Radhastami Run up....

8/31/06

Haribol, I know I have not written in a while, so to update everyone, I’m fine (No I’m not sick, as everyone seems to think…). Anyway, tomorrow is Radhastami here in Vrindavan. Talking to many locals, Janmastami here was considered, well, a flop… but from seeing the preparations ongoing for Radhastami, it will be quite an event. The decorations all arrived Tuesday, and Radhastami is Friday. Yesterday (Wednesday) they started decorating the temple room, and in the afternoon, tons of flowers showed up in the area across from Srila Prabhupada’s Samadhi…..so, it should be quite an event. Yesterday (Wednesday) was also Lalita devi’s appearance day, which means that they offered the deities a beautiful new turquoise colored dress…it was very nice....I am going to leave you with a quote from chapter 1 of the Nectar of Devotion, when Srila Prabhupada is describing Srimati Radharani’s glories:

“Srila Rüpa Gosvämi has stated that devotional service attracts even Krishna. Krishna attracts everyone, but devotional service attracts Krishna. The symbol of devotional service in the highest degree is Rädhäräni. Krishna is called Madana-mohana, which means that He is so attractive that He can defeat the attraction of thousands of Cupids. But Rädhäräni is still more attractive, for She can even attract Krishna. Therefore devotees call Her Madana-mohana-mohiné—the attractor of the attractor of Cupid.
To perform devotional service means to follow in the footsteps of Rädhäräni, and devotees in Vrindävana put themselves under the care of Rädhäräni in order to achieve perfection in their devotional service. In other words, devotional service is not an activity of the material world; it is directly under the control of Rädhäräni. In Bhagavad-gitä it is confirmed that the mahätmäs, or great souls, are under the protection of daivi prakrti, the internal energy—Rädhäräni. So, being directly under the control of the internal potency of Krishna, devotional service attracts even Krishna Himself.”

Chaitanya

Amul: Realizations

August 27th, 2006, 11:54 AM Sunday

 

    It's hard to write something when theres nothing really exciting going on.  I've gotten into a routine, so things that might have seem exciting 2 months ago (man, its been that long!?) are just second nature now.  School is going well, I'm really learning alot.  Our teachers are stressing putting the knowledge into practice.  It's how much you apply that counts, not the degree you get at the end.  I find comfort in that statement since I am not the academic type...haha.

   

    Nectar of Instruction is such an amazing book.  I was always looking for a book that would tell me the do's & dont's, what to practice, what to avoid, in Krishna consciousness.  What made it better was our instructor, H.G. Kurma-Rupa prabhu, a old-school devotee from the historical New York ISKCON crew.  He really teaches from realization and tells us these awesome experiences he's had, that totally relate with the book.  I'm telling you, if you have the right teacher, everything becomes perfect.

 

    Yesterday was a whole ordeal.  My friend Satyanarayan's knee was injured when he accidentally walked into a ditch. I don't know, i think he just stepped on it the wrong way, but he was in so much pain.  The whole morning he was just writhing in pain whenever he moved his leg.  So we decided to get him to a doctor.  But how would we get him down the 4 flights of stairs, he could not even stand up on his own!  And I could not lift him, he's quite a husky fellow.  Chaitanya to the rescue!  Chai volunteered to take Satya on his back and bring him downstairs to the awaiting riksha.  Many people were astonished at the super-human strength of my roomate.  It was as if he had gotten the strength of 10,000 elephants (i wonder if it had anything to do with his Mahabharata reading...he reads it every chance he gets!). 

   

    After that, we went to 2 doctors, had 2 X-rays done, and still no results.  The 2nd X-ray said that Satyanarayan had a large fracture in his knee.  By this time, it was 7pm!  On top of that our riksa walla was so slow, he had only one working leg (here's a tip for everyone out there, make sure your riksa driver has TWO working legs).  And I had an exam the next day (today, it was a take home, and i hadn't finished it yet).  So I was in alittle bit of anxiety.  Update: Satyanarayan went to a doctor at 10pm last night, when Radha Govinda Maharaj, his guru, found out.  He's going to be okay.

   

    But then realizations cleared my anxiety.  Since everything was in Krsna's hands, what could I learn from this incident? (I have recently learned this technique, it really helps against getting fried easily).  I thought for a bit, and I realized a few things:

 

1) The body is a huge source of suffering, there's no question about it.  You may get some pleasure out of it, but it will never last.  Satyanaryan was in so much pain just because of his knee, i couldn't even look at his face sometimes.

2)  This world is a dangerous place.  You can just be walking and two seconds later, your knee is fractured.

