Saturday, February 25th, 2023
Vrindavan, India
I was struck with emotion when walking over the tiles in the beautiful courtyard of the Krishna Balarama temple. It was the early morning sadhana hours during the japa meditation that I reflected on the guru, Srila Prabhupada, and how he touched these same tiles with his lotus-like feet. Although it was decades ago (he passed away November 14th, 1977), I can still feel some power of an otherworldly nature. I cannot boast to be highly perceptive over such matters. I can only relay that such feelings are real and good. How can one avoid sentiment?
Being that it is the early segment of our stay in Vrindavan, it becomes wise to get shopping done. Those of us who don devotional attire – custom made, at that – require putting in an order before it’s too late. I let our travelling crew know, “If you want something tailor made, get your measurements done and they’ll deliver the goods in four or five days.”
Yes, timing is of the essence, so we arranged to be bound for Loi Bazaar in the shopping district for the cloth merchants. This was an ordeal. First of all, this is Saturday. Vrindavan gets packed with pilgrims and shoppers. Roads get blocked. Traffic is horrendous.
And then there are the monkeys. You just cannot have an object in hand or on head for fear that one of these rascals will jump up and grab your precious item. Our Dhruva held onto his glasses looped around his ears, and still this monkey aimed for this target; while the monkey didn’t manage to leave with his prize, he succeeded in bending it out of shape.
MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!
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