Arrival in Czech
Continuing with the tour of Europe, Kadamba Kanana Swami made his way from Germany to the Czech Republic where he was warmly welcomed by an enthusiastic harinama party at the Prague temple. The visit began with the weekly Sunday program. Maharaja started-off with an ecstatic kirtan which was followed by a lecture on the Caitanya Caritamrita where he told wonderful stories about Lords Caitanya and Nityananda. He also described Krsna’s intricate nature:
[quote]Krsna is playing – He plays flute, He plays with minds, He plays with hearts and feelings. Krsna is the original cheater! With Krsna you are therefore never sure. Sometimes He appears to be the most honest person that ever existed, the most sincere and the most saintly and in the next moment, He appears to be the biggest cheater…[/quote]
The Czech farm: Krsna Dvhur
A few days later, Maharaja took a one hour drive to the nearby
farm-project called Krsna Dvhur. Situated amidst nature, the devotees at the farm produce their own grain and maintain a beautiful temple with a set of extraordinary Gaura Nitai deities. Upon arrival there, devotees were already immersed in an ecstatic guru-puja kirtan. The Srimad Bhagavatam class thereafter described the glories of the great devotee, Prahlada Maharaja. Kadamba Kanana Swami expertly added flavor to the pastime:
Prahlada Maharaja was asked, ‘But my dear Prahlada, when they threw you in the pit of snakes, where you not afraid of all these snakes?!’ And Prahlada said, ‘No, I was not afraid.’
‘But how come you were not afraid when they threw you into all these snakes? Everyone would be afraid!’
Prahlada said, ‘No, you see, Lord Visnu, He is my father and He has a bed of snakes. So when the son plays on his father’s bed, will he be afraid? So no, I was not afraid.’ When we are devotees of Krsna, we are not afraid; Krsna will protect us!
Later that day, another steaming kirtan session took place, after which Maharaja gave the devotees the opportunity to clarify their issues in a Question and Answers session.
Govinda’s program
On Wednesday (6 February), Kadamba Kanana Swami once again attended the regular preaching program that is held at the Govinda’s restaurant, in the city center. The venue was so fully packed that devotees had to stand at the back of the hall. Maharaja, seated on a stage and surrounded by expert musicians, led a spectacular kirtan which inspired the crowd to the max, and it was followed by a humorous class. One point of the class was that to be a master in this world is not easy, since we all naturally rebel to authority. The person being a master must thus be a wonderful person, a person like Srila Prabhupada, who was “just tirelessly working for the well-being of all living beings.” He was serving the most, and that was his secret, “By serving the most, then one can become master.”
Off to Slovak
Friday approached and a program in Bhaktiloka, a newly established center in Bratislava, was held. Again, Maharaja started the program with another powerful kirtan session in the lead up to an explanation of how responsibility is the way to freedom.
Today Maharaja continued his travels to Nrsimha Ksetra, the German farm project near Passau. He will rest there for a week before attending next weekend’s kirtan event and initiations in Leicester, England.
All classes and kirtans of this tour can be found here.
If you cannot view the slide show, just visit flickr!