3)  Taking shelter of the holyname can really help one's mind feel peaceful.  As soon as I started chanting on the riksa, with-- care and attention (NOI), I felt assurance that everything would be alright, it reminded me of a quote from Bhagavad Gita:

“For one who has accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Mukunda, or the giver of mukti, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s footprint. paraà padam, or the place where there are no material miseries, or Vaikuntha, is his goal, not the place where there is danger in every step of life.”  BG 2.51

 

Most of my realizations were based around those 3.  The material world is all suffering, the body is miserable...does that seem pessimistic to anyone?  Ah, but there is hope! The holyname is like a soothing balm (like tiger balm, that junk works so well ,on mosquito bites, thanks to Chai's mom, thanks Aunty!) on the worrying mind.  "Similarly, if you chant this Hare Krsna mantra, then your first vision of your self, your constitutional position, will be visible just like a line of the moon. But if you go on continuing, you will find one day it is [a] full moon and brilliant, very soothing, and nectarine. You’ll taste your life as very sublime, blissful, and hopeful."  -Srila Prabhupada

 

So much more but no time, I will write more later, until then..chant Hare Krsna!

   

dasamula

 

 

   

Janmastami

8/19/06

Haribol, so here’s my version of the Janmastami celebrations here in Vrindavan. The first crazy thing that happened was the greeting of the deities, which took place at about 7:30 in the morning. Then entire front of the temple room was jam packed, and the courtyard and the back were pretty full. If you haven’t been to a deity greeting at Krishna-Balaram Mandir, the way it usually works is they open one altar at a time, starting with Gaura Nitai, then Krishna Balaram, and finally Radhe Shyam. I happened to be standing by Gaura Nitai, and got the darshan immediately, as they opened the curtain. Then, when they started to prepare to open Krishna Balaram, the sea of people started moving, and I just kind of drifted over there. I had no choice really, and I got there darshan as well. Then this happened again for Radhe Shyam, but twice as much. So after deity greeting, I had moved all the way across the temple room, by just kind of floating in the sea of people. The rest of the day went nice as well. I had the good opportunity to sit right next to Aindra Prabhu for a good part of the 10:30 – 1:30 AM kirtan (he would of kept going, but the temple management politely told him that they had to clean up…..we have it on video tape…). The temple room was pretty packed, but in talking to people the next day, I heard normally that there are 2 or 3 times as many people (which is somewhat hard to imagine), but after they heard what happened in Manipur, they severely restricted the amount of people who could come in. After eating, I headed over to Bunkibihari with Daksh, Kushal, Daksh’s parents, and Sarva-Jay Gauranga for mangala aroti there. The streets weren’t as crazy as last time, but the temple room was just mad. I went in front, and we made a chain. Then I ploughed through the crowd, and we got right to the front again. It was really a pretting intense crowd, and it was cool that we got that close.

Prabhupada’s Vyasa puja the next day was pretty cool as well. It was nice to hear so many of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples glorify him, and at 1 PM there was a huge feast in a pandal which they had built in the parking lot just for the occasion.

Chaitanya

Amul: Janmastami & Prabhupada Vyasa Puja

Radhe Syam: in their midnight semi-flower dress!
The temple room was decorated with fresh flower decorations, it was beautiful and festive.
You can see me peeking my head out!
If you look closely, you can see Daksh, Kushal, Chai, and Radhey!

Radhe Radhe, Beloved Vaisnavas and Vaisnavis,

   

    Just got back from the maha feast after fasting till noon for Prabhupada's Vyasa Puja.  Boy, what a feast!  Janmastami last night was very nice too.  Many people, just dancing so crazily and ecstatically in the temple room.  Me, Daksh, Chai, Kushal, and Radhey got seats right next to Aindra prabhu's kirtan mandali.  We were really lucky, for 2 hours we just chanted there with Aindra prabhu and his crew!  Abhishek was going on at the time, then at 12 midnight there was the maha darsan. It was very beutiful, the deities were wearing a new beautiful dress and some flower ornaments, like a semi flower dress.  Gaura Nitai looked most beautiful to me, they reminded me so much of my Istadeva's back home at Towaco, even though they are non different (i am not advanced, i cannot see they are the same) HAHA!

   

    Janmastami during the day was basically a regular day, just more chanting (did 32 rounds, my friend Madhura Madhava did 108!, JAY HO!), and kirtan.  Most of us fasted from everything besides water, because if you dont drink water you wont be able to do anything, it was pretty hot yesterday.  Then at 6:30 pm, Aindra prabhu came down to do his kirtan.  After that, we all went to our room to hang for a while until we went down to the temple room to get seats for the maha kirtan, abhishek, and darsan.  It was really fun to be with Radhey, Daksh, and Kushal, it reminded me of P-sena: Empower! 

   

       After everything was finished, i went to sleep, i was so beat.  But the rest of the gang went to Banke Bihari's for mangala darsan.  Then this morning, at 7 there was gurupuja and class given by Srila Prabhupada.  Then Prabhupada's own disciples read their homages, which went on for 3 hours!  During most of this i was dreaming of eating, i was so dehydrated and hungry. 

   

    Then everyone made their way to the pandala for the maha feast.  As i entered, i saw all my VIHE buddies about to  serve prasad.  I could not sit down to eat while they were serving! But i was practically dying of starvation! The exemplary devotee Amul appeared on my shoulder and said, "Amul, devotional service prabhu!" then the sense gratifier Amul appeared on my other shoulder and said, "Amul your so hungry, who cares, think about yourself!  The exemplary devotee Amul won,

   

    It was weird though, my hunger for some reason, passed while i was serving the devotees.  Then when i was finished serving, one of my classmates mentioned that all of them had already eaten before hand! AHHHH!! My hunger magically appeared again and i quickly got a plate and sat down, and ate until it felt like rice and paneer were about to come out of my ears.  The sense gratifier Amul said, "told you so".  I told him shut it.

