Knowledge is to know Jagannath!

My first trip to Sri Jagannath Puri was in November 2018. It was an unforgettable experience and inspired a couple of poems. This is one of them. 

Knowledge is to know Jagannath!

-- Nov 6 2018. Late night at Sri Jagannath Puri Dham

Knowledge means the knowledge of Bhakti,

Because the highest knowledge is to know Bhakti,

Knowing Bhakti means knowing the Lord,

Knowing the Bhakta, and the process of Bhakti. 

Knowing means to know the complete Truth,

Not just what is not, but also what is so,

The Supreme Person is the Absolute Truth,

Knowing anything else is to not quite know.

To dismiss Bhakti in the name of knowledge,

Is the mere arrogance of the pseudo-knower,

His childish grudge against the loving Lord,

Keeps him bereft of knowledge forever. 

Knowledge is to know Jagannath,

The highest knowledge is Lord Jagannath,

The process is to serve Jagannath,

By chanting His name Jai Jagannath!

Yearning for Eagerness in Vrindavan

(Sri Sri Krishna Balaram)

November 01, 2008

The train chugged its way into the railway station. It was 0650. For those present outside the train on the railway station platform, this was not the most awaited moment of the century. For many who were inside the train, this was a long awaited moment, at least for those who considered the wait from the start of their train journey to its end a long wait. And for others like me, this was one of the most special moments in our lives. Around five thousand years ago, the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna chose to appear on this earth to relieve it off the burden of evil. And this was the place he chose to appear. Mathura.

It was my first visit to Mathura. As soon as I alighted from the train, I fell flat like a stick to offer my respects. I like to do this. I like to forget all concerns for petty things like keeping my clothes spotlessly clean when it comes to following my heart. While this is not always possible in the “civilized” society, who can blame me if I do this as an offering to the Lord, especially in His holy dham, especially when I have arrived there just to do that – to offer my heart to Krishna in the hope that He will steal it away and never return it back.

It’s difficult to describe what I was feeling, simply because I was myself not sure. Instead of theorizing what I should be feeling, I just decided to soak it all in. On the alert, I tried to devour by my eyes and ears as much as possible. The sun had just arisen on the horizon and was greeting us a warm welcome from across the vast fields. Men wearing saffron robes – sadhus – were very much part of the scene. On seeing them, I tightened my mental muscles and reminded myself not to offend, even mentally, the residents of the dham. They are all, sadhus or not, very dear to Krishna, and Krishna has granted them special residence in his own special home – Mathura.

But Mathura was not my final destination. Along with a few other devotees who had travelled in the same train, we sat in a sawari-rikshaw (in principle, a cab) and proceeded to the most holy place in the universe – Sri Vrindavan Dham. We rattled along through the city of Mathura. We passed by Krishna Janma Bhumi (birth place of Sri Krishna), which shares a common wall with a big mosque. I saw hoardings all over the place advertizing discourses on the Srimad Bhagavatam. I saw cows accepting eatables (most probably it was Krishna Prasad) at the doorsteps of small houses lining narrow streets. Everything reminded me of Krishna.

After a 15Km trip, we reached Sri Dham Vrindavan. The rikshaw stopped. I asked the devotees whether we are supposed to get down here. As soon as I got down, I offered my heartfelt dandavats to the Holy Dham and made sure I don’t brush off the dust from my clothes when I stood up. To be smeared by the dust of Sri Vrindavan Dham is a sure-shot way to attaining the most cherished spiritual goal - of unalloyed love for Krishna. At the beginning of each day of my trip, my kurta started off pristine white and at the end of the day the front was more or less brown. All day I was just looking for opportunities to fall flat on the ground in supplication.

(A view of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir)

After getting up, I looked around trying to figure out exactly where I was. Bewildered, I asked a devotee and he replied “Krishna Balaram Mandir”. What? Where? My eyes frantically darted around trying to find the temple. About 25-30 yards ahead, on the left of the road, stood the beautiful Krishna Balaram Temple, also known as the “Angrezon Ka Mandir” (Foreigners’ Temple) in and around Vrindavan. Srila Prabhupada’s western disciples created quite a stir when they first came to Vrindavan with Prabhupada. Foreigners were not supposed to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. He was exclusively the property of India, and even more exclusively, of Vrindavan. Well, all that changed when Krishna’s pure devotee Srila Prabhupada, on the order of his Gurudev, Srila Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati (another pure devotee), gave Krishna to the whole world in accordance with the desire of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is none other than Sri Krishna.

