Jaygo's Travel Blog

Welcome to my Travel Blog:

The purpose of this simple web page blog, apart from being a documentation of our travels for future recollection, is an attempt at written expression for my own benefit and purification. 

I know some of our friends were interested in our activities so this blog may also help keep them informed.
 
Knowing the benefits of travelling to such places, perhaps it may also inspire others to do the same.

Some who may not be so familiar with Krishna Consciousness and its terminology may find it difficult to comprehend if not hard to believe.

Keeping it updated and accurate is very challenging.
Having access to proper internet is not always possible, nor is there always the required time to keep the "diary" updated or the needed time to work on it, so there are periods when I have to use my faculty of recall and enter events at a much later date than when they happened.

Being in a chronological order, I may even enter events after I have passed a particular date but nonetheless I will include the added information in the proper timeline sequence.

Your aspiring servant,
Jaya Govinda Dasa

 If anyone would like to add comments, suggestions, corrections etc., or would like to contact me in general, please feel free to do so via my email address:  jaygogkg@gmail.com
 Tuesday Oct 7th Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India.

The first morning of Kartik. The Krishna Balarama Temple is completely packed. At least a couple of thousand devotees from around the world.
The majority appear to be local from India, followed by Russians.

His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaja is offering arati to Krishna Balaram.

During Jappa while I was chanting my gayatri mantra, my former Vancouver temple president and very dear friend,, Kratu prabhu came over and offered obeisance. I was embarrassed. It was so nice to see him. We had a very warm exchange.  
 

Monday Oct 13th Jaipur, Rajastan, India:

Chaitanya Hari Prabhu arranged for an early morning taxi to Jaipur.

We wanted to have darshan of all three of the original presiding principle deities of Vrindavan which were relocated to Jaipur for their protection when the Muslim leader Aurungazeb, was invading parts of India, desecrating temples and breaking the Deities.  

It is said that anyone who has darshan of all three deities, Radha Madana Mohan, Radha Gopinatha and Radha Govinda (pictured left) before the sun sets is said to have taken complete darshan of Krishna.

Madana Mohan is said to be exactly what Krishna looks like from the waist down.
Gopinatha is said to look exactly like Krishna from the waist to the shoulders and Govinda is said to look exactly like Krishna's beautiful face.

Actually Radha Madana Mohan is in a place called Karoli some distance from Jaipur.
 
When we arrived early at the Radha Madana Mohan temple, it wasn't open yet so we decided to visit an amazing ancient Palace, Fort right next door.
 
The gives an example what the of the former king's opulence was when they ruled. Within the palace compound there were so many buildings with amazing architecture and intricate artistic designs.
 
When the Radha Madana Mohan temple opened we took darshan but unfortunately we weren't able to take pictures. This is very common in many temples in India.
Monday Oct 20th Vrindavan, UP, India;

Something that many devotees like to do when they visit Vrindavan for Kartik, is go on regular parikram with His Grace Deena Bandhu prabhu.

Almost every day during Katik he organizes day trips to the sacred places of Krishna's pastimes.

He is the most knowledgeable of anyone when it comes to the places of Krishna's pastimes and the pastimes that took place there and he is highly respected by all the Brijvasis (residents of the holy land of Vrindavan).

In order to join his parikrams you have to register the previous day so they know how many buses, or in some cases, boats will be needed to accommodate everyone.
So the previous evening we registered to go on parikram this morning. However this morning it was announced that I was also scheduled to lead the Damodarastakam chanting that evening.

His Holiness BA Janardan Maharaja kindly arranged for me to lead the kirtan and I really felt honoured but just finding out that same morning I was very apprehensive.
I hadn't played that kirtan for over a year and wasn't sure if I could manage without a least a few minutes practice on a harmonium. I also developed a cough, and on top of all that being on parikram all day and then coming back to the temple late, I was not sure I could manage it.

So taking all this into consideration I thought I should inform Janardan Maharaja and decline.

However I had also mentioned to Kratu prabhu that I was supposed to lead the Damodar kirtan that evening and he enthusiastically replied he would be there. It was nice to have his support. We also met Bhaktin Leslie and, knowing she is familiar with my kirtans, I asked if she would be there for some "local" support. She would try.

So the whole time on parikram, I was thinking what to do. Should I decline or should I go ahead and try to lead.
Krishna always puts His devotee into such situations so we can focus on Him for His support. Either to give us a solution or help us in some way.

Needless to say, Lord Krishna seemed to be helping.
I  just made it back in time after the parikram to lead the kirtan. My voice seemed ok and I even found a harmonium to practice a few notes just minutes before going into the temple. Everything seemed to be falling into place.
Kratu showed up for moral support and bhaktin Leslie was also there. She even recorded a few minutes of the kirtan.

It is a real honour and privilege to be invited to lead a major kirtan in Vrindavan especially when there are over 1,500 devotees present of which many are very adept to lead kirtans.

When I came to the end of the time slot, much to my surprise, the devotees were enthusiastically asking me to continue. I felt pleased but also somewhat embarrassed, but I continued.

Friday Oct 24th Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India;

Today is Govardhan Puja. This is the day when Lord Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill.
 
Apart from Govardhan Puja, we also observed Go Puja..

Before we left for India, two devotees gave me some donations for "Go Seva" serving the Lord's cows, so I decided it best to submit their contributions on this very auspicious day to maximize the benefits for them.
Their donations were greatly appreciated.

After the morning program, there was a procession to ISKCON's Goshalla. The place where over 250 of Krishna's dear cows are protected and carefully taken care of.
There was a large pavilion hall with a stage for the main program and another for eating set up for the festivities.
As was most appropriate, the procession from the temple compound to the goshalla, a distance of about 1km, was lead by a magnificent bull.
A wonderful feast was served afterwards.

The arrangements for all the Kartik festival programs for the thousands of visiting devotees was super excellent.
I offer my obeisance's to the Krishna Balaram temple management such as His Grace Pancha Gauda Prabhu and His Holiness BA Janardan Swami who did such an incredible job.
Being a former temple and festival manager, I have some understanding of what is involved. Still I can't phantom how much more organization it takes for a month long festival of this magnitude. Kudos.

Saturday Oct 25th Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India:
  
While in Vrndavan, our Chaitanya Hari Prabhu from Vancouver happened to have some inside information about His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaja's activities and he learned that maharaja was going on a Govardhan Parikram the following morning. Kindly arranging a taxi for us, we all joined Maharaja.
We also invited Anubhava Prabhu and a Bhakta Philip from Montreal to come along. Although they had already done the parikram the day before, Anubhava especially expressed eagerness to go on parikram with Maharaja.

It was suppose to be a non--publicized program and only a few devotees were expected to join Maharaja, but still about 500 hundred of Maharaja's disciples showed up. Maharaja was not upset but appeared embarrassed.
Maharaja walked the whole parikram barefoot! Although I also managed to walk the 20 plus kms, I alternated between wearing and not wearing sandals depending on the terrain.

With so many devotees present all jostling to be beside maharaja I was fortunate to have a few minutes with him. Seeing an opportunity, I pulled out my phone camera from my black utility pouch, handed it to the closest devotee at hand and requested he take a pic.

At one point all five of us "Canadians" were assembled together ahead of the group taking a little breather. When Maharaja reached where we were he commented about all the Canadian devotees being together. Walking up beside him I replied "yes Maharaja we're going to take over""  he quickly responded in a most humble appeal "please do" I was surprised. I got the impression he was saying please help spread Krishna Consciousness by becoming more responsible.



 Sunday Oct 26th Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India:

Another busy day.
Being the day before Srila Prabhupada's disappearance day observance, as is tradition with ISKCONN Vrndavan, there was a big hari nama procession taking Prabhupadda's diety all around Vrndavan to visit the seven major temples.
We carried Srila Prabhupada on the same palanquin he used during his last days.
This palanquin is kept in Srila Prabhupada's house (museum). 

Escorted by hundreds of devotees with two kirtans it was wonderful.
HIs Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaja also came along despite his previous days exhausting walk, again walking barefoot.

I met Yadubara Prabhu, a familiar face and friend. We walked together for some time and had a few pleasant exchanges. He happened to mention that he was asked to lead the Damodar kirtan that evening but his throat was a little sore and he was thinking of not doing it.
Yadubara Prabhu leads beautiful sweet kirtans and is a very dedicated mature early disciple of Srila Prabhupada.
Anyway with my recent previous experience, I don't recall exactly what I said to him, but he said it was good advice and he would re-consider. I told him I would be there.
His kirtan was very well received, as I had expected.

Another highlight was the Mayapur project presentation that evening with special guests Ambarish prabhu and his wife Swaha Devi.
Ambarish prabhu is spearheading the project.
I had a chance to have a couple of brief exchanges with him over the next couple of days and was moved by his genuinely humble disposition despite his vast wealth and world wide corporate influence.

That evening during his talk he related a nice story regarding the Mayapur Temple of Vedic Planetarium  project.  The  local Bengali government was creating many obstacles and refusing to allow us the required land in Mayapur for the project.
With so many difficulties, Ambarish related, he was wondering what to do.
Perhaps Krishna wanted us to build in Puri. After all the Puri Gov't was offering ISKCON Free land on which to build this project.

