By Damodarlila dasa (Maharashtra Padayatra leader)
On November 17, 2022, we arrived at a village named Tupashed, having been invited there when we were in Balegaon. The Tupashed villagers joined us in arati and sankirtan after many had assembled to hear katha in the evening and everyone also took a Bhagavad-gita from us. They were very happy to host padayatra. In a village, if any spiritual programme is organized all the villagers attend, in fact they put their heart and soul into the event. We also had a similar experience as we saw their lives for a day revolve around our padayatra. Many skipped their daily work to be in the association of padayatra.
The village of Talni was our next destination. Madhavacarya dasa who served in ISKCON Aravade, the birthplace of our spiritual master, Lokanath Maharaja, and is the father of our God-brother Chandravansi dasa, and Mahatma dasa who served in accounts at Pandharpur, are both residents of Talni and made all arrangements for our accommodation. We stayed in Madhavacarya’s house and were made to feel just like we were at home. In 1984 Lokanath Maharaja visited Talni with many devotees. Madhavacarya was there and he told us stories of those days, memories of our spiritual master which we were delighted to hear.
Madhavacarya is one of the village heads, so all the villagers respect him. We had a programme at his house which was packed as villagers assembled for sankirtan. There was a marriage planned in his family, so to distribute Bhagavad-gita in Talni he took five boxes and one box of Krishna books. In total 180 Maha-big books were taken by him. Many residents also started chanting. It’s seen that if some people forget the Lord or they stop chanting, padayatra goes to the village and Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundar remind them of chanting. That’s the special mercy of Their Lordships.
We then went to Kaudagaon, a village with only one road running through it. The villagers were very enthusiastic to join the sankirtan and two of them also walked with us for 200m. There was ecstatic kirtan. Such wonders happen only in padayatra. All glories to padayatra, it is carrying the holy name to every nook and corner of remote villages. The villagers at Kaudagaon took a boxful of Bhagavad-gitas.
Our next stop was at Hipparga, where the villagers organize their own dindi to Pandharpur. There are many warkaris in the village, many of whom had joined our Dehu-Pandharpur and Alandi-Pandharpur dindis. We all had a great time there as the residents joined us in sankirtan and sang abhangas and bhajans. One Srimad-Bhagavatam set was distributed at Hipparga.
Thus, we had an enlivening experience walking in these Maharashtra villages.