   

    Now here i am in the room, wondering how the Janmastami's in the US were!  Someone hollar back! 

Miss you all,

amul butter

 

ps. I am not schizophrenic, please dont go telling my mom i need to be admitted to the crazy house.

Amul: "Uncle Frank"

    Monday, August 14, 2006 12:27 pm

   

    I got a call yesterday from my parents that our dear next door neighbor in NJ, Frank Sapienza, had past away.  I was pretty distraught and then I remembered what I had learned from the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.  About the soul, and how it could not be killed.  Anyways, let me just give you alittle history about "Uncle Frank".

 

    "Uncle Frank", as he was affectionately known by my family, was an old Italian man who had lived in Paramus even before we had come there, around 18 years ago.  He was married to Adaleena (it was really Adeline, but my father pronounced it differently), his loving wife, who would always be seen with him. 

   

    Uncle Frank had a love for gardening and landscaping.  His lawn was by far, the best lawn in our neighborhood.  Whenever guests would come over, they would always remark how green his lawn was!  Also, every year his garden would yield bags and bags of tomatoes, green peppers, eggplants, etc.  He was truly a person in the mode of goodness.  You could always see him outside, sometimes with his cowboy hat, working away in his garden or on his lawn.  I used to watch him out of our kitchen window, admiring his hard working spirit.  And whenever my father had a question about something to do with landscaping or home improvement, the first person he would go to was Uncle Frank.  He would never hesitate to help.

 

    Uncle Frank was a very pious person as well.  During the summer, almost every evening, you could find him reading the bible on his front porch with his wife.  You could tell he had a taste for reading about Jesus Christ, whom he probably had a deep relationship with.  Every Sunday, without fail, he and his wife would go to church too. I remember them being dressed up and leaving around 10 am for their Sunday services. 

 

    Uncle Frank also got some chance to do service for Krishna as well.  During Bhakti Charu Swami's taping of Abhay Charan in New Jersey, some shots were taken on Uncle Frank's amazing front yard.  Bhakti Charu Swami was so impressed by the lawn and neat landscaping, he decided it was a great place to shoot.  We were allowed to tape right on Uncle Frank's front lawn! 

    Another service He rendered was to our deities at home.  Uncle Frank would grow tomatoes but he wouldn't like the greenish un-ripe ones.  So he offered that we could take them if we wanted.  I have fond memories of my childhood going to Uncle Frank's garden with my father, and picking all the green tomatoes.  Then my mother would cook subji with them when they ripened, and offer it to the deities.  Indirectly, Uncle Frank was performing the service to Krishna!  Devotional service, nonetheless.

       

    Uncle Frank was a dear Grandfather figure to me.  He was pious, hardworking, and always willing to help.  I remember his sweet Italian accent and how neat his garage was.  When I was younger, he would even put air in my bike tires when I needed it.  I will miss him.

Balaram Jayanti Kirtan video

Haribol...another small clip from Balaram Jayanti...enjoy
COMMENTS NOW WORK!!!!! So comment away.....

Balaram Jayanti in Vrindavan

Haribol Everyone. Here's a funny clip from the kirtan during Balaram Jayanti. This guy is hilarious. We've also been aware of the comment problem, so keep trying to comment, and I'm working on that. Have a great Janmastami.

Chaitanya

Top 10 List of Realizations About India

8/8/06

Being the extremely Bhakti Sastri student which I am, I have decided to write a blog about my top 10 realizations about India, instead of memorizing Bhagavad Gita verses (I will do that when I'm done). As many of you know, India is somewhat different from America, but by living here for about 6 weeks now, I have tested some views over time, and here they are. Now, as you look down at the list, you will notice that there is not 10 items there. Before you start questioning my ability to count to ten, or to count period, I will give you my reason for only giving you four reasons, not yet numbered. Reason number 1, nobody does a top 4 list, so that Idea was out, but the reason I'm sticking to is Reason number 2. Reason number 2 is that this way, I will not give away the whole thing at once, or the order, so there's some suspense ( In reality, I couldn't think of ten things, but I'll post them as I come up with them). Without further adu, imagine David Letterman is reading these, and here is my Top 10 List of Realizations of India.....Part 1:

 

 

 

 