So after intensely praying too Srila Prabhupada for guidance, Prabhupada appeared to Ambarish in a dream. After asking Prabhupada what to do, Ambarish related, Srila Prabhupada didn't answer but just deeply looked at him. Ambarish understood that to build the Temple of Vedic Planetarium anywhere other than Mayapur was out of the question.

Monday Oct 27th Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Srila Prabhupada's disappearance day observance is always very well attended at Vrndavan's Krishna Balaram temple and this year was no exception.

It was very inspiring hearing the homage's of so many of Srila Prabhupada's senior disciples.

Our old friend from Canada,, Jamuna Jivan prabhu was there and we had a chance to exchange some pleasantries with him.
He has been living inn Braj for the last 15 years and is presently residing and maintaining the temple at Kusum Sarovar.
He is very respected amongst the local residents of Braj and he even appears like a local babji.

After the homage's, in my opinion the most enlivening part of the observance, guru puja to Srila Prabhupada's deity in the samadhi murti performed by his holiness Gopal Krishna maharaja.
Due to so many attendees guru puja was held in different places and the samadhi puja was reserved for Srila Prabhupada disciples, sanyassis, and senior devotees. I felt privileged to be invited to participate at Prabhupada's Samadhi.


Thursday Oct 30th Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India:

Today His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaja conducted an initiation of some 60 devotees.
Most were bramacharis receiving harinam diksha (first inititaion) but many were receiving bramincial as well.
Quite a few from Russia were also getting initiated.

Thursday Nov 5th Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India:

While visiting his shop in Loi Bazaar we happened to mention to our dear friend, Mohit Agarwal that we would be leaving Vrindavan the following evening.

Realizing that this was going to be our last night in Vrindavan and that we hadn't yet taken a boat ride on the Yamuna, he personally arranged for us to do so. Then and there!

The arrangement was made with his "boatman" friend of 20 years of the same name "Yamuna".

When we got to the boat, we noticed that the boat was full of prepared lamps which I assumed were going to be delivered to somewhere such as Keshi Ghat to be offered to the Jamuna river.
 
Jamuna, the boatman, indicated two mats on the bow of the boat where we should sit. "Hey wait a minute! Are we the only ones going on this boat"?
 
As the oar bearer smoothly plied the boat onto the oh! so peaceful river Jamuna, our captain instructed his young crew members, which were probably his sons, to light the lamps and hand them to us.
As we received the first lamp we carefully offered it to the Jamuna river in an arati fashion and placed it into the smooth flowing sacred water.
Then we were handed another for which we did the same procedure. Then we were told it was not necessary to offer in arati fashion each time but to just place them into the water. We complied!
Then another lamp came and another and then two more, we were having a hard time keeping up as one after another the lit lamps were being handed to us and we quickly yet respectfully and carefully placed them into the most sacred river.

After some time I looked up and noticed a whole line of lamps floating in and lighting up the river.
 It was unbelievable.
All those beautiful glowing lamps floating in the gentle current on the river Jamuna and all placed there by us. What a blessing!
As soon as I got to shore I took my camera to take a photograph.

Thursday Nov 6th New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, India:

Rukmakesh prabhu and his family are devotee friends of ours from Vancouverwho came towho came to Vrindavan a couple of days ago and we are joining them on a trip to Nepal flying from Delhi tomorrow morning.
Our plan was to leave for Delhi this evening but unexpectedly we had to leave first thing this morning instead.

HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja was holding an initiation ceremony later this morning in the Delhi Temple and Rukmakesh's son Krishna Chaitanya had just been given permission to receive his Hari Nama initiation.

With the last minute notice, we packed everything in record time.

There is a brand new highway from Vrndavan to Delhi and made the journey in record time. A very impressive highway with tolls and rest stops almost to the standard that you would see in west.
I even checked the washrooms and surprisingly very clean.
 
His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaja made arrangements for us to stay in a couple of rooms in the Delhi guest house for the night as we were leaving the following morning for Nepal.
I was glad that I brought my high end SLR camera so i could take some pictures of Krishnaa Chaitanya's ceremony.

Just as in Vrndavanna a week or so earlier, His Holiness initiated some 60 plus. most for first but many for braminical as well.

After maharaja gave an initiation lecture in Hindi, he invited his most recent sanyassi disciple, His Holiness BA Janardan swami to speak. He gave a very nice inspiring lecture in English.
Maharaja then asked a few of the local senior devotees to speak and then he asked me.
To speak off the cuff at the last minute in front of a very large audience, many very senior devotees, and what to speak of in front of my own Spiritual master definitely raises one's anxiety level.

Anyway by Krishna's  and Guru Maharja's mercy I managed to pull it off and with positive appreciative acknowledgements from the audience.
In the meantime Janardan Maharaja very thoughtfully picked up my camera and took a very memorable picture..

 After the class and addresses, the fire sacrifice began. Two fire pits each surrounded by a sea of saffron clad slick shaven young devotees.
It was such a delight to see young Krishna Chaitanya, now Krishna Kirtan dasa, among them. 

That evening after the Aratii, I was again given a special privilege of  being invited to lead thee Damodarastaka irtan.
I was feeling a little apprehensive leaving Vrndavan and missing offering the lamp to Sri Krishna Balaram on the final evening of Karatik, especially after not missing once during the entire month, but being invited to lead the prayers, in the Radha Parthasarthi Temple I fest made up for it.
Of course I was again quite anxious. Not as many devotees as when I lead in Vrndavan but still a vary large crowd. Anyway after some intense prayers to spiritual masters and Krishna for help, it appeared that the devotees and general guests were pleased with my attempt as they indicated for me to continue when it was time to finish.

Friday Nov 7th: Kathmandu, Nepal:

Attended Mangal Arati in Delhi. Maharaja offered arati to Gaura Nitai. I offered Tulsi Puja this morning, chanted some jappa in the presence of Maharaja then packed left for the Airport.
The flight from Katmandhuu, a nice smooth reasonably short flight of about an hour and half.
Had our first glimpse of the Himalayan mountains from the plane. Very impressive indeed.

When we arrived in Kathmandu, and completing all the official visa applications and immigration formalities, we were met by Deepak and His father Hari Prasad..

Deepak who is from Nepal but was recently living in Vancouver, was our primary host and guide.
Rukmakesh met Deepak in Vancouver and when Deepak's father also visited Vancouver, Rukmakesh's family graciously hosted them at there home.
 
Deepak's father, Hari Prasad is a very dedicated and strict Vaisnava in the the Ramanuja sampradaya. In fact it appears that most Vaisnava's in Nepal seem to be from the Ramanuja sampradaya.
Hari Prasad's own father was an acharya in that linage and Hari prasad himself always wore the wide Ramanuja style tilak on his forehead even when he visited Vancouver.
He is well connected and when travelling, he was the one who lined up most of our hotels and eating arrangements.
That evening we went to their residence and were nicely hosted.
After a pleasant evening we went to a hotel for the evening to take rest.

Saturday Nov 8th: Katmandhu to Pokhara, Nepal:

The previous night in Kathmandu we shared the hotel with some unpleasant creepy crawly guests. The kind you don't like to see in hotels but apart from that for the price, it was alright.

After waking up went for a jappa walk in the neighborhood. Came across a Durga temple and paid respects walked back to the hotel in time to pack for the next part of the journey.

Our bus was comfortable enough. 12 seats for 10 passengers. most of the luggage on the roof.
We started towards the direction of Pokhara.

Pokhara is a popular tourist city in Nepal. It has a large lake for boating, kayaking etc. and there is paragliding, white water rafting, hiking and lots of outfitter's shops.
You get your first really good view of the snow peaked Himalayas in Pokora. One in particular is called "Fishtail".
 
After arriving in Pokhara, our plan was to continue on to a town called Jomsom, but the brakes on the bus were making a "metal on metal" sound which meant they were in bad need of repair.
Fortunately Rukmakesh prabhu noticed it as the driver seemed completely oblivious.

Rukmakesh is very sharp and is a mechanical engineer with BC Ferries back in Canada so he really knows his stuff. He finally convinced the driver to have the brakes repaired.
The last thing you want is to be driving on the steep narrow winding roads inches from the edge with hundreds of feet drop that are all too common in the Himalayan foothill terrain especially in a vehicle without proper brakes.

Being later in the day all the repair shops were closed so we would have to wait till the next morning to get them fixed.
Fixing the brakes put our schedule back so we ended up staying in Pokhara that evening.

Deepak's father, Hari Prasad took us to a Laxmi Narayan temple which he is well known at. They had many Shalagrams on the Altar.
In fact it seemed every temple we visited in Nepal always had many Shalagrams on their altars. He himself is very strict when it comes to eating so we benefited by honoring  prasadam prepared by vaisnavas in ashrams and temples.

Sunday Nov 9th Pokhara to Beni, Nepal:

Went back to the Laxmi Narayan / Shaligram temple from the hotel, had breakfast and waited while the bus went in for repairs. Chanted jappa on the upper floor of the ashram with a beautiful view of the snow-capped Himalaya's. Watched eagles soaring.

Bus is fixed and we're back on the road again heading towards Beni.

