By Giriraj Swami
In the first verse of the Bhagavad-gita, the low-minded king Dhrtarastra asks his secretary, “O Sanjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pandu assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruksetra, desiring to fight, what did they do?” Kim akurvata: “What did they do?” Srila Prabhupada says that this is a foolish question. The two armies had gathered to fight, so what is the question of what they did? Srila Prabhupada gives the example that if someone sits down before a plate of food, intending to eat, what is the question of “What he did he do?” He would eat; that’s all.
So why did Dhrtarastra ask? Because Kuruksetra is dharma-ksetra, a holy place of pilgrimage. And under the influence of this religious place, his sons might have been influenced toward the good, to give up their intention to fight. Srila Prabhupada explains, “Yuyutsavah. This word yuyutsu [jujutsu] is still used in Japan. Perhaps you know, yuyutsu, fighting. So, yuyutsavah–‘desirous of fighting.’ Now, both parties were desiring to fight, and they assembled. Why is Dhrtarastra asking the question, kim akurvata: ‘What did they do’? Because he was a little doubtful. These boys, after being assembled in dharma-ksetra, might have changed their ideas. They might have settled up. The sons of Dhrtarastra might have admitted, ‘Yes, Pandavas, you are actually the owners. What is the use of unnecessarily fighting?’ So he was very much anxious whether they had changed their decision. Therefore he is asking.”
Such is the influence of holy places. They can elevate one’s consciousness, even the consciousness of one habituated to low thoughts. And people who go to holy places–Mayapur, Vrndavana, Jagannatha Puri–can immediately feel the difference. The Nectar of Devotion, with reference to the power of living in Mathura-Vrndavana, explains, “Srila Rupa Gosvami has described Mathura-mandala: ‘I remember the Lord standing by the banks of the Yamuna River, so beautiful amid the kadamba trees, where many birds are chirping in the gardens. And these impressions are always giving me transcendental realization of beauty and bliss.’ This feeling about Mathura-mandala and Vrndavana described by Rupa Gosvami can actually be felt even by nondevotees. The places in the eighty-four-square-mile district of Mathura are so beautifully situated on the banks of the River Yamuna that anyone who goes there will never want to return to this material world. . . . Such transcendental feelings are aroused immediately and without fail after one arrives in Mathura or Vrndavana.” (Chapter 13)
Many pilgrims travel to Vrndavana and other holy places during the month of Kartika, and as they prepare to leave to return to their homes and places of service, they may wonder how they can keep the experience of Vrndavana with them. It is a challenge. The influence of materialistic cities, surcharged with passion and ignorance, can be daunting. And our own busy schedules may leave little time for direct service to Krsna. How can we keep the good influence of the holy places in our lives even after we leave?
Srila Rupa Gosvami advises,
krsnam smaran janam casya prestham nija-samihitam tat-tat-katha-ratas casau kuryad vasam vraje sada
“The devotee should always think of Krsna within himself and should choose a very dear devotee who is a servitor of Krsna in Vrndavana. One should constantly engage in topics about that servitor and his loving relationship with Krsna, and one should live in Vrndavana. If one is physically unable to go to Vrndavana, he should mentally live there.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu
1.2.294, quoted as Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 22.161)
We should always engage in remembering and discussing Krsna–His names, forms, qualities, pastimes, and associates in Vrndavana–and even our own experiences there. By such engagement we can experience Vrndavana wherever we are, with Krsna as the focus of our lives.
And we should spread the message of Vrndavana, the message of Mayapur. Once, on a morning walk in Mayapur, a devotee said to Srila Prabhupada, “Mayapur is so nice, I wish I could just stay here,” and Prabhupada responded, “You must go out and make the whole world Mayapur.”
To experience Vrndavana outside Vrndavana is difficult; to create Mayapur outside Mayapur difficult. But Srila Prabhupada said, “Spiritual life is difficult, but material life is impossible.” So let us make an honest effort to engage in Krsna consciousness, and Krsna and His devotees will help us.
I will always remember reading “Krishna Book” aloud, while sitting on top of a pile of rubble, in downtown San Francisco, in 1972. The buses, trucks, and other deafening din of traffic roured by. The “Krishna Book” brought memorable joy and happiness to my heart, and transformed that darkest of places into a holy place.
I was personally present when Srila Prabhupada was recorded singing “Jaya Radha Madhava”, in the Los Angeles Temple, sometime around 1972-73. What was truly special about the experience, was not just the ecstatic kirtan and singing of Srila Prabhupada and all the devotees. It was also the scent of the incense that I will always remember. It was such a holy experience, I felt at that time that I was not on Earth.
Yesterday marked the happy occasion of the annual Laguna Beach Rathyatra Parade. It was a simple affair. Lord Jagannath, Lady Subhadra, and Lord Baladeva were carried by the devotees on a palanquin down to the beach for several blocks, and then the few hundred devotees all returned back to the temple for the Sunday Feast. The entire parade took no more than an hour. What was really special for me though was the extreme joy and happiness of the kirtan. The kirtan was at times soft and sweet. It was completely unexpected for me. I haven’t felt happiness like that for many years. It was a confirmation for me that Lord Chaitanya’s Sankirtan Movement is eternal.
