“Vrindavan is the land where your pride is purified, where the ego is cleansed. The more humble you are, the more the Lord reveals Himself to you.” – Sri Swami Vishwananda
The Journey:
Because of these celebrations, Guruji changed the program completely. After abhishekam to Giridhari, there was a Satsang with Guruji. We also went to visit the new ashram, which is still under construction. Swamini VishwaMohini Ma and the chief engineer explained to us the difference between the Indian and European ways of building houses.
The evening closed with a typical rickshaw ride through the narrow and bumpy streets of the town back to the Jiva Institute.
Highlights:
Mahaprabhu's aim in Vrindavan was to bring Muslims and Hindus together again by rebuilding temples destroyed during the Muslim invasion, and uncovering hidden murtis that were buried for fear of destruction during the invasions.
Satsang with Guruji:
Guruji talked about Krishna and His leelas, numerous temples, and the history of Vrindavan. He also spoke about how Krishna is the One making all the plans. We can try to make plans, but in the end it is only His plan.
Temple visit:
A small but beautiful place we visited was the Mirabai Kutir where the saint used to dance for Krishna in ecstasy. Mirabai lived in Vrindavan at the same time as Jiva Goswami.
We also visited the Sri Radha Damodar Temple where we did the four parikramas (walks inside the temple) which are equal to walking around the entire Govardhan mountain. The temple also contains the tomb of Srila Jiva Goswami.
"It was really really amazing to see all this sweetness of dear Krishnaji and Gurudev. I've never seen more beautiful Krishnas in my life. For each, there is a beautiful story and almost all of the deities are swayambhu (self-manifested). As in most temples, we were not allowed to take pictures. Especially beautiful was the temple of Radha Damodara where we saw a stone very nicely imprinted with the footprint of Sri Krishnaji." - Swami VishwaKeshavananda