As mentioned previously the roads are very narrow, winding, uneven, unpaved, without any barriers on the sides nor shoulders. One inattentive moment and off the edge to a straight drop of hundreds of feet.
It's a journey not meant for the weak hearted. And that's just the beginning!

From Beni we have to leave our "Luxury" bus behind and hire a four wheel drive land rover type vehicle for the next part of the journey. We also have to lighten our load so we leave non essentials behind in the bus.
Beni is where two rivers meet. Like "veni". The Kali Gandaki and the Myagdi join at Beni.

Monday Nov 10th Beni to Jomson, Nepal: (elev. 2.720 M)

From Beni we head to Jomson but first we have to change vehicles again this time at Ghasha. (elev. 2010 M)

The air is getting noticeably thinner.

We get on a "local" tourist bus of questionable safety. As a matter of fact just as we reach the beginning of the town of Jomson the bus stops in the middle of the road and we all have to get off.
Rukmakesh inquired and found out that the bus's tie rod ends, that's what keep the front steering wheels together so you can steer, had just broke at that spot.
A disaster if it were to happen driving along the narrow close to the edge hundreds of feet drop off without the ability to steer.
I have to admit its a trip that really keeps you dependent on Krishna and Nrisimhadev to protect you.
Constantly praying to them the whole time.
"padaà padaà yad vipadäà na teñäm" There truly is "Danger at every step'.

The driving, although not very far distance wise, is very long time wise. The vehicles can only travel 15 - 20 Kms/hr. at best the way the roads are.
 
This part of Nepal is world famous for trekking and people, mostly from Europe and America come to hike this Annapurna range and Mustang.
Actually about a month before we left Canada, there was a news report about a trekking disaster in which an unexpected snow storm suddenly came up and many trekkers including experienced guides went missing. Needless to say I didn't inform Dwaraka as I didn't want her to worry.
Really have to depend of Krishna for protection.

Tuesday Nov 11th Kagbeni, Nepal::(2,800 meters)

At Jomson we have to again change vehicles and get a small Land Rover type vehicle.
It is quite cramped as there are 11 passengers where only 8 can actually sit.
This is common for travelling in vehicles in this part of the world. I have seen in India as many as a family of 4 and even 5 on one single motor cycle at a time.

According to thee Skanda Purana, Kagbeni is a very special place.
"many small brooks and rivers that have their source in mountains and caves merge with Sri Krishna--Gandaki in various places. All these places are very sanctifying, especially Devghat and Kagbeni. The confluence that is just below Muktinath known ass Kagbeni is very sanctifying. The confluence of the rivers Muktidhar and Krishna--Gandaki is at Kagbeni." (Skanda Purana Himavatt Khand)

 Where the Gandaki and Muktidhar meet at  Kagbeni, is also a place where one offers oblations to the forefathers which is said to be an even more potent place than the more commonly known Gaya in Bihar, India.
"Taking bath once in Gandaki is equal to taking bath thousands of times in places like Prayag, Kurukeshtra, Naimisharanya. If one performs activities like sharad in the Gandaki, such rites will be more effective than if performed in Gaya". (Skanda Purana Himavat Khand)

Rukmakesh prabhu appeared to be aware of this and arranged for us to perform an official offering to the fore-fatheres. I feel so indebted to him.
Hari Prasad and his son Deepak, had a local experienced pundit perform the ceremony.
 
It was a very fulfilling experience. I always felt I should do something for my departed parents who were so good to me.
Of course initially I didn't consider such seemingly Karma Khanda rites necessary. As Srila Prabhupada often stated and made reference to that one who takes to full Krishna Consciousness all his obligations and debt's to society, family, love etc. are alleviated with one stroke.. (paraphrased)
However more recently, perhaps due to realizing that I am not as fully Krishna Conscious as originally thought or perhaps I have a more mature understanding, after all even the Supreme Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself went to Gaya to perform sacred oblations for His departed father Jagannatha Mishra, I was more than eager to perform the service on behalf of my departed ancestors.

Sitting at the confluence of the Gandaki and Muktidhar rivers while the pundit chanted all the prescribed mantras instructing us to put this item here say the name of your father, then more mantras put another item say the name of  your mother, on and on down the line through all departed ancestors and relatives was quite an experience.
As I was going through to my grandparents, and then all my aunts & uncles, who I have to admit were all good to me. "Oh yes! Cant' forget that uncle", I was thinking how fortunate I was to be connected to such a wonderful family. I am sure most people feel the same way due to the strong bodily identification and attachment.

I know it's only one birth in one family after so many births in so many families with so many relatives.
But still i felt I had seriously done them all a great service.
I then wondered if I had done a similar thing in a previous life for my previous life's ancestors.

 It is very difficult to remember one's previous life.
We can't even remember things as recent as what we did on the same day a few hours earlier. Also can't remember much, if anything, about when i was four or five years old, so, it's not so surprising after going through the traumatic experience of birth, that I can't remember anything about my previous life.
Nonetheless, there are still many documented serious studies done, especially with children who recall events, people, etc. from their previous lives that are later verified by taking the youngster to the place they are referring to yet have never been before, nor the parent's have any previous connection to.
There are literally thousands of of such examples, and these studies are done by respected mature sociologists, psychologists etc. from around the world.

Anyway after the special rituals and mantras were concluded, we had to walk down to the confluence of the two most sacred rivers and complete the offering by placing our plate of "offerings" into the waters.

Carefully walking into the oh! so cold! river confluence leaning forward and slowly placing the "offerings" into the rapidly flowing water, the oblations to the forefathers was complete.

Returning to get our shoes and jackets, I was reassured by our pundit and guides that all my ancestors would get liberation.
 
That evening we spent the night at Kagbeni.
We visited the local temple that had a huge Kruma Shaligram just by the entrance. And as in every other temple we visited in Nepal, many on the temple's altar. We were also there for the evening arati.

Not far from Kagbeni, just a short distance, is very special place called Galeshwar.

"From that place the most sanctifying and famous Saraswati emanates and merges with Gandaki present day Galeshwar" (Skanda Purana Himavat Khand)

This place is also famous  as being the place where Bharatt Maharaj, the son of Rshabadev, whom this planet Earth, "Bharta Varsha" was named after, went to perform spiritual activities after renouncing his kingdom at the age of twenty four.
His pastimes are mentioned in many of the ancient Vedic texts especially the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Apparently it was here that Bharat maharaja cared for and became so attached to the motherless baby deer that when the fawn went missing, being in so much anxiety, he lost his footing and fell to his death.

It is very easy to see that anyone could easily loose their footing and fall here. The cliffs are high and rugged. And below is a sharp long drop to the river below. This river is also the same river that the baby deer's mother was crossing when she was frightened by a lion and had the miscarriage thus leaving the poor helpless fawn to be taken care of by Bharat Maharaja.

Anyway after he lost his life, because Bharat maharaja's consciousness was so absorbed on the deer when he gave up his body, he had to take a body of a deer in his next life.
Sometimes that's a little hard to accept but the actual fact is that we are not the body but the soul within. That's the foundation of real knowledge. Life is not just a mere combination of chemicals or biological machinery. All the machinery and chemicals are in both a dead and live body. The person, atma, soul, being. living entity, whatever name you want to call it. is who we are and as long as the person is in a body, the body is alive and if not; dead!
We are not this temporary body but the permanent person within.
Anyway getting back to the deer having personality.
Anyone who has or had any pets has to be aware that each animal, even if it be of the same breed, has a different personality and what to speak of human beings. How can chemicals create a personality?
Bharat maharaja was a very exceptional case though. Although in the body of a deer, because of his previous austerities he actually remembered his former life as Bharat Maharaj and was very careful not to make a similar mistake again, thus after taking only one more birth he went back to the eternal spiritual realm.

Tuesday Nov 11th Muktinath, Nepal: (elev. 3,800 M) 
 
Actually it is quite easy to to reach Muktinath these days compared even to just the recent past.

Previously you could only drive as far as Jomson and then would have to walk the rest of the way to Muktinath or ride on a mule. You can still hire a guide to take you on a mule but now you can drive all the way there. Though the word drive is used very loosely.
Jomson also has an airport as does Pokhara and one can fly to Jomson. Sometimes people also hire a helicopter in Jomson and land up in Muktinath as it is quite flat.

Still however to finally reach here is quite exhilarating however you get here. Though the more austere the journey, the more rewarding the result.

Like the terrain we covered over the last couple of days, Muktinath is very dry.

I was wondering why with so many rivers running everywhere there is no vegetation and then I realized its because we are well above the tree line.
Another interesting fact about being so high up in these mountains, is that during the day when the sun is out it is very warm if not downright hot but as soon as the sun sets it gets very cold.

One of the previous places we stayed advertised "solar heated water". I thought that's great working for a friendlier environment.
Their solar heating is even better. No solar panels. They use a big round reflector that looks a lot like a large satellite TV dish that can move in either an up and down or 360 degrees fashion depending on where the location of the sun is.
Hanging in the middle of the reflector is a metal pot filled with water. You aim the reflector towards the sun and the water gets so hot from the reflected sun that it actually boils.
Of course the downside is that when you really would like the hot water first thing in the morning waking up to a very cold room your so called hot shower does not exist as the water pot has been sitting out all night and is now cold. 
But they do have solar heated water.  