Jagarini and I arrived in Sridhama Mayapur on 1st November and spent a very blissful week there along with our friends Vamanadeva and Sangita from Philadelphia. All I can say is, “Wow!” To be right in the place where Lord Caitanya and His associates performed so many pastimes not all that long ago is quite an experience. Of course it was not our first time to the Dhama, that “topmost of all holy places”, but every time we go we feel so enlivened. I do not know if it was my jetlag or the influence of Mayapur, but I found myself unable tosleep each morning past about 12:30 or 1 a.m. and I would go to the temple room about 2 a.m. while the devotees were cleaning the floor nicely with squeejees and get lots of rounds chanted before mangal arati.
It seems the community of devotees in Mayapur is really well organized and enlivened. They keep building more flats for devotees to come move there. There seems to be engagement for many devotees and unlimited opportunity for expanding many educational and “spiritual tourism” initiatives. The TVP construction is already beginning (site is being fenced and trees have been felled), and although there is a lot of controversy among the local devotees about the project and especially the location of the building, everyone seems to agree that with the addition of the big new temple ISKCON Mayapur will continue expanding in population and influence.
We just arrived today in Puri. We are reading Caitanya Caritamrta and other books and feeling indeed like we would like to “just stay here”.
Being able to make Northern California Mayapur seems like a big challenge, though. I really wish I could move here.
We plan on attending the Govardhan retreat with Sacinandana Swami, et al. in Jatipur next week.
The subject of this article is “Influence of the Holy Places”, and specifically mentions the holy abodes such as Vrndavan, Kuruksetra, Mayapur, and Jagannath Puri. However, not every devotee may have the ability to physically visit these places in India. I am sighting examples of how any place can be turned into a holy place by such activities as reading Srimad Bhagavatam, chanting Hare Krishna, chanting on Harinam Sankirtan, etc.
Srila Prabhupada stated that you can not actually buy a plane ticket to Vrndavan. It is not a guarantee that if one physically goes to Vrndavan that he will feel the spiritual power of that place. For me personally, when I went to both Vrndavan and Mayapur (the one time that I went there), I did not feel anything, and it was a very disappointing experience for me.
At the same time, I know that millions of pilgrims have felt the joy of being in those places. They can’t all be wrong, so the fault of not feeling the benefit of the holy places must lie within me.
By some great fortune we were able to meet H.H. Radhanatha Swami in Puri on Wednesday and tag along with him as he took us to many holy places (Haridas Thakur’s Samadhi, ISKCON (bhakti kuthi), Tota Gopinath temple, Cataka Parvat and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur’s bhajan kutir, Siddha Bakula, Gambhira, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya’s House, Sveta Ganga, Lion gate of jagannatha Mandir). You can really get a sense here how transcendental everything is, how Lord Caitanya and His associates manifested there eternal lila in this amazing holy place.
Yesterday morning we bathed in the sea where Lord Caitanya bathed the body of Srila Haridas Thakur, and then went to a number of other holy places. We were reading Mahanidhi Swami’s guide book and spending some time to chant a round or two of japa at each place.
At indradyumna Sarovara the Pandas were very agressive. First they let us touch the feet of the Deities while chanting mantras and giving blessings, then demanding bigger and bigger donations afterwards.
I had to smile. I thought, “I have been a pushy book distributor and now Krishna is showing me what it feels like to be on the receiving end.” :-) But actually it didn’t feel that bad to me. I admired the creativity with which they demanded more rupees. They used lines like, “The Deity has two legs, so you should give twice as much.” “You have three children so you should give three times as much.” etc. They were feigning anger but it felt humorous. I knew they were actually happy with what I gave them, despite their protests, just as I am happy when someone gives me a donation on book distribution. They were berating me and I was protesting back, but we were all laughing inside.
Almost all difficulties that I have encountered in relationship to visiting temples, what to speak of holy places, can be traced back to my approaching with the wrong attitude, and possessing faulty vision. Sometimes there may be genuine problems that need to be addressed. What I have found though are ways to cope with whatever I experience, so that I don’t give up, and I keep coming back to try again. Sometimes it just requires a change of vision.
As an example, I recently went to the local temple for their Vegan/Vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner. About 40 guests attended. There were only fours tables and a few chairs provided for the guests. You couldn’t eat in the temple room, and there was no other place in the temple to sit down. The only place available was outside on the steps where the shoes are left. I left upset and angry.
Later I remembered that Lord Chaitanya sat down in the place where feet were washed when He converted Prakasananda Sarasvati and the Mayavadi sannyasis. I felt ashamed for leaving the temple with such a bad attitude, and vowed to change my vision for my next visit.