By Acarya Dasa – All India Padayatra Leader
BLESSED WITH THE DIVINE ASSOCIATION OF BHAKTI RASAMRITA MAHARAJA
On June 1st, we reached the city of Belgaum in north Karnataka. Congregation devotees warmly greeted us. We were fortunate to have Bhakti Rasamrita Maharaja, who delivered a lecture especially for us padayatris, glorifying padayatra. He said “Every temple should organize a padayatra; one who walks on padayatra gets the special mercy of Srila Prabhupada.”All the Belgaum devotees came for darsana of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundara and the oxen. Maharaja also touched the oxen with love and said, “These are very fortunate souls.” We performed sankirtana in different zones of the city and took darsana of Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda, Jagganath, Baladev,Subhadra and Gaura Nitai. We also visited Khanapur, a town where a large congregation of devotees resides, and we organized many house programs there.
THE DEVOTEES’ LOVE PULLS THE LORD TO THEIR TOWN
Then we walked to Sadalga (or Sadalaga), a town in the Belgaum district. It is situated near the Karnataka border on the banks of the Dudhaganga River and is mostly inhabited by Yadavas who built a Krishna temple there. They always call the ISKCON devotees from nearby towns to organize programs as they are very favorable to devotional life. So they were delighted when they heard the news that padayatra was coming to their town.
The important Sadalga personalities gathered to welcome us at the entrance of the town. The matajis performed arati of Their Lordships and of the oxen, and all the devotees made arrangements for our accommodations and prasadam. After the evening program they distributed prasadam to all the residents. While we were leaving town, they offered a donation of Rupees 5000 (72.71 US Dollars= 61.86 Euros) for padayatra. Because of the love they possess for ISKCON and the devotees, the Lord was pulled to their town. We were just amazed by their hospitality.
THE LORD’S MERCY IS UNENDING
As we were moving ahead from Sadalga, I was searching for a place where we could honor prasadam. We came across a small farm house about 17 kms from there. While I was standing near the farm a person arrived on a bike and hit our motorbike. When I told him to drive slowly he started shouting furiously, “This is my farm house, my area! What are you doing here?” The padayatri near me mumbled, “He is a Muslim. Let’s leave, he will fight with us.” Then, very softly, I explained to the man the objective of our padayatra, which quieted him a little. Then I asked him, “Can we have prasad here after our team reaches?” He said, “Ok, sit under the tree; but you have to pay for water”. I agreed with this condition. After a while all the padayatris arrived on the spot where we were waiting. We parked our cart and trolleys in the shade. As we were all set to start honoring our prasadam, this man came again. I assumed that he was going to create some nuisance, but the Lord showered His causeless mercy upon him. As he took darsana of Their Lordships, his heart melted. He just kept looking at them while I was waiting for his reaction. The Lord took away the envy in his heart and filled it with love. With folded palms he came to us and requested, “Please sit inside my house while honoring your food.” Generally ladies in the Muslim community don’t come out of house but he called all of them outside for darsana, and they took photos of Their Lordships and the oxen. We offered them carnamrita, which they readily accepted, and I also explained to them the importance of honoring this carnamrita. The man took prasadam with us and also bought some of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Then, as we were about to depart, he came to me and said, “I am sorry for the offence I committed. Please forgive me. I was very rude to you. I am very fortunate that in this month of Eid (a big Muslim festival) and roza (fasting in Islam) the Lord has come to my house and His cart is standing right outside my house. I am very obliged to all of you.”
SANKIRTANA IS SOOTHING TO THE HEART
Then we went to Gokak, a town in the Belgaum District, located around 70 km from Belgaum at the confluence of two rivers, the Ghataprabha River and the Markandeya River. We performed harinama sankirtana there. There was a Devi temple nearby and the persons in the temple also joined the chanting. The temple authorities were so much impressed by the kirtana that they gave us a dhol from their temple. The dhol is a regional double-sided barrel drum played with one or two sticks, mostly as an accompanying instrument.
When sankirtana was over Mr. Mahesh Patil, a well-known retired military personnel from the town, came to me and expressed his gratitude for giving him darsana of Their Lordships. He had tears in his eyes while talking. He said in a choked voice, “Would you all come to my house and perform kirtana there for some time?” His young son had died in a mishap a few months back and due to grief, his wife was suffering from psychiatric illness. Next day we went to his house, performed sankirtana, delivered a small class and all of us chanted one round for his family. We also gave chanting beads to his family members. Mr. Patil distributed about 20 kilos of prasadam to all the persons who attended the evening program. He was very much pleased by the association of devotees and attended mangala arati the next day.
THE LORD FULFILLS OUR HEART’S DESIRES
On June 14,we were at Raybag, a Tehsil (an administrative subdivision of a district) in the Belgaum district. Nine years before padayatra had come there when RupaGoswami Dasa was the leader. Since then Mr.SiddeshwarAyanapure, a resident of this town, had developed lots of love and affection for padayatra and Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundara. He always used to ask ISKCON devotees when padayatra would come to his town. He had a very strong desire that padayatra should come to his house as well. As we reached his place, he became very cheerful and was jumping with joy. He enjoyed the darsana of Their Lordships to his heart’s content. All the time we were in town he stayed with us and attended all the programs. We also performed a great kirtana in his house and offered prasadam to about 200 people. The next day, as we were leaving town, he accompanied the padayatra party. When the cart stopped in front of a particular house, we wondered what happened. The residents of the house came out and did arati to the Deities, they were very happy and paid their obeisances to Them. Later we came to know that this was the house of Mr.Siddeswar’s brother. It confirms the fact that the Lord stops at the places where his dear devotees reside to give them His darsana. Before the padayatra’s visit nobody was chanting in this house but once they had darsana of Their Lordships, they all started chanting the holy names and also bought books from us. This is how the Lord reciprocates with His devotees.
EVERY SOUL FALLS IN LOVE WITH SRI SRI NITAI GAURASUNDARA
Then we went to Chinchali, a village located in the Raybag Tehsil. The local devotees, including Satyaraj Dasa, a disciple of Jayapataka Swami, helped us a lot in organizing different programs. Satyaraj Dasa, who comes from a Jain family, he has translated 14 chapters of the Bhagavad-gita in Kanada. He showed lots of inclination for padayatra and called his family members from Mumbai to take darsana of Sri Sri Nitai Guarasundara. He also invited all his Jain friends to attend the harinamas and padayatra programs. Generally Jains do not believe in the Lord, but to our surprise, these people were very favorable. They happily joined our kirtana party and also invited us to their houses for more chanting. Satyaraj Dasa also donated fodder for the oxen and helped us to get our motorcycle and tractor repaired.