This whole area, Beni, Kagbeni, Muktinath etc. is also known as "Shalagram Shetra". It means the place where the Lord resides in the form of Shalagrams and Muktinath is especially the place where you see hundreds everywhere.
The locals have tables set up all over with all kinds of Shalagrams just sitting there.
Of course most of them are there to sell which isn't proper.
The proper thing is to go to the banks of the Gandaki and, if fortunate, find them sitting along the edge of the river.

Shalagrams are stones that have all kinds of special markings such as disk, club, lotus, fan etc. and they come in different colours, sizes, shapes etc. The different markings indicate which form of the Lord they are.
It is also very interesting how they are formed. There is a special worm called Vajrakeet, that enters into the stone and literally carves these different symbols, so perfectly symmetrical and intricately flawless that it is obviously not possible that they are carved by any mechanical means.
Again the ancient Skanda Purana describes how they originated and how to determine which Shalagram is which based on the different markings and their placement and that the Vajrakeet worn is actually the celestial architect, Vishvakarma. 

Once we reach the town of Muktinath, we still have a fair hike to where the famous temple of Lord Muktinath is.
At this elevation after walking only a few steps you quickly loose your breath as the air is very thin.

In fact back in Pokhara, that's where we had to have our Van brakes repaired, everyone coming to this area has to register and along with the registration you get some information pamphlets about high altitude "sickness", the symptoms to watch for and what to do.
You can also get some maps showing different elevations and locations of the various towns, mountains etc. There is information about where special drinking water stations are located, because despite all the seemingly crystal clear streams everywhere, the water is actually not safe to drink and there is a strong warning in this regard. Very helpful stuff.

To get to this special temple you have to climb a long trail of steps and after a few steps we have to stop and "catch our breath".
Finally reaching the top, there to greet us is our young and energetic Krishna Kirtan prabhu, with an exhilarating enthusiastic glowing smile.
At the top behind the temple is a long row of 108 spouts of quickly flowing water which is said to be coming directly from Mount Kailash. Lord Shiva's abode.

The pilgrims walk under these 108 spouts one after the other for purification until they reach the end. It is quite austere. The water is freezing cold and what usually happens is that you begin walking slowly under each one of the spouts but then realizing how severely cold it is, it actually numbs the head, you end up holding your arms over your head and moving  faster and faster to quickly reach the end.

But true to his own experience and the look on Krishna Kirtan's face, he convinced us to take the plunge, and we realize it is extremely exhilarating.

But that's only the beginning. After that "preliminary" purification, comes the main event. Two rectangular pools in front of the temple.
These ponds are waist deep with steps on both sides for entering and exiting. The idea for further purification is to walk into each of the pools one after the other. When you reach the middle you submerge completely.

If I thought the spout water was cold, these pools seem like liquid ice.
After just a few steps my legs became so completely numb I couldn't feel them anymore. But I was determined and managed to wade through and submerge in both of them.
Now we are purified to where we can enter the temple and view the deity of Lord Muktinath, Sri Sri Laxmi Narayan.

I guess its not so surprising that there are only a very few people there to witness the mid day arati due to the temples remote location. After the arati, for a few rupees, we acquire a small ghee lamp and offer our own arati to Their lordships.
Not far from Muktinath temple on the same plateau, there is a temple that has an interesting phenomenon where fire is burning on water and stone. This is mentioned in the five thousand year old Mahabharat and the equally ancient Skanda Purana mentions it was created by Lord Brahma when he performed a fire sacrifice there ages ago. That same "fire" is still burning today.

After spending time in Muktinath we start to make our descent. We descend about 1,000 Meters in just a few kilometers.

As I mentioned previously, back in September before leaving Canada, there was a news story about an unexpected snow storm in this same Annapurna region of Nepal in which many trekkers and experienced guides went missing and assumed dead.
Nonetheless it still appears that one of the best times to visit Muktinath is mid November and the Skanda Purana mentions the added benefits of visiting during the month of Kartik. (Oct - Nov).

The weather may be a little on the cooler side, but with the rainy season passed, the river water levels have recceded and the roads are more accessible.

During our trip we came across many waterfalls that were flowing right across the road and one in particular made the road just barely passable. Had it been earlier in the year it wouldn't have been possible to pass at all.
We even saw one motorcyclist whose motorcycle tipped over right in the middle of the stream. Fortunately he didn't loose his bike over the edge of the falls which could not only happen to the motor-bike but to the driver as well as the water flow is quite strong. 

Friday Nov 14th Kathmandu, Nepal:

We arrived back in Kathmandu on Friday evening. Went to our hosts home for prasadam dinner then went back to the hotel for the night to take rest.
By some good fortune we found out that evening that the next day our ISKCON Kathmandu temple was holding their annual Jagannatha Ratha-Yatra the following day.

Saturday Nov 15th Kathmandu, Nepal:

We got some more details regarding the Jagannatha Ratha-Yatra here and made arrangements to participate.
While in Vrindavan, I happened to meet a very nice devotee by the name of Navadvipa Kripa from Kathmandu. When he heard that I was planning to travel to Nepal he informed me of his being from there. I needed some Nepalese Rupees and he was trying to exchange some that he had into Indian Rupees and was not getting a very good rate so we benefited each other's currency need.

Navadvipa Kripa prabhu said he would like to host us and was quite insistent that I call him when I got back to Kathmandu, so that morning I gave him a call and we planned to meet at the Ratha-Yatra.

Durning the parade, I noticed our Krishna Kirtan was always near the center of the kirtan. He seemed anxious to play one of the mrdangas. His life is for kirtan and he is a very proficient mrdanga player but being unknown here he wasn't getting the opportunity .
Navadvip Kripa prabhu was present in Vrndavan when I lead the Damodarastaka prayers and Srila Prabhupada Guru Puja and appeared to like the way I lead kirtan and being well connected with our ISKCON temple in Kathmandu, he made arrangements for me to lead a kirtan session in the parade so I called Krishna Kirtan to be "my" mrdanga player so everyone could get a chance to see how well he plays the instrument. From that point on he seemed to be always playing the mrdanga and he was even invited to lead a kirtan. Lord Jagannatha mercy Ki Jai!

Navadvip kripa prabhu was very anxious to invite us to his home for prasadam the next day and we could not resist such a genuine sincere invitation. So the following day we visited his home to honour prasadam.
We were introduced to his very nice family. His mother, wife daughter and two young twin sons.
We ended up having a wonderful time and an even more wonderful feast. The best since arriving in India almost two months previously.

Sunday Nov 16th Kathmandu, Nepal:

Today we took some time to visit some of the many interesting places in Kathmandu. There are many Vaisnavaatemples there but probably the most popular temple is the "temples there but probably the most popular temple is the "Pashupatinath" (Lord of the Animals) temple of Lord Shiva.
Is said that the worship has been going here for the last 1,500 years and that there has been a temple here as far back as 379 AD. The present temple was built in 1653.
This temple only allows "Hindus" and from one point of view, being a practicing devotee of Lord Krishna / Vishnu for more than three decades, I should be able to enter. Dressed in dhoti, kurta with tilak and thinking thus I just casually walked inside the restricted main compound. I even managed to get entrance inside the actual temple where the Lingam is worshiped.
What was unknown to me however is when they say "Hindu" they actually mean India or Nepal born. So what happened was that when the security asked Deepak, our host and guide, where I was from, he said India. Later when they asked me, I naturally said Canada.
I wasn't trying to be defiant or anything of the such. I know better. Even in the Jagannatha temple in Puri, one of my favorite places, non-Hindus are not allowed to enter the temple and I have no difficulty with that. Even the Nama Acharya Haridas Thakur & Rupa Sanantan goswamis could not enter so I am in the best of company but I honestly didn't realize that it also meant non India / Nepal born or those of white skin here in the Pashupatinth temple.
Perhaps ten minutes after our contradictions of statements Deepak, looking quite concerned quickly guided me outside the compound through the back side entrance.
On the back side you get a really great view of the Pashupatinath Temple Compound from the west side of the Bhagmati river. This river is considered sacred because it flows directly into the Ganges and many bodies are cremated here. In fact there was  a body being prepared for the funeral pyre just as I reached there.
Also on the west side of the river and just up a hill is the Gorkanath complex where there are many ancient temples.

After we left the Shiva Temple, Deepak informed me that the security guards were looking for me and were going to fine me 50,000 Nepalese Rupees, about $500 Canadian.

There is very famous temple of Lord Vishnu named Budhanikantha that is over a thousand years old.  Lord Vishnu with His four symbols is laying down on Ananta Shesha (thousand hooded serpent) in a big pool of water. The devoted purchase a small offering tray with flowers, line up and offer it to the "lotus" feet of the deity,


Tuesday Nov 18th Lumbini, Nepal:

Today we drove to a place called Lumbini.

They're several big signs around Nepal boldly stating "Buddha was born in Nepal, NOT India" and Lumbini is said to be that place.