• Time: A few years ago, we started coining the phrase IST, which stands for Indian Standard Time. Whenever we'd be late, or a program would start late, or someone else was late, it would just be Indian Standard time. Well, what I have now realized is that India is the birth place of Indian Standard time, so this is where it is personified in its most powerful form. Coincidentally, the time zone India is in has the initials IST...standing for Indian Standard Time. Anyways, everything is at least 5-10 minutes late here. If someone says they'll be there at 10, don't show up until 10:30 earliest, if you have to pick something up on Sunday, safer to go Thursday or Friday, so it'll be done. IST here in India is double or triple IST is in America.
• Left...Left...Left...or Right???: As you know, people in India drive on the left (a crazy and un-needed British Tradition if you ask me...also, sometimes you're not sure what side they're driving on here). But how about when you walk up to someone. Do you go towards the left or towards the right. In the west, its a common practice that you always go towards the right, so that neither person bumps into eachother. Here however, some people go to the left, and some people go towards the right. After awhile of almost bumping into people, you just decide to do your own thing and make everyone else conform with you (its been working for a little while...).
• Pushing and shoving: Indian people feel it is their absolute birthright to cut you in line. For example, yesterday I was waiting in line to swing the Jhulan in the temple. I clearly remember that I was in line behind this old dada, where a cream colored kurta. After looking around for about 5 seconds, I was now behind four ba's, one of them pushing me back, so she could squeeze her way into line. This is an example of a daily experience here. Now do you push the ba's...I mean come on, they're old people...I end up sucking it up most of the time.
• Power: Everyone knows this already, but I will reiterate it. India has still not figured out power. I guess it is a much harder thing to figure out that I thought. Just as I was writing this blog alone, the power went out 3 times. I'll give India this though...when the power goes out in America, its the end of the world (ref: NYC blackout). Here, everyone is ready for it. If you're in a shop, they'll whip out their kerosene lantern while they were showing you what you were looking at, with some sort of 3rd arm.

 

 

Well, that's it for now....stay tuned for more items soon.....

 

Chaitanya

another picture

a few friends and the 3 from NJ

amul: few days blog

 

July 29^th, 2006

 

            So it’s been a month…every now and then, when im waiting for Prasadam or walking to Vihe on my own, I think of home.  I remember things like blacktop roads, cars with 4 wheels as opposed to three, walking on carpets, and wearing pants.  I also remember people whose friendship I take for granted and I make a mental note to really appreciate them when I get back home.  5 more months! haha…

            Yesterday was Haryali Theej, a festival when the whole KB temple is decorated in greenery.  The deities’ altar was completely covered in green leaves, it was very beautiful.  Also, the temple was very crowded for Sandhya arati.  Another festival that happens on this day is Banke Bihari Jhulan.  Darsan is so crowded in the daytime, that most iskcon devotees go at night, when its not as crowed, but still push-and-shove crowded.  So, me, Chai, Damodar, Bhaja Gauranga, Madhura madhava, Visala, and Dhanurdhar----all my Vihe classmates, saddled up and went to see Banke Bihari ji around 10 pm.  I had gone during my last visit to Vrindavan, 4 years ago, so I was excited to see the Jhulan yatra again.  WOW, it was definitely an amazing darsan once again.  There was a HUGE silver jhulan, and 4 solid silver life sized Sakhi’s.  Banke Bihari was closer to his devotees than usual so you could see the deity so well.

            Vihe update:  we finished Isopanisad!! Yesss! We have an exam tomorrow, so can’t wait to finish it for good.  I like the book but it was kind of complicated for me.  I like Bhagavad Gita a lot better.  My teacher is one of the most amazing devotees I have ever met, I gave a short description in one of my previous blogs so you can refer if you haven’t “met” him yet.

            Man, can you believe that nothing else is going on?  Yea, so I just wanted to write a little blurb to let all my readers that im still alive and to still check the blog once and a while.  Alright keep it real, Haribol…                  

 

July 31st, 2006           

            The exam went okay.  It was pretty hard though.  15 questions, all short essay answer, took about 2 hours, we had 3.  It was fun talking about it afterward because I remember in school when we would talk about tests afterward, and now I was doing it in Vrindavan with devotees!  I think I did decent. 

            I have been doing 16 rounds straight for about 2-3 weeks now.  I was doing it for the first week but then I stopped for 2 or 3 days, I don’t know why, spaced out!  I really like the way my spiritual life is going.  By chanting I am feeling responsible and pure.  By studying sastra, doubts I had are slowly being erased. A little history, if i may ;).......

 After my years of huge glasses and huge neck beads (as VBd puts it), I started questioning my Krishna Conscious upbringing.  I envied all the devotees that got into it because they “joined” or they got a book from a devotee distributing.  I wondered why I could not have the faith that they did from actually going darkness to light.  It is still a slight anartha of mine, that i am in denial.  Hopefully by constant studying/sadhana this can be pacified.  I've talked to many devotees who think i am crazy to think this because of how bad their upbringing was.  As the saying goes, "the grass is greener on the other side"  I gotta be happy with what i have. Kind of relates to The 'Isavasya' principle! <to all my Bhakti Sastri alumni...haha

 

August 2nd, 2006

    Today was our first day of "Nectar of Instruction".  I really like this book.  HG Kurma Rupa prabhu is our instructor.  His teaching style is really chill but you can tell he knows his stuff really well.   The topic was about Text 1, controlling the Six Urges.  He started a discussion that was aimed at seeing who is a qualified guru or who is advanced.  He said in our movement there are so many misconceptions about whos a good guru or who is an advanced devotee.  When he opened it up to discussion, i remembered a phrase VBD uses alot, and i said "in our movement, whoever gets the ghee lamp first is an advanced devotee, thats a misconception".  My classmates thought that was pretty clever! thanks VBD! hahaha.  So the point was that an advanced devotee or qualified guru is someone that can control these Six urges.  They are eligible to make disciples.  This was a great verse for me personally because i always come across people who think just because someone is a Prabhupada disciple, or someone is smart in sastra, is automatically, without looking at this person's life, is an advanced vaisnava.  Don't get me wrong, i know many advanced devotees who are Prabhupada disciples, or who can quote sanskrit like its written on their hand, but that is not the qualifications Rupa Goswami gives in the first text.  Now i can quote "Upadesamrita" to make a point. 

