On my arrival in Cologne/Germany on the 20th of March it was still cold - when changing planes in Munich I saw the fields covered with snow.....

I relaxed for a day and re-packed my luggage from the "Indian program" to the "European program", and flew off to Ljubljana/Slovenia. I was scheduled to offer the course on Giving and Accepting Shelter - the Foundation to Vaisnava Relationships and Devotee Care. We conducted it over six days as morning- and evening program, and it was well attended by around 35 devotees, with more watching over Mayapur TV.

​After our ecstatic Hare Krishna Convention at Rup Sanatan Tirtha had come to an end I traveled to Khulna with a group of devotees to conduct an evening program. I had not visited here for around 10 years - in those early days the devotees had rented an old little building to meet for programs, and meanwhile they had obtained some land and had constructed several buildings for a temple and a brahmacari ashram. I could witness the preaching flourishing!
For the evening program I spoke on Srila Prabhupada being the Founder Acarya, and it was well attended by a good crowd of eager devotees. As usual I concluded by distributing lots of Srila Prabhupada's books and signing them with good wishes.

On my arrival in Dhaka on the 3rd of March I relaxed for a day and then took a domestic flight to Jessore and traveled out to Rup Sanatan Tirtha. Here the devotees were feverishly preparing for the upcoming three-day event of the Hare Krishna Convention which would commence on the evening of the 7th.
This event had been taking place every two years, and we had been hoping that HH Jaya Pataka Swami would be able to participate this year, but unfortunately he could not be amongst us in his physical form, since his bad health had prompted him to decide for a surgery of a liver- and kidney transplantation. I had met Maharaja at the Kolkata airport - I flew to Dhaka and he was on the way to Chennai to prepare for the surgery. I had happily taken advantage of the opportunity to exchange some words with him and also offer him a copy of my book, expressing that we would pray for his quick recovery and protection during the evening kirtans at our Convention at Rup Sanatan Tirtha.

On the 13th of February we conducted the annual program of our Institute for Spiritual culture. As last year, we arranged a special pandal on the property of the Old Gurukula, on the way to the Mayapur goshala. It is a perfect venue for such programs - the green surroundings create a very pleasant and peaceful atmosphere, and there is enough space for the kids to play outside while still being supervised by the parents.