From the Srimad Bhagavatam and the acharyas however we learn that Buddha was born in Gaya which is in the province of Bihar in India.
"Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Aïjana, in the province of Gayä, just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful theist."   SB 1.3.24
Actually the Bhagavatam's statement is speaking about the future as the Bhagavatam was written five thousand years ago and Bhudda appeared only about twenty five hundred years ago.

Anyway back to this apparent contradiction and how to resolve it?
All living beings take birth and get a body.That birth is not so important.
Only in the human form can one come to understand his real spiritual identity. When one takes to the genuine spiritual path and accepts a bona-fide spiritual master that is considered real birth.
Real birth is spiritual birth when one engages in spiritual emancipation.
It is only in the human form and by spiritual birth that one can attain his eternal spiritual identity and become free from having to take birth again.

It was in Gaya where Buddha attained enlightenment (real birth) under the Buddh tree.

Siddartha Gautama as he was known when he was born and raised as a prince in Lumbini became known as Buddha when he attained enlightenment in Gaya.

Regardless, Lumbini is certainly one of the most important places of pilgrimage for Buddhists along with Saranatha just near Varanasi, where Buddha first instructed his five disciples and of course, Gaya.

 Just as we arrive a whole army of Buddhist's with flags and banners were marching along and we were obliged to merge with them in order to enter the Lumbini complex. 

In the main shrine, there are ancient ruins dating back to the third century BC where the actual spot where Siddharta Gautama Buddha appeared.
Just outside the main shrine there is a pond of water where Mayadevi, Siddartha's mother took a bath after giving birth. Some say before.

What! Another contradiction?
The Bhagavatam says Buddha's mother was Anjana but here in Lumbini it is said his mother's name is Mayadevi.
When Siddartha was very young his mother died and he was basically raised by his grandmother Anjana.

Although Krishna's parents are Vasudeva and Devaki he is also known as the son of Yashoda. Yashodanandana because he was raised by her while in Vrindavan.
 
After visiting Lumbini it's time to head back to India.

We were actually having a very hard time getting back to Delhi.
Our initial plan was to book an inexpensive flight from Kathmandu back to Delhi just as we did to come. Because we didn't know how long it would take to go to and from Munkinatha, we weren't able to book a return flight in advance and when we checked all the flights from Kathmandu, the price was beyond our means so alternative plans had to be made.

There are no trains in Nepal so booking a train was out of the question.

What a lot of people do when they want to visit Nepal from India is travel to Gorkapur, which is relatively close to the Nepal border, hire a bus or jeep to Samauli, which is right on the border, then after crossing the border less than a kilometer take a bus or jeep to Kathmandu.

Lumbini isn't far from the Nepal border so we just continued on to the Samauli border crossing, hired another jeep on the India side and drove to Gorkapur. From there we took a not so expensive flight back to Delhi.

Saturday Nov 22nd - Wednesday Nov 26th Delhi, UP, India:

His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaja, arranged for me to do some lecturing in many of the various temples around Delhi. It was very inspiring to see how many temples and centers are thriving in this one city.

My schedule was such.
Saturday Nov 22nd Morning lecture in Dwaraka, an area of Delhi; Saturday evening, Geeta Colony;
Sunday   Nov 23rd Sunday Feast lecture Ghazibad
Monday Nov 24th Morning class Faridbad; Evening lecture East Delhi
Tuesday Nov 25th Morning class Punjabibhag
Wednesday Nov 26th Morning class Moidi. Modidi is a new temple that was just recently opened. A beautiful large temple. There was a recent article in our Back To Godhead magazine about the opening.
Friday Nov 28th Chippiwada.

I don't recall exactly what I spoke at each place, except perhaps for the Chippiwada lecture Friday evening.

I also remember after my Bhagavatam class at Punjabi Bhag temple, I received a text message from Chaitanya Hari prabhu, in Canada, saying that he just heard my class. I guess it was being "live streamed" on line.

Chippiwada is a very special place. Srila Prabhuapda had his "Delhi" office and started writing the Srimad Bhagavatam here.
He actually acquired this "office" before he moved into his rooms at the Radha Damodar temple in Vrindavan.

Before going there to give class, I read some excerpts from Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami's Srila Prabhupada Lilamrita, the biography of Srila Prabhupada which also covers Srila Prabhupada's early days in India before coming to the west.

I was amazed how well the author captured such minute details of everything. The temple, Prabhupada's quarters, the Chandi Chok neighborhood, how Srila Prabhupada would walk past the Jasid mosque on his left,  the narrow lanes etc. in such precise detail.
When I was walking there, you can't drive the car beyond a certain area as the roads and lanes are too narrow,  it was like stepping back in time.

Apparently the old paintings on the temple walls, are the same ones that were there when Prabhupada was there.
From behind the small Altar with the hundred year old plus deities of Sri Radha Raman, there is a well worn steep narrow staircase  leading up to Srila Prabhupada's room.

As I climbed the staircase I imagined the elderly sanyassi doing the same over fifty years ago.
 
After giving a well received talk about Srila Prabhupada's pastimes that were related to this special place we started back to where we were staying at the Main "Glory of India" Radha Parthasarthi temple.

The previous day and again this morning one very nice devotee invited us to attend his daughter's wedding at the temple that evening.
I explained that I was previously engaged but that I would still try to come. He said that the wedding reception would go on late so after arriving back at 10:00 PM we went to the reception.
And what a reception! It appeared the whole of the complex was being used for the reception. There is a large theatre where wonderful classic entertainment was going on. There were royal red carpets all over and in yet another area, an incredible buffet feast was set up arranged by the complex's Govinda's restaurant. There must have been at least a hundred preparations.
Some, like hot puris and jalabis were being prepared right on the spot.
It was impressive to see all the guests dressed in their elegant clothes. The women in costly saris and men in their quality suits, dhotis and kurtas and in some cases bright turbans.
As we already had just honored prasadam at the Chippiwada program, unfortunately our appetites were not blazing so we mostly honored the feast visually.
 

Saturday Nov 29th Chandigarh, Punjab;

Drove early this morning to Chandigarh in the company of three bramachari's to attend the Chandigarh Jagannatha Ratha-Yatra.
When we arrived at the temple we were treated like royal guests. We were invited to honor prasadam in their Govinda's restaurant that was set up and reserved for special guest's prasadam.
One very nice young devotee, Bhakta Atul, appeared to be assigned as our personal host. After prasadam he took us to "our" hotel to freshen up before going to the Ratha-Yatra. 
 
Apparently the Diamond hotel, about a five minute drive from the temple, where we stayed is owned and operated by a devotee, but I had no idea who he was. I was curious to know so I could express my gratitude to him.
Throughout the few days we were in Chandigarh, I could not help but notice one very nice devotee who was attentively  managing and serving prasadam to the special "guests" in Govinda's.
Later his holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami in passing thanked this same devotee saying "your hotel is truly a diamond" thus I realized that this same devotee who so humbly served all the guests was the hotel owner. His name is was Mukunda Murari prabhu and I was so pleased to be able to finally thank him personally for accommodating us and the rest of visiting devotees so nicely.

Srila Prabhupada visited Chandigarh in October 1976. Even though he only visited that one time It was a major event. The media came out in full force and covered his visit from his airport arrival to his departure.
 While he was there a huge pandal program was organized with about 50,000 attendees.

I also met a very nice mature devotee named Hare Krishna Dasa who had been serving in Chandigarh for many years. I knew that our Adiyajna prabhu from Canada was the temple president in Chandigarh for many years so I asked Hare Krishna Dasa if he knew him. He most certainly did know Adiyajna prabhu and that they are good friends.
 
We arrived at the beginning of the Ratha-Yatra about 1:00 PM and I noticing his holiness BA Janardan Maharaja at a distance I walked over and offered him my obeisance's.
Then from the loud speaker on the the Lord's cart his name was called to come and speak. I guess the organizers saw me at that time because they also called me to come and speak as well.
One thing I usually feel very comfortable speaking about is Lord Jagannatha and His Ratha-Yatra. Having been the Ratha Yatra festival co-ordinator for years in Vancouver and spoken many times about HIs festival in the public and with the media etc., this time was no exception.  As I was nearing the end of my short talk, his holiness Gopal Krishna came walking through the crowd and up onto the cart as the special guest of honor to also speak. It was an honor to be beside him as he addressed the audience.

During the Ratha-Yatra procession I was invited to lead one of the thirty minute kirtan secessions which was very inspiring.
Generally the RathaYatra processions in India go all day long up and down different main streets through the city. So to participate in these Ratha-Yatras usually means a full day of walking. The longest Ratha-Yatra procession I ever attended was in Delhi a few years back that finished near midnight.
The Chandigarh Ratha-Yatra finished around 9:00 PM.