 

In other unrelated, useless news, i got on AIM for the first time!  It was around 7:30pm india time, and i chatted with Namai, Radhey, Gopal, Pragnesh, Pradyumna, and a few others.  It was really awesome to err..read......their voices again. HAHA.  Lots of people are coming here for Janmastami and Kartik, can't wait till you guys come! 

 

Also we are now using our laptops to download our mail, so we can reply/read emails in our room, we dont have to be connected to the internet.  So i encourage long emails, ill write back real long too!

 

OH yea i almost forgot, you probably all know, My dear dear friend Damodar who accompanied me here to India, is leaving.  He's packing his stuff right now as i type this.  I'm really sad to see him go but i am not letting it get me down at a time like this. He will feel my wrath when i get back to America in December.  MUhhuahhahaha... later mata-g's and pravu-g's.

 

August 3rd, 2006

    So Damodar left.  A piece is definitely missing from me.  I came back from class today and bought some mahaprasad.  And I ate it sitting on the floor of our new room, alone.  Thats when it really hit me that he was gone.  I dont know what im gonna do.  When he was here i felt safe.  I think i was too dependent on him, now i will have to suffer for that.  I was treating it like it was not going to affect me, as you can read from the last entry.  boy was i dead wrong. Dont feel like writing more. haribol.

 

 

 

 

 

           

           

             

Video from Vrindavan at Krishna Balaram Mandir

Haribol, this is the video I promised. It took awhile to upload, but you can most certainly kind of get the sense of what it was like.

Hariali Teej

7/31/06

I am going to start this blog by saying that the reason I have not written in a while is multi-faceted. On one hand, not much blog-worthy has happened, and on the other hand, I just haven’t found time really to get to the internet in more than a week. So that’s that….now to the story. Friday, two days ago was our first real taste of chaos in Vrindavan, and from what I’ve heard, it was only a drop of nectar compared to the other festivals. I started suspecting something was happening Thursday night when I entered Aindra Prabhu’s kirtan, and the temple room was jam packed. The last time the temple room was close to that packed was around Guru-Purnima, but this was just a Thursday. I found out later that night that the next day, Friday, was jhulan and Bunkibihari Mandir. For those of you who don’t know this, Bunkibihari is by far the most popular deity in Vrindavan, so when they have jhulan, especially because there’s only one day of it there, many people will come. The next day, going into mangal aroti, the temple room was all decked out with nice leafy decorations. I also found out later that morning that this same day, the 3^rd day of Sravaan, was Hariali Teej, the day in which all the deities in Vrindavan would wear green. All the other temples also celebrate because of jhulan at Bunkibihari (not officially…but personally I think that’s why…..). The deities looked beautiful that morning, because the altars were adorned with many green leaves, and Krishna and Balaram literally looked like they were in a forest. Now fast-forward to later that night. I got back from class and entered Aindra’s kirtan. The scene I witnessed was something about ten times the scale of which I witnessed in my blog entry solely about Aindra kirtans (scroll down…). The temple room was packed, the courtyard was packed, and it felt like I was walking into some sort of big party. I could only think that if they celebrated a holiday I had never heard about before, what would they do for Janmastami? Anyways, I will try and upload a video Amul took with his camera on youtube. Later that night, around 9:30, we left for Bunkibihari. Vrindavan had been closed to cars the whole day, and there were a lot of cops all over town, It was actually pretty surprising to see…but they kept order. Arriving at Bunkibihari along with thousands, we swiftly moved into the temple room, and pushed our way right up front. Bunkibihari was right there, on a huge swing (it wasn’t swinging though), and they weren’t even closing the curtains (I don’t feel like explaining why they normally do…ask someone and you’ll find out….). As we were leaving the temple room, I turned around, and you could just see the thousands of people behind flooding in, and to think that this flow and been continuing the entire evening, probably since 6 PM or so, and to also think that it would go well beyond midnight was even more amazing. So that’s it for Hariali Teej, it was a pretty cool thing to see. Things I forgot to mention that also happened that day, Lokanath Swami showed up in Vrindavan, did mangal aroti on the Radhe- Shyam altar, led a rocking guru pooja, and gave a nice class. Also, Jhulan starts here this Saturday, so I’m sure I’ll have something to write about that. Until then….I’m out…..

Chaitanya

What's up...................

