Padayatra returns to Jhansi

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

[The League of Devotees was founded in Jhansi by Srila Prabhupada prior to his coming to America.]

 

Padayatra Returns

to Jhansi

by Deena Bandhu das

 

On September 20, Srila Prabhupada's Sankirtan Padayatra on their way to Dwarka to complete four times around India arrived again in Jhansi. They were greeted by many of the leading citizens of the city including Dr. Suresh Chand Shastri, with whom Srila Prabhupada used to stay in Jhansi.

 

Our loyal well wisher Sri Brij Mohan Mishra, who was the Hindi teacher of past Prime Minister of India Sri Deve Gowda and who convinced him to release a commemorative stamp of Srila Prabhupada, was also on hand. Our dear Lifemember, Sri Baidyanath Rai, promised to sponsor all the prasad distribution for the four days of processions in different parts of the city. Another Lifemember, Sri Ved Prakash Sahu, invited all the devotees to stay in his Prakash Hotel, one of Jhansi's finest and just five minutes from the Railway Station and very centrally located. He also erected a beautiful pandal in the garden in front of Prakash Hotel for our evening programs.

 

The people of Jhansi have become very proud of Srila Prabhupada, who made Jhansi famous all over the world. Although previously, the many young people who flocked to Srila Prabhupada in the 50's did not have the influence to help Srila Prabhupada keep his League of Devotees in the Radha Memorial, now the leading citizens have promised land and assistance in opening a center in Jhansi.

 

In fact, on the last evening of our stay, one sadhu from the Ramanuja Sampradaya, Sripad Sridharacharyaji Maharaja, suddenly appeared and came onto the stage and annouced that he would donate ten acres of land just outside of Jhansi. He then praised Srila Prabhupada's great contribution to spreading Vaisnavism throughout the world.

 

Two disciples of Lokanath Maharaja, who are residents of Jhansi, Sri Brajendranandan and Sri Karuna Sindhu Prabhus, made all of the arrangements. They have been holding weekly programs in their houses and now have more than 100 people chanting rounds and honoring only Krishna Prasadam. Of these around fifty are chanting sixteen rounds.

 

Sri Sri Nitai Gaursundar, resplendent on Their new hand-carved rath, stayed under the spreading branches of a huge banyan tree in front of Prakash Hotel. Every morning after Srinagar Darshan, His Holiness Radha Govinda Maharaja, who had come for this program from Vrindavan, delighted everyone with his nectarean lectures on Srimad Bhagavatam.

 

Every afternoon at 4PM, the devotees accompanied the Padayatra Rath to a different part of the city every day. It was amazing to see the preaching of the two local devotees as there were hundreds of men, women, and children all with tilak and with bead bags swinging from their necks. They were joined by many others, dancing and chanting very enthusiastically for more than three hours.

 

Returning at 7PM, hundreds of citizens attended the lectures in the pandal given by His Holiness Radha Govinda Maharaja. Maharaja very patiently tried to make them understand the purports given by Srila Prabhupada in his Bhagavad-Gita As It Is and appreciate the great contribution of ISKCON in the world today.

 

I also attended, and I addressed the crowd in Hindi. (A devotee told me later that the crowd was impressed to hear me speak in Hindi.) I mentioned the recent disaster in New York City and reminded the Jhansites of their connection with New York. On the first visit of Padayatra to Jhansi many years before, Lokanatha Maharaja had said that ISKCON's conception was in Jhansi and delivery in New York. I mentioned that Prabhupada had also made an explosion in New York, the Hare Krishna Explosion, but that was a nice explosion. When I said that Prabhupada made the bomb in Jhansi and it blew up in New York, the crowd simultaneously cheered and laughed. One local devotee spoke into another mike to tell me that they were laughing because Jhansi is famous for its firecracker factories!

 

In service of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram,

Deena Bandhu dasa