By Rupanuga Das
Ever since his Divine Grace, Swami Prabhupada put his lotus feet on the friendly Fiji Islands of the South Pacific, Krsna consciousness has been spreading exponentially. Under the guidance of our GBC, HH Bir Krsna Maharaj, various Krsna consciousness activities are taking place. On 11/11/11, the last day of Kartika Vrata, devotees celebrated the first anniversary of the monumental Sri Sri Radha Damodar temple in Sigatoka.
Here in Suva, the capital city of Fiji, a grand celebration of Saligram Tulasi Vivah took place. First time ever, the members of the Interfaith organization and other Hindu organizations representing Indians of North and South Indian descent from India, jointly celebrated this very auspicious festival.
About 150 members from Sanatan and Sangam organization accompanied Lord Krsna on a Ratha-cart and marched on a busy Friday afternoon, pulling the cart and singing Hare Krsna Maha-mantra. There were many on-lookers who came out of their home to take blessings of Lord Krsna and hear the holy names. People passing by in cars would stop and give donations as is the usual norm during Rathyatra festivals in Fiji. We were blessed with very good weather and the cool afternoon contributed very positively to the tranquility of the float procession created by devotees chanting Maha-mantra enthusiastically. After about an hour of joyful Harinaam, we arrived at our Sri Sri Radha Golokabihari Temple and were greeted by a large number of devotees. It was very satisfying to see a joyous mixing of devotees who were chanting together. Lord Krsna was ushered into the temple and received with arati and other paraphernalia.
After a brief introduction on the importance of this festival, a discourse on glories of Tulasi Maharani was given by Sadasiva das, a senior disciple of His Holiness Tamal Krishna Maharaj. A grand arti of Tulsi Maharani followed and devotees and members of the public took part in ecstatic kirtans, dancing and circumambulation of Tulasi Maharani and Lord Krsna.
The representatives from different religious organizations were garlanded and presented with Srila Prabhupada’s books. There were representatives from Muslim and Christian faiths present and they enjoyed the programme a lot. Everyone was given prasadam and devotees co-operated to serve enthusiastically. In future, more inter- faith based programmes will be undertaken by our temple. I am begging blessing from all our wonderful devotees.
Yours Servant
Rupanuga Das (Dr Rajesh Maharaj)
Suva, Fiji.