THE CZECH WOODSTOCK 1987-2007

By Punya Palaka dasa

Some of you may have seen Sriman Martin during his visits to the holy dham. He’s a bit eccentric – in 2000, at the time of Gaura-purnima festival, he built his tent right there on the lawn in front of the Mayapur-candrodaya Mandir, during lectures he doesn’t mind to come directly in front of the vyasasan with his camera to take some snaps, at Ekacakra he was trying to climb the worshipable tree of Lord Nityananda’s pastimes… But he is a staunch friend of ISKCON and the greatest lover of prasadam I’ve ever met. This person is the founder-acarya of the open air music festival in the Czech republic nicknamed The Czech Woodstock. Some say it is the last big (attendance 10 to 20 thousand, not SO much of course) non-commercial festival in Europe at least, with quite a unique family atmosphere of sharing and mutual tolerance.

Martin started his festival at the communist times, and the first year it was dispersed by the secret police who cut off the electricity, sprinkled the ground with liquid manure, and put some of the proponents in jail. After the change of regime in 1989 its real history began. In many summers it became the biggest open air music festival in the country, with many bands taking part which had been banned or even imprisoned by the communists but also guests from abroad as well as some well-known elderly stars of the Czech “pop scene.” Media began to analyze it as a special phenomenon, a “cult festival.”

Now, for Krsna’s devotees there are some interesting things going on at this festival. In 1999 Martin openly dedicated it to the Hare Krsna movement, with a devotee camp there featuring the Padayatra cart with Nitai-Gaurasundara Deities, driven by oxen through the festival area a few times, accompanied by a harinama party, then kirtans (including two hours of Suhotra Prabhu’s powerful singing and the concluding appearance of some 50 devotees on the main stage), lectures and Bharat-natyam performances going on all the time in one of the three tents, along with prasadam and book distribution. Since that year, each time the main stage is decorated by a big poster of Lord Jagannath, this year even heightened by a strong halogen light pointed directly on Him. He has been also kindly present at each poster announcing the festival all over the country since then, and in the last two years even at everybody’s wristband indicating any bona fide attendant.

And ISKCON devotees have their Alternative and Meditative Stage at the Hare Krsna Camp as the part of the program, appreciated and often visited by both the organizers and the general audience. Besides regular kirtans and bhajans and Indian temple dance and lectures, there are some devotee bands and also some friendly musicians performing, the latter sometimes together with devotees. Like one year, the Blackfire band of the red Indians from an American reservation were invited, after their concert on the main stage, for prasadam to our camp, which they accepted with great delight, and after that they taught everybody present the Dance of Friendship – practised by the red Indians’ tribes at the commencement of their gatherings – consisting in holding hands and swaying in a circle, and then their singer led a nice long Hare Krsna kirtan with his strong natural voice. Or, one Czech thoughtful songster, vegetarian since the 60’s and serious admirer of Srila Prabhupada, acknowledged after his playing with a devotee bhajan band that it had been the best thing he had ever experienced. There are other special events happening – a regular part of the program is an open air divine service on the main stage served by some alternative, usually long-haired protestant priest who was persecuted at the communist times, and they sometimes add respectful chanting of the maha-mantra after their sermon, because they know and appreciate us. The former Czech dissident and then president Mr. Havel is Martin’s friend, and he comes to attend the festival whenever he can – he did so several times even as the head of the state – and he gave his thumbs up to prasadam he relished thrice, personally served by devotees at the backstage pub.

An especially positive feature is the festival samizdat [originally a Russian word denoting literature produced and distributed unofficially during the communist times, avoiding any censorship], Martin’s brochure containing the program and description of the performers and also many tips and ideas of how to avoid becoming a contented member of the consumer society. Since 1999 he’s been regularly including lectures by ISKCON spiritual masters (Dasa A.C. Bhaktivaibhava Swami, Suhotra Maharaj, Kadamba Kanana Swami, or his personal interview with Bhaktivikasa Swami), descriptions of Prabhupada’s pastimes (from books written by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, Gurudas, or Hayagriva Prabhus), pictures of Srila Prabhupada and other devotees, along with Sriman George Harrison, and each year some receipt for preparing a nice vegetarian Krsna prasadam (including the instructions about not tasting it during the preparation and offering it to Jagannatha’s picture, at least in one’s mind).

The international devotee guests who took part at one point were the Spanish Undrop band (twice), the Village of Peace, Request Denied from Slovenia, and others. Especially powerful was one evening when HH Danavir Maharaj sang the maha-mantra and preached, accompanied by a rock band formed by Czech bhaktas. In conclusion, I would like to invite any inspired preachers or devotee musicians for the coming years to take part in this program – please contact me if you are willing to come.

Hare Krsna
Your humble servant, Punya Palaka dasa