Sunday, June 20th, 2010

The Wet of the Sweat

Villaggio Hare Krishna, Italy

I am very impressed with the level of sincerity shown by the monks (brahmacaris) in Italy as they converged at this time and place for a festival. One person by the name of Bhakti Shakti, who is not a monk (the give away is his white cloth as opposed to the saffron colour) is a very resourceful and skillful person. I really didn't get a chance to speak with him as he was joyfully busy. Bhakti Shakti heads up this fabulous program where he and ten brahmacaris travel throughout Italy and set up at designated locations in towns a caravan or village marketed as Festival of India.

The recent purchase of a customized stage that folds out of a truck is a new addition to the caravan. A first truck carries a self-contained temple. Other trailers are a set of washrooms with showers, a kitchen, an office and a container to mobilize a beautiful young cow, an Italian breed, her name is Surabhi. Another vehicle carries two large air-blown tents which look very smart. One of them houses a boutique for selling devotional items such as incense, devotional clothes, japa beads, pictures, books etc.

What was most unfortunate about the entire set up for this weekend’s international sankirtan festival was that the daily drenching rain restricted its use.

The entire country is experiencing a reversal of weather conditions. What should be hot sunny weather is actually cool and wet this June. Due to other events occurring such as the London Festival of Chariots and a brahmacari festival held simultaneously, plus moist weather conditions, contributed to the less than anticipated turn out. Still hundreds of people came for indoor fun. A fire yajna (ritual) was held to appeal for a good year to come for the dissemination of Krishna Consciousness. Also an entertaining evening carried on where a Dutch actor, Pari Vidha, rendered songs from musicals and converted them into bhakti-charged tunes such as instead of "Come to the Cabaret" we have "Let's go on Hari Nam".

I believe the greatest moment for many people occurred during the Hari Nam, the chanting and dancing portion of the program. Happy faces and bodies springing in the air was symptomatic of a feeling that people aspire towards. All people there avoided the wet of the rain but experienced the wet of the sweat. The bulk of the surcharged group of chanters were the boys from the travelling caravan. Again, how sincere they are enjoying the good simple life.

3 KM