Earlier this evening, Srila Gurudeva departed sunny California for London, accompanied by a few devotees. There was still time for a few initiations in the morning and for everyone to get their last darshans until next time throughout the day. Nabadwip Prabhu and his wife Tilak dd brought Gurudeva the new edition of the Loving Search for the Lost Servant, which is now on it's way form the printers to our Nabadwip Math. The cover is hardbound and the whole presentation is very beautiful. Once again, (and take note book publishers), Gurudeva spent many minutes studying the centres list in the back of the book, noting any omissions and adjustments, even things that had changed within days. Gurudeva gives much importance to this part of the book and the need for this information to be nicely displayed and up-to-date.
Around 4pm, Srila Gurudeva made a swift exit from the temple as many cars with devotees hurried off in pursuit. Most of the devotees arrived at the airport before Gurudeva because Srutasrava Prabhu, Srila Gurudeva's driver, took him on a scenic route up the coastline. So there was grand gathering of perhaps 80 devotees to welcome Gurudeva on his arrival to the airport with a gentle and sober sankirttan. The devotees then sat with Gurudeva for up to an hour while luggage was checked in and boarding times slowly approached. Calls came in on cell phones from Pusta Krishna Prabhu and Yudhamanyu Prabhu who could not be present at this time but have been such integral servitors and long-time friends of Srila Gurudeva.
Eventually the wheelchair arrived to take Gurudeva to his plane and then the kirttan also picked up enormously. A procession of kirttan marched through the airport loudly towards immigration, with a resounding 'samsara davanala' kirttan led by Rajaram Prabhu. The kirttan increased to the point of full crescendo as Gurudeva passed the gates and checks and was wheeled off to the terminal. Many other devotees left from here back to thier home towns such as Oregon and Utah. Tears were shed and prayers were offered that the devotees here would again see Srila Gurudeva in California very soon.

Yesterday Srila Gurudeva took a trip to San Jose Ashram for the anniversary of Sriman Mahaprabhu taking up residence in the current Seva Ashram there on St James Street. All the devotees jumped into cars before 9am and made the trek over the winding Highway 17, to arrive in the ashram before Gurudeva would get there. By 9:30 the temple was filling up with devotees and Kum Kum dd was requesting for sankirttan to be going on while Gurudeva arrived. Various seated kirttans were sung for perhaps half an hour and then Srila Gurudeva arrived with his accompanying sannyasis. He first went to the altar and bowed his head in obeisance to Sri Sri Guru-Gaurangasundarjiu, the presiding deity, before taking his chair amidst a full-to-the-brim temple hall.
He took out his camera and took photos of all the devotees and guests for a few minutes. He then spoke very beautifully about the history of the deity and the service of the devotees. Sripad Goswami Maharaj spoke on the ontology of Mahaprabhu expressing Srila Guru Maharaj's conception as eloquently as ever. Then Gurudeva invited Kum Kum dd to speak. She said a few brief words in appreciation of the devotees and their serving efforts as well as Gurudeva's magnanimous blessings. Sripad Janardan Maharaj spoke as well about the pastimes of Mahaprabhu, and also this particular Mahaprabhu.
Then Gurudeva sang 'jaya radhe jaya krishna' and 'hari haraye' by which time the Lord's arati time had arrived. Gurudeva went to his quarters and Raja Ram Prabhu led a grand arati sankirttan. Various devotees took turns to lead and play the mridangas as the sankirttan continued and Gaurangasundar danced with his devotees.
A sumptuous prasadam feast was served in the backyard which revealed just how many people were in attendance. It must have been 200 devotees and guests. Afterwards the devotees slowly made plans for the rest of the day and caught up with old friends.
This morning Kum Kum dd told me that the ashram was cleaner after the cleanup than it had been before the festival happened, thanks to the efforts of the dedicated devotees.

