Day 34: Bhajans at Imli Tala

This was one of our last days for our Saranagati session, and so we decided to do the bhajans at Imli Tala. Prabhupada's sister's closest friend was living there for many years, and she was now in her last days, she also knew Yamuna and was asking about her many times, so we wanted to sing for her a little. We got there with our usual group, except for Dina who was still feeling quite sick, and spent sometime just offering our obeisances, prayers, and absorbing the serene atmosphere of the place. To be honest it was a little difficult for me to fully appreciate and absorb this holy place at first because there was a lot of construction going on, buildings/scaffolding everywhere, and the tree itself had passed away, with only its one main trunk encased in a metal sheath to protect it. They had planted another tree, and the beautiful murti of Lord Caitanya was still sitting under it. Once we offered our respects we went to see Pishima (as they call her), who was staying in a room right beside the Imli Tala tree. Although she could hardly talk, and was so tiny and frail, she still had an incredible presence and potency, you could feel her devotion and steadfastness to Krsna Concsiousness. I felt so grateful and blessed to have this rare opportunity to pay my respects to such an advanced devotee, especially as her time was coming soon. We set ourselves up right outside her door, which was propped open, and started doing our kirtans. She was sitting in a chair in front of us for most of the time. Once we started doing the kirtans, I felt the amazing spiritual energy of the place start to penetrate through my thick covering. We were chanting Radha and Krsna's names at the exact same place where Lord Caitanya chanted, where Radha and Krsna chanted! It was too incredible, too overwhelming for my mind. Then it didn't matter if there was metal, cement, and everything else covering it, because it was still there! It was still the exact same place! I could still touch the same tree! How could I possibly understand what incredible good fortune it was too be there, what to speak of have kirtan there? The kirtans were incredible too! There is something so mystical and sweet about performing kirtan at these sacred and holy places. When you first start you realize that you are doing exactly the same thing that has been done there for hundreds of years, by so many wonderful personalities, and then you feel so intimately connected with them. You can feel their personal presence and blessings on you, and with that comes an intense overwhelming gratitude, for everything, the opportunity, the devotees who you are with, and for the incredible mercy flowing through. With this feeling of gratitude, everything you sing becomes so much sweeter, so much more meaningful then ever before, and you really don't want to stop, sometimes not even to start the next bhajan! This was a little of how it felt to be doing kirtan at Imli Tala, with Yamuna Prabhu, for Pishima. I cannot even fathom how rare of an opportunity that is, and how lucky I am to have been there for it. I just hope and pray that I may never forget that feeling.
We sang for about 2 1/2 hours, and then went into the temple for the noon artik. Beautiful deities there, and amazing 3D reliefs of all these pastimes of Lord Caitanya on the walls. It was a very beautiful temple, and after the kirtan a devotee gave us a big bag of maha sweets and papaya. It was some of the best papaya I have ever eaten! We went back to the MVT, and then almost immediately had to go to a local devotee's house for prasadam. They were an Indian couple who were very attached and appreciative of Yamuna and Dina Prabhus, and very very sweet devotees. The way they served us and received us was quite embarrassing and overwhelming, especially for us who have no culture in the slightest sense. They had us sit on the couch, with tables in front of us, and then brought our plates down on the tables. They had given us each a garland before that too.They had so much love and respect for Yamuna prabhu, that I was in totally bliss just watching the way they served her, it was such an incredible lesson in Vaisnava etiquette. I realized what a buffoon I am, after that. Then they served Yamuna Devi first and then the rest of us, and they didn't sit down to eat after, they just stood there waiting till we were completely finished, watching us eat. It was super good prasadam too. We had corn parathas, and curd/cauliflower parathas, sak, carrot halavah, yogurt, amla chutney, and maha prasad sweet rice. Then after they gave us these spicy dried amla fruits. No paratha that I had ever eaten before compared to one of those parathas, they were perfect, and so good! We were completely full after that, and more then ever satisfied. Then they started giving us all these presents, like boxes of dried bal fruit, bead bags, pictures. Anything that you said you appreciated they were ready to give to you, you had to be so careful about what you said. You wanted to tell them how much you liked it and appreciated it, but you didn't want them to give you everything either! I had no idea what to say. After we left, we were all feeling pretty overwhelmed and blown away by such hospitality and genuine service attitude, when Yamuna Prabhu said, " This is just a glimpse of what Chowpatty is like, be prepared." I started feeling very nervous and apprehensive after hearing that! I wasn't sure I could take a whole week of feeling like the biggest buffoon.
After lunch Kar and I went on our usual trip to Loi Bazaar looking for all the wonderful things we wanted to buy for Krsna and Balaram and having a really hard time finding them! But every time we returned it was with excitement over the fun new things we could offer Them. Unfortunately because Dina was still sick and because we were leaving for Jaipur early the next morning we did not have any evening kirtans. But we were so excited about going to Jaipur that it was hard to get to sleep any earlier.

