Next day in Vrindavan, part 3

Another letter from Ananta with some nice moments: 

"Day 2 started off a bit slow we had plans to leave by 10 with all the group as everyone had arrived, however as we began to walk down the road we realised that it would be better to remain in the Ashram till 4pm, that decision by Swami would prove to be one that would eventually bring joy to everyone even Babaji in the Ashram. 

We came back through the gates and Swami said lets sing bhajans so everyone started singing, then the colours came out, then the water came out and finally the coloured water… 

It was a Holi Lila that lasted over 2 hours of everyone throwing buckets of coloured water around while we sang and danced. 

Swami played with just us as Krishna would have, always having a smile on His face. It was such a beautiful experience that the pictures are all that can give a glimpse of the joy and beauty of that afternoon in the Ashram.

He was so beautiful as He told us that the pink represents love and then very sweetly began putting pink powered colour on everyone even on the deities in the Ashram ;)

After some lunch we then headed of to Barsane (Vanabhanu), which is said to be where Radha grew up. Her palace is situated at the top of the mountain and we did Parikrama around, It was a long walk up the mountain and down around 10 kilometres, however we were all in a beautiful bhav …… 

Swami was in very joyful mood and at the Top in the Temple we got to stand in front of Radha Krishna for what seemed like an eternity. As we were standing there an Sanyassi walked up to me with a small stick and some cotton wool on the end. He said it is prasad from Radha and the joy on the edge of the stick was perfume that was applied to her. 

We got to have Darshan of Her Divine scent just as Krishna would have smelled Her. The Temple was very beautiful and we sat with Swami for 5 minutes as He gave us all Prasad and then we walked back down to the Bus."

First Day in Vrindavan, part 2

Anantaananda writes to us from India: 

Arriving in Vrindavan, Satyanarayana Das Babaji welcomed Swami Vishwananda with a beautiful puja and it is clear to see how much Love these two have for each other. 

After a brief Kirtan session in the Ashram, Rickshaws were hired and off we went to have some Holi fun. 

No one quite new what to expect as we had seen some of the celebrations on the way into Vrindavan but the reality of what was about to happen was far different. Getting close to the Bihari Temple that Swami wanted to visit we took off our shoes, left them with the Rickshaw drivers and tried as best to follow Swami through the swarming mass of people. 

Each alley we turned left and right we were pelted with Water, coloured powered and flowers. Even that though was not a full experience until after walking round the temple we managed to push our way through the main doors. 

The Bhanke Bihari temple was packed, the floor was filthy and wet yet in the middle of the throbbing crowd Swami offered prayers and then bowed down on His knees offering oblations. 

It was surreal to see as colours and water flew all around people pushed all tried to get closer, however Swami in His humility still managed to follow etiquette upon entering the Temple and bow down. 

After some pushing with me in front and Ravi behind with Swami in the middle we managed to make our way close to the front and then after buying tickets we were ushered behind the barricade right in front. It seemed as though we stood there in front of Bhanke Bihari for ages, hundreds behind us, colour and water being thrown from all corners and Swami looking slightly unrecognisable completely covered in water and colour ;) 

We came back to the Amshram full of colour and soaking wet….

Thank you, Ananta!

Holi in Vrindavan, part 1

After Swami Vishwananda was warmly welcomed by Dr. Satya Narayana Dasa at Jiva Institute and he had visited the newborn calfs …

…he  went immediately to the Holi - festivities:

They all went together to the Bankhe Bihari Temple and had darshan of Lord Krishna. Also there Holi was celebrated and the priest threw a lot of colors followed by a bucket of water on the whole group!

An explanation of the significance of Holi festival can be found here on wikipedia

Sunday morning in Delhi

Swami Vishwananda departed Saturday night to a visit in Delhi and Vrindavan for 10 days.
Here a first picture of his arrival in Delhi:

We hope that we will receive updates such as this from the passengers from time to time. When we do we will publish the new information right here.

Born Knowing

In 2013 Swami Vishwananda was visited several times by Hazel Courteney, a well-known and highly regarded British journalist specialising in alternative health and spiritual issues. What resulted is an remarkable feature about Sri Swami Vishwananda in "Kindred Spirit", which you will find interesting to read.

Kindred Spirit is a leading spiritual magazin in the UK and sees itself as a guide to Mind, Body and Spirit, providing information to inspire and educate readers so that their lives may be enhanced through a "holistic vision of timeless wisdom, understanding and beauty."

To read the article, please click here

There is also a video from Hazel Courtney where she talks about her personal experience with Swami Vishwananda: 

Darshan in Napoli with Swami Vishwananda

At the Rama Beach Cafe near Napoli Sri Swami Vishwananda gave Darshan for 250 visitors.

It was a long night,  the darshan finished at 0h30. 

Swami Vishwananda is blessing the town of Napoli

Yesterday afternoon, just before Darshan, Swami Vishwananda went to San Martino Certosa, a  big beautiful monastery on the top of the hill and blessed the town and the Vesuvio.

Swami Vishwananda visits Swami Roberto

Last Saturday Guruji visited Swami Roberto, the founder of the "Anima Universale" (Universal Soul) Centre, located near Torino, Italy.

It was a warm welcome and Swami Roberto showed Guruji the property. They went through a tour to the four Churches.

You can seen more about this visit (including some more pictures) on the webpage of Swami Roberto.

here

Satsang in Napoli with Sri Swami Vishwananda

Last night a Satsang with Sri Swami Vishwananda took place at a very nice location at the beach near Napoli. The venue was called the Rama Beach Cafe.

More than 250 visitors were there and the evening was full of Swamiji's love.

Tonight there is a Darshan there - we think it will be also a lovely evening!

New Bhajan Book - "Atma Bhog"

In the last week, our new Bhajan book finally arrived from the printers. It was a long, long process to collect all these bhajans, to find the right words, and the chords, and then to arrange them all together. Many of us were helping - correcting, adding.... and finally, it's here: one of the biggest collections of Bhajans and (we think) the only one in this dimension that also includes the chords to play on guitar or harmonium.

"Atma bhog" translated, means "Food for the Soul", and that is what bhajan singing gives - it is feeding your soul with the divine Love!

On over 280 pages you will find more than 900 bhajans, chants and songs from all major spiritual traditions and paths. With the chords and translations provided, it becomes a treasure that brings great joy in singing, playing along, and diving into the deeper meaning of chanting the Divine Names.

You can order this book in our Bhakti Shop here.

Sri Swami Vishwananda visits Montichiari

On his way from Verona to Torino, Sri Swami Vishwananda made a stop at a very famous holy place where Mother Mary appeared. 

He was there once before, in 2000 on a pilgrimage. 

Darshan in Verona of Swami Vishwananda

At the beginning of the darshan ten children were singing and dancing.

Swami then spoke from the Upanishad: "Who remembers Me in his childhood will certainly attain me in this very life." Also if the maya in their life will let them forget, it will come again and they will remember their path.

Afterwards Pepe told Swami: "WOW! What a blessing you gave to these children!"

Madhuri had organised and trained the children, she also accompanied with guitar and accordion the several bhajans and songs that the children were singing for Swami Vishwananda.

It was a very nice and happy evening. Approximatively 500 people came for darshan.