After the Ratha-Yatra we arrived back at the temple where a nice feast awaited us then our host Bhakta Atul took us back to our hotel to get ready for the following days Ratha-Yatra in Punchkulla the neighbouring city.
Sunday Nov 30th Panchkulla, Hariyana, India:

After Gurupuja this morning I joined his holiness Gopal Krishna maharaja for a morning walk.
There are two beautiful parks just behind the Chandigargh temple. The first one, Fragrance Park, is very large and looks just like a regular park you would see in the west with hedges, trees, flower beds, benches etc. There is a large oval around the circumference of the park that takes about two rounds of Jappa to walk.
 Maharja was chanting on difference sets of  beads. It appears he may be getting ready for another initiation.
One of Maharaja's disciple's would take a set of Jappa beads out of one bag, maharaja would chant one round on them, hand it to another disciple who would put it in a different bag and the first disciple would hand him another set from the first bad and so it would go one round after the other.

When maharaja goes on his jappa walk he likes to keep track of the time. He usually walks for an hour. The cell phone app his disciple used this morning kept track of the time walked and estimated a distance of 5.5 kms based on the speed we walked.
Not bad considering we walked over seven hours the previous day in RathaYatra and are going to do it again this afternoon.

Today's Ratha-Yatra is in Panchkull, a sister city beside Chandigarh. Actually you can't tell where Chandigarh ends and Panchkulla begins.
One thing that is very noticeable about these two cities is how different they are from the rest of the cities in India. Chandigarh was designed by a French designer which I noticed the locals seem to like to acknowledge. But apart from just that the city is very clean in all respects. The air is clean, the streets are clean even the water appears to be cleaner.
Again when I arrived at the beginning of the Ratha-Yatra, I was immediately called to come and address the audience from the Lord's cart.
During the procession I had an opportunity to lead kirtan again. I have been receiving a lot of mercy lately.

The procession is very long estimated to finish around 10:00 PM.
Not being used to so much walking and especially after the previous days austerity when at around 8:00 PM our host suggested we go have some prasadam, we were most agreeable.
The prasadam arrangement was conveniently located close to where we were at a large ISKCON Namhatta center.
We were invited to a special program there the following evening with special guest speaker his holiness Gopal Krishna maharaja.

Monday Dec 1st Chandigarh / Panchkulla, Punjab / Harayana, India;

During the morning program, Maharaja called me into his room and told us that he had to leave for Delhi as he had an important opportune meeting with the multi-cultural minister. 
As he would not be able to attend the evening Namhatta center program in Panchkulla, he suggested that I could show my power point presentation on Ratha-Yatra. One of his sanyassi disciples, his holiness Prabodhanda Swami, would also be there and it was suggested that Maharaja could Iecture first and I could show my Ratha-Yatra power point.
As it turned out Maharaja had to go somewhere else first so I started with the power point then Prabhodananda swami spoke.
Maharaja also suggested that we go to Kurushetra the following day which is Gita Jayanti, the day Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavat-Gita.

Despite the program was a Namahatta program easily seven hundred guests attended. Showing the power point was a little slow going as everything I was saying had to be translated into Hindi. Nonetheless, the presentation was well received even though I was not able to complete it. Many, especially the more educated were eager to hear the rest but unfortunately we were not able to accommodate them.

Tuesday Dec 2nd Kurukshetra, Punjab, India:

After guru puja in Chandigargh, we started for Kurukshetra. Kurushetra is approximately half way between Delhi and Chandigarh so it was on our way back to Delhi.
Arriving at ISKCON's recently acquired property  we entered upon  the fire sacrificial arena with nine fire pits symmetrically arranged.
We were invited to sit and participate in this very special event.

ISKCON has a very nice temple right in the city of Kurukshetra and this property, a short distance from there, is very close to where Lord Krishna actually spoke Bhagavat-gita to Arjuna some 5,000 years ago.
Three or four officiating priests simultaneously chanted each verse of the Bhagavat-Gita followed by pouring ghee with the words "svahaaa" and everyone else carefully placed various grains into the fire.

When the sacrifice was completed, I was requested to speak.
I spoke for about fifteen minutes about how fortunate all of us were to be here on this particular day at the exact time on the anniversary of when Krishna spoke the Gita to Arjuna.
I related that starting from this spot, this same sacrifice was going on all over the world. Temples were reciting the Gita and holding a similar sacrifice. Being the month of the Srila Prabhupada book distribution marathon, I also spoke about how this sacrifice is and can continue in the form of distributing the sacred words that Krishan spoke from this spot etc. And so the sacrifice continues.

To be here at this place, on the actual anniversary of when the Gita was spoken was truly a rare and special occasion. We felt very privileged.
 
The first verse in the Bhagavat-Gita talks about Kurushetra being a place of Dharma. Long before battle of Kurushetra Maharaja Kuru, the patriarch of the Kuru dynasty, had performed many sacrifices here and even Lord Brahma performed a special sacrifice here millenniums ago.
We later visited Brahma Sarovar, a lake said to be where Lord Brahma performed his sacrifice. We also sat under an ancient Banyan tree that is suppose to be the exact spot where Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavat-Gita 5,000 years earlier. This is also said to be the same tree.

Just prior to the battle, when Krishna and Balarama were living as monarchs in Dwaraka, they organized another sacrifice at Kurushetra to counter the ill effects of a solar eclipse.
On many accounts Kurushetra is a very special place indeed.


Tuesday Dec 3rd Kurukshetra, Punjab, India:

Woke up this morning bolted to the toilet. Vomiting and Diarrhea:
Not sure what I consumed that could have caused it.
I thought I was being very careful to avoid this situation and for the most part I have been fortunate. I had not been sick in India during my last four visits.

We spent last night in the ISKCON Krurshetra temple guest room and our plan was to go back to Delhi after the morning program.
I was feeling very bad that I wasn't able to attend the temple program that morning but what could be done?
Anyway we stuck to our plan and started back to Delhi after the morning program.

Past Reflections:

I remember in 1994, I got a very bad case of Dysentery while visiting Vrndavan.

I actually thought I would die. But then I realized that someone who gives up their body in the holy dham is guaranteed to go back home to Godhead. I didn't think I would be that fortunate.
Then I started to reflect that when someone under goes reverses in life he is actually becoming purified by having negative karma removed. Also Krishna only gives a token reaction of what his devotee's actual due karmic consequence should be.
Despite this theoretical understanding, when experiencing such unpleasant bodily suffering it is hard to keep that understanding in the forefront of your thoughts.

So many concerned devotees offered me their so called time tested remedies.
Some even gave the names of local Vrindavan Kavi's (doctors). Nothing worked.

Then I happened to meet Adideva prabhu, who came to Vrindavan for a couple of days during that Kartik.
Adideva had moved back to Delhi from Vancouver with his family to work on the Delhi "Glory of India" project that had its grand opening in 1997.
He was actually one of the key team players in building this major temple complex.

Anyway when he noticed my condition he took me back to New Delhi with him to a "good" hospital.
And what a unique hospital it was. The doctors there used modern diagnostic technological equipment but treated the problem with Ayur Vedic, natural herbal remedies. The hospital was special in another way also in that it only served vegetarian meals to their patients. But it was still hospital food and I am ever so grateful not only to Adideva prabhu, but to his wife Saci devi who  everyday caringly prepared wonderful meals offered to their home deities and brought them to me. 

Anyway after arriving at the hospital the doctor took a look, a quick pulse check and I was immediately admitted.

I have to admit, getting so sick had diminished my interest in visiting India again so I had not returned until 2005.
Even then I was feeling apprehensive about going to back again, but by Krishna's mercy, I had a wonderful experience and as such continued to visit every other year since.

I guess I was overdue for a little Vomiting and Diarrhea.

Back to the present;

Although the vomiting was short lived the other was not.

One nice devotee in the Delhi temple arranged for me to visit a qualified doctor who has connections with the temple. And that seemed to help some. But the Diarrhea still continued.
I thought perhaps I should call Adideva in Canada to see if he remembered which hospital he took me to twenty years back and perhaps I should go and have things checked out.

Curiously, I got a call from his holiness Gopal Krishna maharaja asking about my well being. He is always so concerned about the well being of his disciples; All devotees for that matter.
Anyway when he called he told me that Adidev was sitting right there with him in his room and asked if I would like to speak with him.
What a coincidence!

I told Adidev whenever I visit the Glory of India temple here, I always think of him and how instrumental he was with bringing the project to fruition.
I then asked him if he remembered the hospital he had taken me to twenty years ago.
He most certainly did know it. To the smallest detail.
He gave me the name, told me it's close to the Delhi temple, gave me the wing that I should go to, and that they should still have my past record though he doubted the same doctor would still be there.
 What reassurance.

I didn't end up going back to the hospital, least not yet, but it's good to know its still available if the need arises.

Getting a little sick slowed me down while here in Delhi which has given some time to work on my web blog.
Oh! there is one benefit of getting sick with diarrhea and such. You tend to lose weight quickly. And I can certainly afford to lose some weight.
 

Wednesday Dec 17th Delhi UP, India:

Today we had some time and the weather is quite pleasant so we decided to visit the "lotus" Temple of the Bahai's.
It is not far from ISKCON's Glory of India temple. In fact you can see Lotus temple from the ISKCON temple and vice versa.

I have to admit that it is a very unique and impressive structure, especially from the outside. It is shaped like a closed lotus flower with 27 petals, is 34 meters high, has nine sides, 9 pools of water and sits on 27 acres of nicely manicured grounds.

But that is where it ends.
The inside is just one large auditorium that seats 1,600 people who sit and silently pray or meditate. There are no pictures, no color, no kirtan, no deities, no life!

