Talks on the occasion of the 30th anniversary celebration of the installation of Sri Sri Nitai Gaura-Hari - Johannesburg, South Africa spoken on 18 and 19th April 2009
His Holiness Bhakti Caitanya Swami: (first few minutes not recorded)….and I immediately felt that that mercy is particularly there and Sri Sri Nitai Gaura-Hari the gentle ways in which They are dancing and leaning to the right and left. It is very beautiful and there is a deep sense of harmony and gentleness. This what struck me. In those days in Cato Ridge things were different in those days. Mangal arati was at 4am not 4.30am as is more typically the time. So we were there every day at 4am. There was nice morning program. There were twenty five to thirty devotees living there in Cato Ridge and it really seemed to me and I think it is really true that Gaura Nitai in general, Nitai Gaura-Hari in particular Their mood is one of giving Krishna consciousness and They like to be served by our giving Krishna consciousness to people on Their behalf.
So in those days – 1980 or 1981 of course things changed at around Gaura Purnima in 1982. Jaya Tirtha left and Bhagavan came in and things changed and then we started to build the Radhanath temple very seriously. But all those two years that I was there in Cato Ridge as the Temple President it really seemed to me the Nitai Gaura-Hari, They were relishing the sankirtan activities of the devotees. As I mentioned, there were quite a number of devotees at that time in the temple and there was a lot of sankirtan going on. Nanda Kumara Prabhu was one of the leaders of the sankirtan. Tribhanga Sundar Prabhu, was the brahmacaris sankirtan leader in Chatsworth Unit 10. We had a house there and the devotees would come. The devotees would go out and do book distribution, do collections and so on like that and then the devotees would come back on Sunday night because Sunday was a good day for sankirtan and then Monday morning we had a very nice program and we would have a Monday morning feast. That was our program.
We had thirty or so cows there and some bulls on our farms. The cows would give lots of milk and Bindhu Madhava, he was the cow boy, he would milk the cows and we got a machine for separating the cream from the milk. So every Monday morning we had this big feast complete with ice cream. When I say ice cream I mean it was just frozen cream with sugar. It was high power stuff. That is just by the way. The thing was that it really seemed to me that Sri Sri Nitai Gaura-Hari when the devotees would come back and then on Monday morning we would have like special program for the ashram devotees and the sankirtan devotees, it seemed to me that Nitai Gaura-Hari were very, very pleased. They really liked that. They liked to see Their sankirtan devotees – Their men and Their ladies who were going out and spreading Their glories because after all this is the sankirtana movement of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda so even here now we are going into the thirty first year. I think within our minds we should really make an effort to again worship Nitai Gaura-Hari by very concerted efforts in sankirtan. Of course when you look at Nitai Gaura-Hari, They are so beautiful, Their altar now is very nice. In those days they had very simple altar but still everything was nice. Now They have got magnificent altar and Their clothes, everything is just very appropriate, very opulent and rich. So they love to be worshipped by sankirtan. That was the mood in Cato Ridge. Nitai Gaura-Hari were the center and the sankirtan parties would go out and distribute books etc. and often times the nama-hattas would come out in buses and again the nama-hattas would come out often on Sundays in buses and for the Sunday feasts for the guests we would serve them breyani with big pieces of fried potato, oil dhal, a salad which was grated carrots with lemon juice on it and some halava sometimes and an orange drink called Lubly which was not very lovely. It was the cheapest. This was every Sunday. I tried this breyani dhal combo and I thought why do these people like this breyani but every Sunday and I mean every Sunday in Cato Ridge it was breyani and dhal and salad which was grated carrots with lemon and Lubly and chilies in the salad and so I thought maybe Nitai gaura-Hari like this breyani and dhal and I should be careful not to say anything against it. Just like aloo beanie. You know how many things I have said about aloo beanie over the years but then Govinda Maharaj and I had the cooking sort of competition or whatever during the Ratha-yatra and suddenly it struck me that I have offended aloo beanie so I should cook it just as a service to aloo beanie because it is being used so much in the service of Krishna, Nitai Gaura-Hari and Radha-Radhanath so there must be something to it.
When the Nama-hatta devotees would come out then on Sundays which was quite often then we would have a Sunday program with them and again it seemed to me that even though Nitai Gaura-Hari were in a slightly remote place. Cato Ridge was off the track but Their interest was sankirtan and spreading Their glories and spreading the chanting of Hare Krishna. So again when we would go in there and give class on the Sundays to the nama-hatta devotees I would also look at Nitai Gaura-Hari and it would seem to me that They were really smiling and They appreciated that.