The last few days have given me a chance to see a little more of Santa Cruz. There are things here that could only be dreamt about by anyone on the East coast of Australia for starters. Try a cool health food store with everything under the sun and friendly staff that is open until midnight 365 days a year. I managed to pick up some much needed nutrition to take back to India with me. Also try a fully vegetarian restaurant that is open until 4am every night. I can't think of anywhere else that you can find such things. Santa Cruz is actually a small town, a seaside town with lots of alternative people. San Jose is a larger city and in the heart of Silicon Valley. With our presence in both in a unified way as expressed by Srila Gurudeva himself, there is so much scope for preaching here in California with everything less than an hour away.

Last night was the regular Friday night sankirttan in Santa Cruz and I was fortunate to have the chance to join in. It is getting more and more cold here over night in California with the approaching winter, so everyone was well rugged up. Sripad Ashram Maharaj was again present. He even drove one of the vans full of devotees to the Golden Road centre downtown where the sankirttan was to start from. Around 30 devotees set out with three mridangas and many kartels chanting the holy names and walking towards Pacific Ave, the main street downtown. Soon the sankirttan party was rocking down the street, winding around queues to the movie theatres and bars. Many homeless people line the streets and their reactions were mixed, from enthusiastic participation, dancing along with us, to laughing and making fun at our expressive devotees. Several devotees took turns to lead the kirttan which lasted well over 2 hours, winding up both sides of the main street and then back around to the Golden Road. It was a wonderful evening and again a great fortune to participate in this sankirttan with so many international devotees from various countries.

Yesterday morning Srila Gurudeva happily went to visit the house of Ramananda Prabhu in San Jose for lunch. He came down his stairs around 10am and got into his car along with Sripad Goswami Maharaj and set out. The temple has been a hive of activity with different devotees leaving, and also making plans to come back for Thanksgiving (22nd November) before Gurudeva leaves Soquel. On Sunday, once again, Srila Gurudeva took a scooter ride to the top of the hill. As he rode the sun shone out brightly and Gurudeva quoted a sloka about how Krishna is like the sun and maya is like darkness.
It is still quite mild in the ashram and pleasant particularly in the afternoons. Most of the Hawaiian and Oregon devotees have returned home, but still the Utah team is here in Soquel, along with the Canadians. It has been a fabulous pilgrimage by so many devotees here to California.

Today, I took the rare opportunity to spend the day with Jagannath Swami Prabhu from San Diego. He was taking all the Mexican devotees to visit San Francisco and Bhakti Lalita dd had told me that I would have to take the chance to visit this city while I was here. So we took the hour and a half drive and after a few turns off the highway, we were driving down the famous Haight Street, until we arrived at the Haight-Ashbury junction. We parked the car and spent 2-3 hours wandering around this remarkable stretch of alternative stores, smoke shops, restaurants, bars, etc. So much to see - including one window with a set of massive lady's legs with fishnet stockings and red high heels. 'So this is where it all began' was echoing in my ears. Rock and roll had sprung out of this place, the hippies were still in force on the streets and Jagannath Swami told stories of how the Hare Krishna temple used to be just four blocks away.
I was impressed by the style of San Francisco, everything there is done with class. The sun set as we left the Haight, so when we went to see the Golden Gate Bridge it was dark. I was expecting it to be lit up more, but it was still impressive to see. As we got closer it was clearer to see the large columns at each end. We got lost after this, spending about 40 minutes trying to find the highway south once again.
All-in-all it was a wonderful snapshot of what I had heard was the most visited city by tourists in the whole of America.

