Mayapura, India
When the Sun Moves
When the sun moves to touch the horizon, a recording of the
beautiful shehnai begins. It's
not the sound of a bird, but a magical-sounding horn accompanied by drone and tabla. When our guru attended this annual festival,
which he inaugurated in the early ‘70s, he hired professional musicians to play
and enhance the meditative spirit. He, Prabhupada, was very pleased with the
sound of the shehnai. It was
recorded. https://youtu.be/r9nVtgyZoyw
As that shehnai was projected over the loud speaker
outside the samadhi where I was chanting japa, who should appear? Not Krishna, not the great monk, Chaitanya,
but Gaura, my friend. He came to tell me
that although there are some physical challenges for him in India—allergies—he's
really appreciating the company around him.
Spiritual people are a reinforcement for the soul, we concluded.
In Mayapura, bhakti yogis come from all over
the world, annually. These pilgrims,
some trained, some less so, are here for a shakti/bhakti
boost. It's true that the place has a
certain draw for some locals as if it's Disneyland. The cameras are out shooting all the features
of the place. The visitors, especially
the women, come dressed in the most colourful saris.
Meanwhile, at the meeting, I admired the terracotta water
pitchers that we were supplied with.
Gone are the plastic water bottles.
That is a sign of progress.
May the Source be with you!
5 km
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