By Acarya Dasa
On June 12th our ‘All India Padayatra’ party reached the city of Salem in the state of Tamil Nadu. The city’s name is derived from the Sanskrit word shailam, meaning “hill” –it is no wonder therefore that the city has become well known for its hill- top train station. It is located about 160 kilometers North-East of Coimbatore. Salem also has an ISKCON temple filled with devotees who have been inspired by Bhakti Vikash Swami and are progressing with his blessings and guidance. This large congregation of devotees served Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar with all their hearts whilst we were here. Wherever we went in Salem, the roads were decorated and many of the women would come ready with arati plates and garlands to worship the Lord. The congregation also sponsored our padayatra with two bulls, helped us to repair the tractor and donated a lot of grocery items and fodder. We stayed here for three days and hosted many programs in the nearby areas. The programs included classes describing the glories of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar, after which we held sankirtana.
Ramkeshava Dasa, a disciple of Bhakti Vikash Swami had previously joined us on padayatra. He served Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar for a year and a half. He is now living in Salem and when we informed him that we would be coming to his city, he made all the arrangements for our arrival. Ramkeshava Dasa sent out messages to all the nearby villages and spread the glories of the Lord telling people to be ready to welcome Them. During our stay here he served on our advanced party team of devotees, going ahead to our next destination and preparing for the Lords arrival. He stayed with us for 15 days. When I spoke with him, Ramkeshava Dasa said, “I am so happy to see Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar after such a long time. I feel that They have actually come to give me darsana.”
Whilst here in Salem we were also happy to hear that the ‘Tamil Nadu Padayatra’ was here as well. It was a wonderful coincidence that two padayatra parties were in the same city at the same time. Prasana Shyam Dasa started the ‘Tamil Nadu Padayatra’ after serving with us on the ‘All India Padayatra’ for three years. He was very inspired after his service with us and asked his spiritual master Bhakti Vikash Swami for permission to start a padayatra in the state of Tamil Nadu. We were happy to be walking together with the Tamil Nadu padayatris on the streets of Salem. After our programs, all the padayatris would gather together and share realizations with one another –inspiring each other to carry on this mission.
After we left Salem about 50 devotees walked with us to all the nearby villages. They would walk with us during the day and return to their homes in the evening. We had a very good experience in Salem with all of Bhakti Vikash Swami’s disciples welcoming us and Their Lordships with all their hearts. The devotees here had such a tremendous mood of service. We, padayatris felt like we had known them forever. We felt at home in the city of Salem. It was as though these devotees were just waiting to serve Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar. All glories to Bhakti Vikash Swami who is the source of their inspiration and by whose mercy they are engaged in devotional service. We were also pleased to note that the devotees of Salem have their own padayatra which they go on for two months every year. It was wonderful having two padayatra parties in the same place, interacting with each other and sharing realizations. We distributed 8 sets of Bhagavatams whilst here in Salem.
Nitai Guarsundar ki!
Jai!
