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Another memorable day in Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – Part 2

It is only because of the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that I got an opportunity to spend another memorable day in Mayapur.  One of the most attractive features of the stay in Mayapur is the morning Mangala arati. If you ever get an opportunity, then do attend the arati at 4:30 am in Mayapur Iskcon temple.

I got up at around 3:30 am, took bath, wore dhoti, kurta, tilak and rushed to the Mayapur Iskcon temple.

Sri Sri Radha Madhav gives his divine darshan

At sharp 4:30 a.m. the conch shell blew first at the panca tattva hall and then at Sri Sri Radha Madhava hall.  The gigantic curtains were slid and Srimati Radharani in her whitish complexion and Sri Madhav in his blackish complexion surrounded by asta sakhis – 8 principal gopis – appeared in front of us. They were colourfully dressed and decorated with flowers and ornaments.

Sri Sri Radha Madhav with their big eyes were looking at us and seeing the temple hall which was filled with thousands of devotees. The Supreme Lord had a broad smile on his lips. Devotees were happy to see the Lord. Everyone paid obeisances to Sri Sri Radha Madhav. The pujari began the arati and one devotee started singing Sri Sri Gurvastakam prayer and other devotees repeated after him in rhythm.  

Arati Begins

Pujari was very carefully worshipping the Lord. He first offered incense and then ghee lamp to the deities. After that the deities were bathed with scented water and then dried using a cloth. After this fresh colourful flowers were offered and at the last using a chamar the Lord was fanned. Peacock fan was not used because it was winter time.

Men and women, rich and poor, young and old, Indians and non Indians, so called upper caste and lower caste, Hindus and non Hindus all had congregated. They had forgotten their material designations and were together singing happily and loudly the prayers and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra from the core of their heart. Singing was to glorify the Lord and please the Lord. And since the Lord was happy to see all chanting, singing and dancing so the devotees were also experiencing happiness.

Narasimha Arati, Tulasi Arati, Siksastakam Prayers

Once the arati was completed the curtains of the altar of Sri Sri Radha Madhava were closed and simultaneously the curtain of the altar of Lord Narasimhadeva opened. The pujari worshipped Lord Narasimhadeva and devotees sang Narsimha arati.

After Narsimha arati there was tulasi arati followed by Sistastakam prayers which was followed by few announcements from the temple management.

Experience the spiritual ecstasy

Although I have tried to share my experience of attending Mangala Arati in Mayapur but unless you personally experience it, you won’t be able to appreciate much what I am saying.

It is said that the taste of the pudding lies in tasting it, so come to Mayapur, spend a day in Mayapur and bathe in the divine ecstasy early in the morning during Mangala Arati. You will never forget that divine experience in Mayapur, it will be memorable day.

Chanting with the devotees

After the announcement, mats were quickly spread in the temple hall and devotees sat together to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.  Srila Prabhupada always advised to practice devotion in association. While chanting I observed that just by seeing the seriousness and enthusiasm of fellow devotees we too try to chant sincerely.

Srila Prabhupada has many times highlighted the importance of devotee association.

“By association with devotees, dirty things within the heart of a materialistic man are gradually washed away by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As silver becomes shiny by being polished, the heart of a materialistic person is cleansed of lusty desires by the good association of devotees. Actually the living being has no connection with this material enjoyment nor with lusty desires. He is simply imagining or dreaming while asleep. But by the association of pure devotees, he is awakened, and immediately the spirit soul is situated in his own glory by understanding his constitutional position as the eternal servant of the Lord.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.20)

Rajapur Jagannath temple and drama

We also had a plan to visit the famous Lord Jagannath temple in Rajapur. This temple is very dear to me as I got married there. It is always a great privilege to take darshan of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi here because in front of them me and my wife took our marriage vows and it is because of their blessings are our marriage is successfully continuing.

