By Jayabhadra devi dasi, IGF preacher ISKCON Amravati
A one-day padayatra is a nice way of sensitizing villagers to ISKCON and the most-powerful holy name. As a Tuberculosis Officer in Maharashtra, I am continually sensitizing people to the disease, how to avoid it and control it, but we are all suffering from the disease of bhava-roga, repeatedly taking birth, and we need to bring this to people’s attention.
On February 19, 2022, the day of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja jayanti, I accompanied several devotees to a one-day padayatra at Rajura, a village of about thirty inhabitants 15 km northwest of Amravati. I called social health activist Mrs Manda a day earlier to arrange a padayatra in the village and she readily agreed saying, “I will keep my ladies’ group ready.”
Upon arrival our party was welcomed by the village ladies who were all dressed in beautiful yellow saris. Padayatra began at Mrs Manda’s house and we made our way chanting and dancing on the holy name through the whole village. Sacipran dasa and Ranchod Krishna dasa performed wonderful sankirtan which attracted the hearts of residents who would come out of their houses, raise their hands and chant the holy name. Villagers are very simple folk who have faith in the Lord and the saints. People would ask me, “From where have these maharajas come?” and then I would tell them the details of our ISKCON temple in Amravati. I also told them that Sacipran and Ranchod Krishna are both certified engineers, and that really shocked them.
As we announced the glories of the Bhagavad-gita and Srila Prabhupada’s small books people would readily take them. When an elderly lady came to me to take a book, I asked her if she could read. She said, “My children will read. One should read the books written by saints.” The villagers’ faith is truly inspiring! By the mercy of Guru and Gauranga at padayatra’s end we had distributed forty small books and three Bhagavad-gitas.
Back at Mrs Manda’s place we had kirtan and a lecture describing the glories of the holy name. Then I felicitated padayatra’s organizers with a maha garland of the Amravati temple’s Sri Sri Rukmini Dwarkadish. Everyone was happy and invited us to Rajura on ekadasi for Gita-parayana.
The event came to a close as we thanked all those who participated in padayatra, especially Sacipran, Ranchod Krishna and All-India padayatri Manohar Rup dasa for their sankirtan (the heart of padayatra) and Bhakta Krishnakanta for playing mridanga. Thanks also to book distributors Bhakta Ramananda, Anugata Sakhi mataji, Bhaktin Pitambari and little Nimai for joining us.
Srila Prabhupada, ki jai.