Day 32 : Celebrating At Terra Kadamba

We woke up quite early in the morning, totally excited to go see Terra Kadamba, and to celebrate Sri Sri Radha Banabehari's 33rd Anniversary Day. Me and Kar had stayed up kind of late that night, trying to figure out our ten offerings that we were going to mentally prepare for Them later that day. Yamuna Prabhu had requested everyone to mentally prepare 10 offerings each so that we could offer Sri Sri Radha Banabehari a huge feast! So we were a little tired, but it didn't matter.

As soon as we could we went over to see how Yamuna and Dina were feeling. Unfortunately Dina was still feeling pretty sick, and Yamuna was going to stay back and take care of her. So they decided that they weren't going to be able to come. It was pretty sad for us, but we took the picture of Radha Banabehari, and Neem and I promised to take lots of pictures to show them, and then we headed out. Of course we started out later then we had planned, took a little while to get everyone together. During that time, Kar confirmed that the paste I put on my face did indeed turn it yellow. So I was headed out into the forest, with a big group of people and a yellow face. That dampened my mood a little. Then we all piled into the car, and started on the worst roads ever again. Of course as soon as we hit the really bumpy parts, about 15 minutes out of Vrindavan, I had to go to the bathroom. It is about an hour drive, and by the end, each bump was extremely difficult!

Finally we arrived in this beautiful secluded temple. There was a lovely green pond near it and it was all nestled in the forest, right at the edge of some rice patty fields. At that time all I could think about was a place to go to the bathroom. By the time I had finished (finding a spot, hurridly going, and then washing up somehow), everyone was already in the temple. The temple was actually this amazing little Siva temple, one of the guardians of the Holy Dhama, and it was so beautiful. It felt like something right out of the Vedic times. We had a little kirtan and circumambulated the Siva Linga, then headed across the patty fields to the secluded little grove of Terra Kadamba. It is hard to describe that place. It felt so mystical and powerful, yet so sweet and intimate. There was an Indian Babaji who took care of the whole place, and he was one of the most amazing people we met in Vrindavan, a true Vaisnava. He had this whole place built and themed around the festival Gopastami, when Krsna and Balaram get to take the cows out for the first time. Everything was Krsna and Balaram! Kar was in complete heaven there, I think he would have definitely stayed forever if he was given the chance. The temple or bhajan kutir was underneath a whole network of branches and trees covering a huge area in front. There were statues and pictures of cows everywhere. I could go into much more detail but it wouldn't give an accurate picture, so I will just talk about what we did there.

First we had a kirtan on a large platform built for these beautiful Krsna Balaram dieties, by the Kadamba tree that Rupa Goswami wrote under. Then we went over to the bhajan kutir of Rupa Goswami, and had a few more kirtans, or bhajans. And then Danudhara Swami spoke about the place for a little bit. As Danudhara Swami was describing different pastimes, of how Radharani came and brought sweet rice to Rupa Goswami one time, the Babaji got really excited and said, "she has come today and brought sweet rice!" Then he quickly left and came back with a veil over his head and a bucket of sweet rice! He was dressed up as Radharani, and then showed us Radharani's sweet rice, and told us the story in a beautiful way. He told us other stories too, and they were so funny, especially the way he would tell them. After he told the story of Gopastami, he would say " and today is Gopastami Day!" Then Danudhara Swami or someone would say, " but I thought Gopastami was in October?", and he would just say" no, no, Gopastami is today, and tomorrow, and everyday!" And for him you could see that it really was, his whole world was Krsna and Balarama and Gopastami, and the cows. It was truly amazing.