But it could easily be transformed into Vaikuntha. The spiritual world.
Three altars could easily be arranged in a similar semi-circle fashion as our Radha Partha Sarathi temple.
Lots of wall space for "windows to the spiritual world" in the form of transcendental paintings. I am not sure how the acoustics are for kirtan, but they do have a centralized pulpit where the philosophy of the Bahai faith is espoused, despite their claim of "inviting peoples of all religions and races to worship the Creator of the Universe and to express the love between God and man."
But it's their building, their faith, their right.
Although their philosophy and approach is quite impersonal, the structure does attract a lot of people which perhaps gets them thinking of a God.

December 2014 Delhi, UP India:

We are in Delhi at the Shri Shri Radha Parthasarathi "Glory of India" Temple staying in the Nityananda Kutir Guest Ashram room 8. 

Being in a foreign environment without a regular service, apart from attending the morning program and the occasional preaching engagement, we have slowed down considerably so I am taking the opportunity to increase reading Srila Prabhupada's books and listening to His lectures.

Being in Delhi this month has also given me an opportunity to  witness first hand some of the reasons this temple consistently wins the world wide Srila Prabhupada December Book Distribution Marathon.

Book distribution is their focus and main priority.

Apart from the huge banners all over the temple complex promoting book distribution,  every Bhagavatam class focuses on book distribution. On the board below the Bhagavatam Verse there is a Srila Prabhupada daily quote about the importance of Book Distribution.

ISKCON Delhi also has many corporate professionals and India Institute of Technology graduates who previously held top management positions in world class corporations but who have since become fully dedicated devotees in Srila Prabhupada's mission. Hearing such brilliant orators using their extra sharp, now purified intelligence, bringing to life the Bhagavatam verses and purports expertly fusing in the importance of preaching Bhagavatam through book distribution naturally inspires and motivates an incredible enthusiasm in the army of young bramacharis to rush out the door and distribute books.
Not only the bramacharis but everyone from mother's with their children to grand-parents participate in the marathon.

You can see smiling book distributors all over the temple complex greeting the hundreds sometimes thousands of guests that visit daily. You can see them with book tables at different malls such as Neru Place Market. You can see them at traffic lights approaching people in their temporarily motionless vehicles. You can see them everywhere.

 Then the following morning right after Mangal Arati everyone eagerly await to hear the scores announced for the pleasure of the temple's presiding Deities.
And we're talking scores! BIG SCORES!!
Sometimes more than 20,000 Bhagavad-Gitas and Krishna Books distributed in a single day and all for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi.

Each morning an appeal is requested of Their Lordships. "Please let the number of book distributors increase and let more and more books be sponsored and distributed."

Following the request and right after Tulsi Puja, the whole temple is buzzing as a hundred plus devotees are totally absorbed in chanting their rounds.
Good morning sadhana and the proper focus brings solid results.

It also helps to have the world's leading book distributor, Madhusundar Prabhu, in Delhi. He inspires everyone by his personal example, expert guidance and classes. 

However the ultimate inspiration and motivating force underlying the overwhelming success, apart from Srila Prabhupada of course, is His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaja.   
By his own personal example he ignites the whole book distribution mechanism and keeps it rapidly flowing.
During the month of December, he stays in India continuously travelling around his India GBC zone keeping all the troupes "fired up".

He inspires everyone with his potent words and actions.
"He is profusely distributing the books of His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami and preaching his message".
Gopal Krishna maharaja also regularly meets big corporate executives and business owners inspiring them to purchase Bhagavad-Gitas, not only for themselves or as gifts for their family members, but also for their employees.
Sometimes thousands at a time. Now that's BOOK DISTRIBUTION!

This "Glory of India" ISKCON Delhi Temple also has the most beautiful Gaura Nitai deities I have ever seen and I was recalling that when the deities are worshiped nicely it reflects in Their appearance.
Lord Chaitanya is worshiped by sankirtan, congregational chanting which pleases Him very much.
This is confirmed in the Srimad Bhagavatm 11-5-32,
"In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kåñëa".
That incarnation is Lord Chaitanya and He is worshiped by congregational chanting, Sankirtan.

This temple has so many expert kirtan singers and mrdanga (drum) players who are worshiping and pleasing Lord Chaitanya by this process of Sankirtan. But especially almost almost everyone here play the big drum of Book Distribution and Lord Chaitanya is especially pleased by this sankirtan that He is glowing.
This temple has the most beautiful Gaura Nitai Deities I have ever seen.

At the writing of this installation, I don't know how the Delhi temple or the personal individuals will rate in this this year's marathon but one thing is sure, this is one temple that is vibrant and healthy as Srila Prabhupada's book distribution continuously goes on.

Srila Prabhupada Book Distribution Ki Jai!

 More December Muses:

About two weeks before leaving for India, one of my front teeth broke, yet again.
I've always had bad teeth karma!
Anyway, as there was no pain, and I was leaving in just a couple of weeks I thought I will wait and maybe get it looked at while in India as medical and dental costs are a fraction of what they are in the west. In fact India is known as a destination place for "medical tourism".

By some interesting coincidence when Anubhava prabhu was leaving Vrindavan, and heading back to Canada, he mentioned that he was going back to Delhi a few days early to get some dental work done. He reassured me that his dentist was really good and he obligingly gave me the contact details.

Some may be very skeptical of the quality of medical care one might get in India and certainly one has to be cautious, but I can attest from my own experience that the attention and efficiency of medical care I received in 2011 was of the best quality.

I have to admit though that I had the best possible resource.

After I broke my shoulder while "surfing" in Puri and arriving back in Delhi all broken, I called His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaja to inform him of my plight.
He yet again came to my rescue, arranging for the top orthopedic doctor in the city, a disciple of his, to put me back together.

My only intention of calling him was to just inform him what happened. I had already been directed and went to the Max Hospital in Delhi where within forty five minutes I was x-rayed, analyzed, and cost accessed. "in forty-five minutes".
The Max medical staff strongly suggested I have my shoulder attended to as soon as possible. They could admit me and in two days perform the operation.

Anyway after informing His Holiness, he suggested I get a second opinion so I wouldn't get cheated which, sadly to say, is all too common in India. He then arranged to have me taken to visit his disciple surgeon, Radha Valabha prabhu. After looking at the x-rays, he confirmed the same and also suggested immediate surgery which he could perform that very same evening.

Despite my sports filled and rough and tumble youth, I had never broken any limbs. Lots of bloodied cuts, scrapes, bruises, stitches and even chipped teeth but nothing ever broken. This was my first experience which, in my limited experience, was most favorable. 

So after my previous positive hospital experiences in 1994 & 2011 and a confident reassurance from Anubhava prabhu, when I got to Delhi I visited his dentist for an assessment and the husband and wife dental team did seem very competent.
 
A day later I met Maha Mantra prabhu a former lawyer, temple president and big congregational developer who is extremely well connected in Delhi. I happened to mention I was thinking of getting some dental work done.
He told me he knew one of the best dentists in Delhi.
A doctor Neeraj Rampal, an ex-army dentist, very experienced, up to date with the latest dentistry techniques, a regular lecturer at dental conferences and, as an added bonus, less expensive.

His dental clinic was also close to the temple, only a 50 RS (less than $1 cdn), ten minute auto rickshaw ride.

So while here in Delhi working around some preaching engagements, morning temple programs and occasional "Delhi Belly", I am attempting to get some badly needed, over due dental work done.

I guess time will tell regarding the quality but the cost is surely unbeatable.

Thursday Jan 8th - Jan 18th 2015 Udupi, Karnataka, India
We took the 9:15 AM from Delhi, going south.  The weather in Delhi is relatively cold and foggy so the 30 degree sun of the South draws us.

I like the trains in India.
Gently rocking back and forth as the country scape plays past your window. 
AC 2! That's the ticket.

I don't recommend the sleeper (SL) or second class (SC) cars. Their ok for short hauls and if you want to go cheap.
The AC classes are divided into curtained compartments. AC-2 & AC-3. 

AC-2, best comfort & cost, sits four in the compartment. Two per side face to face. You store your bags under the seat which doubles as a bed with another above. The same principle for AC-3 with three levels for sleeping & sitting three abreast. Cheaper for sure but a little too crowded and the top bunk is perhaps a little too challenging. Least when you get on in years.  

We arrive in Udupi two days and two nights later. With the extra ten hour delay its perfect as we save a night of hotel costs and avoid arriving at 11:15 at night. Not the best time to arrive in a place you are not familiar with.
So at 8:30 in the morning we take an auto rickshaw to the Residency Sri Krishna Hotel. 

I booked the hotel a few days previously online through Hotels.com. When you book online you never really know what you're getting but it seems to work ok and it's a starting point. You can always find another place the following days if necessary.

The South west coastal town of Udupi is the head-quarters of Madhava Acarya and the famous Bala (Shri) Krishna deity.

Madhava Acharya is one of the great Acharya's in our disciplic line from Lord Brahma.