What's up everyone, sorry for not writing in a while, but i don't get to the computer very much. Everything in Vrindavana is fine, the weather has gotten much more pleasant (I heard its really hot there). By the way... the best veggie burgers in the world are now found in Vrindavana, India. Its only a 14 hour flight plus 3 hour drive from new jersey, so look into it.
In other news, Damodar will unfortunately be leaving us, but you will be able to have his company for Janmastami. I believe he leaves August 4th. Well thats all for now. .........................
Chaitanya and Amul


p.s.: we love reading the comments.....keep them coming

Amul: VIHE

this was written a few days back, its very nice weather today. I am getting accustomed to life here now. Time went by so fast, its already been 20 days!

Yesterday was Lokanatha Goswami (original one)'s Dissapearance day, so me and Damodar went to visit his Samadhi (Chaitan was religiously in Aindra's kirtan). Also Radha Gokulananda because they were his istadeva deities, it was very well decorated and nice bhajans and a rasa lila drama.

Then we went to Radha Ramana temple and Gopala Bhatta goswami's samadhi. I thought of VBD alot cuz of the whole VB GB connection, VBD if your reading this, Radha Raman looked so beautiful, i wish you were with me when i went! you were in my mind the whole time!

alright prabhus and matajis, enjoy the blog
-amul
********************************************************************************

I've got alot of requests to talk about our VIHE classes, so here it is, a description:

The VIHE building is located near the Goshalla, about 15 minutes walking distance from the Krishna Balaram temple. There are 2 classrooms, which are pretty nice. It gets quite hot sometimes during our late morning classes, but its bearable.

We have about 20 devotees in our class. They come from all over, there are devotees from Germany, Dubai, India, America, to name a few. They are all really nice and its fun to have such a variety of ages and backgrounds. Theres many youths, which makes the classes even more fun, because after class we hang out and joke around, its great!

Our teachers are really cool too. Adi Purusa prabhu (nicknamed "A.P." by me), is this really nice, peaceful bramhachari from Ukraine. He translated Srila Prabhupada's books into his language. Hes really into Tai chi and martial arts, he's super jacked, he gives Nishan a run for his money! He teaches Bhagavad Gita. At first I didnt really like his style of teaching, but now i understand why he does some things and I like it.

Prasanta Mataji is our Sri Isopanisad teacher. Shes from Italy or France, i forget which one. A funny thing about her is that she has an indian accent and a european accent at the same time! She's been in Vrindavan for a really long time, which gives her an indian accent when she speaks english (im sure she can speak hindi), but then she holds her mother language accent. Its really entertaining when her indian accent kicks in full power.

Phew, now that the description is over (sooo not my style, i like writing whatevers in my mind), i'll tell you whatsup around here.

Today we went to the Yamuna. It was a long overdue visit because when you first enter Vrindavan, one of the places your supposed to visit is the Yamuna, for blessings to really enter Vrindavan.

So, we took a boat to the other side and payed our obeisances and got in. We went with 2 classmates of ours, they are really nice. The Yamuna was so receded that the water only went up to our stomachs, no farther. I heard that when HH Indradyumna swami once went to take bath in Yamuna, right after he got in, the first two stones he picked up from the bottom were Shalagram Silas! I tried looking for stones but there was such a strong current that there was nothing on the bottom except mud. What i did find was an awesome piece of clay pot. It was awesome...?.......yea..............ahem. That reminds me of that Simpsons episode when Lisa's classmates are at an excavation site, and Ralph finds a "spear head" which is really his trough blade. HAHAHAHAHA, VBD and Gopal, you guys know what im talking about.

Alright, im sick of writing. I want to know whats going on over there! Current stuff at Towaco, or anything new in the US. A few people are writing to me but i wish more would!
later,
amul

ps. Haribol Mummy! your probably reading this at Krsangi's house, im doing okay, dont worry about me. And i will take a picture of Radha Syamasundar in their Night dress, dont worry.

pss. I forgot to mention i was sick for a day or two, vomiting, indigestion, fever etc. It wasn't that bad, i went to a doctor almost immediately and got some ayurvedic medicine. I am really watching what i eat. I sneak in some soan papri once and a while ;) MMMM…

Amul: a Pic

Yamuna Boat ride, July 16, 2006

Akhanda Harinam Sankirtan....(I couldn't think of a title...Amul's Idea)

7/12/06
I know this may be a shock to many people (Yes….I know this is a weird way to begin a blog…..), well, I am a big fan of Aindra Prabhu’s kirtans. Well I have been trying to avoid writing a blog purely about Aindra Prabhu’s kirtans for that one reason alone, none of you would take me seriously, but after several events (believe me, they’re worth reading about)…I just could not resist. The first few days we were here Aindra Prabhu’s kirtans were just as I expected, awesome. But for the past week, due to the advent of Guru-Purnima, Krishna Balaram Mandir has very busy for the last week. For those of you who do not know this, Aindra Prabhu starts singing between 6:30 and 6:40, and he goes until two or three minutes after the curtains have opened for Sandhya Aroti (7:05 on the temple room clock here). He usually cranks the kirtan up several times, and as I walked in at 6:43 today (I rush from class, I literally run), what I witnessed was an all out bhangra (I've never seen one before, but from what I've heard...) scene (Yes…you read that correctly B–H–A–N–G–R–A....it really is pretty crazy...). To top this off, the catalyst for this phenomena was what seemed like a 90 year old dude who was dancing like, well raving like…Nimai Patel (sorry Nimai….I don’t know any other dancers). Dancing has been slowly building up over the past few days, but it definitely reached another level today. Even the 24 hour kirtan devotees were laughing, I’m definitely gonna try and videotape it tomorrow. On a side note, the weather here is actually quite pleasant now, it rains for a short period of time, but the temperature stays much…much cooler. Alright…I’m out for now…..