(The courtyard)

As I entered the front gate, I crossed the Samadhi of Srila Prabhupada and offered dandavats. As I moved forward, I came to a big gate. On one side of it a doorman was pulling on a big rope to ring a big bell somewhere above. I asked him if I could ring it too. No, is what he replied, in such a tone that all further communication was impossible. As soon as I entered the gate, something happened. I just couldn’t keep ambling anymore. Something (someone?) within me impelled me to run. I ran. Down the steps, onto the courtyard, across the courtyard, up the steps, into the main temple room. There I was, my heart throbbing in anticipation, eyes searching for that sight, of Sri Sri Krishna Balaram! There I beheld, one at a time, Sri Sri Krishna Balaram, Sri Sri Gaur Nitai, and Sri Sri Radha Shyamsunder. I offered dandavats and prayers before each of them. I was so happy, and my trip was already a success. I had just tasted a drop of Krishna Prem.

(Sri Sri Radha Shyamsunder)

Ever since, time and again, I remember those lovely moments. How I had run for taking darshan of Their Lordships. How eager was I to just behold them. My heart yearns for the time when my whole existence will be made up of only such moments - of intense eagerness for Sri Sri Radha Shyamsunder.

The Ecstatic Pandharpur Yatra!

Sri Sri Radha PandhariNath (ISKCON Pandharpur)

---

December 18, 2007.

So far, I have received two enquiries from the readers of this particular article regarding directions for staying in Pandharpur. So, I thought I should mention that information on this page itself. For anyone who is looking for a place to stay in Pandharpur, I recommend the Sri Sri Radha Pandharinath Temple - the ISKCON temple in Pandharpur). For bookings, kindly call the following number : (India) 02186-267242/266. In case this doesnt work out, please email me at toleyabhijit at yahoo dot com. Thank you for engaging me in Lord Vitthal's service in this way.

---

May 19-20 (Sat-Sun), 2007

Dear All,

After an ecstatic Dehu Yatra a couple of months ago, it was time for another ecstatic Yatra, this time to the holy Dham of Pandharpur! I was looking forward to it so much. After coming to Krishna Consciousness, there are now so many activities and events to look forward to. Life has become a continuous sequence of blissful activities in the service to Sri Sri Radha Krishna. Yes, definitely there are austerities along the way, but as long as I remember that nothing is too big a price to pay for attaining Love of God, I am alright.

We started from the Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari temple at around 0800. We were around 22. I asked H. G. JaiNarsimha Prabhu if 22 is a good number for the trip. And he said "Any number is good for a trip to Pandharpur! Only the most fortunate can go to Pandharpur and that too in the Adhika Maas (also known as the Purushottam Maas)". I was quite thrilled with his answer. I suddenly realised that this was more than just a mundane picnic. We were going to one of the holiest places on earth.. a place where the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Sri Vitthala had enacted one of His eternal pastimes! And the mood for the rest of my trip was set.

Pandharpur is about 250 kms from Pune. We stopped along the way for an hour for snacks. Well, it was more than lunch for me! I also met some wonderful devotees during that break. Ajay Chandak Prabhu, Nishant Prabhu, and Dheeraj Prabhu. We talked a lot (especially Nishant Prabhu and I) most of the trip. Nishant Prabhu was kind enough to listen to whatever I was speaking :-) In the bus we started singin Kirtans and Bhajans with each one leading successively. The star of the show was without doubt dear sweet Piyush Prabhu who is the most amazingly enthusiastic devotee I have known. He is always jolly and always serving. I pray that I can also develop such a service attitude that he has. Not only is he a wonderful devotee, he is a wonderful singer too and he sings from his heaert! He captivatesd all of us by his sweet and melodious Kirtan where one could feel the intensity with which he was calling out to the Lord.

We reached the holy Dham of Pandharpur at around 1500. The first thing I did after alighting the bus was offer my full obeisances to this holy land whose each dust particle I considered to be Chitamani. Then I took some of the dust and put it one my head. I was feeling so so blissful! When I had first time come in touch with devotees, I had said to myself "I'll never offer such complete obeisances to anyone".. Well, by the causeless mercy of Srila Prabhupada through devotees like GaurHari Prabhu and Amol Katkar Prabhu, I now love to offer obeisances to everything related to Krishna. What unimaginable mercy! What would I do without dearest Srila Prabhupada...

It is totally different to be in a Dham. And especially when you are in an ISKCON temple under the protection of Srila Prabhupada. Yes! The first step I took in the land of Pandharpur was inside the simple and picturesque and serene premises of the Sri Sri Radha PandhariNath Temple (ISKCON Pandharpur)! Yes, Srila Prabhupada is there! And where he is present, there is Krishna present. Because dearest Srila Prabhupada carries Krishna in his heart.

