisoner

played tabla and they did two popular Hindi Krishna Bhajans. One of them was

all about Radha asking everyone if they have seen Shyam, that was pulling our

heart strings.

 

Then we taught the prisoners the mahamantra which most of them already knew

anyway and had kirtan with 3,000 prisoners enthusiastically responding. Braja

Bhumi, Temple President of Jhansi who had come to join us in the program, then

spoke explaining that not only the prisoners, but even the people outside were

also prisoners. Citing many verses he explained that real reform can only come

when we actually change our heart. The prisoners applauded many of his points.

 

Then before I spoke, I thanked the prison administration for organizing such

are reception that we have never seen in any other Jail. Picking up the que

from Braja Bhumi Prabhu, I began explaining how there was no difference between

us and them. We are all prisoners in this material world and offenders. I have

seen other groups come and talk down to them, like they are aparadhis and we

are pure. They immediately warmed up by this point. When I mentioned our four

regulative principles, to my surprise, they all applauded!

 

I finished with the dramatical rendition of Jagai and Madai showing how these

two aparadhis became saints by the mercy of Chaitanya and Nityananda Prabhus

simply by chanting the Holy Names. This emphasized the point that we are all

offenders in Kali yuga. I told them I used to do all the same things as Jagai

and Madai, but my spiritual Master His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupada had saved us all with the chanting of Hare Krishna. You too can make

your lives successful the same way and they all applauded enthusiastically.

 

Then Braja Bhumi finished off with an ecstatic kirtan. We invited all the

prisoners to stand up and dance. Soon 3,000 prisoners were dancing jumping up

and down ecstatically. It was really a sight to see! We had brought prasadam

for them, which is one of the benefits of our prison preaching in India, as

most countries won't allow you to bring prasad inside the jail. Sri Dangi

thanked us all and explained that the boxes of prasad, would be brought to each

barrack (the large number of prisoners would have made a difficult scene) and

they all cheered. He also made us promise to return on July 1st.

 

We had set up a book stall and sold many books and distributed quite a few japa

malas also. We give the malas free on the promise that they actually chant on

them. We usually go through about a hundred malas a month if anyone wants to

sponsor them.

 

Actually Jankinatha Prabhu in his regular circle of Agra, Mathura, and

Bharatpur, has about a dozen prisoners who chant 64 rounds. There are dozens

who are doing sixteen rounds and a hundred or so who chant less than sixteen.

He has distributed many books and now the prisoners who are doing sixteen

rounds are asking about initiation. Anyone interested?

 

Jankinatha Prabhu is practically carrying on this preaching single handedly.

The Jailers are all very appreciative since they all say that since our

programs started, they have less fights and difficulties than before. Since

Vrindavan Temple is not interested, I have been subsidizing his program from

our Vrinda Kunda project. Actually Vrindavan temple always tries to discourage

him. The never let him use a temple car or if they do, at the last minute, they

cancel as it has to go to market. So he has to engage outside taxis at a large

expense in his budget. Still we are managing on a budget of just over $100

month. This is a selfless service, as neither we're going to get any daksina,

nor we're going to get nice prasad like when we do at house programs. Instead,

we have to bring the prasad! Anyone desiring to help out can contact me.

 

The next day we went to Jhansi, the city where Srila Prabhupada made his first

attempt with the League of Devotees. Just underneath the imposing Jhansi Fort,

of Rani Laxmi Bai, the famous Queen of Jhansi, we have a very nice property.

One Bengali gentleman, Sri Ram Mukharjee, father of the well-know Bollywood

startlet Rani Mukharjee, donated his ancestral house to ISKCON to make a temple

there. Under the able guidance of Braja Bhumi Prabhu, disciple of Lokanatha

Swami, the preaching is expanding in the old preaching grounds of Srila

Prabhupada.

 

Two Janmastami's ago, I was there and over 20,000 people attended the function.

Srila Prabhupad would be very pleased to see this. Then next day, I met Dr.

Suresh Chand Shastri with whom Prabhupada used to stay on his visits to Jhansi.

He'll be 80 in August but is still going strong and can talk endlessly about

his association with Srila Prabhupada.

 

Srila Prabhupada Ki Jaya!!!

 

In service of Srimati Vrinda Devi,

Deena Bandhu dasa