by Asa-lata devi dasi
This summer, we will hold our Annual Padayatra festival again, organised by the Hungarian devotees.
As done in previous years, our Harinam group will visit the busiest holiday spots, and cities and villages around Lake Balaton and Lake Velencei. Some places we will visit include Székesfehérvár, Balatonfüred, Érd, Várpalota, Veszprém, Tata, Tatabánya, Keszthely, Siófok and Lake Velencei
Between 1st and 10th August, we will visit more than 10 locations where we will aim to spread the message of Lord Caitanya with as many people as possible by distributing Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental books and sharing the Holy Names of Lord Krsna.
In addition to these goals, this year we would again like to campaign for the urging necessity of protecting our world, and promoting a cruelty free lifestyle. We aim to do this by emphasising that the development of our spiritual consciousness is a prerequisite for achieving this.
Nowadays, scientists, civil activists and religious leaders have all pointed out that modern society, which is largely based on overconsumption and exploitation, cannot be maintained in the long term and the world has reached a stage when change is necessary and inevitable.
We are planning to plant trees again this year, but this time we plan to do this in the Autumn in collaboration with Seregélyes Forest School. This is because we would like the local civil organisations and young people in every nearby city or village to visit. By doing this we want to draw attention to our obligation of protecting the world and its habitants and the importance of living a cruelty free lifestyle. Local governments and representatives of the press will be invited to these tree planting events as well.
During the last two days of our Padayatra, we will be accompanied by a bullock cart joining us from Hungary’s self-sustaining eco-village, Krishna Valley.
We would like to demonstrate to people that by practicing ‘Simple living, high thinking,’ leading a cruelty-free and conscious lifestyle, and chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, everybody can lead a sustainable and happy life.
The core group consists of almost 30 devotees but throughout the week, we will be joined by many more pilgrims, so the headcount may sometimes grow to 50-60 people. People will come from many other cities, including Eger, Debrecen, Krishna Valley and Szombathely. Many will also bring their children, meaning that entire families will also join us. The largest number of people plan to join us on the last weekend of the Padayatra, when Lord Jagannath will come out with us too on the final day.
The excitement and enthusiasm for the pilgrimage is already brewing for the devotees. Daily, we will have a short morning programme before we depart to our various locations each day. This will include a Guru Puja kirtan and a short class followed by breakfast to set us up for the day. Due to the current situation with Covid 19, we have no other special guests able to join us this year, but we do plan to ask Sivarama Swami, Keshava Bharati Swami and Madhavananda Prabhu to facilitate an online morning class for the devotees to keep their enthusiasm alive during the week.
As every year, this year also the group will stay in a nearby school of the villages we plan to visit (as schools are closed at this time of the year due to the summer holiday). From here, we will depart each day to visit the small villages and cities. During the week, we will also plan to hold a house festival for Balarama Jayanti, including bhajan, class, kirtan and a feast.
There will be a live broadcast from several places which you can view here:
https://www.facebook.com/padayatrahungary/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/193784877990922/
You can see the locations and time here:
https://www.facebook.com/padayatrahungary/
https://govindaklub.hu/new_govinda/program/pada-yatra-2020/
We kindly invite you and everybody who is interested and able to, to please join us, even if only for a few hours or for a few days! Come and take part in the pilgrimage!
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqdYTC7MRnIXddz3caHeHx5hrgGEZmG3d4YL0DKknVfR02zg/viewform
If you feel like supporting the mission of Lord Caitanya or the distribution of the Maha Mantra but you unfortunately cannot participate in this special pilgrimage in person, please still support us by purchasing our Padayatra T-shirts or help us to finance the purchasing of the trees.
For donations and purchasing T-shirts please visit: https://www.facebook.com/padayatrahungary/
https://www.facebook.com/govindaklub.hu/
Further information:
Somogyi Tibor (Triyuga Dasa)
00-36-30/5024889
Somogyiné Simon Viola (Vrajaloka Devi Dasi)
00-36-20/550-5791
Yuga-dharma harināma sankīrtana yajña ki jaya!
Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya!
Gaura-bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!