Thursday, February 28, 2008

Thurs. Feb 28, 2008 - Mayapura, India
There is rarely a place on earth where you will find a town or community where practically everyone wears tilak (an earth-based substance) marked on the forehead and has mantra beads dangling in a small bag from their neck to fall in their front. Even some security guards don the beads and seriously chant on them a fixed number of times every day.
The area of Mayapura is a Krishna Conscious setting. It is unique. There is little mental agitation here, at least speaking on behalf of myself. Stray dogs do enter into the premises and they conduct their regular dog fights but even they manage to curb their tendency to bark in the early morning hours making the atmosphere peaceful. Characteristic also is the regular kirtans, sounds that block out illusion. Here there is little discussion on mundane talks; you don’t hear about the Iraqi war or the US political election race.
A disciple or student of mine, Kuruksetra Das, took a major leap through matrimony. It was an arranged marriage; in other words, highly traditional. The ceremony, lasting several hours in the evening, was pompous. My friend Ambarish, the great-grandson of Henry Ford, attended the program held at a nearby Jagannath temple. Fortunately I had the chance to speak to the wedding crowd. It is naturally a way to offer support to a newly formed family. As I took an evening stroll on the Mayapur grounds, I was approached by a security guard for a set of mantra beads and it just so happened that I was able to give him my extra beads. I showed him how it is to be used and he was most grateful.
7 KM