LAST FULL DAY IN GITA NAGARI

Jun 19

1 min read

Friday, June 19th, 2026

Port Royal, Pennsylvania

When God's eye opens (the sun), our eyes should be open to see it. That red sun rising here in the foothills of the Appalachians is a sight to see and I'm getting a perfect view this morning through the window of the Radha Damodar Temple.

That eye (Surya) reveals the green, rabbits, groundhogs, and of course the cows, bulls and all the other features of Gita Nagari. There is such a phenomenal facility here. But with this fine weather you would think more traffic of pilgrims would be here. Oh, well! The weekend is approaching.

I visited Godruma Gaura, an actor friend, his wife, and her mom for a great meal—no fries, no sugar, everything good. We walked nearby in one of those old and rustic covered bridges, so common in America (and Canada's) East Coast. Covered bridges are relics of the past like prairie grain elevators or drive-in movie theatres.

Our drama practices have been doing well. We have talent on the bus and we are tapping into it. A Dasa Avatar dance, a kirtan session, and the drama itself are in the preparatory stage for the Chariot Fest in Harrisburg tomorrow. Excitement is in the air. The practices plus the seedling planting, cow cuddling and painting picnic tables were prominent features of the day for the youth, while I preoccupied myself in a host of swami activities or swami downtime.

The culmination of a beautiful day was the kirtan in the temple in what we call Gaura Arati.

Everyone went wild and wonderful!