After we had the bhajans and stories, Danudhara Swami told us we could spend 1/2 hour walking around, chanting and absorbing the place, so we all walked around and just enjoyed being there. There was also a little pond there that Rupa Goswami would bathe in, and feathers everywhere, including beautiful little peacock feathers. It really felt like it was the real, untouched spiritual world! Such an incredible place. We all got together for one final bhajan before the noon artik, and we took out the picture of Sri Sri Radha Banabehari and put it on the altar with Krsna and Balaram. It felt like Saranagati again, during one of our festivals! Then we mentally offered our offerings, and did one more bhajan. After that it was time for the noon artik, and so we sang one last kirtan, and then the babaji had us all sit down to take prasadam. He had made a whole feast for us! It was a fast till noon day, so by then we were pretty hungry. The prasadam he served was definitly one of a kind too. He had made kitchiri, spinach pakoras, normal chapatis, and then chapatis the size of a large beach ball! Also he had made sweet rice, and these huge Manohara Laddus, about the size of my fist! I have never really tasted anything quite like that prasadam before. There was so much love and devotion in everything he did. If we tried to refuse something saying we were not feeling good or we were sick he would just say, " This cure! This cure! No problem, you take!" and then plop it down on your plate. I couldn't believe that I ate that whole huge laddu, and I never got sick. Although I don't think I ate anything else that day.

Before we left we all went over to the small platform under the Kadamba tree and chanted some more japa there. The babaji had built a little throne for Radha and Krsna under there, and so we all chanted around the throne for about 10 minutes. Then it was time to go home. Nobody really felt like leaving, especially Kar. I think it was everything he ever dreamed of appearing for real! It is a very very special place. On the way back we could see the beautiful hill of Nandagram in the distance, and we could just imagine Krsna and Balarama herding Their cows in the green fields, and Krsna sneaking off to meet with Radharani at Terra Kadamba. We felt so honored and privileged to have been allowed to see that wonderful place, and very very thankful and grateful to Danudhara Swami for taking the time to take us there and give us such an amazing experience.

When we got back, me and Kar went to Loi Bazaar to pick up some things we had ordered for Krsna and Balarama, and to get a little gift for Sri Sri RadhaBanabehari. When we got back, we went straight over to Yamuna's and Dina's for a special Banabehari kirtan, and to share all the pictures and experiences with them. It is a place everyone loved very very much. If we went to Vrindavan and only saw that place we would have been completely satisfied!

Day 31: A Blessing from Krsna?

We started out the morning feeling completely refreshed and energized to continue with our Saranagati session! We only had a few days left to finish the book! Unfortunately Dina was still feeling really sick, but she wanted to do them anyway, so we went to Yamuna's and Dina's and did them there. They were still really sweet and beautiful, just a small group of us this time.

