Govinda Maharaja, Rati Manjari, and Mahamantra with Laloo Prasad, Minister for Rail
By Braja Sevaki Devi Dasi
We had five meetings this morning, the last one finishing at around 1pm. The first was with Laloo Prasad, possibly the most interesting (and influential) personality in Indian Government. Lalooji is from Bihar, and even more interesting than his government contacts are his family connections: he is born in the direct line from Krishna’s descendants. Govinda Maharaja knows Lalooji, and last year attended the wedding of one of Lalooji’s 9 daughters. It was a fast meeting, but very effective. Lalooji’s first words, on watching the video of the demolition, were, “They are finished. That they have done this to them (the women in the video) when they are calling out for Krishna means they are finished.”
Govinda Maharaja spoke a little, but Lalooji simply said to him, “This is my cause.” He doesn’t speak English and so there wasn’t much discussion, but he made it clear that he was on board. And having Lalooji on board is a real coup for the campaign. It was a good start to the day…
From Lalooji’s we visited Dr. Rajesh Mishra, MP for Varanasi.. He saw the story on the news when it first ran on India TV, and tried to contact Mahamantra. This was also a fast meeting, because he was already convinced of the urgency and importance of the situation, and he will raise the issue with the Prime Minister. By now several people have committed to doing this, and so the PM is no doubt starting to get the message.
Third meeting was with Dr. Prasanna Kumar Patasani, a sannyasa MP for Orissa. Another rushed meeting — these early morning meetings are fast, one after the other, before everyone leaves for Parliament. Tomorrow will be the same.
From there we went saw Father Thomas, Director at the Catholic Diocese. He suggested that all the interfaith people could be contacted and a letter written by each to the Prime Minister. He also committed to helping in this way. From Father Thomas’ office, we went across to visit Archbishop Vincent M Concessao, the Archbishop of Delhi.
Govinda Maharaja with the Archbishop of Delhi
He put us onto his Asian Justice and Peace Commission, who will spread the word about this throughout Asia and send letters to their respective Prime Ministers and the President of Kazakhstan.
This evening Govinda Maharaja and Indradyumna Maharaja were invited to the home of Syama Govinda prabhu and his family, where they were served a delicious prasadam feast. Indradyumna Maharaja has been sick for a few days, and Govinda Maharaja is under a lot of strain; due to the tension of the situation, there is little regularity in mealtimes, and sometimes little or nothing to eat when the opportunity arises. Consequently, this evening of wonderful association and wonderful prasada was a most welcome relief for the team, and Maharaja promised to return with his bhajan group at Gaura-purnima time.