Dear Vaisnavas,
Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
In the Caitanya Caritamrita it is explained that Lord Caitanya’s principle reason for taking sannyasa was to provide a better position for preaching. In the Caitanya Mangala Lord Caitanya explains an additional reason to His mother. The Lord said; “Most sons leave their families to gain wealth in the form of gold and silver and then bring that back to their parents; but I want to go and bring the wealth of Krsna prema“. So keeping these two objectives of the sannyasa asrama in mind I am trying to strike a balance between giving myself to others for preaching and to spend time for my own spiritual advancement and my physical well being.
EUROPE
I have made a special effort in Germany during the last year. It is a nice yatra and I am beginning to develop nice friendships both with the leaders as well as with the general devotees. Although there may be some struggle to maintain the rural projects over a whole things are going well in the Yatra, new devotees are joining and books are being distributed. I hope to be part of further development, I begin to feel at home there.
The Czech Republic is only right next door and thus a consistent preaching field with Germany, devotees of both yatras gather on the Nrsimha farm for festivals twice a year and I have taken it up as a service for quite some time now to be there twice a year. I am also regularly in the Czech Republic since I took sannyasa in ’97 and in a way have become part of the family. Nice devotees. When in Czech, Slovakia follows so sometimes I also visit there.
After 7 years I have resigned from managerial involvement in Spain, I will from time to time visit as a preacher.
Other countries in Europe that I regularly visit are Sweden and sometimes Finland, sometimes England and of course Radhadesh and Holland are on the agenda. Since quite some years I have been teaching a seminar in the Bhaktivedanta College. Teaching seminars or courses or holding retreats in general is a more relaxed way of preaching than festivals. As I am aging I find it a more conducive approach.
SOUTH AFRICA
I am continuing my involvement in South Africa and made last year 3 visits or a total of 2 1/2 months there. I am cutting down a bit on travel though and will make it only two annual visits from now on. The Durban Ratha Yatra is of course a huge 4 or 5 day festival every year. We had a nice retreat on the South Coast. There are many wonderful devotees there and I would also like to help to develop Krsna consciousness among the local African people. So I am trying to support the Afrcian devotees and organize some preaching programs.
Then there are travels to India and also Australia once a year. Recently I met a senior vaisnava who asked me do you think that your travels are effective? What to say, I am an insignificant, fallen soul. And everything and everyone has its limits, but I think that ultimately the effect of all our endeavors, the faith that we can create in people, depends on our purity.
MAYAPUR
Toward the end of the year I sat down in Mayapur to study Caitanya Caritamrta, I am trying to write something about it. Writing doesn’t come so easy to me, I wouldn’t really call myself a writer, but it is a purification or my own bhajan. It is a way to become more absorbed in remembering and glorifying the Lord, something which I really need to do for the development of my own spiritual life. Additionally spending some time in the Holy Dhama is not a luxury, but an essential source of inspiration and purification.
I must say that the sannyasa asrama is the most wonderful of all asramas, because the only duty a sannyasi has, is to engage in pure devotional service.
Praying to Hari, Guru and Vaisnava that I may develop pure and unalloyed loving service to their lotus feet.
Your servant,
Kadamba Kanana Swami