Jagat

Living in Vrindavan, even for a quasi-hermit like myself, is a spiritual boon. First of all, the raj, the dust of Vrindavan itself has an inexplicable power that nurtures one's devotion. It may be imperceptible even to some who reside here, but I think that a devotee will eventually remark upon the subtle transformations that take place after enduring contact with this magic powder. Normal, mundane-seeming activities like eating and sleeping become seamlessly tied into bhajan until there is really no distinction. Though I don't go out much, it sometimes does happen. The occasional parikrama, for instance. Darshan of the main temples on Hariyali Teej. A few days ago Manjari Dasi (Tenant) invited me to Gopinath Bhavan for a conference on Rupa Goswami that is held there annually. I got to slip in the mud on my way and get anointed by the Braj raj to keep me nice and humble before arriving, and there I was able to hear Shrivatsa Goswami and Achyuta Lal Bhattaji speak in glorif...

FB Photo Album I have to make a confession. In all these years, I have never yet sat through a Rasa-lila performance from beginning to end. This, for someone who pretends to love Vrindavan, is tantamount to criminal. At least misdemeanor! So today, I decided that I would correct this flaw in my experience as soon as I heard from Visakha Devi that Swami Fateh Krishna's Rasa Mandal, one of the best, would be performing at Jai Singh Ghera until the 13th. But be forewarned, the following comments are from someone who knows little of the art. It is Jhulan in Vrindavan, or as some call it, "Shravan Mela." It is one of the biggest pilgrimage events in Vrindavan, ending on Jhulan Purnima. I made my way downtown, dodging cars, tongas, rickshaws and throngs of pedestrians, through Loi Bazaar, past Shahji temple and in the narrow alley leading to Jai Singh Ghera and Cheer Ghat, being careful to keep my glasses in my bag. Better to be blind and have an accident than have my glas...

So I will be heading back for Rishikesh tomorrow, unless something happens. There has been a big agitation by the Gurjars in Rajasthan over the past month, which has disrupted traffic throughout the region. They are threatening to do something really big tomorrow, so this might mean that my direct overnight bus to Rishikesh will not operate. We'll see. Today I went to Jai Singh Ghera to talk over things with Shrivatsa Goswami. When I got there, I was surprised to see an event of sorts taking place in the main hall. The Friends of Vrindavan was showing a slide show of their achievements to a group from Delhi who are walking along the Yamuna as far as Agra, taking samples of the water and generally speaking to people about bringing the Yamuna back to life. They are called the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan . Most people were young college students from Delhi belonging to a group called Youth for Justice. There was also one Gopal Krishna disciple who seemed to feel a little out of place. Their l...

After many delays, I finally got to talk to Shrivatsa Goswami today and I am able to report some good news. It looks like the Grantha Mandir is going to get sponsoring directly from the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts . Through Shrivatsa, they have already been mirroring some of our texts, but not keeping up very well. This means that we will probably be able to hire a couple of typists here and in Rishikesh and also find someone who can learn the database program that Madhavananda developed for the site. Madhavananda will be coming to Rishikesh in July and I hope that we can make good progress on this and other counts while he is there. Shrivatsa has been working with IGNCA for a number of years and has published 10 books over that time through them. One of them is, of course, Haberman's fine translation of the Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu. Otherwise, we covered a number of other topics. Shrivatsa was in form with his own historical obsession, the politics of 16th century Ch...