By Acarya Dasa, All-India Padayatra leader
OUR FIRST DAY IN MAHARASHTRA
On June 20th we entered Maharashtra. The first place we came across was a village named Rendal located in Hatkanangle Tehsil, an administrative division of the Kolhapur district. At the border between Karnataka and Maharashtra, following a regular custom, we broke a coconut for the pleasure of Mother Earth and the kshetrapal, the demigod who protects that area. We asked for their blessings for the success of our preaching mission in this new state.
Devotees in that area were delighted when they received news of our arrival. Brajkishore Dasa, a disciple of Lokanath Maharaja from Kolhapur, was there in that village. The devotees from Rendal had especially invited him to welcome us. They arranged a grand welcome program and performed a powerful sankirtana. For our accommodations, we stayed at a Vitthala temple. We distributed three sets of Srimad-bhagavatam after the nagar sankirtana. Brajkishore Dasa walked with us till Kolhapur.
In Karnataka our book distribution score was not up to our expectations, so I was pondering how to improve it in Maharashtra. Rasotsava Dasa, our padayatra commander, told me, “As you were breaking the coconut, I could feel that Mother Earth and the demigod of this area were very happy and that our preaching programs in Maharashtra would be wonderful.” I replied with a loud “Haribol! ” . His prediction came true as the following days we had wonderful pandal programs and a festival every day.
KOHLAPUR: IN MAHALAKSMI’S CITY
On June 23rd, we reached Kolhapur, a historic city of Maharashtra. It is famous for the Sri Mahalaksmi Temple and is one of the 108 Shakti Peethas (a Shakti Peetha is a place associated with Shakti, the goddess of power). It’s an excellent and very peaceful place. The temple and the deity of Goddess Mahalaksmi are very beautiful. Local devotees welcomed us and we all performed a powerful harinama at the temple. No doubt the Goddess must have been very happy. We took darsana and asked for her blessings so that we could distribute the Lord’s message to everyone. We also visited the famous Jyotiba temple where we performed the loud chanting of the holy names. The next day, Mohanrupa Dasa, a congregational devotee, invited us to his house. As we reached his home he performed arati of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundara and showered flowers on them. His family members were all enchanted by the darsana of Their Lordships.
BIG PANDAL PROGRAM AT ICHALKARANJI
On June 28thwe visited Ichalkaranji, a historical city located on the banks of the Panchganga River. A devotee from the congregation, Sahastranam Dasa, arranged for a big pandal program to which he invited many businessmen. They welcomed us on the stage and honored the Deities with beautiful garlands and dresses. During his speech Sahastranam glorified padayatra. We organized many house programs in this city.
SURPRISE FESTIVAL IN SANGLI
On July 1st we were in the city of Sangli situated on the bank of the Krishna River. The river and its tributaries offer many irrigation advantages for the local agriculture which is the driving force of the economy of the district and the city. Abhiram Thakur Dasa, the president of nearby ISKCON Aravade, had come to Sangli to welcome us. He had informed all the devotees around the city and called them to have darsana of Their Lordships. He was very enthusiastic in leading kirtana. Before every program he gave a small talk on padayatra and explained how padayatris are working very hard to spread the message of Godhead. He also did advance party seva for the padayatra during which he instructed all the ISKCON leaders to be ready to welcome padayatra wherever and whenever it would be reaching in their nearby area. The Sangli devotees booked a big hall for the program and distributed prasadam on a large scale. We had not expected such a huge festival.
A VILLAGE PROCESSION REMINDING DEVOTEES OF RATHA-YATRA
We visited Shirdhon, a small village in the Kavathe Mahankal Talukain Sangli District, located 35 kms East of Sangli District’s headquarters. On getting the news of padayatra’s arrival the local devotees had called for a meeting and planned up everything. All the villagers came together to serve Their Lordships and decorated the road with rangoli designs and flowers. It was amazing to see their cooperation. As we reached, the matajis arrived with big pots of water, washed the hoofs of our oxen and performed arati of the Lord. We were all honored by beautiful garlands. The devotees had displayed about fifteen posters welcoming the padayatra at various places in the village. In the evening, as we gathered for sankirtana, all the villagers joined us enthusiastically. Little girls wore saris and walked in a big procession that reminded us of ratha-yatra. After Gaura arati, to express their happiness, villagers exploded firecrackers as it is usually done during the Diwali festival. Then prasadam was distributed to all. Mahalaksmi Dasi, the daughter of Lokanath Maharaja’s elder brother, resides in Shirdhon; she always helps padayatra and is ready to give donations. She invited all the padayatris for prasadam and also organized a puspa-abhiseka – showering of flowers and flower petals- of Their Lordships. It was a great opportunity for each villager to throw flower petals on Their Lordships, thus bringing each one of them closer to The Lord. The villagers were very excited and were ready for any seva to help us. In that small village we did more than 8 house programs: everyone was in festive mood, happy to celebrate the holy name in their village.
EVERY DAY IS A FESTIVAL
The nearby villagers were doing announcements about padayatra’s arrival in traditional style, and people were coming for darsana of Their Lordships. Every day we are distributing about 200 full plates of prasadam. Lokanath Maharaja, our Gurudev, always repeated that we should distribute full plates of prasadam after the programs. Since we received that instruction I intensely prayed to the Lord that we could fulfill his desire. And now, our desire is getting fulfilled in Maharashtra. Every day is a festival: about 200 people come for Gaura arati and Krishna katha. We are very happy to be here in this state filled with devotion and devotees, and where our Guru Maharaja was born.
SUCH AMAZING HOSPITALITY AND WONDERFUL WELCOME
One of our padayatris shared his realizations and experience: “The people of Maharashtra are very simple. If they hear sankirtana, old and young ones all come to join us. They start singing some abhangas of Saint Tukaram Maharaja and dance along. They are very eager to serve and call everybody “Mauli”- Lord Vitthala is also called Mauli, so that word reminds them of their worshipable Lord. They offer us rice and various grains, come for Gaura arati and mangala arati, and come to us after the programs to inquire if there is any more seva. Maharashtra is a very spiritual place, where devotion to the Lord is habitually present in its residents, who are filled with love for the devotees. The height of their simplicity and humility is shown when they even pay obeisances to our padayatra oxen, apply tilak to their body and offer them an arati. When the women come for darsana of Their Lordships they always cover their heads as a sign of awe and reverence for the Lord and His devotees. The Aravade zone has many preaching centers in the nearby villages, and each day was better than the previous one. I have never seen such wonderful welcome of Their Lordships in every village and such amazing hospitality.”
