Mayapur reflections...

We may have read about, dreamed about and prayed for the opportunity to experience what we read in sastra....about the cintamani gems of the spiritual world that fulfill all desires. Well....after years of searching I found it. Here in Mayapur. Really and truly.

The past few days here have been...well, indescribable! Its been a mixture of a little apprehension, a lot of excitement, a lot of gratitude, and a lot of prayer. The thought of four months in the holy dham for a city dweller definitely can warp one's mind a bit!

Already I have started to realize what an intensely passionate person I am. I just can't seem to sit in one place for too long without thinking that I should be doing something else and these past few days before I start the deity worship course, I've realized how much time I have and how much of it I normally waste! Here, despite my little trips to to the internet cafe, most of the time I chant, read, go see the deities or speak to devotees. That's my life. It's so simple and uncomplicated! It's so uncomplicated that I actually try to complicate it! Such is my restless nature!

But slowly, slowly the dham's magic is working away at this stone heart of mine, starting to chip away and starting to reveal that "hey, I actually have one or two spiritual desires!" For example, I wanted badly to go on parikrama for the past couple of years. This year I was hoping to go on the Vrndavana yatra but this amazing service opportunity came up to sing at the Washington National Cathedral (something I'm hoping to post next time) and so I decided to come to India later. But irregardless, just having that desire was enough and where did I find myself today? Joining in on the last couple of days of HH Romapada Swami's Mayapur Yatra! WOW! So amazing.

And so today I got to go to Champahasti where the beautiful Gaura Gadhadhara deities stand that belonged to Gadhadhara pandit's younger brother and is also the place where Jayadeva Goswami resided for sometime. Such an intensely spiritual and beautiful place. After that we headed to the temple where stood the deities of Nakula Brahmachari who Lord Caitanya personally empowered. Finally the last stop on our tour was Ambikakalana- the place where the beautiful Gaura Nitai deities of Gauridas jumped off the altar and joined in the Gaura Purnima festivities that Gauridas and his disciple Caitanya das put on. And when the deities started to run away, Gauridas started chasing them with a stick and where did Lord Caitanya hide? But in the heart of Caitanya das who later became known as Hrdaya Caitanya. Such an amazing pastime and even more amazing to actually be physically present in these beautiful lila sthanas.

I feel so intensely fortunate to be able to be here and experience this magic, this cintamani nature of Sri Mayapur Dham....but I'll state some well chosen words of advice a friend just gave me....be careful what you wish for, because it will come true! I pray that my wishes will be infused with the desire to serve the Sri Guru, Gauranga and the vaisnavas. Here's to hoping that one will come true too! Bolo Gauranga Mahaprabhu ki JAI!