The temple had made very nice arrangements for us all. We had 5 rooms in total. The room in which I spent some time directly faced the holy river Bhima. It is known in Pandharpur as the Chandrabhaga (the crescent of the moon) because of the path is traverses. It was such a beautiful site. From my room I could see the river running across from left to right. On the
opposite bank the pilirims were taking a bath in the river. One can easily experience a certain kind of serenity in the Dham. No one can explain it to you and you cannot explain it to anyone else :-) You have to experience it yourself. In fact, the Dham is as good as the Spiritual World...

The Sri Sri Radha PandhariNath temple is a relatively new temple. Only a few Brahmacharis stay there. The deities are gorgeous. I cant explain thier beauty. The temple is especially a good place for Sadhana. It is situated amidst fields on one side and the Chandrabhaga on another. There are no multistory buildings seen anywhere and thus the breeze is always flowing carrying a certain freshness in it that sweeps away all weariness from a tired man.

Sri Sri Radha PandhariNath Temple, ISKCON Pandharpur

After we had Prasadam at around 1530, we went to have a dip in the holy river. We went to the otehr side on a boat though the river was only waist high all the way :-) But it was fun! We were in the river for about an hour I guess... When on such transcendental picnics, I do not keep track of time. I just like to soak in the atmosphere and think of what it means to be in the place where the Supreme personality of Godhead had come once! Its awesome once we get to think about it...

In the evening we went to a nearby place alled Gopalpur where there is a nice temple of Lord Gopal. We were harassed a bit by the pujaris there but we were in no mood to let that spoil our mood :-) A discussion ensued about the behavior of such pujaris and finally H. G. JaiNarsimha Prabhu resolved it all by giving the final judgement : "If one really wants to serve the Lord, then he/she must use his/her money appropriately by helping in spreading the teachings of Srila Prabhupada." That answer satisfied my heart to the fullest!

Well, thats not the end of the day! At night we slept on the terrace! And boy, what a night it was. So many starts twinkling is the sky. Such a strong and cool breeze intoxicating us with its playful behavior. And I was especially in a blissful ecstatic mood. I love to travel and I love to sleep outdoors and I love to be in natural surroundings... and getting all of this combined with the association of devotees! What else can anyone want in life? H. G. RamRati Prabhu and Nishant Prabhu and I were discussing Prabhupada pastimes and Nishant Prabhu told me it was the best night of his life!

We all got up at around 0330 and got ready around 0500. There was some water problem and so on but who cares for so-called inconveniences when one is in th eecstacy of bieng in a Dham? Especially in the associtation of most enthusiastic devotees like Piyush Prabhu, one seldom feels inconvenienced. Some of us attended the Mangal Arati.

We reached the main Sri Sri Vitthal Rukhmini Temple of Pandharpur around 0630 I think. I dont remember. We were prepared to wait for 3-4 hours in the queue to get Darshan. But fortunately there was an option of giving some Rs 125 per head for a quicker Darshan. Obviously we opted for that. We were the most fortunate people in the whole creation because we touched the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that day. It is a very very rare opportunity. I cant possibly describe the magnitude of this good fortune that we had..

While coming back, we visited a place known as Vishnupad where the lotus footprints of Lord BalGopal, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Krishna in His three-fole bending form are imprinted. That place is right on the bank of teh Chandrabhaga. We took a boat thre too and paid a visit to the temple of Naradji which is in the middle of the river. It is inside water for 6 months of the year.. At Vishnupad, Piyush Prabhu led another sweet and melodious Kirtan.

Piyush Prabhu leading a melodious Kirtan
L to R : H. G. ShyamRas Prabhu, H. G. JaiNarsimha Prabhu

After coming back to Sri Sri Radha PandhariNath Temple, we had some Prasadam and then we all sat together near the GoShala. Ya, there is a GoShala too! It was very special to be with the cows who were calmly relaxing on the ground and having a nice time :-) The children were especially thrilled to be around the cows and bulls and were happily feeding them some fodder and the cows were reciprocating nicely by accepting it.

ISKCON Pandharpur Go-Shala

H. G. JaiNarsimha Prabhu read out the pastimes associated with Pandharpur, especially those regarding Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu. That day also happened to be the Vyasa Puja of H. H. Indradyumna Swami Maharaj! And we had the great good fourtune of having H. G. RamRati Prabhu and his good wofe H. G. KamalShree MAtaji with us. They shared their loving rememberances of H. H. Indradyumna Maharaj and we were all thrilled and glad to hear them.

There is so much to write but all of it cant be put on paper. So many streams of thought crossed my mind and I was planning to write all of them.. but maybe some other time in some other context. Let this article be just an advertisement of the Pandharpur Dham :-) I urge you all to please visit Pandharpur and experience the experience yourself :-)

Sri Sri Vitthala Rukhmini in Sri Sri Radha PandhariNath Temple Pandharpur

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

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.