18 May 2014

Swami Vishwananda visiting Temples in London - 15th May 2014



Thursday morning, Guruji went with Satya Narayan Das Babaji and about 30 devotees to two beautiful and huge temples in London. We all met in the morning at the Bhaktivedanta Manor in the north of London, that belongs to ISKCON, and is surrounded by very beautiful nature. 


After the reception, we went straight to the mandir, where it was Aarti time and Guruji started singing the Mahamantra sweetly. Suddenly the place was full, not only with devotees but also with many people that were around and came by after hearing His singing. The whole room was vibrating with Love and devotion for Krishna. 


After that we went to visit the cows and the garden, a part of it is dedicated to George Harrisson, since he donated the whole land to them. The garden has words from George's lyrics about devotion for God. 


Tulsi Devi and a lot of healthy happy Tulsi plants
Then we visited the room of Srila Prabhupada that was kept exactly how it was since his last visit there. 


We said goodbye and they distributed Prasad to all devotees. Guruji was happy when they explained they have a public school inside their area where the devotees' children go.

Around five o'clock everybody met at the second temple of the day, the Swaminarayan Temple of London, the biggest hindu temple in Europe. The temple is dedicated to Swami Narayan, a saint of the 18th century, and the other Gurus of his Sampradaya. 


The temple has a strong security and we were not allowed to take photos inside.  It is made of marble and wood, very beautiful and full of details. Because of their dedication the temple was finished in an amazing 3 years, which is really impressive. When Guruji came they played a video telling the story of the building and gave a tour of the temple and their exhibition about Hinduism which is frequently visited by school classes from all over Europe. 


After some photo sessions we were all tired from walking but very happy to spend a beautiful day with our beloved Guruji, visiting temples and enjoying His presence.