Maha-sringha
Mayapura, West Bengal
Maha-sringha is a Polish-born devotee of Krishna who really makes the
difference. Since the inception over four decades, the project at Mayapura has
received a luke-warm to cool to violent reception from locals. It has been a
struggle to get established in this land of Chaitanya, the master of mantra
meditation. Locals love Maha-sringha.
You can imagine, you have all these foreigners coming to settle and build in
the area. Many of the residents are Muslims and not Vaishnavas. Most of the
area has been communist supporters as the state of Bengal has been under that
regime. And you have these beautiful brown people, 100%, then suddenly these
whites come into town. Of course, there was some fascination there.
Why is Maha-sringha making a difference when villagers may have felt an
imposition by us? Well, he mingles with them. He feeds them (a delicious local
favourite - kichari - rice, dahl, veggies and spices). He speaks their
language. And finally he brings kirtan to the villagers. In closing the gap he
organizes chanting processions which pulls everything out of the woodwork.
This we saw this very night. Myself and a couple of dozen foreigners/pilgrims
along with Maha-sringha's presence and direction engaged in kirtan. The
sound was pulling the people out of their humble homes to come with stretched
out smiles and observe and engage in what their ancestors have done for
centuries. This group chanting is in the blood of the people. They fully relate
to it.
And now with the participants from abroad (hey, even a few of us Canadians were
included) this chanting is becoming a universal reality. It's Maha-sringha who
has taken the initiative since he moved to India years ago to make friends with
the people. That means more to them than a large place of worship going up.
As I said before, "They love him." This is what bhakti is about. It's about loving relations.
7 Km
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