This year, by the mercy of Srila Gurudeva, I was able to participate on padayatra for the first time. I cannot compare this experience with anything else, and I’m not sure it is possible to do so, as each moment on padayatra is unique, transcendental and filled with happiness.
Challenging times with heavy rains, inundations, cold and mud
Thanks to the mood of the senior devotees who took very good care of the padayatris, we easily accepted all the austerities we encountered on the way -the ascetic life in the forest, taking bath in freezing rivers and having our tents inundated with water. We travelled in the forests of South Russia for about one month. I vividly remember one place where we camped out, a forest near the town of Lermontovo. We had a tough time there due to the bad weather conditions. It was sunny during the day but at night our party experienced a harsh downpour of rain. It rained so much that the roads had become muddy, and the puddles of water that had formed during the night wouldn’t even dry up during the day because of the cold weather. We witnessed cars getting stuck in the mud and rivers turning cold and muddy from the constant rain. Our lives were made very difficult indeed when it came to washing our clothes and bathing. Whenever we did our laundry in the river, the clothes would get covered with a layer of mud, and because it was so cold and damp they wouldn’t even dry. The heavy rains had also caused inundations on the banks of the rivers, making bathing very problematic : we had to jump from the shore of the river onto a rock and then into the water. When we wanted to come out of the river after having taken our bath we had to grab onto fallen trees and roots sticking out from the sides of the river bank. It was very slippery, and we would often fall into the river, along with all the things we were carrying.
‘The important thing is not where we render service, but with whom.’
I went to padayatra to distibute Srila Prabhupada’s books and was prepared to tolerate all kinds of austerities and trials to accomplish that goal. However, after having been on padayatra for some time, I came to the realisation that this was not the essence of the many services we offer to the Lord. What is important is not how many books one distributes and hearing the devotees praise you with ‘Ki jaya!’ during the morning program, but with whom I do this service with. On padayatra, the word ‘I’ does not exist, we are a large team, a big family. Bala Gopal and Vijay Gopal Prabhus, the two padayatra leaders, once said, ‘The important thing is not where we render service but with whom.’ These simple words encouraging us to serve the other devotees have penetrated deep into my heart. By their own exemple these senior devotees inspire others to do wonderful things. So now I try to live by using this simple rule : if I see that one devotee has left his/her clothes to soak in a bucket because he or she did not have time to wash them themselves, I wash them myself ; or if someone has left behind some dirty kitchen utensils, I see that it’s for me to do it, as Lord Caitanya Himself would probably have done the same thing. The kinds of services that the Lord rendered to His devotees are mentioned in the Caitanya-caritamrita. The instructions of our padayatra leaders have changed my life. I try to remember how each participant on padayatra is a unique devotee, very dear to the Lord.
« On padayatra I wanted to serve with an intensity of desire I had never known before. »
This summer I really understood that the best preaching is by our own exemple. When I saw all the love that was in the heart of Bala Gopal, Vijay Gopal and Maha Shakti Prabhus, the only thing I then wanted to do was to become like them. As I said before, the essence of padayatra and our preaching is not the number of books distributed or the number of harinamas we did. Padayatra changes people’s heart and makes them become devotees. It was on padayatra that I understood that I was ready to sacrifice my entire life for the sankirtana mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in order to be like these loving senior devotees, and not because Srila Prabhupada had promised that the Lord would bring back to Him all the book distributors in this very lifetime. I saw with my own eyes how the method given by Srila Prabhupada is working. The brightest memory of my entire life is the taste I experienced during the padayatra. I wanted to chant the maha-mantra, to read Srila Prabhupada’s books and to serve with an intensity of desire I had never known before.
I also understood that there is no life after padayatra. I tried two times to leave padayatra, each time asking my temple leader to do it just for a little time, but then I understood that it was not possible for me to go away. The taste I received on padayatra does not allow me to now live the way I used to live before. Each place I find myself in -the temple, my home or on sankirtana– is the padayatra. Because padayatra is not the place where it happens, but it’s a mood of service. It’s only with this mood that it’s possible, not only to sell books in the street, but also to give Krsna to people. My only desire is to be able to stay in the company of these exalted devotees and that Krishna allows me to serve them one way or another.
