By Yasodadulal Dasa
Adventures of the sapta rishis
Padayatra is like churning the Mandara Mountain, one never knows what will come out. When seven older New Zealand male devotees (sapta rishis[1]) anticipated a walking pilgrimage in Fiji, our adventuresome spirit rose. We thought, ‘Why not mix a bit of healthy outdoor recreation with Nitai Gauranga’s process of singing and dancing?’ There were also rumors of the ripe mango season, visions of paradise in the form of white sandy beaches fanned by swaying coconut fronds and dazzling turquoise bays crowned in coral reefs – all enough of a heavenly temptation to pull us across the vast Southern Pacific ocean from New Zealand to Fiji.
We tagged the trip “Operation Mango – Pecked by the Parrot” because a tropical cyclone had recently passed through Fiji and the results were not a mango to be seen! The mango, that most alluring of succulent juicy fruits, remained as rare as a “white rhino” during our visit. Despite this, the risk of going to places that had never been visited before to freely distribute Gauranga’s prema dhan harinam sankirtan managed to successfully churn the causeless ocean of audarya (mercy). Thus, other ripe fruits appeared in the exotic form of the friendly indigenous Fijian people, who received our gifts with open arms and soft hearts.
Harinam and prasadam galore
Our program in Fiji involved exchanges of simple offerings of prasadam and copious lashings of harinama sankirtana which found God in the hearts of these beautiful island people. We were able to penetrate their quiet villages, meet their chiefs and share awesome interfaith exchanges. We were able to slice into their sweet mango like natures with the ‘parrot’ of Hare Krishna happiness. Inside these “people mangoes” was a big pip (core) of Christian tradition, holding their tightly knit extended families together. But when broad minded brotherhood gathers around the full basket that has been harvested from what Krishna provides, great joy is available to all.
The real sweetness
We did not go to Fiji to convert anyone, but rather to celebrate our common ground and gratitude and so we journeyed across this land, our small party of devotees steadily massaging the spine of Mother Earth, walking 20 to 25 kilometers a day. We relished other incredible fruits that appeared as the rewards for performing the yuga dharma of this age. The ‘real sweetness’ came in different ways:
- Through the quality of association with long standing, like minded devotee friends
- In the nectar of intermingling with the native Island people
- Sharing the treasures of Gauranga’s gift
- Visiting new frontiers of Krishna consciousness
- In experiencing the vigor of preaching together with the long standing Fiji yatra
- Being enveloped in the magnanimity and generosity of the Fijian devotees
- Thinking we came to teach something but realizing we came to learn from others
- In taking a risk for Srila Prabhupada
- In satisfying Guru and Srila Prabhupada
- In keeping fit and healthy with daily exercise and enjoying some well- earned light hearted fun and recreation together in a spiritual setting – the ultimate ‘Men’s Group’
Bonding with the locals
When one applies a concentrated effort to propagate Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana mission, it is natural that there may also be an experience of some ‘poison’ or difficulties. I can honestly say, as unreal as it sounds, nothing like that happened. In fact, it was sweet but all too short. The closest thing to “halahala” (poison) that we experienced was a few raw blisters on our feet and, dare I say it, the repercussions of being overly fed by our Fijian hosts and well-wishers.
We brushed up on the ancient traditions of Fiji before arriving, just to get a foot in the door with the native Fijian chiefs. One such tradition was the giving of a ritual gift, the native kava root[2], to the village elders. I took full responsibility for the gift giving, being the leader of the party. I humbly took shelter of the mood of our grandfather in our guru varga, as I presented the gift. Although controversial and radical at the time, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur served meat to the British Governor, Sir John Anderson, who had come to Sridham Mayapur to attend the esteemed Gaura Purnima function. I kept this example in mind and using Srila Prabhupada’s guidelines of “Utility is the Principle”, I thought it better to sidestep any cultural confrontation by making a peace offering appropriate to their customs. I was also very much aware of a famous Fijian incident that happened sometime ago, it involved the boiling of a white man and his shoes in a big pot –not a great finish for a padayatri, despite the honor of dying with your boots on!
Of course, none of our party touched their lips to the coconut shell of mildly intoxicating poison. I confess, though, that to save face and receive their approval and “peace pipe” acceptance I did ingest a palm-full of the root beverage beyond my lips into my throat. At that moment I had a strong recollection of Lord Siva’s act of drinking poison, for which he is known as Nilakanta (the blue-throated one) this saved me whilst in the presence of the chiefs. I also intensely chanted the perfect antidote, the Hare Krsna maha mantra, well into the night. The local people became addicted to the maha mantra and repeatedly encouraged me to continue on enthusiastically chanting. As we sat in a big circle under the full moonlight surrounded by coconut palms, I thought it fitting to judge by this wonderful result.
Gauranga boys
After three-days of living with these beautiful, innocent Fijian folk on their isolated island, we fed them a feast fit for a king (who was actually present!). We chanted and danced in the mood of Nitai and Haridas. I felt that we were Gauranga’s boys, out there inviting one and all to the “Hare Krishna party”.
The next morning as we were leaving their village in the ‘put-put’ all the locals came out onto the beach. As we broke into a soothing Island style crooning of nama bhajan, many called out loudly “Haribol, Rama Rama, Krishna, Gauranga!” I knew Srila Prabhupada would be pleased, as we serenaded our way out of that bay and back into the real world.
TRIPPING ON KALIA’S HOOD
The boys have gone home
So Nandaki and I are on the loose
We skedaddled on the North/East Tip
With a bus load of big Fijian mamas
Clapping and a hooting
Up that ol’ gravel road
In and on Kaliya’s hood
Pulled in by the ancient legend
We strode through golden grass
On the sides of the blue mountain
Searching in and out for his cave
In the river belly, black as a snake
A deep pool pulsed in scale light
Struck in the morning sun
Plunging beneath the liquid surface
With shaft prisms of light
Into the scary chasm
Diving for a jewel
And securing a stone pebble
Casting aside unwanted things
Harshness cruelty and envy
That choke the creeper of bhajan
And understanding redemption
KRSNA softened by the Nagapatnis
The quiet power of a wife
Who chastely forgives
A fallen husband
All the Chiefs come
To this very old place
The Mythical origin
Of the Fiji Island people
Decendants of Degei*
* Degei – legendary snake God
[1] Sapta rishis refers to seven sages
[2] Kava comes from the root of the yagona (piper methysticum) bush, a relative of the pepper plant. The root is ground up and then strained with water into a wooden communal bowl to make a drink
