The Ecstatic Dehu Yatra!

(above: Sri Sri Radha Krishna near the Gatha Mandir)

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis!

Here is an account of one of the most blissful days in my life so far! And judging from the things that keep happening to me, its only going to get better! All this is due to, and only due to the blessings of you all Vaishnavas and Srila Prabhupada. And ofcourse, when that happens, Krishna just cant help showering His blessings too! ;)

Let me pay my most humble obeisances to Srila Prabhupada who has changed my life in the most amazingly beautiful way. Who has shown me what I was always searching out for -- Perfection. And just by being in his divine association in the form of his ISKCON, all of us are tasting the pure spiritual bliss of Loving Devotional Service to the Lotus Feet of Sri Sri Radha Krishna.




















(above : JaiNarsimha Prabhu)

Let me also pay my humble obeisances to JaiNarsimha Prabhu who has very kindly bestowed upon me his mercy by giving me shelter. Its only through him that I have any hope of progressing steadily in Krishna Consciousness.


JaiNarsimha Prabhu had taken all his councelees to the holy village of Dehu on Sunday, February 25, 2007. This is the narration of that blissful day. There were about 25 of us. We all assembled at the Sri Sri Radha Kunjbihari Temple at around 0800 and left for Dehu around 0930 in a small bus. In the bus we had wonderful prasadam cooked lovingly by various Matajis. Poha, Idli, Chutney, Sandwich, Juice! Ya, it was a feast! In a bus! And ofcourse, we had Kirtan! Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Raam Hare Raam Raam Raam Hare Hare.

(above: Feasting in the bus!)



We reached Dehu around 1100. To be very frank, I dont quite remember the times. It was all seeming to me as an endless series of blissful moments. After getting out of the bus what did we do? What do you think? Ofcourse! We did Street Sankirtan! On the streets of the holy village of Dehu were singing and dancing the Hare Krishnas! That's us :) I had never before been part of a street Sankirtan... and let me tell you, it was pure bliss! We had the pleasure of having HariNaamAnand Prabhu with us, and his name says it all!

(above: Street Sankirtan in Dehu!)

Dehu is located on the banks of the River Indrayani. It is known for being the birth place of the great saint and devotee of Vitthala (Krishna), Tukaram Maharaj. He has written around 4,500 "abhanga"s. "Abhanga" means without fault. In his writings he writes that Lord Chaitanya initiated him! So, Tukaram Maharaj is in our sampradaya too! No wonder he had intense love for the Supreme Lord Sri Vitthala.



The Vitthala Rukhmini Temple in Dehu is very nice and peaceful. One can feel the spiritual vibrations there, especially in front of the deities of Sri Sri Vitthala Rukmini. We had very very ecstatic Kirtan inside the temple premises. The pujaris (and others) there know the Hare Krishna devotees and also love and respect them a lot. This was told to me by one of the pujaris when I had visited Dehu earlier.

(above: Ecstatic Hari Naam Kirtan inside the Vitthal Rukhmini Temple!)



We had the very great fortune of having with us DwarkaNath Prabhu and AtmaTatva Prabhu. DwarkaNath Prabhu had especially come to Dehu for us. In the temple, he spoke wonderful introductory words in glorification of Dehu and Tukaram Maharaj. He is very well versed with the history and teachings of Tukaram Maharaj. Also, he runs an ISKCON center in Dehu! DwarkaNath Prabhu Ki JAI!!

(above: L to R : AtmaTatva Prabhu and DwarkaNath Prabhu)

With him was AtmaTatva Prabhu who lives in (as far as I understood) the Nigdi ISKCON Temple. He was from the Warkari Sampradaya and was preached by an ISKCON devotee, after which he joined ISKCON :) He sang very heart touching and loving Abhangas written by Tukaram Maharaj. AtmaTatva Prabhu Ki JAI!!



After the ecstatic Kirtan, we left the temple to visit the birth place of Tukaram Maharaj. There again DwarkaNath Prabhu gave a nice sweet lecture. And then what did we do? Well, some more Kirtan! This time even more ecstatic. Dancing!
(above: Tukaram Maharaj's birthplace)

After paying our respects to Tukaram Maharaj's deity and also the deity of his wife Jijabai, we left the house of Tukaram Maharaj. His descendants still live there. Then we sung and danced our way to the "Vaikuntha Sthan" -- the place from where Tukaram Maharaj was taken to Vaikuntha on a vehicle that had come for him from there! He went in his same body, a very very very rare thing. Such was the greatness of this pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Hari.

At the Vaikuntha Sthan, we chanted (atleast) a round. DwarkaNath Prabhu spoke again about the activities of Tukaram Maharaj and about his love for Vitthala. Also, a local person explained the glories of that place to all present. After paying respectful obeisances to the Tukaram Maharaj deity there, we went to the banks of the Indrayani River. The plan was to hire a boat and ride along the river to another holy spot some minutes away.



Before boarding the boat, we had a very enlightening discussion with HariNaamAnand Prabhu about playing the Mridangam. I have already posted a blog entry (Mridangam Or Flute) about it earlier. On the boat also, we had Hari Naam Sankirtan!! We were having a great time! :)

(above: Boating time!)







The destination was the place on the banks of the Indrayani where Tukaram Maharaj had performed austerities for 13 days, and all his writings, which the envious people had thrown into the river, came up absolutely dry!! The writings are called "Gatha"s and in the honour of this event, a grand temple named "Gatha Mandir" is coming up there.

(above: Gatha Mandir on the banks of the Indrayani)

There is already a small and very peaceful Radha Krishna Temple near where Tukaram Maharaj had performed the austerities. In its open-air temple hall (roof is present), DwarkaNath Prabhu again gave a very enlightening lecture on Tukaram Maharaj's life and teachings. He made a lot of wonderful points. Mainly he portrayed how Tukaram Maharaj's teachings are very much in line with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's techings, further establishing that Tukaram Maharaj was indeed initiated by Lord Chaitanya.


After that we had ecstatic Lunch Prasadam! It was wonderfully arranged by DwarkaNath Prabhu! Then the devotees took baths in the river and the kids had a blast! Then, DwarkaNath Prabhu had to leave. We then went to Bhandara Hill. Ths hill is special because it was on this hill that Tukaram Maharaj used to come daily and chant. We all went there in our bus. It is 8KM from the Gatha Mandir.

(above: A view of the temple where we had Lunch, with the Indrayani in the background)

After paying obeisances to the deities there, JaiNarsimha Prabhu spoke for about 10 minutes on Tukaram Maharaja and Dehu and Pandharpur. Then SachiTanuj Prabhu organised a very nice skit, which left a deep impression on me (and I am sure on others too). The purport of the skit was that if we chant but are not attentive, then it means we are inviting the Lord in our house but ignoring Him once He has come! So, now whenever I chant, I remember this purport and try to be attentive.

Then we boarded the bus and and reached the Radha Kunjabihari temple at around 7PM. On the way we had Antakshari! Antakshari of Hari Naam Sankirtan! We had to sing the Hare Krishna Mahamantra in different tunes!

(above: The Group Photo!)

Thus ended one of the most ecstatic days in my life. As Prabhupada says about Krishna Consciousness -- "Its not imaginary ecstacy....". Its unimaginable ecstacy!! :)

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Raam Hare Raam Raam Raam Hare Hare

Your insignificant servant,
Abhijit.