By Hari Narayana Das
Celebrating and welcoming New Year is the tradition of people in the world. Every person has their own style and tradition to celebrate the New Year. They gather with family hang out with friend or make a party. Some rich people go to a pub or hotel just to welcome the New Year. Other people who have no enough money to celebrate the New Year in a pub tend to choose public places.
One of the places in Bali in which many people gather in the New Year Eve is Bajra Sandi Monument in Denpasar. On New Year eve 2014 (31 December 2013) people gathered in Bajra Sandi Monument. They came with their family, friend, or colleague. They came by motorcycle or car. The monument is full of mass of people.
Srila Prabhupada mention in his letter that “It is very, very encouraging that you are holding kirtanas in public places and someway or other people are becoming interested. These outdoor kirtanas should be rigidly followed at least one hour daily. That makes our movement popular there” SPL to Krishna dasa, 17th May, 1969.
Knowing the situation, H.H. Subhag Swami Maharaj instructed the devotees to do Harinam Sankirtan and prasadam distribution. The devotees were very happy accepting the instruction. The devotees came with their their family. They came not for joining the euphoria of the New Year eve but for Harinam Sankirtan and food for life. Devotees prepare package mix rice to distribute to the people in monument. Every family prepared 15 package of rice and it organized by Brajanabha prabhu. There were 500 package rice.
The weather conditions was cloudy. At 19.00 devotees gathered at east side parking area of monument. They stared the kirtan. Subhag Swami Mahraj personaly came. Maharaj attendance gave extra energy to the sankirtan team to sing more energetic. The passerby saw the hot kirtan. Some devotees danced and other distributed the rice package. Our sankirtan party was the only entertainment in the monument and it made people gather round it. Most people knew that our sankirtan team always distribute free food, that why people took the rice happily. Only in two hours the prasadam was finished. The sankirtan finished at 22.00.
