Monday, September 7th, 2009

To The Heart Of the Village

Suva, Fiji

Well, It happened! The dream to see one of the villages I passed while walking become the recipient of delicious Krishna food has materialized. And it happened to be the village that Daniel, our Fijian native boy hails from. Daniel returned to Krishna Consciousness after we met. With his will and cooperation, and that of Suva temple, curried vegetable rice and your standard semolina halava/vanilla flavoured were items dished out to the majority of villagers. Their appetite were voracious.

Rasa Mandal, our brahmacari monk from Suva started tapping his djembe and kids lined up for dancing movement as I took the lead. The greatest moments during this food settling session was when an elder would jive to the beat of the drum and the sound of the mantra. As sound carried beyond the coconut trees more and more villagers came to check out this thing we call prasadam, the mercy of God. Sugar cane workers from the fields came along to take a break and enjoy the dance and feast session. Daniel was exceedingly happy. “You see how my people are. They are spontaneously accepting it all.”, he expressed.

Daniel also showed us his tent where he resides all year round. Right next to the white sands of the Pacific ocean. Since he discovered vedic culture he had turned vegetarian and can handle no meat in the house. So there he grows his vegetables outside his dwelling with his cooking pots stored inside his tent. Now he has taken up residence in the Suva ashram to live as an ordinary monk once again.

Yesterday I had walked with a group of devotees at Taveuni to the landmark at the International Datelines where the actual global day begins and the previous night ends. Today I saw the day begin when I watched those youngsters at this site, the village of Navutulevu rushing for the prasadam, aching in the stomach for a new experience. What a happy lunch!

I am convinced this program of nice sattvic food, the best of a drum and the sound of the mantra is going to make a difference in these people’s lives.

The other day I spoke with two mormon elders, who were actually young men from Utah on their mission. They were garbed in their ususal white shirt and tie and looking very clean cut. In place of trousers they wore instead sulus, the common skirts men wear in Fiji. The mormons made this adjustment in order to communicate more closely with the native community.

I am suggesting that for Fiji we keep our world famous saffron skirts (the Dhoti) and distribute karma-free food and karma-free mantra

2 Km