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this weekend we had the Srila Prabhupada arrival festival at the temple. the festival is specifically for boston since Srila Prabhupada set his first step at the commonwealth pier in south boston.
i think this is the 5th year we've had this festival. it's supposed to kinda take place of our Ratha Yatra. the boston stopped having a Ratha Yatra because of financial issues in the 90's, but we had one in 1998. that was the last one. but then we started having this festival and the first year was a huge success and it was fun. we rented a huge boat that represented the Jaladuta, we even had a sign that we put on it saying that. and there was kirtan galore on the boat. devotees from all over came for this festival, and there were tons of Srila Prabhupada disciples. they all told nice stories of their interactions with Him. the first year was the best... the second year was terrible in comparison. we had a lot less people, and less Prabhupada disciples. and it seemed to dwindle every year. last year i didn't go at all because i got my period, but i heard it wasn't that great anyway. it wasn't a festival. which is pretty disappointing.
it's a festival.. root word being FESTIVE! and if it supposed to kinda replace our RY, then it should definitely be festive. i really do miss RY in boston.. i hope we can have it again in the future. i know it's not that realistic for the near future, but i hope things make a turn for the better in boston.
the festival this weekend was festive. although there were some moments that made me think that the fun would be ruined. but it wasn't. it has been a really long, long, LONG time since boston has seen what it did this weekend. we went to the actual pier that Srila Prabhupada first set foot at. it's different now, and no boats are docked there anymore i don't think. but it's pretty amazing that it's still there and you can walk and see the exact spot where His lotus feet first touched in America. i was a bit late to go since getting out of the house was difficult, and i was waiting at the pier with a few devotees for the harinam from the temple to come, but we waited for like an hour and they never came. but we were told that they got a late start anyhow, so we thought it wasn't that big of a deal. sitting at the pier i started getting cold so my brother and i started walking back to my car to get my chaddar and a couple others followed along to add money to the meters. and we ran into the devotees.. apparently they got kicked out of the pier because they didn't have a permit. EVERYWHERE in boston wants you to have a damn permit these days for stopping while on harinam. it sucked. when we saw the devotees, i saw His Holiness Bhakti Marg Swami and His Holiness Candramauli Swami and i was like "wait- is that Niranjana Swami?!" and rishi was like "yeah i guess it is" so he completely surprised everybody and came for the festival. and a few minutes later we started a harinam and he led... the harinam was the best i've seen since i was a little kid... three sanyasis and bhadra. i cannot remember the last time i saw His Holiness Niranajan Swami dance and jump and smile the way i did on this day. it was amazing. it was also the first time i saw Bhakti Marg Swami since i was a kid. i don't even remember him though since i met him in toronto when i was visiting there with 9 of my family members at age 5. i do remember the toronto temple pretty vividly though. but man can he dance! later that day i was talking with chris about him and he put it so well, like he has this rhythm.. like he's got some color in him, but he's extremely graceful. and he couldn't finish the description and i was like "like Lord Caityana" and he was like "yes!" chris is my twin brother.. hehe. and of course Candramauli Swami was his usual ecstatic self in kirtana.. he's adorable. and his birthday is this month! after harinam we had lunch at the temple and most people left. the program continued at 5 or 6pm, but we went back for Gaura Arti, which Candramauli Swami led and turned into a nice long kirtana.
during dinner, a few of us from the Bhakti Initiative Group talked to Candramauli Swami and Bhakti Marg Swami and they gave us good advice and inspiration. they are both two very humble devotees and really amazing people.
the next day, i didn't go to the morning part of the festival as i had things to do at home. the evening program was again amazing. anjali and i got Candramauli Swami figs because he wanted them for breakfast. then we helped in the kitchen and listened to a nice class by Bhakti Marg Swami. he keeps you entertained during class.. this coming from me is the truth because i can NEVER sit and listen to a class. my mind wanders so much during classes, unless it's on a tape or cd. because then i listen to it over and over until i practically have it memorized and then i start to actually hear it. dense much? anyway, kirtan ended up turning into about an hour and half... sunday feast kirtans in boston are never more than a half hour.. and if the devotees enthusiastically say "haribol, haribol, haribol, haribol, haribol, haribol!" etc.. then kirtan will go on a bit longer but not much because the authorities have an issue with it. bhadra started kirtan and then the mic was past between Bhakti Marg Swami and Candramauli Swami and it ended up being extremely amazing.. boston has finally, finally seen a festival after so many long, BORING years.
i didn't stay for the entire kirtan, but i was there for most of it. i went up to the restroom and i was going to fix my saree since my pin popped out (guju style) and i got my period. so i went to take care of that on the 4th floor and got my things together. i left shortly after that.. after my parents finished prasadama. i didn't even have prasadam. oh well.. there is chidwa at home from the program and i'll have some tomorrow.
i know i'm missing some parts of the festival, but i'm just really excited that we actually had one in boston. i hope that all of the arrival festivals turn out well in the future.
