A Very Nice Janmastami

Mexico City, 24 August 2008, Sri Sri Radha-Madan-Gopal Temple

The days started early, by waking up spontaneously (if you don't include the Vayasaki bhajan CD playing loudly in the nearby temple room) at 3:15 am. It always helps to chant a few rounds before mangala-arati...

Mangala-arati was the most attended I ever saw here: young and senior devotees alike filled up the temple. For the occasion we sang Vibhavari Sesa instead of the customary Guruvastaka prayers.

After Tulasi puja I went for a japa-walk with my wife, Sri Radha Govinda Dasi, to the nearby Chapultepec garden, where Srila Prabhupada used to walk.

Later I gave a one hour internet lecture to a devotee community in the Middle East. I based the speech on a class Srila Prabhupada gave forty years ago, on 16 August 1968 in Montreal, on Janmastami. Srila Prabhupada elaborated on the janma karma ca me divyam verse (Bg 4.9), where Krishna says that whoever understand the divine nature of his appearance and activities won't take birth again in this material world. I hope the audience enjoyed the talk as much as I enjoyed giving it.

Then I spoke for a couple of hours with Aravinda Prabhu. He leads the work of the BBT in Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, by planning, producing and directly distributing books. He is also involved with the Mexican National Council and the Mexico City temple administration. He came to Mexico City from Cueramaro, some four hours North of here, where, in a rural setting, he organized and is teaching a residential, full-immersion Bhakti-sastri course. This two-month educational retreat constitutes a first for Spanish-speaking Latin America. The course includes the participation of guest professors HH Dhanvantari Swami (from Brazil) and of HH Guru Prasad Swami (Mexico's GBC). Aravinda invited me to teach the whole Sri Isopanisad next month, and I gladly accepted.

Later on I was doing a little introductory research on the Isa or Isavasya Upanisad in the internet and I came across some interesting academic references (including the surprising: "Isavasya Upanisad - The Doctrine of the Immanence of Jesus" with commentary by aProf. M.M. Ninan, who believes that Hinduism came from Christianity).

At 4:30 pm I gave a lecture in the temple. The local administration had entitled the speech: "The Mysticism of Chanting the Holy Names." It was intended to be an introduction to chanting, but seeing many devotees in the audience and being Janmastami, I concentrated on describing Janmastami--connecting the lila with the chanting when I could.

As usual, the main challenge connected with the fasting was weakness, rather than hunger. The legs started to feel wobbly after 6:00 pm, but the spirit was emboldened by the exciting reggae and ska performance of a local devotee group.

The program went on more or less smoothly. The main hitch was failing for about a hour to connect by skype with His Holiness Hridayananda Maharaja for a live lecture. Finally the connection was established and we all heard and saw this highly scholarly and humorous luminary.

The prasada (ekadasi style) deserves mention: somehow the devotees managed to produce in sufficient quality a kind of delicious preparation that involves cabbage leaves stuffed with nuts and other ingredients, apparently a labor-intensive recipe.

It was my first Janmastami in Sri Sri Radha-Madan-Gopal temple, but a regular told me that it was one of the best ever.