Miraculous events that could turn a staunch atheist into a surrendered soul
The miraculous events taking place on Padayatra India could turn even a stone cold disbeliever into a surrendered soul. The following act of mercy of the Lord in some famine struck villages of South India is indeed no exception.
The day was August 19th as padayatra entered Nandyal, a city located in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. We received a warm welcome as we entered the city streets, performing sankirtan. The local people began to wash the path for the padayatra and showered flowers as we made our way, they also stopped to offer arati and coconuts to Gaura Nitai. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the villagers had continued to follow us, enjoying the sankirtan all the way to the town square, where we conducted arati and katha with the locals still in attendance. The next day whilst we were preparing to move onto our next destination, we were approached by the local people, who requested us to stay for one more day and so we did. That day we performed sankirtan and went on book distribution. On both days that padayatra was there, when sankirtan started clouds flooded the skies and it began to rain heavily. Little did we know that padayatra and the sankirtan performance had become associated with the heavy downpour of rain. The news of this miracle spread and as a result we were approached by the villagers of Krishnapuram who requested us to come to their village. When we asked them why, they told us that their village had not had a single drop of rain in two years and so there were no crops. The villagers said that they had heard when we did sankirtan it had started to rain. They pleaded with us to come to their village. Even though we were meant to be embarking on a different route we decided to honor their request and go to their village.
As we made our way to the village we started wondering, “What if it doesn’t rain?” However, Gaura Nitai is all merciful and so we left it up to Them. When we arrived we performed sankirtan and sure enough the sky began to fill with clouds and rain poured from the heavens. The villagers were ecstatic as they jumped and danced in the sankirtan. Afterwards we put together a small katha describing the importance of sankirtan yajna in the age of Kali Yuga. We also explained that yajna should be done to get rain.
“annad bhavanti bhutani parjanyad anna-sambhavah
yajnad bhavati parjanyo yajnah karma-samudbhavah” (BG 3.14)
All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rain. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.
Therefore in Kali-yuga sankirtan yajna is recommended. Two new padayatris joined at this village, they said that they had never seen such a sankirtan before. As we left, the villagers requested that we come again to bless them with Gaur Nitai. Sankirtan yajna ki jai!
Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar left the comfort of Their temple to benefit the fallen souls
Padayatra is a tale of devotees’ surrender unto the complete mercy of the Lord. The epic adventures, the near misses, it is almost unbelievable. I now want to look at another angle of padayatra, a devotee’s view of the experience of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar on the roads. It showcases the sweetness of gratitude in the heart of these surrendered souls.
It’s been 30 years since the merciful deities of Gaura Nitai left the comforts of the temple, to accompany us on this padayatra. We have been traveling continuously on the unforgiving roads of India, in the rain, under the scorching sun, and on uneven streets here and there. Gaura Nitai have also beared all these austerities.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is described as Mahavadanya, all merciful. In Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-Lila 4.144, the purport states:
Prithvite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra prachara haibe mora nama
“In as many towns and villages as there are on the surface of the earth, My holy name will be preached.”
The Lord is certainly still embarking on this mission in His deity form. In the temple Their Lordships are served the most opulent food preparations, but They forget all this to come on padayatra where They are served humble khicadi and fruits. Gaura Nitai’s mercy is so abundant that They continue to give Their darshan to those suffering in bhava roga, long after They were meant to be put to rest. The Lord becomes so overwhelmed by the state of the people that He becomes like a concerned doctor and makes house visits to treat them. Wherever padayatra travels Gaura Nitai’s prasadam is distributed, thus benefiting countless persons.
patrapatra-vicaranam na kurute na svam param viksyate
deyadeya-vimarsakah na hi na va kala-pratiksah Prabhu
sadyo yah sravaneksana-pranamana-dhyanadina durlabham
dhatte bhakti-rasam sa eva vagaban gaurah param me gatih”
“He does not consider whether a person is qualified or not. He does not see who is His own and who is an outsider. He does not consider who should receive and who should not. He does not consider whether it is the proper time. The Lord at once gives that nectar of pure devotional service that is difficult to obtain even by hearing the messages of the Lord, seeing the deity, offering obeisances, meditation, or following a host of spiritual practices. That Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Gaura Hari is my only shelter.” (Prabodhnanda Sarasvati Caitanya-caritamrta 7.75)
The Lord is so eager to spread His mercy that even if the padayatris want to stay longer in any one place, Gaura Nitai inspire us from the heart, “Chalo, chalo!” “Go, go to the next village full of people waiting for you padayatris!. Get up and go!” This is how we keep moving on again with our journey. Such is the amazing mercy of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar!
