Jagat

I just came across this picture of the Mahaprabhu Janma Sthan temple built by Ganga Govinda Singh in the late 1700's. This then went into the Ganges in (according to my best knowledge) 1859. I had never seen it before. It is much better than the other existing painting, but in this undated and unattributed painting, it appears already to show some signs of aging. Not unusual for Bengal. Babaji and his disciples are having a japa retreat for the next week. I am witnessing it for the first time and more or less participating in it by osmosis. There are, as I understand it, no rules other than the usual daily prayer together and an informal ishtagoshti once a day. The vibration is strong as everyone is maximizing their individual sadhana rather than study or classes for the next week. There are also some other devotees who have come specifically to participate. The whole things is a bit secretive as everyone is told to strictly follow the rule, āpana bhajana kathā na kahi...

I started writing this while sitting in the Moscow airport. Now in Montreal, Canada. I just want to talk about my last day in Vrindavan. I already confessed to a wide and long detour into English language entertainments. Now that I knew I was finally leaving, I regretted all that I am missing even though present in the Dham. Even after a serious attempt in my three days in Barsana , I still hadn't finished my introduction to the Jivani , though I did make progress. I had hoped to finish it before departure, but I could not manage, though it seems tantalizingly close. One thing that has always been difficult for me with Guru-tattva is this disagreeing with the Guru or finding flaws in the Guru. Naturally, any intelligent observer is bound by nature to apply his powers of rationality to assess the validity of information received from an authoritative source or of one's own sensory perceptions. Information from authoritative sources still has to be confirmed by experien...

From Vrindavan Today : Sometimes one gets the impression that there is a certain movement afoot. Suddenly, one figure bursts into prominence and influences the general mood of the community, sets the rhythm that others follow. When the flowers bloom and their fragrance is carried by the breezes in the spring, the bees and hummingbirds who feed on the nectar automatically swarm to the colorful garden where they are arrayed. For the past few months people have been asking me with regularity, "Have you heard Premananda Baba's Vrindavana-mahimamrita lectures? Then I started looking on the internet and saw that his enthusiasts were making his lectures available every day, so I began listening. And today, finally, I went to Shri Hit Dham on the Parikrama Marg, in the Varaha Ghat area a bit west of the Bhaktivedanta Goshala. Vishakha Dasi accompanied me and took some photos, which you can see here: Gallery . Madan Ter and Shri Hit Dham Shri Hit Dham is right next to Mad...