We ended a bit early also because Yamuna wanted to take Dina to see this Ayurvedic doctor, who was reportedly extremely good if a bit eccentric. Yamuna had gone to see him a few days back and he had given her some pills and she had immediately felt better. We decided that we would all go see this person, and see what he could do for us. Yamuna had warned us that he was a rather odd fellow (to be polite). Dina had a 1:00 appointment, but Yamuna thought we had better call to make sure that he was there, last time she had to wait for like 2 hours for him to get there. We decided to go anyway, after calling and hearing him say he was on the way, we ended up having to wait almost an hour anyway. When we finally went into his office we could see that no one was exaggerating about him. Definitely an interesting/strange personality. His office was tiny, and about as clean as an old tool shed. Everyone just sits there with you as he takes your pulse and tells you all about your personal problems, in front of everyone and anyone, absolutely no privacy. If anyone comes by, or if anything goes by the door, or even if there is nothing there to distract, he will still ignore you half the time, or talk to everyone else, or just look out the window.
Dina went first and he took her pulse, asked everyone else a bunch of questions that had nothing to do with Dina, and finally said she had amoebas. He was also supposedly really good at reading the palm, and so we asked him to do that as well. He didn't say too much about Dina's except that she was going to live a very long life, and a few other things. Then it was Kar's turn, he took Kar's pulse and said he had poor digestion, and asthma from allergies. When he read Kar's palm he actually said a lot of super nice things, about how he was a good devotee, he would have lots of money, houses, cars, land, 2 sons, a nice wife (just like Indian...), and so on. Of course all this was going to happen in 4 years, we tried hard not to start laughing. Then he took my pulse, and said I was passing out protein in urine (don't look it up, it's pretty bad), and I was tired all the time, my hair was falling out, my face was breaking out, etc. Then he said my heart was beating like "red". (What? Isn't every one's heart red?) We asked him what that meant, and he just said again and again "Like RED!" Finally some Indian devotee figured out he was saying rat, and he was like "Yes, red! Like the one I have pet in back room, oh there he is!".. and this fat rat came running from the back room across the floor and out the door, or wall, or wherever he gets in and out. By then my heart was definitely beating like rat! He read my palm and once again didn't have much to say about it, said I would have 2 sons, but no daughters, would have one by next year, said he would be a gift of Radharani's mercy and I should name him diamond, (didn't say I was like a nice Indian wife), and then he was ready to give us our medicines.
Dina and Yamuna left then because Dina was starting to feel really sick again, so we stayed and waited for our medicine. I think we waited for another hour, while he was talking to everyone else again, or just looking out the window, and finally he gave us the medicine. Kar's supposedly had everything in it, gold, silver, iron, diamonds, etc.. and mine, who knows, they were about the size of bullets and completely black and rough. I was supposed to take them twice a day with another pill, and he gave me some yellow powder to put on my face at night. Kar had some pink pills, and some powder to drink every night. All for three months and then we would be cured. Dina's medicine came in little packets of newspaper. We were a little nervous about it, but decided to try it out anyway.
Finally we got back around 3, pretty starving and tired, feeling a little strange and weirded out. After lunch we did some fun shopping for Krsna and Balaram, checked our emails, and had our wonderful evening kirtans. That night we tried our new medicines, mine scratched my throat all the way down to my tummy, Kar said his tasted like Vrindavan dust, but we were feeling a little excited. Maybe this doctor was Krsna's mercy and we really would be completely cured in 3 months. I even put the yellow powder on my face that night,(Kar was kind enough to say that I looked like I fell into a cow patty), although I had a sneaking suspicion that it would dye my face yellow the next day. All in all it was a very different day then we were used to, but we were super excited about tomorrow! It was Srila Bhaktisiddhanta's Disappearance Day, and it was the 33rd Anniversary Appearance Day of Sri Sri Radha Banabehari! Danudhara Swami was going to take us to one of the most incredible and amazing places in all of Vrindavan, Terra Kadamba, the place were Srila Rupa Goswami wrote the Nectar of Devotion, and where Krsna and Radha would meet. It's right in between Nandagram and Varsana. We couldn't wait to go see it!

Day 30th : Another Transcendental Exploration Day!

