Mayapura, West Bengal
It was the first time I tried the "Nine Devotions Workshop" in India. It went over well. Merely by word of mouth did the workshop attract twenty people, a perfect figure for the interaction. We did go slightly overtime. I got the sense that no one wanted to leave. We were enjoying each other's company in exploring nine processes of devotion.
Some of the comments were:
"I like the newcomer friendly
approach."
"What we went through has global
appeal."
"I liked your terminologies. They
don't scare anyone."
"It was experiential."
Another
person implied that we sometimes get caught up in the rigours of religion. We
can be very dogmatic, mechanical, and forget how important it is to express
feelings and to be human.And today being the anniversary of the passing away of an American monk (referred to as the Black Lotus), Bhakti Tirtha Swami, was an epitomized caring and feeling human being. People assembled to honour this great renounciant who stirred the finer sentiments of people up until his last breath when he passed away in 2004 from cancer.
By sundown there was the daily kirtan chanting party that was set up for action outside the Samadhi of our guru, Srila Prabhupada. Even a hard-hearted soul like me became emotionally moved when asked to lead the kirtan which was accompanied by a flat rickshaw which was graced with the sacred images of Chaitanya and associate, Nityananda, the 16th century's forerunners of the popular practice of kirtan, upon it. Local pilgrims got quite excited when viewing what's coined as 'the dancing white elephants.'
My 'feeling' for walking came at the end of the day when trying to address my lingering cold and tensed up back. Health hasn't been great since being in this holy dham (sacred place), but in general, the spirit has been high with devotional sentiments. It's hard to avoid that in such a sacred space.
10 Km
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