By Giridhari dasa
For one month His Holiness Nava Yogendra Maharaja and His Grace Sarvabhauma prabhu have been inundating Mauritius with Krsna Katha and the Holy name.
The island’s inhabitants have a special affection for Lord Ramachandra so ISKCON Mauritius attracted them with teachings of the Ramayana (in Hindi) every night for a week, culminating with Rama Nawmi. Sarvabhauma prabhu from Vrndavana very sweetly captured his audience of devotees and guests with his explanations from Valmiki Ramayana. Invitation to the public was made during the Hindi News broadcast on the National TV. The National TV also covered the Rama Nawmi class, interview, kirtana and darshana of Sri Sri Radha Golokananda deities at the Phoenix Temple where the festivities were held.
The public relished the katha so much that Sarvabhauma prabhu will return in December to give a similar one week nectar programme on the Teachings of Bhagavad-Gita.
The inhabitants of the village of Nouvelle France in the south of the island were in turn encouraged to take Srila Prabhupada’s mercy through hearing the teachings of Srimad Bhagavatam from Sarvabhauma prabhu during six consecutive evening festivals. With the aim of getting the guests to regularly chant the holy names, Sundarlal prabhu, accompanied by a team of enthusiastic devotees, enlivened the audience with uplifting kirtanas every night.
His Holiness Nava Yogendra Maharaja was sharing nectar from Srimad Bhagavatam in another village nearby, drawing huge crowds and inspiring them to take up Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. He had several 3-day pandal programmes in villages around Mauritius.
On another level of preaching, Sarvabhauma prabhu also gave an interactive seminar to the doctors of the state hospital found in Port-Louis, the capital of Mauritius. Muslim and Chinese doctors showed much interest and asked many questions. Managers and officers of the State Informatics Ltd. were also blessed with a seminar on stress management.
Upon hearing that Sarvabhauma prabhu was in Mauritius, the State radio channel personally contacted him requesting interviews that were broadcast at prime times.
In Mauritius, there are several nama-hatta and house satsangs every night. With the presence of two expert preachers in the island, there were several functions within one day and the devotees had a hard time keeping pace with the hectic schedule. The presence of these two wonderful souls in the island revealed that the hearts of the Mauritians are very fertile for planting the seed of bhakti. We pray that Krishna gives us such types of association again and again so that we may fill the island with Krishna prema!