The picture is from the Hathras program (see blog entry: Hathras)

Chaitanya

Amul: Entry 2

yoo homies, yea yea i know its late, just be happy i got it up, this internet is so slow that i could do parikrama of goverdhan and come back and my yahoo still would have not loaded! HAHA. so this is a few days old, im not feeling homesick anymore. I am making alot of new friends and studying alot (yes gopal i am studying you punk) so thats taking up alot of time, no time to think of ma and pa..lol.

Its been raining the past 2 days and the temp. has gone down considerably, its awesome! there still is the constant smell of sewage everywhere from the overflooding gutters (mutter butter gutter paneer), but that doesnt really bother me. It says that the materialists see Vrindavan as a smelly dirty city with monkeys and hogs, but a devotee sees the real vrindavan as the eternal, spiritual place it actually is. I am trying..brb gotta go throw up..HAHAH J/k

I havent been attacked by monkeys for my glasses (yet) but i do have a funny story to tell, this one morning around 3 am i got up first and damo and chai were still sleeping. I keep my glasses under my bed, please dont ask why. So i ask damodar, "hey dam i dont think i can go to mangals today." right after i said that, i stepped on my glasses, full on! I WAS SOOO PISSED!!!!, i took it as Krishna telling me, "Amul go to mangals you slacker." its true that theres "instant karma" in vrindavan. i bent my glasses back and went to mangals.

We are eating prasadam at the temple, its very nice. We sometimes eat at govindas when we feel like spending money. I am very careful though, not to eat fried foods or fruits that have been out for a long time.

lastly, another funny thing that happened is that when it rained alot, the parking lot behind the temple got flooded, and from our room we have this great view of the parking lot. So the monkeys, they were doing somersaults off the roof and into the water!! it was the funniest thing, def. made my day.


enjoy the post
***********************************************************************************
Amul Sutaria
Entry 2

Feeling really homesick. Nimai Mahajan sent the link to the pics of the Sunday feast cooking, boy was I jealous! It was weird seeing those pictures and not finding myself in them, but at the same time, I felt like I was there while looking at them. I wish I could have been there with all my friends. I stay sane by reminding myself that one day I will be reunited with all of them.
Today was the Bhakti Shastri opening ceremony. There are students from all over. I made friends with this boy from Germany, he told me he spent time at the NYC Bhaktivedanta Ashram and how he loved it. He was naming all the bramhacharis there and I was like “Yea! I know him, I know him, and he’s so cool! Etc.” It was great to hear glorification of devotees that remind me of home.
Speaking of devotees I know, I can’t find any here. During the four years I was gone from Vrindavan, it completely changed. All the devotees I made friends with are scattered across the globe. There is only a handful that I remember and maybe a few that actually remember me. What a great feeling to come back somewhere expecting and hankering to meet old friends, and then finding one, who tells you how all the others left? That was sarcastic by the way.
I have been chanting 16 rounds for the past 2 days now. It really helps in keeping my mind occupied and peaceful. My dear friend and siksa guru, Kalpa Vrksa prabhu, gave me advice through Myspace and e-mail. Meditating on his words also helps me a great deal. [Paraphrased]: “Don’t get caught up in other people’s Maya and immerse yourself in studying the shastra. Wash your eyes and heart daily with Kirtan.” I am so grateful and so indebted to him for taking the time out to instruct me. I encourage all who are reading this to take his association. He’s truly a realized person.
My roommates and I are daily attending Aindra prabhu’s kirtan. They are not of this world. The way he sings, the way he gets others to chant, is so inspiring. The best is seeing the reaction of the Indian visitors who are just dumbfounded that this old white man from the Videsh can sing so well. The rupees that are thrown at his harmonium are proof of this.
Another realization I have been having is that 30 years ago, K.B. temple was mostly foreign devotees. If you watch the video of Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, when the devotees take Srila Prabhupada around Vrindavan, you will see what I mean. And now, the only foreign devotees you will find are the old Prabhupada disciples and a handful of visitors. Then I noticed that not only in Vrindavan, but in America as well, the temples are attended and ran mostly by Indians. Just a thought that came to my mind, I don’t have a specific view on it.
Okay, I’m going to sleep, its getting late, gotta keep the Mangals streak going. If anyone is by chance near my parent’s house in Paramus, please visit them to see how they are doing, I would greatly appreciate it. Radhe Radhe.

