Two days ago (24.10.2012), two wonderful events were celebrated in Vrndavana namely, Ramachandra Vijayotsava (the day of Lord Rama’s victory over the demon Ravana) and the 26th anniversary of the 24-hour kirtan program.
The morning class was given by HH Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, who, after narrating the story of Ravana’s death in full colour, expertly switched the topic to the chanting of the holy name: “On this day of Rama-Vijaya, which is also when the 24-hour kirtan was established here in Vrndavana, I’d like to call it Nama-Vijaya, the victory of the holy name! It was indeed a glorious moment because Srila Prabhupada desired a 24-hour kirtan in Vrndavana!”
He described his experiences with the 24-hour kirtan program and went on to share many sweet stories in connection with HG Aindra Prabhu. In his talk, he mentioned that once a sankirtan van, which was carrying a set of Gaura-Nitai deities, had an accident and that Aindra Prabhu took the opportunity to take the deities for worship in his room. Up until today, Aindra Prabhu’s room is kept as a sacred space with an immensely large altar carrying various deities, over 2000 silas and the previously mentioned Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai deities. Once a year, on the anniversary of Aindra Prabhu’s disappearance day, ladies are allowed to enter the brahmacarya asrama for the sake of taking darsana. Since only a few make it to that occasion, we present pictures of the altar in the slide show below.
In the evening, devotees gathered at the ISKCON Goshala to find a five meter tall effigy of Ravana, filled up with explosives. After a nicely enacted play by the gurukula youth depicting the Ramayana, HG Ksudi Prabhu courageously attacked the huge Ravana with a torch, set him on fire and thus ignited a grand fireworks display.
Below you can find the link to Maharaja’s class that was mentioned above, as well as pictures of Aindra Prabhu’s room and the burning of Ravana. To download the class, right-click on the title and “save target as”. If you cannot view the pictures, just visit flickr!
KKS – Nama Vijaya – Rama Vijaya; 24.10.2012 in Vrndavana
