Message from the city of temples

[LoveroftheBhagavata]

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From the chat with Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami 2008-01-13, Jammu in Kashmir, India.

Guru maharaj is in Jammu city in northern India. He is hosting in a house of a friend, Rasa Bihari prabhu, disciple of Srila Bhakti Ballaba Tirtha Maharaj.

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Guru maharaj is in Jammu city in northern India. Today he has a television interviw and later a program in a temple. Guru Maharaj is hosting in a house of a friend, a disciple of Srila Bhakti Ballaba Tirtha Maharaj: Rasa Bihari prabhu.

There is a project of establishing a university of the WVA in Mayapurd inspired by Srila Bhakti Ballabha Tirtha Maharaj. Guru maharaj went to Kashmir to visit this devotee and talk to him about the project. He is in company of Swami Maharaj, Govinda Jnana and mother Yasoda. We have heard from Swami Maharaj that these days there have been very intense; many programs in different temples and various missions. Tomorrow theyplan to visit the famous university of Jammu.

Some days before, Guru maharaj visited the famous temple Askhara Dham in Delhi, which is considerd as the biggest temple in the world. Tomorrow at night Guru Maharaj will return to Vrindavan and then to Puri to asist to the vyasapuja of Srila Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Maharaj. In www.vrindablog.org you can see photographs of the presentation of Guru Maharaj in the world congress in Phycology and Spirituality that took place in Delhi. Thanks to mother gopakumara that she has been capturing all the events of Guru maharaj.

Guru Maharaj: I am writing from Aashimas computer in Jammuh, top of the world, Himalayas. Special invited guest on our chat is Rasa Bihari prabhu, president of Gokul Jammuh and general secretary of WVA for India.

Rasa Bihari prabhu: It gives me immese pleasure to meet worldwide Vrinda family! All Glories to Srila Bhakti Balabha Tirtha Goswami Maharaj. Srila BA Paramadvaiti Maharaj ki jaya! From Jammu, Kashmir, India, I offer my obeisances to all the devotees.

I am enjoying the company of the most wonderful vaisnava, our paramadvaiti swami maharaja and his encourage. I am taking all pleasure in showing different temples, forts, museums of this Himalayan city. Ttoday we had a festival of winter coming to an end and beginning of spring, which is called lohry. People dance around the fire and offer sesam sweets to fire and exchange sweets and gifts. This time we celebrated this festival three times. Srila Paramadvaiti Maharaja, in his typical mood, was delighted to see this festival and played his charango and chanted Hare Krsna in tunes unfamiliar to us. We tried to follow, but could not match his pitch. We circambulated the lit fire dancing and chanting behind Maharaji.

Now Swami maharaj is typing for me, and I am speaking in the room of a very beautiful devotional singer of jammu, Ashima. Tomorrow we have a class in Gokul at 10 am, followed by a lecture on perennial psychology in the university, management departament. Then I will take everyone to a very ancient balaram mandir on the bank of river Tawi. Then at 9.30 pm, when maharaja leaves, it will be a tough time. I can only pray, if my Gurudva is pleased with any little service of myself, I only desire that I get divine association of Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Maharaja again and again.

You are all very blessed to have him as your spiritual master and guide, because, it is very rare in this material chaotic world, to have a sat-guru, who is so understanding, friendly and humble, and who is so accesible. Hare krsna!

Today we had a television interview with Maharaja, together with myself and Govinda Jnana. It was a 30 min interaction about the spiritual culture of india, how it has a hope for the whole world, and it was very nicely explained by Maharaja. He gave the message to the people of Jammu, the city of temples, that we should try to take seriously our roots of vedic civilization. Jammu has its origin from the time of Lord Vamana, when He took the universal form in the court of Bali Maharaja, in the yajna of bali maharaja.

 

Lord Vamana and the origin of Jammu

 

At that time Jambavan circumbulated that huge form seven times, and the same Jambavan was present in treta yuga, during the fight between Lord Rama and Ravana, where he desired to have an opportunity to have a wrestiling match with Lord Rama. The Lord granted him the boon, that he will fulfill his desire when he comes next time to this world. Then Jambavana asked: How will I recongize you? So to remove this charge against him, the Lord investigated, who stole the syamantaka. So he came across a dead lion and he followed the blood droplead, which brought him to Jammu into a hughe cave. There a beautiful girl, jambavati, was playing with the syamantaka mani when Lord Krsna wanted to talk to the girl. Suddenly a roar came, and there came jambavan, ready to fight, so they started fighting.

