I chose to spend Radhastami in Zurich/Switzerland - one of the most dynamic communities in Western Europe. On Sundays they have two programs - for the Indian community in the late morning, and for the locals in the afternoon. In this way, the local people don't feel intimidated by big Indian crowds, and the Tamil community members hear the lecture in their language and happily enjoy their spicy Tamil prasadam thereafter....! A win-win situation!
I had decided to spend this year's Janmastami and Srila Prabhupada's appearance on Krisnuv Dvur - the Czech farm outside Prague - and offer some programs in the city itself on the weekends before and after these Vaishnava festival days.
For many years I desired to visit New Mayapur in France, an historic early 20th century chateau. Over the years, I heard so many glorious things about the wonderful festival they observe for Balarama's appearance. Srila Prabhupada installed beautiful, big marble Krishna-Balarama Deities there in 1975 - the first Krishna-Balarama Deities ever installed in the Western world. Furthermore, Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai and Sri Sri Radha-Govinda-Madhava are mercifully accepting our service. Srila Prabhupada visited here twice, in 1975 and 1976, and his quarters are being maintained as a museum - a peaceful place to chant japa.
It was my first visit to France as a preacher. In my youth I regularly visited France on a student exchange program and explored all the famous landmarks of Paris. In those days I could quite fluently speak French - now, fifty years later it was rather rusty...
After visiting the temple in Wroclaw/Poland over 5 days and conducting a number of enlivening programs - some house programs, a Holy Name Day on Saturday and the Sunday program - I traveled by train to New Shantipur, a nice rural project
To create a culture of bhakti in our home is a challenge! This book gives insights and guidelines related to very practical aspects of life - how to adjust and transform our family life so it is an ashram, a suitable place to facilitate our spiritual growth and development.
It was my first visit to Poland as a preacher. I remember dropping into the temple in Warsaw around thirty years ago when traveling with my former husband from Riga to Germany to visit my parents. In those days the temple room was in an old building - meanwhile beautiful Gaur Nitai moved to a new temple building with a good size temple room. The property has a nice vegetable- and flower garden with fruit trees and bushes. There are only a handful of devotees living in the temple, with some of them being from Ukraine. But there is a good size congregation with local Polish devotees and also Indian and Russian speaking devotees.
Shortly after returning to Europe from the US, I flew to Vilnius in Lithuania to attend the Baltic Summer Festival which is always a nectarean event. This year it was graced by the presence of HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami, HH Dhira Shanta Gosvami, HH Ananda Vardhana Swami, Madhavananda and his wife and Narayani Mataji as main guest speakers, and Agnidev, Sistakrit and Ojasvi Prabhus as main kirtaneers. Over 6 days more than 700 devotees attended, swimming in the nectarean ocean of bliss while absorbing themselves in various kathas during the day and diving into blissful kirtans in the evenings.
My last destination on my tour around the US was New York. I stayed in the Brooklyn temple with beautiful Radha Govinda and had a wonderful time giving a number of programs there and also at the Bhakti Center. The facilities are great - a huge building in a good location. On the rooftop the devotees not only keep Tulasi Devi but also grow flowers and even vegetables and herbs in buckets and crates - my favorite place for chanting japa in the early morning....
On the short flight from Portland to Boise I had a window seat and was observing the change of climate and vegetation as we came closer to Boise - the only sight-seeing I am engaging in: looking out the window from the plane. It gives me some idea what my new environment is like. It was very obvious: Boise is in the desert-like state of Idaho. Outside the city there are no trees unless one goes up into the mountains. And Boise is one of the most remote urban areas within the US - in the middle of nowhere...
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Devaki Devi Dasi's Travel DiaryDevaki Devi Dasi is sharing her realizations and adventures in her Traveling Diary.Welcome to relish this nectar! Archives
November 2023
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