This temple is also associated with many pastimes. Devotees performed 3 dramas here. I too participated, I was given the role of Lord Jagannath. It was a spontaneous drama, we prepared just 10 minutes before performing.  

One drama was about Lord Jagannath coming out of the altar, climbing the tree to eat jackfruit. Another was when Lord Baladeva slaps a person who was trying to steal ornaments of Lord Jagannath.

A true story of a girl

The third drama was about a non-Hindu girl who disrespectfully throws away Jagannath’s prasad. Later in the night she is punished by Baladeva and Subhadra. The girl is paralysed.  The father of the girl comes in the morning carrying a basket of fruits to offer to Jagannath and wanted to take the prasad to give to her daughter.

Devotees say that still the girl comes with her family members to take darshan of the Lord and she now respectfully takes prasad.

Drama was the best way to explain the pastime to the new devotees.

Visiting Yogapitha and Gurukul

We then left for Yogapitha, the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya. There we took darshan of Lord Chaitanya along with his consorts. After taking darshan we returned to Mayapur temple for breakfast prasadam. We then went to Gurukul to see how young children from different parts of the world stay together in a traditional environment to learn Vedic scriptures.  

We saw how kids spend each day in a Krishna conscious way in Mayapur gurukul, it was a memorable experience for all of us. In fact, a separate article could be written on the Gurukul experience, I will try to write something about that experience.

In the evening in the temple there was Krishna Conscious party on the eve of New Year which went upto 12. I too participated but not till midnight because I did not want to miss the morning Mangala Arati at 4:30 a.m. next day.

An unforgettable & memorable day in Mayapur

How grateful we should be to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who performed so many wonderful pastimes in Mayapur. And how much indebted we should be to Srila Prabhupada, a great devotee of Lord Chaitanya, who built such a wonderful temple in Mayapur for conditioned souls like you and me. 

I can say for sure that if one stays in Mayapur even for a day then he will spontaneously develop love for Krishna and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This is the reason that if once you go to Mayapur you will like to go there again and again – the beautiful deities, heart touching kirtan and delicious prasadam will keep on calling you.  

For all of us, it was a memorable day in Mayapur. Do visit Mayapur at least for a day and you will cherish that experience throughout your life!

Also read:

Memorable stay in Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – Part 1

Memorable stay in Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – Part 1

I always feel privileged to be in Mayapur and stay here. In this holy place Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, an incarnation of Krishna appeared around 500 years ago.

Mayapur is also the headquarter of Iskcon – International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Glories of Mayapur dham is unlimited. If one just stays in Mayapur and following the instructions of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu practices devotional life then one will not just get freedom from all sufferings but will also get an opportunity to return to the spiritual world, the kingdom of God, Goloka Vrindavan.

So, whenever I get an opportunity, I come to Mayapur and stay there.

Visiting Mayapur to celebrate New Year

This year, me and my wife decided to spend 30th and 31st Dec in Mayapur because we thought that this is the best way to welcome 2018. It isn’t a new year according to Vaisnava calendar but nevertheless Srila Prabhupada taught us that every occasion can be celebrated in a Krishna Conscious way.

We decided to join a group of devotees who were going to Mayapur. We started from Kolkata at around 6:45 a.m.  Devotees were trvelling by bus. I do not like to travel by bus because I have motion sickness.  But it is always better to travel with the devotees, so I reluctantly agreed.

Praying to the Lord and after taking a stemetil tablet, I boarded the bus. But after some time, I was feeling sick but fortunately the bus stopped for breakfast and I quickly got down to breathe fresh air.  

Malpua story

For breakfast, everyone was served hot noodles. Devotees were enjoying it but because I was feeling uneasy, I could not relish it. Once during annual Kartik Yatra of Iskcon Chowpatty, devotees were served malpua.