Then it was 1982 Bhagavan came and everything got focused on collecting for the Radha-Radhanath Temple and Cato Ridge became like a skeleton staff and anybody who could carry, would you believe Hong Kong paintings was all going out raising funds for Radha-Radhanath but then again we would come back. Medhavi Prabhu and I traveled together for two and a half years I think and a lot of the time Ramanuja Acarya Prabhu was with us and from time to time other devotees. We would go out raising funds for Radha-Radhanath and then again every few weeks we would come back to Cato Ridge because Cato Ridge was still there. We would come back to Cato Ridge for a weekend or for the major festivals and again when we would come into the temple room in front of Nitai Gaura-Hari and have Their holy darsan it seemed to me that again They were pleased that we were making this effort even though on a certain level it was indirect in terms of presenting Krishna consciousness but still it was all part of that mission of spreading Krishna consciousness and developing the movement so that more people could be reached by Krishna consciousness. So again when we would come back and have darsan of Nitai Gaura-Hari every few weeks and see Them it seemed They were smiling and They were happy that we were making this effort or eventually it would at least come to that point were Their glories and the chanting of Hare Krishna would be spread more.
We opened Radha Radhanath Temple in 1985, October and then in later in 1986 in spring or thereabouts we got our temple at Muldersdrift really for Them. That in itself is an interesting story. I won’t go into all the details but we got Muldersdrift if I remember correctly in 1984 or 83, something like that and then we realized the Nitai Gaura-Hari is going to come up and we have to build something for Them, a temple room because there wasn’t anything suitable that was there but the local government authorities, they were not very happy with us. It was the days of apartheid and Muldersdrift was a white area, quite white, not cream or at all beige or even little grey, it was pakka white. So they were keeping their eyes on us, what we were doing. They knew we had people from other parts of the South African spectrum there and eventually they took us to task. I’ll speak tomorrow about what they tried to do to us but anyway the thing was that we knew this. They were watching us. This time I was the temple president in Muldersdrift so we knew that we had to bring the Deities up, Nitai Gaura-Hari to Muldersdrift so we got to do something. So what we did was that our construction chief His Grace Prana Valabha Prabhu maybe some of you who had been around for many years would remember him from Denver, Colorado so he made this plan that we would build a temple for Nitai Gaura-Hari starting Friday at 5.30 in the afternoon. That is the end of the week for the government people and we would finish by 6am Monday morning. There was nothing there but by Monday morning there was the Deity house. Those of you who remember Muldersdrift it was that back part on the right where the Deities were. That was built by Prana Valabha and a few others working 24hrs a day through the night-Friday night through Saturday through Saturday night, through Sunday, through Sunday night and it was finished. Peri Urban, that was the name of the government agency they didn’t catch us. They caught us later but they didn’t catch us then. So Nitai Gaura-Hari came up to Johannesburg and at that time we had been very much focused on Cato Ridge Durban. As far as preaching was concerned there was little bit going on in this area but not so much. Then we really started to make an effort to preach here in what is now Gauteng and we all felt that Nitai Gaura-Hari. Radha Radhanath had now become installed in Durban and They are presiding over everything and are being worshipped nicely. Now Nitai Gaura-Hari, They are more adventurous. They are sankirtan people, sankirtan Deity so even though They are coming up to a slightly austere situation. Everything is a little not so first class but we felt that it was Their desire that They wanted to be were the preaching is going on and were like the front line work is going on, They want to be there.
Here in Lenasia there is not so much preaching going on. There is some which is good but still I feel that Nitai Gaura-Hari being here They want that and I feel They are hoping that all you Leansia-ites and Gauteng-ites I think that They want that. I don’t think They are sort of resting on Their laurels and thinking now we got a center in Pretoria, we got a center in Soweto and there is a center now in Rosebank so it is okay but I really do feel that when we mobilize ourselves more to get out and approach the people and give them Krishna consciousness, I think They are waiting for it. I think They are confident that it is going to happen that is why They keep smiling. So let us go now into the thirty first year and then on and on eternally serving Nitai Gaura-Hari through spreading Their glories, spreading the glories of chanting Hare Krishna, spreading the chanting and bringing people to surrender at Their lotus feet. This is the part that They are playing and that They want to play in Iskcon South African Yatra. This is why They are here, this is what They are looking for and if we try like that They give Their mercy and when They give Their mercy, my gosh I have seen Them give so much mercy to the preachers and those that try to spread Krishna consciousness. It is really wonderful. Sri Sri Nitai Gaura-Hari Ki Jai! Sri Sri Nitai Saci Suta Ki Jai!