Dina said she was feeling better and wanted to take us to a few more places of pilgrimage. We all met early at the MVT gates, and got into our rikshas, ready for anything. I always loved that feeling of getting into the riksha first thing in the morning, knowing that we are going to have an extraodinary experience, but having no idea about what it might be. It was the most exciting thing! Our little group was just Dina, Neem, Kar, and me. We first stopped at Govindaji temple, Dina wasn't feeling that great so just us three went inside. About 20 steps into the temple Neem's glasses were snatched off his face by a big ruly monkey. Right in front of us the monkey just demolished the glasses in about 20 seconds! It looked like it was made of play-doh, the way the monkey just bent it, and twisted it, and chewed it. It was actually really funny. Finally some young boy came and threw some candy at the monkey and got the glasses back, although they weren't really useful anymore.
After we saw the inside of the Govinda temple, we went over the the little temple of Yoga Maya in Rupa Goswami's cave. That place is so powerful! We chanted a little japa and sang a little kirtan in there. It was such an amazing experience, to be doing the same thing that Rupa Goswami did 500 years ago in that very same place. When we got out, we walked around the whole temple and took some pictures. It is definitely one of the most amazing architectually built temples that I have ever seen.
We jumped back into the rikshas and went to see Bramha Kunda, and then to Dhira Samira. That whole area is in the back of Vrindavan, or more towards the Yamuna River, and it is a completely differant atmosphere. It was so much more quiet, no monkeys, and completely peaceful and serene. It was hard to imagine that just a 20 minute or less walk away was the super busy Loi Bazaar! We went to pay our respects to the samadhis of Srinivasa Acharya, Himlata Thakurani, and Ramachandra Kaviraja. It was such a peaceful and quiet place. The riksha drivers didn't even know where it was and when we got there, there was just one lady with her child who was watching over the whole temple area. It was really a beautiful place, quiet courtyard, with a couple of huge trees, and the samadhis on the side, with a platform to sit on in front of them. We sang " Ye Anilo" there, such a wonderful place. After that we found the samadhi of Gauri Das Pandit, and saw the beautiful deity of Shyam Ray. Finally we went to the samadhi and temple of Gopal Guru Goswami. Another incredible place, they gave us really good sweet rice and invited us to stay for lunch, but we decided it would be better not to. We ate the sweet rice though, they always have the best sweet rices at the temples!
Finally we went back for lunch. Dina was pretty exhausted and not feeling that well again, so we decided not to do the kirtans in the evening again. After lunch we just had a relaxing day of walking around the temple, chanting, and looking at the little shops around. I loved those exciting transcendental exploration days, I loved the bhajan days, and I even loved (well didn't mind) the sick days. Vrindavan is just the best place.

Day 29th: Bhajans at Care for Cows

Saturday morning. We had planned to go to Care for Cows and have one of our Saranagati sessions there, but that morning Yamuna and Dina Prabhus were still really sick and would not be able to make it. But they wanted us to go ahead without them. It felt very different not having their company with us, their love and enthusiasm for the Holy Name is what keeps us inspired and enthusiastic. Still we went ahead, started out a bit later then we intended, but we had a surprisingly big group. When we got there, we spent a little time going over the place and petting the cows. We weren't sure if we should do it or not because Kurma Rupa (devotee in charge of the place) wasn't there yet, but another devotee set us up with a nice blanket out in the front and we went ahead and started. Kurma Rupa Prabhu came a little later and was very happy to see us there. Although we were a little nervous to sing the prayers without Yamuna and Dina, they turned out wonderful! One of our riksha drivers joined us, and so did one of the deer! Everyone sang so beautifully and enthusiastically that we could have gone for many hours. Unfortunately since we had a late start we only sang for a couple of hours and then decided to stop. It was such a warm and cozy atmosphere though, with our little group all in a circle, the deer coming through checking us out, and the sweet cows peacefully munching their hay all around us.

Around 12:00, the cows started coming home from the pasturing grounds. It was such a beautiful sight! First all you can see is a cloud of dust coming from around the corner, then as it gets closer you can hear the feet and the jingling of bells. Finally they start coming around the corner, some walking quickly, some slow, some running, all differant shapes, sizes and colors. Just like the Krsna Book! As they got nearer the goshala they all started walking really fast or running, and when they came through the gates they immediately knew where they were supposed to be headed. There were so many of them too, Kurma Rupa said almost 200! It was like a never ending train of cows, and as soon as they got through the gate they all split into their own groups again. It was really amazing to see! Of course my batteries died in the camera so I couldn't get any pictures. The cows in Vrindavan are definitely the most beautiful cows on the earth.

We went for lunch after that, then headed out to Loi Bazaar again. Although we were warned about how busy the weekend is there, we still headed down and struggled through the stores trying to find things that we wanted. It was one of those days where you think you found exactly what you want and finally buy it, and when you walk 10 steps down the street you find another one even better and cheaper. We ended up staying down there till 9:00 at night, we barely got a riksha to take us back. A bit of a burn out, but still not the last time we were going shopping there. Unfortunately we didn't have evening bhajans again. Yamuna and Dina asked us to continue doing them somewhere else for the time being, but we couldn't find a good place. That's why Kar and I decided to just get as much of the shopping out of the way as possible. Of course that didn't really happen either. Over all it was still a completely wonderful day!

