By Dayal Gopal dasa, Nepal Padayatra leader
Recently I went to the Mayapur Parikrama and met padayatris from different padayatras. Got an opportunity to perform service together. One day there was an ista gosti as well and it was a very good experience. All the devotees performing seva together, doing parikrama together, listening to katha together – all was good and all could learn a lot from padayatris and devotees. Preaching is good in some padayatras. They are applying different kinds of unique ideas and means for preaching and thus getting inspiration.
When we returned from parikrama on March 4, to the same village where we had left the chariot for almost three weeks and had thought of celebrating Gaura-purnima as the people had served the Lord and oxen, we found the situation was different. We were alone and there could be no special celebration, and we learned a good lesson from that incident: that padayatris should not depend on anyone. Padayatra means we could be one or two or up to 100 devotees, whatever in number our main aim is to make others listen to harinama. By making others listen to the harinama we also get purified and have to distribute books to others.
We should preach about Krishna continuously to whoever we see. If we depend on anyone in this process, “Oh, we will come and we will do the programme this way,” we get deceived. If we do this, we will save ourselves from the attack of maya: always keep ourselves engaged in preaching Krishna’s name, form, qualities, and pastimes. By this, we will be able to save ourselves from maya and others will also get benefited. And another thing is that we should not stop in any condition.
Nowadays, there are pitch roads in villages and oxen can’t walk on pitch roads without nals (or horseshoes) fitted on the surface underneath oxen’s feet. When oxen walk without the protection of iron shoes on pitch roads, their feet rub against the road surface and it’s painful, and if it continues the animal will become lame. But these people who fit nals have almost disappeared. You don’t find them much in Nepal and need to cross the border to Bihar.
As we can’t walk for long on pitch roads, we should keep walking through villages. Even if we stay at one place and we are alone, we should continue with sankirtan congregation. We should go out and visit neighbours with our mrdanga and kartals, and if there is a small speaker then it is fine and our throats won’t get troubled. We should continue harinama when we are alone and we should distribute books. We should not remain sitting at one place doing nothing. That reduces the taste for preaching. This kind of experience was good but still there was a loss. Whatever time was wasted, couldn’t serve it for Krishna consciousness. You will get different reasons to stop but to stop means waste.
Sometimes, it happens that we become lazy. Once our consciousness goes down it takes a lot of time and hard work to uplift it. This could also be a case that we are not aware and once it goes down it will go on like that. To be very careful is necessary. By listening to Srila Prabhupada’s lecture about Kunti Maharani, he was saying that maya is ready. If we don’t do sixteen rounds and do not follow the four regulative principles, we will instantly come under the influence of maya. On one side there is maya and on the other side there is Lord Krishna. To know Krishna is very difficult, only paramahamsas can know.
By the mercy of all Vaishnavas, by the mercy of Gurudeva and Gurujan, we pray to stay in such a situation. Padayatra is going on every day and in March some book distribution also was done. We go here and there in the evening, but capturing photos and keeping records is currently not possible, so we will continue this.
In Mayapur, I had darshan of Srila Prabhupada disciple Akhiladhar prabhuji. He had been to Nepal before and I had an opportunity to serve him for a few days when there was an issue regarding his passport. When we met this time, I had his darshan and requested him, “Prabhuji, please come to Nepal for padayatra.” Prabhuji got angry and said straight away, “First you come to All India Padayatra. You come. All India Padayatra is the mother of all padayatras. Then we will come.” He said like that. It is my wish to come for All India Padayatra, had an attraction for it since the very start but it couldn’t happen for various reasons. I will try now, have to do it in the future as I got instructions from a superior.
In Nepal we are near to Janakpur dhama. Wherever we go, in every village, there are many temples. Even now, Sita-Rama-Lakshmana temples are here. We get the whole Vaishnava culture, the complete Ramabhakti. It often feels like we have come to Ayodhya.
Throughout the eighteen months since I joined padayatra, the contemplation was going on “how to prepare its schedule, how to do and what?” Sometimes, early in the morning after arati, after chanting and then after preparing and having prasad, we would walk around until about noon. Now, by the mercy of the Lord, we got a new schedule. When we would live like this in the morning and then prasada in the evening, the body would become weak. We have some fruits in the morning and perform spiritual practice till 8am. Then we walk and prasadam at 1pm. And in the evening, book distribution is good on the road, get to meet people returning from their offices. It’s a good time for preaching and book distribution.
But in the evening when we do video presentations, we would do kirtan at different places in villages even if we would be alone, would do sankirtan and everyone in the village would be aware of it. Daily we have an evening programme, a video presentation, attended by many people. It is very obvious that here people are still religious. We go to villages and if we do a little kirtan and call people, they come and become amazed by padayatra. Hare Kṛiṣhṇa!