let's see, what else is going on? well i used to dance.. bharatnatyam that is. for 8.5 years or something like that. for a quite a while now i've been thinking and talking about dancing again. i called my teacher in the spring and she told me when to come back but i never did because i was working a lot at the time and i didn't have the time. my teacher has an annual show where all of her students perform. that is usually in the fall, october or november. so i'm waiting until the show is over before i go back. i know everybody is preparing for the show so i didn't want to start and rush to relearn something just to perform it. i want to take my time and get back into it and treat it like the art that it is. but i am getting excited to go back. now that the weather is getting colder, i've been starting to wear pants that i haven't worn since the early spring when it still felt like winter, and they all feel a bit tight. i can still fit into them, but they are tighter for sure. and it's sad. but it helped me make up my mind on working out. i've decided to take a class at the dance complex for a while.. i was thinking of doing hip hop or jazz, but i've decided to go with belly dancing. my stomach is my most hated area, so that also helped in the decision making. yay! for getting some exercise, but even bigger YAY! because i'm hoping to help myself over come a fear when i do this. i have an issue with going places that i've never been by myself, whether it is traveling by myself to a friends house that i've never been to, or to a restaurant, or to something like a dance class. so i've decided to go to this class by myself. it will be an experience in more ways than one, but i'm looking forward to it.
some new things that i'm doing weekly: every sunday i give my nephew a bath. he's not a tiny newborn anymore (hasn't been for a while) so it's not scary. he also has good balance to stand and hold on to my arm or the tub when i'm washing the soap off of him. i've done it for the past three weeks. i'm a really hygienic person, and my nephew's feet smell bad sometimes. lately when it hasn't been warm enough to wear sandals, my brother and sister-in-law put socks on with his little sandals and when he comes back in he some how kicks his shoes off by himself and keeps his socks on and his feet start to sweat. and then between his toes start to STANK. so i can't kiss his little feet without being grossed out. and then sometimes my sister-in-law doesn't bathe my nephew clean enough so this is what started me on wanting to give him a bath. i bought him a little lufa thingy months ago, so i give him a good shampoo and then i lufa him up. my favorite part is scrubbing his little piglet toes with the lufa because it tickles him and he laughs hysterically. he loves taking a bath, he loves the water. when it's time to get out he cries. and when i ask him to stand up (to wash all the soap off) he says "noooooo!" (because he thinks that means it's time to come out) but he has been pretty good lately. he's so perfect.
the other thing i'm doing every sunday is making the afternoon offering at my house. yesterday i made macaroni pie. i wanted to make spaghetti because my dad grows tomatoes in his garden and i wanted to use the fresh tomatoes while we have them. but my mom wanted them for buckwheat spaghetti for ekadasi so i had to change it. i already know one of the things i'm making next week.. i'm going to make aurderves (sp?) with filo paper. i had a bunch of really good vegetarian ones at my friend's wedding this summer. and i was looking through one of my cook books and i saw a good recipe by kurma das. it's a cheese one, so i'm going to find a sweeter one and make both of those. i'm going to make something else as well, but i'm not sure what yet. we don't have a set amount of preparations for what we offer to the dieties on a daily basis or a set time, but we don't eat a lot on sunday afternoons because we go to the temple, so we don't cook a lot. but i'm excited about doing that as well.
so tomorrow Candramauli Swami is coming over my house. he asked to come over and then he was like "i'm not inviting myself over" i was like "no, no, no! please come.. we are inviting you. we want you to come." and rishi jumped in and was like, "i second that!" so rishi is picking him up tomorrow evening and we are having a small program with BIG. not a regular home program though, that's too much work right now. it's a busy week. so that will be fun. we are making italian food because he loves italian. (maybe because he is italian) and we're also making cheese cake because he loves when we make that. we're making it for his birthday. i don't know when his birthday is, but i know it's in september.
i really want to aspire to Candramauli Swami, and he knows it. i'm pretty sure he does. several times on his last visits to boston he has asked me "why are you glowing?" and i always tell him because i'm happy that he is here. but this time he went on to tell me that i looked "effulgent" and i was like "it has been a really great festival so far." but i really am happy whenever he visits boston. when you meet your guru, you just know he's your guru. well i don't know if it's like that for everyone, but because i feel it, i want everybody to feel that way about their guru. when i first saw Candramauli Swami in new Vrrndavan, i didn't feel it then. but i didn't have any of his association. he was just in the background of His Holiness Radhanatha Swami's effulgence. it was the first time i saw Radhanatha Swami, so i was in awe of him. plus Candramauli Swami didn't sing or give classes that weekend. so i didn't know who he was or anything like that. and even when he came to boston the first time, i didn't think anything. but when he came to boston the second time.. i knew. and when you know, you just know. and you know when other people know too. like chris.. he and i have this understanding of how each other feels about Candramauli Swami. and so does anjali. and rishi even. one day after a program at the temple when Maharaja was visiting, rishi said to me afterwards "vidya, i know what you mean about just knowing, and i think i know too." that was a while ago, and he hasn't really spoken about it since. but he felt it for a moment if he doesn't still. but now that we met and have taken really nice association of Bhakti Marg Swami, i feel like rishi could easily try to aspire to him because they are so similar. and i said that to him.. he was just like "hey, there are three that i like. i like Niranjana Swami, Canramauli Swami, and Bhakti Marg Swami." the cool thing about my brother is that he's not in a rush to get initiated because he knows he's not ready. he's doesn't want to rush into anything. he doesn't do things just to do them. and i can say the same for myself and my close, close friends. that's why we are on the same page as far as spiritual life and BIG. yes, some of us may be more or less advanced.. but maybe only in certain ways. there are different areas of spiritual life, and there are areas that you will be less advanced than your peers, and there will be areas when they will be less advanced than you. there's nothing wrong with that. that's why there is a thing called a friendship. you help each other out.
being a devotee is pretty cool. you meet some really amazing people. and you get great examples of senior but the humblest of the humble devotees.