His Holiness Bhakti Caitanya Swami: (first few minutes not recorded)….and I immediately felt that that mercy is particularly there and Sri Sri Nitai Gaura-Hari the gentle ways in which They are dancing and leaning to the right and left. It is very beautiful and there is a deep sense of harmony and gentleness. This what struck me. In those days in Cato Ridge things were different in those days. Mangal arati was at 4am not 4.30am as is more typically the time. So we were there every day at 4am. There was nice morning program. There were twenty five to thirty devotees living there in Cato Ridge and it really seemed to me and I think it is really true that Gaura Nitai in general, Nitai Gaura-Hari in particular Their mood is one of giving Krishna consciousness and They like to be served by our giving Krishna consciousness to people on Their behalf.
So in those days – 1980 or 1981 of course things changed at around Gaura Purnima in 1982. Jaya Tirtha left and Bhagavan came in and things changed and then we started to build the Radhanath temple very seriously. But all those two years that I was there in Cato Ridge as the Temple President it really seemed to me the Nitai Gaura-Hari, They were relishing the sankirtan activities of the devotees. As I mentioned, there were quite a number of devotees at that time in the temple and there was a lot of sankirtan going on. Nanda Kumara Prabhu was one of the leaders of the sankirtan. Tribhanga Sundar Prabhu, was the brahmacaris sankirtan leader in Chatsworth Unit 10. We had a house there and the devotees would come. The devotees would go out and do book distribution, do collections and so on like that and then the devotees would come back on Sunday night because Sunday was a good day for sankirtan and then Monday morning we had a very nice program and we would have a Monday morning feast. That was our program.
We had thirty or so cows there and some bulls on our farms. The cows would give lots of milk and Bindhu Madhava, he was the cow boy, he would milk the cows and we got a machine for separating the cream from the milk. So every Monday morning we had this big feast complete with ice cream. When I say ice cream I mean it was just frozen cream with sugar. It was high power stuff. That is just by the way. The thing was that it really seemed to me that Sri Sri Nitai Gaura-Hari when the devotees would come back and then on Monday morning we would have like special program for the ashram devotees and the sankirtan devotees, it seemed to me that Nitai Gaura-Hari were very, very pleased. They really liked that. They liked to see Their sankirtan devotees – Their men and Their ladies who were going out and spreading Their glories because after all this is the sankirtana movement of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda so even here now we are going into the thirty first year. I think within our minds we should really make an effort to again worship Nitai Gaura-Hari by very concerted efforts in sankirtan. Of course when you look at Nitai Gaura-Hari, They are so beautiful, Their altar now is very nice. In those days they had very simple altar but still everything was nice. Now They have got magnificent altar and Their clothes, everything is just very appropriate, very opulent and rich. So they love to be worshipped by sankirtan. That was the mood in Cato Ridge. Nitai Gaura-Hari were the center and the sankirtan parties would go out and distribute books etc. and often times the nama-hattas would come out in buses and again the nama-hattas would come out often on Sundays in buses and for the Sunday feasts for the guests we would serve them breyani with big pieces of fried potato, oil dhal, a salad which was grated carrots with lemon juice on it and some halava sometimes and an orange drink called Lubly which was not very lovely. It was the cheapest. This was every Sunday. I tried this breyani dhal combo and I thought why do these people like this breyani but every Sunday and I mean every Sunday in Cato Ridge it was breyani and dhal and salad which was grated carrots with lemon and Lubly and chilies in the salad and so I thought maybe Nitai gaura-Hari like this breyani and dhal and I should be careful not to say anything against it. Just like aloo beanie. You know how many things I have said about aloo beanie over the years but then Govinda Maharaj and I had the cooking sort of competition or whatever during the Ratha-yatra and suddenly it struck me that I have offended aloo beanie so I should cook it just as a service to aloo beanie because it is being used so much in the service of Krishna, Nitai Gaura-Hari and Radha-Radhanath so there must be something to it.
When the Nama-hatta devotees would come out then on Sundays which was quite often then we would have a Sunday program with them and again it seemed to me that even though Nitai Gaura-Hari were in a slightly remote place. Cato Ridge was off the track but Their interest was sankirtan and spreading Their glories and spreading the chanting of Hare Krishna. So again when we would go in there and give class on the Sundays to the nama-hatta devotees I would also look at Nitai Gaura-Hari and it would seem to me that They were really smiling and They appreciated that.
