All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga

A day in Villa Govinda Ashram

Milan, Italy

28 July 2010

Photos by Chaitanya Mayi Devi Dasi

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A beautiful sunny morning in Villa Govinda Ashram.

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Sri Giriraj Bala Gopaljiu and Srimati Tulasi Maharani...

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...affectionately attended to by Anu Krishna Devi Dasi and Advaya Krishna Prabhu. Along with Jahnavi Devi Dasi, they are looking after the ashram during Krsna Kanta Devi Dasi and Munindra Mohan Prabhu's current pilgrimage to Nabadwip Dham.

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Young Nimai playing mrdanga like his father.

Front doors of the Prasadam Hall.

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The enchanting view from the Temple's back garden.

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Some scenes from the woods near the ashram.

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Back in the ashram the devotees pick vegetables for a bhoga offering.

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An abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables grow every day by the mercy of Sri Giriraj.

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Organic produce collected from the garden lovingly cared for by Munindra Mohan Prabhu.

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There are many different kinds of beautiful fruits and flowers in the ashram area, all to be offered for the satisfaction of Sri Sri Guru Gauranga.

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Many auspicious symptoms appear in Villa Govinda Ashram, blessed with the lotus footprints of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

dhanyeyam adya dharani trna-virudhas tvat-
pada-sprso druma-latah karajabhimrstah
nadyo 'drayah khaga-mrgah sadayavalokair

"This earth has now become most fortunate, because You have touched her grass and bushes with Your feet and her trees and creepers with Your fingernails, and because You have graced her rivers, mountains, birds and animals with Your merciful glances."
(SB 10.15.8)

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More auspicious signs in the environment remind us of the importance of our Sri Guru-varga:

"To satisfy the Supreme Lord, the criterion is to satisfy our Gurudev: if Gurudev is dissatisfied with us, the Lord is surely dissatisfied. An analogy has been cited in the Scriptures where the Lord is compared to the sun, the Guru to a pond, and the disciple to a lotus flower. If the pond withdraws, the very sun will scorch and dry up the lotus—and the lotus will be cheered by the sun as long as the water supports and surrounds it. Yasya prasadad bhagavat prasado, yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto 'pi; dhyayam stuvams tasya yasas tri-sandhyam, vande guroh sri-charanaravindam (Gurvastakam, 8): 'I bow down to the lotus feet of Sri Gurudev. By his grace we achieve the grace of Krsna; without his grace, we are lost. Therefore, at daybreak, noon, and evening, we meditate upon and sing the glories of Sri Gurudev, and pray for his mercy.'"

~Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj

 


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