By Dhirnayak dasa, Bengal-Orissa Padayatra leader
Lokanath Maharaja visited the Bengal-Orissa Padayatra on October 17. We were at Mecheda in the Shahid Matangini community development block in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district, where we stayed at the village’s beautiful Jagannath temple.
The padayatris got much encouragement from Maharaja’s visit. After we had welcomed him with sankirtan at the Jagannath temple he then took darshan of Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundar, performed Their arati and led an ecstatic kirtan with everyone present dancing.
Maharaja was overjoyed to see Their Lordships’ beautiful chariot and our padayatra team. He asked how we were on padayatra and we all confirmed with a resounding Haribol. By his love and care he displayed his concern for padayatra and the padayatris. I had always heard how padayatra was his heart but on this occasion, I personally experienced it.
While Maharaja was having prasadam I showed him videos of sankirtan that emphasised how much the devotees love padayatra. I also gave him our book distribution score which pleased him and he urged us to keep up the good work. When Maharaja had finished prasadam he immediately called all the padayatris to personally enquire about the service of each one. He also shared his padayatra experiences and gave us guidelines he had received from Srila Prabhupada, especially from when he would go to Mayapur to see Prabhupada and also when he met him in Allahabad: “When Srila Prabhupada was telling me about padayatra he had a beautiful smile on his face, and I still remember his smile.”
Jai Srila Prabhupada.
I felt the same when I was telling Maharaja the book score and the number of devotees visiting our padayatra, for he also had a smile on his face. I felt ecstatic and enthused by Maharaja’s visit. We all got so much positive feedback. I had talked to Maharaja many times earlier but this time the experience was different. I could feel his love and care. He talked with such affection it made me very happy.
Maharaja told us to spread the news of padayatra throughout the world. He said, “Whatever happens in padayatra, the whole world should hear about it.”
Utkal-Banga padayatra, ki jai.
Srila Prabhupada, ki jai.
