Parikrama!

Today after so many days, I had a few hours to myself! JAIHO! So Apurva Nilacala and I decided to make use of the time to go to the various pastime places that are close by to Mayapur Chandradoya Mandir.

First stop was the Yoga Pith. I had never been to the Yoga Pith before and it was just so amazing to be at the actual birthplace of Lord Caitanya. The deities there are also so beautiful. The style of deities here in Navadwipa is gorgeous as most deities are made out of neem and they have such a unique style and mood.

As it was my first time going there, I was trying to really be in a prayerful mood. For the past few weeks HH Mahanidhi Swami has been giving classes on Caitanya Bhagavat and he said something really wonderful about the pastime places that we visit. He said that the reason why devotees go on parikramas and yatras is to actually go and beg the dust in those holy places to give us the eyes to actually see the unmanifest pastimes that are still taking place today. It is that dust that was witness to the pastimes that took place over 500 years ago and therefore it has the potency to give us the vision to see those pastimes today.

So trying to remember that, I was praying to the dust at Srivas Angam (the next place we visited) to please give me the vision to see the ecstatic kirtans that Lord Caitanya is participating in.

After Srivas Angam we went on Govardhan Parikrama! We went to the bhajan kutir of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, Govardhan hill, Radha Kunda and Shyama Kunda. Mayapur dham is non-different from Vrndavana and Bhaktisiddhantha Sarasvati Thakur said that if one circumambulates the smaller Govardhan here in Mayapur 7 times it is as good as doing the full Govardhan Parikrama in Vraja. Jai! So we sang a few verses from the Govardhanastakam and then sang Jaya Radhe Jaya Krishna while circumambulating Govardhan about 9 times.

After that we went and took the waters of the topmost of all places in the world: Radha Kunda. It was so wonderful and it was just the time to chant gayatri, so in the scenic and peaceful atmosphere of Radha Kunda we both chanted gayatri. After that, I remembered what HH Niranjana Swami did a few years ago when he was in Radha Kunda. He paid obeisances there for many many minutes just praying and asking Radha Kunda to bless all the devotees. So trying to follow in his footsteps I was praying to Radha Kunda to bless all the devotees that I know.

After that we visited Shyama Kunda and once again took drops of water on our heads. Here I was praying and praying that Shyama Kunda would give me attachment and service to Radha Kunda. That concluded our morning "yatra" and this afternoon we'll be heading over to the Jagannath temple.