After one day's rest we went to the next location of the Swiss Darshan tour: to Ins, near the Lake of Neuchâtel. About 400 people streamed into the beautifully decorated darshan hall.
Swami started, as in Rheinfelden, first with a simple Radhe Krishna Bhajan and urged everyone to sing along with him loudly. After a few problems warming up and with the help of Swami's instructions everybody sang loudly.
Guruji began his speech with a question that was put to him recently: "How is it that one could work great miracles with mantras in times long ago, and this is no longer so today?"
Swami Vishwananda explained that earlier the people felt a strong love when they got their Guru Mantra. Today, trust and faith is lacking. The attitude of the people today is as follows: "Guruji, please give me a mantra - but please fast, my taxi is waiting, I must go." And then they go to another master and say, "I love you too - please give me a mantra," and so accumulate mantras. How can the mantra give its effect?
Thousands of years ago, people had the same mantra sung as we did right now (the Bhajan). The difference is that the people at that time felt great love and humility in it. Getting a mantra is easy but what we do with it, how we work with it, is another matter.
Before a master assigns a mantra, he looks to whether the person is ready for it. In times past, it was a great honor to get a Guru mantra and you had to serve the Guru for a minimum of 12 years, and even then it was not sure if you would get a mantra.
Swami then told us the story of Dukhi Krishna also named Prabhu Shyamananda:
Swami then told us the story of Dukhi Krishna also named Prabhu Shyamananda:
Already as a small boy Dukhi Krishna wanted nothing other than to serve his master. At the age of 14, he went to his master, who gave him one single task: to water the plants in the Ashram. Every day he had to go long distances and carry the water in a large clay pot on his head. He fulfilled this task with such great love and devotion that he did not even notice how the heavy clay pot hurt his head. He developed a wound on his head, which became infected so strongly that even maggots and worms came out. But in his love, Dukhi Krishna didn't notice this at all. One day he met his master, who saw the worms coming out from the wound. Only when the Master asked him about it, Dukhi Krishna realized his injury. There upon the Master put his hand on his head, healed him, and explained that his task was now fulfilled in Ahsram and that he should go to Vrindavan.
There Dhuki Krishna took the task to sweep a certain street. This road led to the place where today the Ras Lila Dance took place between Krishna and the Gopis. One day Dukhi Krishna found an anklet chain there, that was so valuable that it could only belong to a queen. But the only queen in Vrindavan is Radharani. Radha, who was meanwhile back in the heavenly world, noticed that her anklet was missing. She sent a companion to Dukhi Krishna to ask for the anklet back. But Dukhi Krishna demanded that the true owner herself come to regain the chain. And so Radharani came, disguised as a simple village girl to Dukhi Krishna. However, he wanted to return Her the chain only when She revealed Herself to him in Her true form. Radha, who saw the love and devotion in Dukhi Krishna, showed him Her divine form, gave him the name Shyamananda, and set Her foot on his forehead, which left an imprint behind. This impression is the point that we carry in the Tilak, representing the Guru, because it was the grace and divine guidance of the guru who brought Dhuki Krishna to the point that he could have the vision of Radharani. Only when we have experienced the vision of the divine, we have achieved the goal of life .
After this beautiful story, the Darshan started and lasted until 1:30 in the morning. After, there was a meal for all the helpers organized at the home of Marie and Cliven Tirvengadum from Mauritius with Mauritian dishes, so that Guruji feel like at home.
(Thank you, Kalavati for the nice report and the pictures!)