Cancer is becoming a more and more common disease, also amongst devotees. Infact, it is becoming one of the main causes leading to death. Dealing now with this diagnose for the second time inspires me to try and share some little insights, hoping that it might help others who will be facing a similar situation.
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According to my karma I probably would be dead and gone by now, but somehow Krsna is always interfering.... He gave me a second chance ten years ago, and now a third one......
On my arrival in Delhi on the 22nd of March I traveled out to Vrindavan for a couple of days. I had to do some little errands, and it gave me a nice opportunity to spend a couple of days in Vrindavan. And we always meet some old devotee friends from various parts of the world, who we don't expect to meet.....! And it was once again recharging to spend time in Prabhupada's quarters chanting.
On the 24th I flew on to Chennai - it was my very first visit to this yatra. ISKCON has a big and beautiful temple in the green and peaceful outskirts of the city. HH Bhanu Maharaja has established this temple some years ago and takes very nicely care of the servants of Sri Sri Radha Krishna with Lalita and Vishaka, Sri Sri Gaur Nitai and Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra. In Chennai most devotees speak English, which makes preaching for us foreigners easier. I guess the devotees are used to hearing English classes since HH Bhanu Maharaja speaks only English. Upon our arrival back in Dhaka on the 15th of March Dvija-Nayaka Prabhu flew on to Chittagong while I traveled to Narayan Ganj, two hours away from Dhaka. Here Lord Jagannath resides and is nicely worshiped, together with Lord Baladev and Lady Subhadra.
Rupa Ragunath Prabhu from Australia had joined the Sydney temple shortly after me in the mid eighties', and over the years we had met every now and again in Mayapur. For all these years he had been a dedicated book distributor, and now I had invited him and Dvija-nayaka Prabhu from Croatia to join me on my visit to Bangladesh. On the 6th of March, after relaxing in Dhaka for a couple of days we took a domestic flight to Sylhet, where we spent the following days over Gaur Purnima.
Shortly after the Girls' Mela we were yet conducting another major event: the annual program of the Institute for Spiritual Culture, on the 24th of February. This year the overall theme was "The Glories of Our Vaikuntha Children", bringing attention to the importance of moving our children into the center of our communities. The chief guest speakers were HH Sivarama Maharaja and HH Lokanath Maharaja, followed by several senior grhasthas.
Our teenagers go through a very special phase in life. They need to gradually establish themselves in this world, and want to be accepted as individual and almost grown-up personalities, with their own desires, talents, inclinations, hopes and plans for their future.
They don't like to be corrected and instructed by their parents any longer - they have heard this for so many years! Now they need other role models, heroes and mentors, who guide and inspire them. It does not mean that they are ungrateful to their parents - no, they are forever grateful for all the care and love their parents have given to them, but now they want to be treated and respected as adults, and want to see their parents as friends to whom they may turn whenever they feel like. Upon our return from Ekachakra to Mayapur at the end of December we prepared for the upcoming courses which I was scheduled to conduct. I had five weeks of teaching ahead of me - Monday to Friday, from 3pm to 6pm. Each week was dedicated to one topic, and each topic was building onto the previous week's seminar. We started with "Giving and Accepting Shelter - The Foundation to Vaisnava Relationships and Devotee Care", which sets the foundation to all further courses. The second week discussed "The Vanaprastha Ashram - Meeting Death With Joy", followed by "Men and Women in Spiritual Culture", and "Marriage in Spiritual Culture". In the fifth week I introduced a new course entitled "Children in Spiritual Culture", which attracted the biggest audience, since I had not offered it before.
All courses were well attended by nice and serious devotees from all around the world - some being part of the Mayapur community, and some simply visiting Mayapur for a shorter period of time. Several disciples of Srila Prabhupada also participated. When senior devotees are present and contribute with comments and questions, it uplifts the entire atmosphere. On my arrival at the Kolkata airport on the 10th of December I received my two assistants Alona from Moscow and Tatjana from Moldova, who were just then arriving from Europe, and we traveled out to Mayapur together. It was their very first visit to India, and so many new impressions flooded their minds.....
On my arrival in Chittagong on the 29th of November we made plans to arrange for some special evening prasadam for the 1st of December - my birthday. I had a team of boys who were helping me to feed around 150 devotees, and we decided for a nice pasta subji with paneer, vanilla custard and mango sauce. All these preparations are a little exotic for our Bangla devotees - sometimes the senses like some different taste for a change....!
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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
January 2026
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