Amul

Amul: 1/2 way post

damnit, i know you guys are waiting for a new post but the computer Chai just uploaded my blog document is being used by someone, and i cant wait cuz its PARSHADUM time....so heres what i call a "half way" post.

i am sooo sorry i dont keep in contact with everyone by email. Its so hard to get on the internet because of our busy schedule:

we wake up for mangals, then japa, then greeting the dieties and gurupuja, then prasadam at 9, then class at 11-1pm, then studying/computer/chilling/wasting time, then class at 4-6, then aindra prabhus kirtan till 7, then more chanting/studying, then sleep time. Where is there a chance for walking to the cybercafe? (note: the chanting/studying time is not always that..;))

I know i know, there is time, but u all have to forgive me. With separation our relationships are growing stronger. I think about every one of you at some moment in the day, whether something sparked a memory or i just remember something funny for no reason. Ask damodar and chai, i start laughing sometimes out of the blue, and no its not cuz i am feeling ecstatic symptoms. LOL. RASIKA FOR LIFE ~!

okay my new post will come tommorow! look for it.
radhe radhe
amulio

ps. gimme a call on this cell fone we have, its free incoming calls, get the number from krsangi or n. mahajan!!!

Hathras

7/8/06


Two days ago, Amul and I attended a home program in a town called Hathras. Hathras is approximately 30 kilometers from Vrindavan. In the USA, 30 kilometers by road takes maybe 15 or 20 minutes tops. Here in India it took us about two hours to get there, but I’ve already gone through driving in India (see “Driving in Delhi”) so I’ll just give you the highlights of the drive. The drivers decided to take a “shortcut”. The road for the shortcut is possibly the worst road I have ever seen. Its not that it wasn’t paved, but it was partially paved, so there was a thin strip of road in the middle surrounded by potholes varying in size from approximately 5-15 ft. Anyway, we got there, and it was the opening of the temple. Did I mention that this was a home program with Aindra Prabhu? Yes, we got to go on a home program with Aindra prabhu. We’ve made friends here with the 24 kirtan devotees, they’re all really cool, so they invited us to come on this program. Amul and I got to sit in the back of the Qualis (the standard SUV in India, made by Toyota…yes, I had never heard of it either) that Aindra Prabhu was riding in, sitting right behind him. Aindra Prabhu is one of the coolest devotees I think I have ever met. He is extremely humble, but he is not afraid to speak his mind one bit. On the way to Hathras, the back of our car was continuously making an obnoxious noise, and Aindra Prabhu did the most hilarious impression of it that I have ever seen. We were quietly cracking up for minutes after that.
After arriving in Hathras, we went right up into the temple (the program was actually a new temple opening), and Aindra Prabhu started singing. He sang in total for more than two hours. He sang every one of his signature tunes, including my beloved Vraja Vilas (Vol. 1. , Track 1, approximately 15:30 in, check it out, it’s a sick tune). This was by far the coolest program I have ever been to. I was also amazed to see all the Indians reaction to see this white devotee singing amazingly (as mentioned in Amul’s blog).
Since then, classes have started. They’re okay, but somewhat unbearable due to the extreme heat. Yesterday the electricity stopped working in the VIHE building, so we didn’t even have fans, I can tell you that it very very very very very very very (you got the point) hot. The word around Vrindavan is that rainy season is late this year, but everyone is anxiously awaiting its arrival. Well until next time, I’m out.


Chaitanya

"Time For Some LSD"

7/4/06

The raj-bhoga cook at Krishna Balaram Mandir is a devotee by the name of Bhubaneshwar Prabhu. Bhubaneshwar Prabhu is a Prabhupada disciple, who for some reason or another (I wouldn’t have taken a liking to us) has taken a liking to us, and we have been to his room several times. He always has given us maha-prashad sweets, and he even made the dried fruit Amul brought into a sweet the very next day. We have also read Krishna book with him in his room, the story of King Shalva attacking Dwarka with his mystical airplane and dropping rocks and boulders on the city (It’s a good story, I would give it a read). Well today, he invited us into his room for lunch. Damodar and I went and picked up the Prasad with him (5 subjis, 2 rice preps.., dal, 3 or 4 sweets, chapattis, raita, pakora, and I think that’s about it, but I’m probably forgetting something) from the room right next to the altar. In Vrindavan, they offer 6 raj bhoga plates, and the Prasad for the three of us, came from one plate. In his room we divided it into three plates, and began to honor the prashad. Every single item was absolutely amazing, and on top of that, we were all stuffed when we finished. After we cleaned up, Bhubaneshwar prabhu told us that it was, “Time for some LSD.” After some confusing stares, he added, “left side down.” What I haven’t mentioned that it was extremely hot. The difference between heat in Vrindavan, and heat in America is staggering. In Vrindavan, when it gets hot, it is hot and humid all the time. Stepping outside is literally like stepping into an oven. And after eating so much, you could say sleep was something we were thinking about. This probably isn’t too significant to you, but to us, it was pretty funny. Classes start tomorrow, so I probably won’t write as much as I have been.

Chaitanya