Written by Ragalekha dd
Maharaja’s South African tour continued with a week-long visit to Cape Town (18-25 December). At the Sunday Feast lecture he spoke on Bhagavad-Gita (1.1). Apart from glorifying the book, he also encouraged devotees to support the petition against Russia’s attempt to ban Bhagavad-Gita. At the end of the lecture, once again Maharaja handed-out packs of Srila Prabhupada’s books to the congregation and appealed to the devotees to distribute them! The program concluded with an ecstatic kirtana.
During the week, Maharaja presented the daily morning classes on Srimad-Bhagavatam. Various different programs were held in the evenings and each one began with the most wonderful bhajan sessions. The European traveling sankirtana team (Vishnujana, Gourakaruna and Prahlad) arrived on Tuesday and just added to the energetic nature of the programs. On Monday and Tuesday night, Maharaja held seminars on the Caitanya-Caritamrta where he discussed different personalities in the book, the author, the glories of Lord Caitanya and stressed the modern day relevance of the book. On Wednesday and Thursday night, Maharaja gave classes at the houses of devotees.
However, the highlight of the week was undoubtedly the Friday night harinama which was the best ever that took place in Cape Town. The harinama party paraded along the main street of the inner-city where a huge crowd had assembled for a night market that was being held there and went on until 11 pm. Maharaja led a powerful kirtana accompanied by accordion and drummers while devotees chanted and danced in ecstasy. The energy was contagious as passers-by waved, smiled, blared horns on their cars, some even danced and others just stared in astonishment. It was definitely a night to be remembered.
The final item on the itinerary was a Saturday night loft-preaching program targeted for new-comers. The topic for the evening was Reflections on the Holy Name. Maharaja shared his early experiences of mantra meditation and how chanting transformed his life.
Enjoy the pictures.
If you can’t view the slide show then visit flickr!