The fight continued for 28 days, after which all the bones in the body of jambavana started cracking. Then he realized that â€Oh, he is my lord !!!†He fell flat on the feet of Sri Krsna and Krsna showed him his Rama form and pacified him. Then Jambavana married his daughter Jambavanti to Krishna and gifted the syamantaka. When Krsna returned with Jambavati, who was most beautiful of all his queens, to dvaraka, all were very very happy. Then Satrajita, tha accuser, was very guilty. Later he also married his daughter Satyabama to Lord Krsna.

So that cave, where all this lila took place, is on the bank of river Tawi in Jammu, where I had the privilege of sitting in the association of Sri Paramanadvaiti Maharaja and his encourage. We remembered this lila and chanted the maha mantra, all the pujaris and babajis of that cave temple, Peer Kho, where we have a self manifested rudraksa, Siva linga, and a nava Durga temple with Hanuman, Rama, Laksman, Janaki, Mahadeva, Parvati, Vrinda devi and the eternal Dhuni - a lit fire which is going on 24 hours for thousands of years. The young babaji of the cave smeared our forehead with the ash of the dhuni. This is considered holy by the sevaites. All were very exited to see Krsna bhaktas coming from different parts of the world to Jammu.

 

The Raghunatha Mandir

 

After that, we visited the largest Rama temple in India; the Raghunatha mandir in the downtown of Jammu, just near the place where Maharaj is staying. The Raghunatha mandir is very special. There is a big security check-up, and they do not let any cameras or mobiles in. We gave everything to Gopini and Gopa, and the rest of us entered the temple. They checked Maharaja thouroguhly, but nicely, and then we entered the temple. It has nice bakula trees, beautiful flowers and three circambulations around the sanctum sanctorum.

First we offer obeiscances to the main deity, Lord Rama, Laksman and Sita. The altar is all made of gold, and we have vijaya vigraha of the Lord in gold, which is taken out on chariot every year on Rama Navami. On the right of the main deity, there are Radha Krsna golden deities which are also taken out on the chariot on every Janmastami.

This temple was made about 130 years back by Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Jammu (50 years after Vrinda Kunja). There are 365 deites in this temple. The whole penitum of Ramayana and Bhagavatam are present in the temple. There are 120.000 salagrama silas, placed all over the temple in different halls; there is a 400 kg 8 feet high siva linga in this temple; the whole temple complex is made in the form of a rama yantra; all the salagramas sila are situated, so that they can be properly bathed and the caranamrta is running in propper ways.

The temple is very clean, nicely maintaind and Maharaja was delighted to notice clean chandliers. There is a crystal siva linga ,5 feet high, which is transparent and which is brought from Germany, crystal from Germany. The pujari, on behaf of Maharaja, offerd milk, Ganga jal and lamp with beautiful vedic mantras. All the pujaris were very exited to see devotees coming all the way from the west in beautiful ascetic attire. Everyone wanted to talk to them and participate in the arati. There were other devotees were interacting, and everyone was asking different questions to maharaja, and maharaja was gladly answering.

The temple is very big and it took 2 hours to have a quick tour. The most attractive part of the temple is that the deites are beauitfully made by Jaipur artist. Maharaja was very much attracted to an 8 feet high jetblack deity of lord Bharata, the younger brother of Lord Rama. We have three very big Hanumana deites in the temple, in the first gater, the second and in the sanctum sanctorum.

Five years back this temple was the scene of a terrorist attack by Pakistan based terrorists, who tried to desicrate the temple, but were killed by the security forces. Many tourists, visiting Jammu, visit this place. The whole state is ruled by the prime deity of this temple. Then next morning again Maharaji visited the temple and spent three hours there. I hope to get your darsan one day. Jaya, Paramadvaiti Maharaja, ki jaya! Vrinda kunja ki jaya! WVA ki jaya! All glories to the assambled devotees! </I></EM>

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