All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga
Bhakti Swarup Tridandi Maharaj
My dandabat pranams to Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj and to all our devotee readers!
Well here is the first installment of my Travelogue or Diary. I am just writing as I feel it and perhaps some of you may find it of interest.
Your correspondence is welcome.
FRI 9 APRIL 2004 ('Good Friday' or 'Easter Friday')
9am, phoned Brahma-samhita
das, more recently known as Ananta Purusottama das, a godbrother from Jayatirtha
Mhj days; 2 weeks ago he phoned the London Math suddenly and spoke with Dwarakesh
Prabhu, who passed his number on to me. He is working now at Bhaktivedanta Manor
(ISKCON) (he is married with 2 teenage kids now) and in the office there he saw
an old photo in which was Candrasekhara, now our very own Dayanidhi Prabhu, and
decided to call. He said he would come to the Math on Sunday for the programme;
let's see! Also spoke with Aditinandan Prabhu and 'ordered' the large Bhaktisiddhanta
book for Devasvarupa Prabhu in Ireland. He gave me the number of a Tim Wood who
had received 'Search for Sri Krsna' from Lavanya dd but later returned it because
he describes himself as a 'Vaisnava with Christian leanings' and he found the
chapter 'Beyond Christianity' as quite inappropriate. I will write to him and
see what transpires. Personally I think the title of that chapter could have been
better thought out, particularly as that book is our first or 'flagship' book
giving Srila Guru Maharaj's conception of K.C; anyway what is done is done. Also
when SGM suggests that the Holy Ghost may refer to Brahman (Father being Bhagavan
and Son being Guru) and that that may be their highest conception, a moot point
because the Holy Ghost or Spirit is clearly the inner guide or witness, a function
of Paramatma whereas Brahman is impersonal ie. without potency, shakti. (The recent
powerful film 'The Passion of the Christ' by Mel Gibson which many devotees have
seen and which graphically shows the last 12 hours of Christ's life as described
in the 4 Gospels has seen a resurge of religious sentiment, this is no doubt involved.)
I have been reading the Christian mystics like St. Teresa of Avila, John of the
Cross and their insights through internal prayer relating to the Song of Songs
etc. Anyway let's see how things transpire with Tim...
As today was an 'off day' in the shops I went to Southall near Heathrow Airport
an all-Indian area like Green St. (though mainly Punjabis and Hindus) for preaching.
Distributed some old 'Back to Godheads' in Hindi which Anjali found in her attic
when 'springcleaning'. Also some 'Original Sources', a great little book though
I wish it actually showed the maha-mantra in writing. The new book by Malati
dd is great too for a particular kind of person just to introduce Mahaprabhu's
advent, pastimes, teachings and associates. This w/e I will give donation to
Lavanya dd for the Math as they are plastering the walls of the basement which
was ruined by flooding a few months ago. I have already got an aroti tray from
the ISKCON shop for the new Temple house in Ireland, also we need a wooden Mandir
for Sri Sri Gaur-Nitai there and some other simple paraphernalia but the best
place for all this is Alperton in Wembley where I will go after the w/e. I've
temporarily (I hope) lost my sandals which is extremely annoying as I have to
wear the big lace-up shoes and the weather is becoming much milder. The trees
and bushes are all in bloom and I remember in Gita 'vasantyaham' (I am springtime').
In fact the other day in a BP (petrol) station the 'till jockeys' name was Vasanta
(from Sri Lanka obviously, they all are round here).
In the evening Kanailal Prabhu, Gandharvika dd and Jitendriya Prabhus came round to the flat for a programme. We chanted and read Chaitanya Bhagavat about Nimai Pandit defeating Digvijaya, with commentary by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, very nice. Also it was Sulaksana (Ukranian wife of Devakinandan Prabhu)'s birthday, 21 today, we had ordered a cake from the ISKCON kitchen of Govinda's Restaurant; fantastic, carob inside with loads of white icing outside and huge red strawberries stuck around the sides (and kiwi fruit sticking out the bottom!) During the evening, spoke by phone with old mates Mahavisnu and Krsna Bandhu Prabhus who are passing through London on their way back to Malaysia, as I couldn't be at the Math this evening.
SAT. 10 APRIL 2004
Went to Shepherds Bush (West London) to distribute, excellent, about 4.30pm took Tube (Metro) into West End and met Paramananda Prabhu at Astrology Bookshop in Covent Garden where he bought some books on (yes) Vedic astrology. Then went to Govindas Restaurant for prasad. Went to Chinatown for cutprice telephone cards (my flat phone has incoming calls only to avoid huge bills amounted by unknown persons, to call out you have to use phonecards).
Returned to flat at 9.30pm, there met Asraya Prabhu who had been met at Heathrow by Kanailal Prabhu in the morning. Took both of them back to Kanai Prabhus flat over the heath along with all Asrayas 'stuff' where he'll be for a few days until we head off for Ireland via Wales.
Got to Math 11am, after bhajans
read from Prapanna-Jivanamrta and talked about the genesis of this book etc. Brahma-samhita
Prabhu was there! Feast cooked by Dandakaranya and Divya-sari Prabhus, nice (wow
spicy!) with a new item at the end: Belgian chocolate-covered simply wonderfuls
c/o Jahnavi dd (daughter of Sundar Krsna Prabhu of Ireland who is staying for
some time in London)
Went to Highbury later for swimming exercise, then back to Kanais for beans
on toast (ie. simple food after the 'heavy' feast). Then wrote this (freaking
out because I didnt save it and thought it had all been lost, yes, it's happened
before!) Finally back home and to finish my rounds (japa) before rest.
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Well there it is, I reckon I couldn't handle writing all that more than once a week so let me know your feedback.
Hare Krsna