I visited the preaching center in Eldoret for one week and joyfully associated with the local devotees - we assembled every evening to churn deep and relevant topics. Then I flew on to Nairobi to visit the main and biggest temple in Kenya for one week.
|
I stayed for one week in Kisumu - a temple which was established and inaugurated by HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja around 25 years ago. The community is rather small and consists mainly of people from Gujarati background - some having been here for several generations. But there are also a few people from Kenyan descent. Manasi Ganga Mataji, a senior devotee in Kenya, had come with two young girls to look after me and give me some company. We all stayed together in a spacious flat around the corner of the temple which was convenient.
Every evening we had a program in the temple churning deep and transformational topics, and devotees and guests were intrigued to attend them. On the last evening some participants shared heart-moving realisations which is always a rewarding experience for a preacher. On the 29th of May, after having spent two blissful weeks in Mauritius, I flew on to Mombasa in Kenya. It was my first visit to this country - it always feels great to "conquer new territory" and plant a few seeds by placing some copies of my books into people's eager hands and into temple's libraries. Many devotees around the world feel inspired to use them in their service of preaching and training devotees. I was glad I had chosen the "cool season" for my visit - for my German body it was still rather warm and very humid, and I was glad to have an AC in my room...
In Mombasa, ISKCON has a main temple established around 12 years ago, and the former temple which is now mainly used for student preaching. Since the universities had their holidays, I did not do any programs at the old temple. For several years I had been contemplating the idea of visiting the devotees in Mauritius - I had heard so many nice things about this little island with their dynamic communities of eager and sincere devotees. After all, Srila Prabhupada had stated on his visit that this island could be the first Krishna conscious country of the world...
Now, after Nrsimha Caturdasi I finally had the opportunity to embark on this journey to yet another unknown preaching territory. I spent two blissful and action-packed weeks there - the devotees had arranged one or two programs for every single day; and I rarely visited the same temple twice - that's how many temples and preaching centers this little island hosts! And I did not even manage to visit all the centers. After concluding my tour around the US, I arrived in Munich/Germany on the 6th of May - just in time to travel out to Simhachalam for Nrsimha Caturdasi...
Simhachalam is for me the BEST place to celebrate Nrsimha Caturdasi - a MUST in my yearly schedule. Even Mayapur can not compare to this! In this rural community situated in the Bavarian Forest, around 3 hours away from Munich, the devotees serve big Lord Nrsimhadeva in a devoted way, and His appearance day is celebrated in a grandiose style over 4 days. It is one of the main festivals - not only within Germany, but in Europe. Many devotees gather from the neighboring countries such as Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and even all the way from the UK. This year we had the good fortune to welcome many saintly personalities: HH Sacinandana Swami, HH Candramauli Swami, HH Bhakti Vaibhava Swami, HG Krishna Premarupa Prabhu, HG Parivida Prabhu, Vraja Bihari Prabhu and many young generation kirtaniyas. Over several years, the devotees had requested me again and again to visit their preaching center in Syracuse/New York, so I decided to conclude my tour around the US by accepting their invitation.
After spending a blissful week in Charlotte, churning thought-provoking topics every evening in home programs attended by keen and inquisitive devotees, I moved on to New Vrindavan - one of our famous and historic projects within ISKCON.
Srila Prabhupada had visited here several times, encouraging the devotees to establish a rural community on the basis of "simple living high thinking". And in order to glorify our beloved Srila Prabhupada, they had built a beautiful Palace of Gold for him, which has now become a popular tourist attraction, bringing so many people in contact with Krishna consciousness. After my visit to Alachua I spent another 2 weeks in Florida, visiting the Vaishnava communities in Tampa, DeLand, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Everywhere I was well received and taken care of, and I spent a blissful time in the association of eager devotees. Every evening they had arranged a program in somebody's home, and devotees enjoyed the profound and transformational topics of discussion. It was also a good time to visit Florida - the weather was nice and sunny, while it was still cold in other parts of the US. Only when looking at the map did I realise how far South I was....
After spending some days in Cologne/Germany I flew to Florida/USA on the 24th of March to visit the devotees in Alachua - one of the most prominent projects within ISKCON, with many well-known disciples of Srila Prabhupada living on the property and in the surrounding townships. No lack of senior association....
I had decided to spend this year's Gaur Purnima Festival in Sofia/Bulgaria and came already ten days earlier in order to visit other small devotee communities in Burgas and Varna. The devotees also drove me to a privately owned farm project three and half hours away from Sofia. Here, two twin brothers have a commercially set up farm with a huge area of greenhouses for growing all kinds of vegetables and flowers which they sell in the nearby cities; a farm project starting off with serious farming.
|
Devaki Devi Dasi's Travel DiaryDevaki Devi Dasi is sharing her realizations and adventures in her Traveling Diary.Welcome to relish this nectar! Archives
December 2024
|
RSS Feed