Day 28th: Bhajans at Radha Gokulananda Mandir

Today we had decided to go to the wonderful samadhis of Lokanatha Goswami, Narottama Das Thakur, Vishvanatha Chakravarti, Baladeva Vidhyabhusan, Ganga Narayan, and others. This is definitely one of our favorite places in Vrindavan. It is so quiet there, so peaceful, and actually very private, hardly anyone else is there whenever we visit. It is also one of the nicest places to pray at because of all the exalted Vaisnavas there. Of course the deities there are incredible too.
We left around 9:30 again, with about the same group of people, our little riksha procession through Vrindavan. When we got to the samadhis, we spent a few minutes praying and then set up right in front of Lokanatha Goswami's samadhi. Before we started with the Saranagati songs, we decided to sing the Guru Puja kirtan which was written by Narottama Das Thakur for his spiritual master, Lokanatha Goswami. When we sang that bhajan there it felt like something completely different, something completely new. Every line took on a whole new meaning, and the whole bhajan felt so sweet to sing. It is such a wonderful feeling to be singing these songs to the very people that they were written for, the songs never feel the same again. I am so grateful to have had these opportunities to sing these beautiful prayers to these Vaisnavas. Most of the time I am so spaced out, I can hardly focus my mind to really understand and appreciate where I am, what to speak of trying to form my own prayers. But when I am given the chance to sing these amazing prayers by other Acharyas, I can actually put my heart into it, and pray with some feeling. The prayers are so beautiful and heart-felt, that even when someone as spaced out as me sings them, their heart is moved and they are allowed to pray with a little more sincerity. So I am very very grateful to have been able to do this. I can't even imagine how much I would have been missing out on, how much I would have been wasting my (perhaps only) chance to be in the association of such Vaisnavas.
After the Guru Puja kirtan, we sang the Sad-goswami-astakam and that was another wonderful experience. In Vrindavan you can feel the influence and presence of the six goswamis so strongly, it really feels like Vrindavan is their town and they are the heroes of it. Most of the main temples are the temples of the six goswamis, the Vaisnava Research Institute still has a lot of their writings, and everyone knows about them. And so it felt so perfect to be singing that song there, in Vrindavan. I was dying to sing it ever since the Govardhan Retreat when Bhurijana Prabhu quoted one line from it, and it was stuck in my head for weeks, practically the whole time I was in Vrindavan, so finally I could sing it! Oh, it felt so good! I wanted to sing it again and again, I wish I knew it by heart. It is definitely one of my favorite bhajans ever. We decided to sing our Saranagati bhajans inside the temple, because as we were singing those two songs, a temple devotee was burning some brush very close by and all the smoke was blowing into us making it very difficult to sing.
We got inside the temple and asked the pujari if we could do kirtan there, he was practically ecstatic. So we started singing our bhajans, and they were fantastic too. The pujari's wife came with some kartals and started playing and singing with us. I don't think she could read the English but she sang the Hare Krsna at the end. During our session the pujari started the noon artik, and so his wife rang the bell and played the gong at the same time, and sang with us! It was quite an amazing sight! It was a little too loud to actually sing the bhajans so we just sang Hare Krsna and then the names of the deities. It was also another incredible feeling to be singing the names of the deities to the actual original dieties, and we were singing in front of the Lord Caitanya diety that Narottama Thakur worshiped, and in front of the Govardhan Sila that Lord Caitanya worshiped and gave to Ragunatha Das Goswami! It was so much fun. Finally after the artik finished, we finished and went back to MVT.
After lunch, Kar and I decided to walk over to Sanatan Goswami's samadhi to chant some japa. It isn't too far away from the Iskcon temple so it was a very nice and easy walk, plus we really liked Sanatana Goswami's samadhi. We chanted there for about an hour, and since it was mid-afternoon there was practically no one there but us. I can't even describe how nice it is to be there, even when the doors are closed and no one is there. Just when we decided to head back, the pujari came and opened the doors so we could pay our obesciances to Sanatan Goswami, then the pujari gave us a banana leaf cup full of sweet rice. I was a little anxious about eating it because I was just getting over being sick, so I was going to just take it with me then give it to someone else. But the pujari wouldn't let us out of the screened area unless we finished it because he said the monkeys would attack! So we had to accept the maha-prasadam sweet rice from Sanatana Goswami, and it was the best sweet rice I have ever eaten! I would have eaten it over and over again even if it made me sick as anything. It was the most perfect sweet rice ever.
When we got back Neem told us that there wasn't going to be any kirtan that evening at Yamuna's and Dina's because they were both feeling a sick. So we just stayed at our place and relaxed and read for a little bit before going to bed. After a day like that I just felt so fortunate and grateful.

