From Sydney, Kadamba Kanana Maharaja made his way down-south to the Melbourne temple where a packed schedule awaited him. On the day of his arrival (Tuesday, 15 May), Maharaja was invited for a dinner with all his local disciples. Maharaja gave a very nice talk there with many valuable instructions.
The next day he went to downtown Melbourne, to the Crossways restaurant where a regular program called Krishna Fest is held. The title of the program on this particular day was: The way of the Buddha – a Vedic perspective. Maharaja expertly described Buddhist philosophy but also pointed out how the Vaisnava conclusions of personal supremacy are still higher. Of course, Melbourne is famous for its regular Maha Harinamas and on Friday night, Maharaja led a huge party of devotees through the inner city. To see a video of this epic Harinama, please click here.
On the weekend, besides the daily Srimad Bhagavatam classes, Maharaja gave a seminar entitled Following in the footsteps of the Mahajanas. On Saturday, he mainly established how the real essence of Vaisnavism is found with the Acaryas and not in evolved traditions. On Sunday, he then elaborated on the different Mahajanas themselves, basing his talk on the verse svayambhur naradau sambhuh (SB 6.3.20). In the evening, he gave further classes at the temple and a Q&A session at the Bhakti Bhavana which is a program held near the temple that is run by the local bramacaris.
Then on Saturday morning, an initiation ceremony took place. Two devotees were given first initiation and received these beautiful names, Manasi Ganga devi dasi and Krsna Keli devi dasi. Two devotees also received 2nd initiation.
Eventually on Monday, his visit to Melbourne came to an end with a Bhakti Vrksha house program in Croydon, an hours drive away from the temple. Maharaja led a fired up kirtana and the rest of the evening was spent with question and answers.
Enjoy the pictures!
Can’t view the slide show? Just visit flickr!
