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                     Such 
                      awe and honour and good fortune's appreciation fill me up! 
                      Didi remarks how these Pastimes are eternal and therefore 
                      Mahaprabhu and all His associates must therefore also be 
                      there.... Ooohhh! 
                    
                       
                        bhakta-gana 
                        anubhave, nahi jane ana 
                        sri-bhagavata-sastra tahate pramana 
                     
                    "Sri 
                      Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's dancing before the Ratha-yatra car 
                      could be perceived only by pure devotees. Others could not 
                      understand. Descriptions of Lord Krsna's uncommon dancing 
                      can be found in the revealed scripture Srimad-Bhagavatam." 
                      (Madhya 13.67) 
                     
                      So on this last spur, He practically catches up with the 
                      other two cars belonging to Baladev and Subhadra. We stand 
                      on the side of the road, and now with all the light gone 
                      from the sky, a truck accompanies Jagannath's car, shining 
                      bright light on to the car, and ahead to show the way. He 
                      is near us very shortly, and also stops for a while. We 
                      are very fortunate that all three cars pause beside us for 
                      some time. 
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                          | The 
                            devotees dance energetically in circles between Jagannath's 
                            and Subhadra's cars, and then rest for a while. | 
                         
                       
                      
                     
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                Then 
                  He is off. Watching, some silently relishing the moment while 
                  others are still chanting, we let Him overtake us. At this time 
                  it is understood that we will start our way back to our temple, 
                  and follow Sripad Acharyya Maharaj and Sripad Tirtha Maharaj 
                  leading the way in the opposite direction from the cars, towards 
                  the Jagannath Temple.  
                By 
                  this time my energy has dissipated and it appears that most 
                  of the others feel the same way, and devotees affectionately 
                  support one another whilst walking back, hoping for an unoccupied 
                  rickshaw to show up and take us to the temple. We are fortunate 
                  to find a couple of free auto-rickshaws available, and the devotees 
                  pile in. It is a long way to the temple, and our legs and the 
                  rest of our bodies are very relieved to have some of the pressure 
                  taken off! 
                 
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                  | Back 
                    at our temple the programme has been going on as usual, led 
                    by Sripad Visnu Maharaj. | 
                 
               
              
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                Back 
                  at our temple a seated kirttan is under way. The Deities of 
                  Sri Sri Nitai-Chaitanyadev look stunning in Their outfits, and 
                  everyone is standing around having a tale to tell before going 
                  to take bath and honour Prasadam. It has been an amazing day! 
                We 
                  are relieved to find that everybody has returned safely. Most 
                  of the devotees have suffered some minor injury to the feet 
                  and legs in the form of cuts, knocks and scratches. Some say 
                  that karma leaves you through your feet on such occasions. But 
                  nobody is severely hurt, even the devotees that have been knocked 
                  over and slightly trampled on are smiling!  
               
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                       It 
                        is already 8:00pm when we return, so most of the devotees 
                        have quite a late night by the time everything is complete. 
                        The bus is leaving Puri the next morning at 7:30am and 
                        I am feeling very reluctant to join in another 30 hour 
                        bus journey so soon after such an ordeal on my body, especially 
                        as an alternative is offered to me by some devotees catching 
                        a train. Most of the Western devotees are not returning 
                        by bus, so I decide to leave it until morning to decide, 
                        according to how I feel, grateful that Mahananda Prabhu 
                        in Nabadwip, whom I call to report on the day's activities, 
                        agrees that there is no pressure. Now all I can think 
                        about is a good night's sleep!  
                      9th 
                        July 2005 - Departure from Puri Dham 
                       
                        Morning comes and I awake to little Pabittra Prabhu, the 
                        Math's youngest brahmachari, calling at the door. I am 
                        still half asleep and mutter that I will not join the 
                        bus trip, but because of his insistence I must stir and 
                        walk out of the door to talk to him so as not to disturb 
                        the other devotees that I am sharing the room with. I 
                        am still reluctant, but one Prabhu appears, telling me 
                        of what we shall visit on the way, urging me on. I decide 
                        it is not like me to chicken out, and I can do a better 
                        service to the devotees telling the complete 'bus-story.' 
                        I feel much better physically too, so I have 30 minutes 
                        to get showered, packed and ready! 
                       
                        The Westerners that are coming (many found the road too 
                        gruelling and were choosing alternatives) are going to 
                        travel in a Tata Sumo but that idea thrills me even less 
                        than the bus.  
                      Quite 
                        shortly we arrive at Konarak Sun Temple. We have a quick 
                        breakfast Prasadam of muri (puffed rice), banana and pakora, 
                        before walking to the temple.  
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                            | The 
                              devotees visit Konarak Sun Temple on the way back 
                              from Puri to Nabadwip. | 
                           
                         
                        
                       
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                Here 
                  I am shocked at the huge difference in price for foreigners 
                  as opposed to Indian nationals: Rs250/- as opposed to Rs10/-!! 
                  I joke about how if the government blatantly charges twenty-five 
                  times the price, no wonder rickshaw wallahs feel they have to 
                  charge the "White skin tax" as the Indians called 
                  it, to my amusement! I do not have the money to pay this, even 
                  if I had felt impelled to do so, but it seems quite unnecessary. 
                  I walk around the border wall, looking into the gardens and 
                  the temple in the middle and feel quite satisfied. 
                Our 
                  next stop is in Bhubaneshwar. Here we visit Ananta Vasudev, 
                  a very old temple, and from here a short walk to the Lingaraj 
                  Temple of Lord Siva. First we put water from the holy kund just 
                  outside the Ananta Vasudev Temple on our head, and purified 
                  in this way, we proceed inside the temple.  
               
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                  | Bhubaneshwar 
                    - Ananta Vasudev Temple and the kund outside it. | 
                 
               
              
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