I had not visited the devotees in Crimea for a long time - almost seven years. Simferopol is the capital of the Crimean Peninsula on the Black Sea, where we used to have the gigantic Ukrainian Bhakti Sangam Festival. When the war started in Ukraine some years ago, the Peninsula became part of Russia again, as it had been many years before. So then the Bhakti Sangam Festival had to be moved to the very West of Ukraine.
On the 11th of May the devotees received me joyfully at the airport of Simferopol. Since all these political problems have been shaking the country, not so many traveling preachers come to this forgotten part of the world. Thus the devotees were excited to welcome a visitor.
Thank God we devotees are not so involved in and affected by political affairs. Whether it is Ukraine or Russia does not really worry us, and the preaching is simply going on.
Meanwhile the devotees have obtained a block of land quite some distance from the city and have built simple temple facilities there. I briefly visited to gather some impressions: a nice view onto the peaceful surroundings and mountains, but not so easy for devotees to reach....
Meanwhile the devotees have obtained a block of land quite some distance from the city and have built simple temple facilities there. I briefly visited to gather some impressions: a nice view onto the peaceful surroundings and mountains, but not so easy for devotees to reach....
I was scheduled to conduct a Holy Name Retreat at Evpatoriya, the same place where we used to have the Bhakti Sangam Festival. Sweet memories came back to my mind while driving out to this Seaside Resort, where the devotees had rented a nice little holiday complex for us to withdraw for three and half days and dive into another reality: Harinama eva kevalam - the holy name alone is everything. Around 65 devotees assembled from all corners of Crimea to participate in this transcendental journey. They were keen, and their hearts and minds were open in order to capture insights into the secrets of chanting - in japa aswell as in kirtan.
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As usual I went to collect wild flowers, and devotees had brought more flowers and blossoming twigs from their gardens, so I could engage in my favorite service of arranging vases for the altar and Srila Prabhupada's Vyasasana. Our seminar room had just the perfect size so everyone could fit in tightly, which always creates a personal and confidential atmopshere. It was a perfect bhajan kutir for the following three and half days, to embark on our transcendental journey of introspection and reflection.
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We remembered the wonderful statement Srila Prabhupada made during the Mayapur festival in 1975: "This chanting should go on. Instead of meetings, resolutions, dissolutions, revolutions and then no solutions, there should be chanting."
Especially the chanting in kirtan has a very powerful and uniting effect, focussing everyone on the real goal of life, namely to re-connect with Krsna. In kirtan we are all equal - spirit souls chanting the holy name, no matter whether we are a new bhakta or a most senior leader. Kirtan has the power to help us go beyond the bodily platform, to overcome all designations, all upadhis. We all know the story of Mahaprabhu chanting in the Jharikhanda Forest. He made all the animals chant the holy name and dance - the elefants, tigers, deers, monkeys. They forgot their animal-like conditioning: their tiger mentality, monkey mentality, deer and elefant mentality. They simply chanted and danced in ecstacy, and the deer and tigers were embracing, infact even kissing each other! Such is the power of chanting the holy name! And these animals are of course nobody else but us. We have a few elefants amongst us. There are a few tigers around aswell, not so many deers, and lots and lots of monkeys! By chanting deeply, with longing to serve we can free the heart from all temporary designations. We will give up all enmity and tendencies for quarrel and conflicts, and we will simply glorify the Lord in harmony and love, overcoming all bodily identifications and interests. We can just imagine what an amazing effect it would have when in each of our yatras the devotees would assemble every day for two hours in kirtan. Not only the young devotees, but ALL devotees! This would indeed give everybody a very unique focus and would give the solution to all misgivings, tensions and disagreements. Such a simple solution, yet so difficult to put into practice.....!
On the 18th of May I embarked on my journey to Munich for yet another adventure.....
Your servant, Devaki dd
Your servant, Devaki dd
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