Yesterday morning was the grand celebration of Sri Govardhan Puja in the Soquel Seva Ashram. Srila Gurudeva was feeling a little unwell and was delayed from joining in the festival. So we were blessed with Sripad Goswami Maharaj narrating from the Srimad Bhagavatam about the pastime of Krishna lifting Govardhan Hill. His narration was sprinkled with comments of Srila Guru Maharaj and his concepts of Giriraj Govardhan. Then as he completed his narration, Srila Gurudeva entered the temple hall. Gurudeva sang the song 'radha kunda tata kunja kutira', followed by 'jaya radhe jaya krishna' and 'hari haraye'. Then he delivered a wonderful lecture for almost an hour. The highlight of his talk was his mention of Sri Madhavendra Puri conducting the Annakut Mahotsava to Gopal Govardhan-dhari as recorded in the Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita. He also commented on how Indra gave the name 'Govinda' to Krishna during this pastime, and how Govinda Kunda became manifest. A grand parikrama of Govardhan Hill as a large hill of halava ensued, with ecstatic sankirttan. This was followed by bhoga arati and the grand arati to the deities. The sankirttan came out of the temple room and down the prasadam hall to the kitchen door, where all the kitchen devotees joined in ecstatically dancing. The kirttan then returned to the temple room for the finale in front of the deities. An incredible and opulent mahaprasadam feast completed a wonderful festival in glorification of Sri Giriraj Govardhan-lila.

Well today is my birthday and I have to say that it's been a wonderful day in the association of so many affectionate devotees. I am extremely blessed to be a part of such a wonderful international community of dedicated servitors, eager to please Srila Gurudeva. My heart is completely touched by all of them. Many highlights through the day, including a trip to the beach to see the sea-lions and play a little beach football. The evening arati was very special and sprinkled with a few lightning beats and eager dancers before the Lord. The devotees are busily preparing for Sri Govardhan Puja tomorrow, with decorations and bhoga orders. This afternoon Srila Gurudeva took his scooter to the top of the mountain, or so I heard. I was unable to make it. He has been very happy these last few days, giving initiation to more sincere seekers with the help of Sripad Janardan Maharaj. More and more devotees are arriving all the time to participate in this wonderful festival.

It's been a beautiful week in the Soquel Seva Ashram. Srila Gurudeva has taken regular scooter rides around the property. Many devotees have been visiting from Oregon led by Mathuranath Prabhu. We have also had a chance to sing all the extra songs for Kartik Month in the mornings and evenings. We went to a local college and held a "Festival of India" today to preach to the students. It was ably arranged by Kamal Krishna Prabhu and Vaidehi dd. Particularly one of the music teachers there was drawn to our kirttan. Ultimately he wanted us to stop - I think the Indian ragas clashed a little with his classical background. A wonderful day was had by all and our devotees were able to extend prasadam, kirttan and our philosophy to the students.

On Srila Guru Maharaj's appearance day, Srila Govinda Maharaj came to the temple and spoke sweetly. He was very relaxed quoting various slokas and making everyone laugh with his transcendental humour. Firstly he sang two songs which Srila Guru Maharaj was always requesting from him: 'ki jani ki bole' and 'sri rupa manjari pada' before proceeding to speak for almost an hour. He then asked Sripad Goswami Maharaj and Sripad Janardan Maharaj to speak. Their lectures were followed by arati and a wonderful feast served outside in tents and on tables on the grass. Everyone was very satisfied after dozens of preparations were served, with many lying down in the afternoon sun.
Then many of the devotees jumped into cars and took the infamous and dangerous Highway 17 over to San Jose for an evening program at the ladies ashram. Mahaprabhu danced happily on the altar for the arati and then Sripad Goswami Maharaj delivered a remarkable lecture in this 'town where it all started in the 80s'. He told many wonderful things that Guru Maharaj said and many experiences he had with him. Sripad Janardan Maharaj followed with an equally beautiful lecture, and Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj also told some less-well-known history on this special evening.
Sumptuous prasadam rounded out a fabulous day in glorification of Srila Guru Maharaj here in the Soquel and San Jose Seva Ashrams.

After a late arrival into San Francisco, we landed into the Soquel Seva Ashram in the pitch black, and just searched for a place to lie down after a long day of travel. The next day the ashram revealed it's beauty in the afternoon sunlight. A picturesque setting and the presiding deities of Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga-Gandharvvika-Giridhari, who Gurudeva said, manifested here by their own desire, being the deities of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur's original Math in Mayapur, Sri Chaitanya Math. So many faces that I had met in India previously were busily engaged, this time in their home town and it was a joy to catch up with everyone. Gurudeva took an afternoon scooter ride and happily met with the devotees before returning to his room.