Dear Rukmini, Hare Krsna. Thank you for this article. While reading it, tears were running down my eyes. Although I left South Africa 24 years ago, everything is still vivid in my memory: the secret police, the “suicides” at John Vorster’s Square, the Saturday night harinamas in Hillbrow where fanatical born-again so-called Christians would take the prasadam we were offering them and dashing it to the ground. And then, the long hard slug to build what I consider to be the most magnificent ISKCON temple for our Sri Sri Radha-Radhanath; the floods in 1987 and Rama Devi, Dina-bandhu, I, and one bhakta from England driving in the mud to African villages, our eyes still tearing from cooking the kichari over a camp fire…. I have so many memories of the thirteen years I tried serve the South African yatra. Actually, South Africa is my spiritual birthplace. How could I forget it? How could I not miss it? But Krsna brought me to India to increase the heat, symbolically and literally! May you have wonderful celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the grand opening of the temple. And please pray for me, a hard piece of coal on its (long) way to becoming a diamond.
Again thank you for your lively and well-written article,
Your servant,
Visakha Priya dasi
Dear Rukmini, Hare Krsna. Thank you for this article. While reading it, tears were running down my eyes. Although I left South Africa 24 years ago, everything is still vivid in my memory: the secret police, the “suicides” at John Vorster’s Square, the Saturday night harinamas in Hillbrow where fanatical born-again so-called Christians would take the prasadam we were offering them and dashing it to the ground. And then, the long hard slug to build what I consider to be the most magnificent ISKCON temple for our Sri Sri Radha-Radhanath; the floods in 1987 and Rama Devi, Dina-bandhu, I, and one bhakta from England driving in the mud to African villages, our eyes still tearing from cooking the kichari over a camp fire…. I have so many memories of the thirteen years I tried serve the South African yatra. Actually, South Africa is my spiritual birthplace. How could I forget it? How could I not miss it? But Krsna brought me to India to increase the heat, symbolically and literally! May you have wonderful celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the grand opening of the temple. And please pray for me, a hard piece of coal on its (long) way to becoming a diamond.
Again thank you for your lively and well-written article,
Your servant,
Visakha Priya dasi