Many devotees relished malpua and after finishing it they again stood in the queue for second helping of malpua. After finishing the second helping, they again went for third helping and so on.  As much as they could eat, they ate it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

But there were unlucky devotees too because they could not enjoy malpua. They had problem digesting malpua which is made using lots of ghee, milk and is soaked in sugar syrup. Some could not eat because of diabetes. Some wanted but could not enjoy it because their stomach was in bad mood that day.

In the evening class that day, HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj was jokingly explaining that it is all because of our karma. Some devotees with good karma may relish malpua and want more. But some because of their bad karma cannot digest even a small morsel of it although they like it.

I was thinking that because of my bad karma I am not able to enjoy the noodles.

Krishna Conscious fun activities

Anyway, after breakfast, we again boarded the bus. As a precautionary measure, I took another stemetil.

It was time for Krishna Conscious fun activity in the bus. We had planned for quiz and DUMB charade.

I had prepared few quiz questions. HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu asked me to conduct the quiz. All the devotees who were travelling were newly introduced to Krishna Consciousness, but they knew answers to almost all the questions.

Although the questions were simple but everyone need to be complimented for their knowledge about the Vedic scriptures. Questions were about Krishna’s pastimes and were also from Mahabharata and Ramayana.

I have never played DUMB Charade, so HG Anant Bhagavan Prabhu organized it. Later HG Sri Nitai Prabhu sang a very melodious Hare Krishna kirtan which everyone enjoyed.

Reached Mayapur, the spiritual capital of world

During the journey I was constantly inquiring when are we going to reach Mayapur because of obvious reasons. And finally, we reached Mayapur at around 12:15 p.m.  By the time we collected our room keys and prasadam coupon it was almost 1 p.m. Unfortunately darshan was closed, so we decided to have lunch prasadam.

We took prasadam in Gada Bhavan. Taking prasadam in Gada Bhavan is always a unique experience because of its ambience. You will feel that you are eating in a Vedic monastery. Prasadam as usual was tasty.

Darshan and evening programs

After eating prasadam we took rest till 4 p.m. We had a class by HG Acharya Ratan Prabhu, co – director of ISKCON Kolkata at 4:30. But before the class, we all rushed to take darshan of Sri Sri Radha Madhav and Panca Tattva. We felt blessed to see the beautiful deities. We also took darshan of Lord Narasimhadeva and Srila Prabhupada.

After taking darshan of the deities, we went to attend the class of HG Acharya Ratan Prabhu. Devotees were planning to present one drama in the evening. I was asked to be part of one such drama. I got the role of a narrator. Devotees nicely performed drama; everyone liked it. We then took dinner prasadam at Gada kitchen and returned to our respective rooms.  We were staying in Ishodyan Bhavan in Mayapur.

By the time I reached my room it was 10 pm. The entire day was completely packed, I did not get time to complete my 16 rounds of chanting. Few rounds were remaining which I completed.

Preparing for next day morning Mangala Arati

Also, it was important to take rest early because we did not want to miss the morning Mangala Arati in the Iskcon temple which starts at 4:30 am.

Many new devotees had come with us, and everyone wanted to attend morning Mangala arati. One of them was my colleague. He was also too eager to attend Mangala Arati in the morning. I was eager too.

Before going to bed, I prayed to Sri Sri Radha Madhav and Panca Tattva to bless me so that I can give up lethargy in the morning and go to temple to attend Mangala Arati.

A Krishna conscious day in Mayapur

The first day stay in Mayapur was memorable, we relished each and every moment. Entire day we remained engaged in Krishna Conscious activities. This is the beauty of visiting a holy place.

Even though we may not be pure devotees but seeing so many sincere devotees around us, we too get inspired to become serious in our spiritual life. We try to forget all our material worries and try our best to remain absorbed in Krishna.

Also Read:

Another memorable day in Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – Part 2

Only a disciplined disciple develops love for Krishna

When it became difficult to call Krishna’s name

When terrorists beg for sympathy?

Enjoy the envy in the neighbours’ eyes!!!