Then it was 1982 Bhagavan came and everything got focused on collecting for the Radha-Radhanath Temple and Cato Ridge became like a skeleton staff and anybody who could carry, would you believe Hong Kong paintings was all going out raising funds for Radha-Radhanath but then again we would come back. Medhavi Prabhu and I traveled together for two and a half years I think and a lot of the time Ramanuja Acarya Prabhu was with us and from time to time other devotees. We would go out raising funds for Radha-Radhanath and then again every few weeks we would come back to Cato Ridge because Cato Ridge was still there. We would come back to Cato Ridge for a weekend or for the major festivals and again when we would come into the temple room in front of Nitai Gaura-Hari and have Their holy darsan it seemed to me that again They were pleased that we were making this effort even though on a certain level it was indirect in terms of presenting Krishna consciousness but still it was all part of that mission of spreading Krishna consciousness and developing the movement so that more people could be reached by Krishna consciousness. So again when we would come back and have darsan of Nitai Gaura-Hari every few weeks and see Them it seemed They were smiling and They were happy that we were making this effort or eventually it would at least come to that point were Their glories and the chanting of Hare Krishna would be spread more.
We opened Radha Radhanath Temple in 1985, October and then in later in 1986 in spring or thereabouts we got our temple at Muldersdrift really for Them. That in itself is an interesting story. I won’t go into all the details but we got Muldersdrift if I remember correctly in 1984 or 83, something like that and then we realized the Nitai Gaura-Hari is going to come up and we have to build something for Them, a temple room because there wasn’t anything suitable that was there but the local government authorities, they were not very happy with us. It was the days of apartheid and Muldersdrift was a white area, quite white, not cream or at all beige or even little grey, it was pakka white. So they were keeping their eyes on us, what we were doing. They knew we had people from other parts of the South African spectrum there and eventually they took us to task. I’ll speak tomorrow about what they tried to do to us but anyway the thing was that we knew this. They were watching us. This time I was the temple president in Muldersdrift so we knew that we had to bring the Deities up, Nitai Gaura-Hari to Muldersdrift so we got to do something. So what we did was that our construction chief His Grace Prana Valabha Prabhu maybe some of you who had been around for many years would remember him from Denver, Colorado so he made this plan that we would build a temple for Nitai Gaura-Hari starting Friday at 5.30 in the afternoon. That is the end of the week for the government people and we would finish by 6am Monday morning. There was nothing there but by Monday morning there was the Deity house. Those of you who remember Muldersdrift it was that back part on the right where the Deities were. That was built by Prana Valabha and a few others working 24hrs a day through the night-Friday night through Saturday through Saturday night, through Sunday, through Sunday night and it was finished. Peri Urban, that was the name of the government agency they didn’t catch us. They caught us later but they didn’t catch us then. So Nitai Gaura-Hari came up to Johannesburg and at that time we had been very much focused on Cato Ridge Durban. As far as preaching was concerned there was little bit going on in this area but not so much. Then we really started to make an effort to preach here in what is now Gauteng and we all felt that Nitai Gaura-Hari. Radha Radhanath had now become installed in Durban and They are presiding over everything and are being worshipped nicely. Now Nitai Gaura-Hari, They are more adventurous. They are sankirtan people, sankirtan Deity so even though They are coming up to a slightly austere situation. Everything is a little not so first class but we felt that it was Their desire that They wanted to be were the preaching is going on and were like the front line work is going on, They want to be there.
Here in Lenasia there is not so much preaching going on. There is some which is good but still I feel that Nitai Gaura-Hari being here They want that and I feel They are hoping that all you Leansia-ites and Gauteng-ites I think that They want that. I don’t think They are sort of resting on Their laurels and thinking now we got a center in Pretoria, we got a center in Soweto and there is a center now in Rosebank so it is okay but I really do feel that when we mobilize ourselves more to get out and approach the people and give them Krishna consciousness, I think They are waiting for it. I think They are confident that it is going to happen that is why They keep smiling. So let us go now into the thirty first year and then on and on eternally serving Nitai Gaura-Hari through spreading Their glories, spreading the glories of chanting Hare Krishna, spreading the chanting and bringing people to surrender at Their lotus feet. This is the part that They are playing and that They want to play in Iskcon South African Yatra. This is why They are here, this is what They are looking for and if we try like that They give Their mercy and when They give Their mercy, my gosh I have seen Them give so much mercy to the preachers and those that try to spread Krishna consciousness. It is really wonderful. Sri Sri Nitai Gaura-Hari Ki Jai! Sri Sri Nitai Saci Suta Ki Jai!
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