This Deity was originally made for Rukmini, one of Lord Krishna's  principle queens, from a Shaligram by Lord Krishna with the help of Vishvakarma.
The deity was later buried in some gopi chandan, special clay used to mark the body with auspicious signs, in Rukmini's garden.

Some four thousand years later a ship coming from Dwaraka was caught in a storm near Udupi and Madhava Acharya guided the ship to safety. The captain, relieved and grateful, offered Madhava anything as a gift from the ships cargo.

Madhava inquired where the ship was coming from and upon hearing, Dwaraka, he asked if there was any gopi chandan on board.
 It just so happened that the ship was loaded with large blocks of gopi chandan that were being used as weighted ballast to keep the ship balanced on the water.
Madhava Acharya single handedly lifted a very large piece from the ships hold that not even thirty of the ships men could lift.
After carrying it a short distance a piece broke off revealing a beautiful deity of Lord Balaram which Madhava Acharya installed near Malpe Beach.
We visited this Balaram deity that is still being worshiped in the Vadabandeshvar temple there.

Madhava Acharya then carried the remaining gopi chandan to a small lake now named after him called Madhava Sarovar.
When he placed the block of chandan in the lake to dissolve it, the beautiful Deity of Bala Krishna, which was previously worshiped by Rukmini was revealed.

The present eight hundred plus year old temple was then built beside this lake and the very ancient temple of Ananteswar.

While visiting this Shri Krishna temple we met one friendly priest, Ananta Das, who took us on a little temple tour showing and explaining the various altars in the temple.

Apart from the main Krishna deity, this temple has other deities such as Hanuman and Garuda which were later brought from Ayodhya the capital city of Lord Rama.

There is also the inner room where Madhava Acharya would give personal audience and speak Philosophy sometimes throughout the night.

The following evening we again went to the temple. Just as we finished a quick viewing, Ananta Das, our friendly priest, saw us and indicated to follow him wherein he directed us to stand in a particular spot.
 
This "spot" was right in front of the main platform (Mandap) where the ceremonial deities are worshiped. These "ceremonial" deities are smaller deities that are used for special events and festivals such as the regular evening chariot ride that circumambulates the temple.

I can't even begin to describe the sights, sounds, energy that happened next.

As the lead priest, using two whisks (camaras), one in each hand, fanned the deities, musicians with various sized drums, cymbals and horns started playing and other priests clanged some of the many hanging bells of various sizes.

While these incredible energetic sounds resounded, the silver covered antiquated carved stone pillars seemed to dance as hundreds of flickering oil lamps cast their lights illuminating the otherwise dark cavern like temple room. 
What an amazing experience!
Unfortunately no picture taking is allowed.
This arati that takes place every evening is followed by the deities ceremoniously going outside and onto Their 40 ft. high chariot. Then the royal parade starts with musicians, fireworks a big elephant and of course crowds of devotees. 

The main street in Udupi is appropriately called Car Street. It is a wide rectangular street that circumambulates the temples.
It is ideally designed for this centuries old tradition.
Usually the procession uses just one large chariot and sometimes they use two but on very special occasions they use all three carts which only happens a couple of times a year.

It just so happened that this was one such special occasion, Markan Shankranti, the day the sun chances its course from the northerly to the southerly.
A big festival is held here on this occasion so all three carts were being used.
I managed to get a pic of the parade.


Being a coastal town on the Arabian sea there are a lot of beaches.
I love the water so we just had to check some of them out.

Most the beaches are sparsely populated.
You hardly see anyone and some are dotted with small fishing boats. A few, such as Malpe, do have people frolicking in their waters with a couple of beach resorts.

As oceans and beaches go Udupi's are ok. The waves are small but the tides can be strong especially during the full moon when the tides are higher and lower. The sand is smooth and relatively clean.


The highlight for me during our visit to Udupi happened on our last afternoon there.

Being our last  day, we went for a final visit to see Shri Krishna.
As we approached the altar we heard the familiar sound of the Maha Mantra kirtan. Looking behind us we noticed a group of devotees, some local but most from Russia having an ecstatic kirtan.

After taking darshan we joined the group of chanters.
Perhaps it's because I am older, wearing devotional attire and tilak, that I was invited to lead some of the kirtan.
Whatever the reason, I felt honored to have this special privilege and experience.
To lead a kirtan inside this temple in front of this very special Deity of Lord Krishna is truly a once in a lifetime experience and honor. 

Now there is another interesting phenomena regarding this Deity.
He is facing west. Usually temple Deities face East and originally this Krishna Deity was also facing East but He turned around for His devotee, Kanaka Dasa.
You see Kanaka, for some reason, wasn't allowed in the temple so from outside he began to offer prayers to Shri Krishna. He chanted with such pure devotion that Krishna turned to face him.
At that place where Kanaka Dasa sat there is now a "gopuram", a tower entrance, and although it isn't an actual entrance into the temple, there is a slotted window in the wall to look through towards the Deity of Shri Krishna.

Where we were sitting doing kirtan was almost in the exact same spot where Kanaka Dasa sat. I say almost because instead of outside we were just on the inside of the wall.

Although the deity was already facing us we did manage to turn heads in our direction.
Not so much because of devotion, but more likely from the curiosity and perhaps shock of the onlookers seeing a group of white people in Vaishnava clothes holding kirtan.
Judging by the looks on their faces most visitors and even some of the temple priests seemed to approve.
Many also sat and joined us.

Sri Krishna Sankirtan ki jai!
Sri Udupi Krishna ki jai!
Friday January 19th; Guruvayur, Kerala, India

We took an overnight "semi-sleeper" heading further south from Udupi to Guruvayur.
These buses are comfortable enough.
Some of their features are that they have curtains, not only on all the windows, but also across the front between the driver and the passengers limiting any disturbing outside side night light from all sides.
The seats also recline back with the  lower section coming up to support the legs. These special seats recline at a perfect angle so that every time the driver puts pressure on the brakes you slide down the seat. So you don't completely sleep. After all you are on a "semi-sleeper"

We got on the 11:30 PM bus and went straight to "semi-sleep".

Arriving early the next morning in Guruvayur, well not exactly Guruvayur, but somewhere in the middle of nowhere we flagged down a motorized three wheeled rickshaw commonly known as an auto.
Communicating with the driver was a little challenging but was resolved when a passing high school student became our translator.

Our on-line booked hotel was good enough but through some good fortune, we happened upon another hotel the following day wherein a disciple of Jayapataka swami greeted us. Being fellow devotees he offered us a deluxe room in his newly built enterprise at a fraction of the usual rate for just  a regular room.
At least until the weekend.
You see one special thing about the Guruvayur is that it is the wedding capital of South India and many Indians come from all over considering it very auspicious to be married here so all the hotels are fully booked for the weekends months in advance.

The main attraction is the Deity of Lord Krishna.

This 5,000 year old Deity of Lord Vishnu was originally worshiped by Krishna's father, Vasudeva and even Lord Krishna Himself when they were in Dwaraka.
But just before Dwaraka city was inundated by the sea, the Deity was relocated here to Guruvayur by the collective efforts of Brihaspati, the guru of the demi-gods and Vayu the demigod of wind.
Thus the name Guru "Vayu r".
Guruvayur is also known as the Dwaraka of the south.

Just as an interesting side note; According to Vedic litreature Lord Krishna's 5,000 year old city of Dwaraka, which was located on the coast of present day Gurjarat, was said to have fallen deep into the ocean. Just recently an ancient sunken city was discovered off that same coast baring possible evidence to support this.

As mentioned the main attraction of Guruvayur is the temple of Lord Krishna.
It is one of the most popular and wealthiest temples in India.

In order to enter the temple you have to line up.
Lining up and waiting to view special temple Deities is very common in India and this practice certainly helps one to develop a sense of patience.

Anyway after waiting of more than an hour we were able to have a viewing of this wonderful Deity.

The Guruvayur temple is another temple where only "Hindus" are allowed entrance but converted Hindus and devotees of ISKCON are also welcomed.

Men have to remove their shirts in order to enter this temple.
Standing in public bare chested, I would normally feel self conscious, but in this line I  was actually feeling very good.
Being noticeablely different, western white bodied, with bead bag, neck beads, shika, and the twelve tilak markings on my body I felt I was making a positive statement about Srila Prabhupada's greatness. 
Shrila Prabhupada had done what no other personality has ever done beofre. He created and continues to make devotees of Lord Krishna from all over the world.
Of course I wouldn't go so far as to say i am even a good example of a representative of Srila Prabhupada's mission but at least externally in the eyes of the locals I looked the part which was often acknowledged by their respect towards me.
 
In general I have found that the south India temple personnel are quite respectful towards the western devotees of Krishna.

Another feature in south India, is that many of the temples have regular elephant processions with the Deities.
In fact this particular opulent temple maintains more then sixty such elephants that are rotated for this service.
There is a special compound of about ten acres where they care for these special elephants.  It is just a short distance from the temple complex so we also visited there.

As the weekend was approaching with no place to stay we booked an over night train to Kanyakumari.
We left on Friday evening arriving near the foremost southern tip of India the following morning.
Saturday January 24th; Kanyakumari, India: 















Kanyakumari (formely Cape Comorin) is the southernly most tip of India.
Three oceans meet at that point. the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal.