Entering the gates of the Dum Dum Park Math yesterday afternoon, I was greeted by the bright face of Sripad Jitendriya Maharaj peering over a balcony from the building opposite the front entrance: “Welcome Damayanti Didi!”
I couldn’t help but think this was a good start.
Braja Kishor Prabhu helped me lug my bags up to the ladies rooms, where I saw some more bright faces – Varshana, who’s been in Calcutta for several weeks now, Jayanti who arrived from London just a few hours earlier than me, Bhakti Lalita Didi and Jamuna Priya – who all gave me a warm welcome. It was odd to even see some other females – when I was here just over a month ago, I was literally the only girl around.
Srila Gurudev was resting after having taken afternoon prasadam when I arrived, so I sat and caught up with Varshana, who told me of all the devotees who have begun to gather here in Calcutta: a big group of devotees who just arrived from Turkey, Kum Kum Didi and Vrinda from California – and of course all the sannyasis: Sripad Goswami Maharaj, Sripad Avadhut Maharaj, Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj, Sripad Janardan Maharaj….
About an hour later, Jamuna came and told me Srila Gurudev was asking for me, so I gathered the gifts and donations I’d been given from my family and the devotees in London and went downstairs. As usual, I was full of nervousness and anxiety the few moments before I saw Srila Gurudev, and also as usual, every trace of this dissipated as soon as I saw his beautiful smiling face. After asking me about some of the London devotees, my flight, and all in all very mercifully making me feel at home, Srila Gurudev told me to go take rest.
Later on in the evening, I returned to the veranda for a short time, where Sripad Avadhut Maharaj was showing Srila Gurudev and the gathered devotees some awesome videos of the various preaching programmes and festivals that have been going on in Russia, as well as some made-for-tv films offering an introduction to our Math – including a film of Govardhan parikrama. It was definitely inspiring to see such incredible activities going on around the world in the name of our Math, and it was even better to see Srila Gurudev’s happy response. He was especially pleased mentioning the strong mood of some of the women servitors there.
This morning showed the first lapse from the rain which has been going on in Calcutta for about four days straight, and the first group of devotees left for Srila Sridhar Maharaj’s Vyasa Puja festival that will be held in Nabadwip on Wednesday. There had been some concern that the roads would be unusable, so the rain stopped just in time. Of course, this does not mean the rain has stopped in Nabadwip, where it has also been raining non-stop. And if it continues, there is a strong chance of a flood occurring….
It seems that Srila Gurudev will most likely go to Nabadwip tomorrow, but as always, nothing is certain.
here it is...the beautifully literate, gentle voice of yours; that you express with charm,affection and humanity....
remember the hundreds and thousands of things I have nutured you with....and most importantly ..for who..
until we meet again,
your forever loving friend,
Divyasari Mata
Posted by: divyasari devi dasi | Monday, October 24, 2005 at 07:35 PM