Ý
This
year, our Teacher's Birthday was on December 28th. You cannot imagine
how many people attended our party eighty-one! Yudhamanyu Prabhu's
apartment was so completely full of people, not even a fly could get in.
Some guests had to stand on the stairs going down three storeys to the
ground floor. Others edged their way into the kitchen, where I spent the
whole day cooking. I had a fellow student report to me what was going
on beyond my position. The first time I checked out the situation, there
were only fifteen students helping us do some service. But what was so
amazing was that about a minute later, I tried looking into the room and
there was a 'wall' of people blocking my sight. Suddenly, thirty freshmen
had arrived by bus from our new campus. Like members of an army they had
marched from the bus to the party. Guests were still arriving....
How
to handle eighty-one people in such a limited space? The atmosphere was
just like bees buzzing in their nest. Yudhamanyu Prabhu took care of every
guest. He told them, "Hare Krishna!" He explained the reason
for the party, gave a description of the merciful mission of our Teacher
and talked extensively about the high level of Krishna consciousness.
The
biggest challenge was how to feed all the guests prasadam, the food offered
to Krishna. As I had done in previous Krishna celebrations, I took responsibility
for purchasing, preparing, cooking and serving out the food for the program.
Even though so many students were eager to help with the cooking, the
kitchen is so small that only Ameel and I could handle this duty. There
were at least six steps to making each preparation. Fortunately, I had
bought plenty of vegetables, so everyone had more than enough prasadam.
We all felt so happy to see everyone eating. Prior to the actual feast,
I had made my way to the front of the living room where the altar was
situated. After I offered the food, I got the chance to be nourished by
Yudhamanyu Prabhu's talk and see all the guests singing "Hare Krishna!"
Each guest carefully studied a printed introduction of Srila Govinda Maharaj.
Yudhamanyu Prabhu's speech was so wonderful because it contained so much
information about Krishna. He spoke so much that he almost lost his voice.
We
had been preparing for this celebration for at least one week. We tried
to have everything ready in advance. Felix, Ameel and I had arrived at
Yudhamanyu Prabhu's apartment at nine o'clock the morning of the programme
to begin all the day's activities. Yudhamanyu Prabhu had already set up
the beautiful altar. We divided our work into three parts: decorating,
garlands and cooking. There cannot be any festival without the help of
the students. Everyone was so delighted by the celebration.
After
the celebration, many people rushed over to Yudhamanyu Prabhu to tell
him how great it was. Even those who didn't attend talked about it for
days afterwards. Now that the festival is over, I can't believe that it
actually happened. Yudhamanyu Prabhu handled everything perfectly. His
mission in China is unprecedented and so was this festival. Nothing but
Guru's absolute satisfaction can give us a sense of pride in doing what
we are supposed to do. On behalf of all the guests who attended the celebration,
I would like to say: May our Teacher become healthier and happier every
day! HARE KRISHNA
Daisyrani Du,
Jan. 2005
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