Mukhya devi dasi: We’ve been traveling now for eleven days, and the hardest part of the shopping is thankfully behind us. The long trip from Gainesville to Jaipur, and having to start shopping the next day without breaks until we reach Puri is austere, but I’ve found beautiful items for the gift shop and that is the service after all.
Delhi temple is so alive, there are about 200 devotees at mangal arati daily, I think 150 are blissful brahmacaris. It’s quite impressive. But more impressive are the kirtans, I think the best singers in ISKCON might be in this one temple. Every kirtan of the morning program is led by a different devotee, and each one sings beautifully, words perfectly pronounced, and only one mrdanga and one pair of kartals, increasing the prayerful mood. Those brahmacaris come from several Indian temples for a year of training and then get sent back to their home temple.
In the four days we were there, there was a Kirtan Mela, a Rathyatra, and a big street sankirtan in Gurgaon. They are preparing for a huge pandal program with His Holiness Gopal Krishna Maharaja and several other outside speakers, for youth, both boys and girls. 8,000 students have already registered.
We arrived in Bhubaneswara on Saturday and were picked up by Pradyumna das brahmacari. We toured the temple there and feasted on Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur maha prasad. Orissan cooking is some of the best in India, and we felt fortunate to be able to receive this mercy. The devotees here are very sweet and kind, we enjoyed the association of their Temple President Satwatapati das and learning about the many ways they are preaching Krishna Consciousness there. We just arrived in Puri, where I hope the resting will begin. We can use it. That does include praying in the many ancient temples in this sweet peaceful town. Thankful that Srila Prabhupada has opened this door for us, always grateful for his magnanimity on this very fallen soul.