Day 27th: Bhajans at Sanatan Goswami's Samadhi!

Once again we woke up quite early and chanted our rounds in the peacefulness of Vrindavan mornings (before 5:00 a.m that is). Vrindavan is such a wonderful place, it just feels so good to chant and read there! It really feels like there is nothing else that you should be doing except chanting, and it is so easy and wonderful. I wish I could feel like that everywhere all the time.

After chanting and reading, and taking care of breakfast, we went over to the MVT entrance to meet up with our group for our next Saranagati session. This time we were all going to go to Madan Mohan temple and Sanatan Goswami's samadhi! There was about 15 of us, I think, and we all had our instruments; mrdanga, harmonium, kartals, tamboura, whompers, etc. We were quite the procession through Vrindavan with all of our rikshas following each other in a long line. I was so excited to be doing bhajans there! When you visit these wonderful places all you feel like doing is singing and praying to those Vaisnavas, and when you sing the wonderful prayers of Bhaktivinode all you want is to be in the association of those Vaisnavas, singing to them, and today we were finally going to be doing it! Singing the beautiful prayers of Bhaktivinode Thakur at the feet of Sanatan Goswami, what greater fortune is there?!

We left our rikshas outside and came into the serene atmosphere of the samadhi. The pujari had the doors opened and we all took charinamrta and offered obsciences before we started. Then we began and each bhajan was so sweet, each one felt better then the last, and you never wanted any of them to stop. We sat on the sides so that pilgrims could come and have darshan without any problems. We soon had a whole audience of Indians staring at us from the outside, it didn't matter though, because we were in a whole other world. There is something so special about Sanatan Goswami's samadhi, you can feel his presence there so strongly. It really feels like you are sitting there right beside him, and he is so compassionate, so humble, that even though we are so ignorant and insignificant, he is still willing to be there and sit with us, and you can feel that he cares about you so deeply, like a great-grandfather or something. Whenever I go there I feel like I can just start babbling about my life and all my ridiculous problems, and he will listen and care, so compassionate, so gentle and kind. It is hard to leave his company. We finished the bhajans around 11:30, and after saying a few more prayers, and a couple group photos, we headed back towards the ISKCON temple. It is quite the buzz when you go and visit such wonderful places, even more so when you do bhajans there. You leave feeling completely satisfied and happy, like your life is now complete.

We ate lunch and then me and Kar headed down to Loi Bazaar again. We would always get an instant stomach on the way there, because it was the worst ride ever! Always so bumpy, and lurching, and crowded. Without fail, either Kar or I would bang our ears on the bars by our head, and it would hurt so badly, and then later on we would wonder why we had these bruises on the sides of our heads. Now that I think of it, its kind of funny, kind of like Thompson and Thomson. By the time we got to the shops, we were already all grouchy and annoyed, so it didn't help. Anyway, I don't really want to talk about the shopping because it just fries me out. I could sit in one shop for hours and sometimes the shop keeper wouldn't even look at me. Or I could just be walking by and they would practically grab my arm and drag me in! I think if I were to go again I would only go with an experienced shopper, and someone who could speak hindi! But it was fun to come back with all kinds of fun things for the deities and family.

We had evening kirtans at Yamuna's and Dina's again as well. The most amazing thing about those kirtans is that we had about 15-20 people there each night, and each night it was almost a completely new set of people! We don't know where they came from, or how they heard about it, they would just show up for one night, and then we wouldn't see them again. It was quite an interesting thing, and quiet an interesting variety of people. Still the kirtans were always so sweet and wonderful.