So I finally came to London a few days after Srila Gurudeva, having secured my next India visa in San Francisco. I picked it up a few hours before flying out. Quite chaotic but it worked out fine. I arrived in the morning here on Saturday and caught the famous London Underground back to the Math. Upon arrival Dayanidhi Prabhu and the other devotees were all talking about sankirttan for that afternoon. I felt fine and so agreed that I would come. I was given a little time to have lunch prasadam and by 3pm we were all getting into the Math's sankirttan van. A handy 20 seater with a large roofrack storage space.
We parked several blocks from Oxford Street and began our procession, marching towards central London. After about 15 minutes, we had arrived at Oxford Street only to be welcomed by black clouds and a steady rain. We had to retreat and take shelter undercover of a nearby building. After a further 15 minute wait, the cloud passed, the rain stopped and it was time for the mercy of the Lord to rain down. Later we heard that there was half a million people on Oxford Street and it was certainly a constant jam. Using a triangular formation we were parting the crowds whose response was across the complete spectrum, from mocking to laughing, to honouring, and participation. We were perhaps 30 strong at our peak, with Sripad Tridandi Maharaj and Pranasis Prabhu joining the kirttan, both lifting it to new heights. We went from Oxford Street down to Leicester Square, circling the square with a large crescendo. By this time our kirttan had considerable strength and speed and it was capturing most people around us, who were swaying their hips and appreciating our 'roving dance party'.
We circled back around to the Oxford St crossing where we had begun and then proceeded back to where the van was parked. Four hours later, everyone happy for the chanting we got into the Math van and drove back to Green Street. Prasadam was waiting for us, and the devotees were all eager to hear about how the sankirttan party had fared.
Sunday was a very lively and busy day at the ashram. There is a midday feast program and the temple was busy throughout the day. Srila Gurudeva gave a sweet darshan in the afternoon around 4pm, singing a few songs at the end before retiring to his room. A lively evening program was rounded out by a sweet Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita class delivered by Sripad Tridandi Maharaj. Many devotees had to return to their daily duties by Monday, so there were many farewells even before the end of Srila Gurudeva's stay here in London.

With an unforeseen delay to get my India visa, I spent four extra days in California after Srila Gurudeva departed. This included many wonderful events including a day trip to San Francisco with Sanatani dd and Vidura Prabhu. It was a wonderful day, that was about as good an adventure as you could possibly have; perfect car parking, timing, food stops, sunset on Golden Gate bridge... this day had it all. I also went to 'Fry's', electronics Mecca with the cheapest latest equipment available today, in order to take some things back to India.
It was a beautiful stay in Soquel, one that could have lasted many months more, just as in 2004 when Gurudeva stayed there for 6 months. It also seemed that Sripad Goswami Maharaj's lectures had some extra potency and weight in this land where he had started sincerely to extend Srila Guru Maharaj's conception to the thirsty seekers of the western world needing nourishment. Sad to leave so many close friends behind, but also happy to hear that many will be coming over to India early next year.

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.

I have noticed that there hasn't been so much updates on the web lately of the tour goings on, so I thought I would post a photo of the beautiful deities here on their installation day in Mexico, Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga-Gandharvva-Nandanandanajiu.

This morning was the installation festival of the deities here in Veracruz. Many of the devotees were up all night making preparations, particularly the leader here, Madhuchanda Devi Dasi. The ceremony was completed as a grand success, and everything was very smoothly carried out. With all the necessary paraphernalia ready, Srila Gurudeva arrived with his entourage a little after 9am to oversee the installation. Sripad Janardan Maharaj led the worship of the day which included bathing (abhishek) as well as a fire sacrifice. After Gurudeva arrived Sripad Janardan Maharaj offered the Tulasi leaves to Gurudeva which would be used to put at the Deities' feet, marking the installation. Gurudeva called for water to purify them and he then made a mixture of the Tulasi leaves with some Sandalwood paste. Touching it to his head, he returned it to Janardan Maharaj to place on the Deities' feet. One by one, he placed this Tulasi at Mahaprabhu's feet, in Srimati Gandharvva's hand and then at Sri Nandanandan Krishna's feet, followed by the Guru parampara. By this time, Gurudeva was up out of his chair, peering behind the curtain as the Tulasi leaves were placed. Gurudeva then returned to his chair and the curtain was opened. All three deities here are made from brass, and they shone brightly on their simhasana, as the grand sankirttan continued. Jaya saparikara sri-sri-guru-gauranga-gandharvva-nanda-nandanajiu ki jay! as the conchshell blew....
The deities were then bathed with ghee, cow dung, urine, yoghurt, milk and other ingredients by way of a mirror, with the bathing performed on their reflection. Srila Gurudeva delivered a wonderful speech as the abhisek was performed. At the completion of the abhisek, the charanamrita was prepared and brought by Sripad Janardan Maharaj to Srila Gurudeva who was still midway through his lecture. Then the fire sacrifice began, and was carried out as Gurudeva explained how the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra is the process for this age and that no-one is qualified to properly perform such an activity. He completed his talk by singing some kirtans, incuding bhajahu re mana sri nanda-nandana abhaya charanaravinda re. Then the devotees proceeded with grand sankirtan and the fire sacrifice concluded.
The bhoga offering containing 140 preparations was offered, followed by Grand Midday Arati and opulent prasadam feast for everyone.
This evening the Governor of Veracruz, the highest Government official here, came to give his blessings and support to the project and to warmly receive Srila Gurudeva in Veracruz. He glorified happily the devotees activities and had a beautiful exchange with Gurudeva who was beaming from ear to ear. He invited the Governor to Nabadwip at his earliest possible convenience. The whole day was wonderful and beautiful and now Their Lordships are sleeping snugly in their temple here in Veracruz.

Yesterday afternoon the warnings were sounded that school would likely be off the next day. Looking across the sea to the East a large storm was brewing although everything seemed calm and peaceful in Veracruz. By 10pm in the night, fierce winds began to rip through this flat seaside town, and the howling breeze continued unabated all night. Windows were shaking constantly and by 3 or 4am the power went out. Winds reached 85 miles an hour as the storm was upgraded to a Hurricane. By morning the streets were strewn with trees and branches that lay all over the roads. Many branches, some a metre in diameter landed through the windscreens of vehicles parked on the roadside. Throughout the day Gurudeva and the devotees peacefully watched on from inside our guesthouse, as the coconut trees lining the road in front, bent over in the breeze. It only began to calm around 5pm this evening.
Veracruz hasn't seen this kind of weather for at least 2 years, and it was a little taste of the Hurricanes that regularly lash against all the coastlines in this area. It seems that Harinam Sankirtan through the streets will be postponed and that the devotee activites will be slightly adjusted, but everything should be back to normal in a day or two.

Yesterday afternoon, Srila Gurudeva with 12 devotees landed in Veracruz, Mexico after a long day's travel. Our first flight from Caracas to Mexico City was smooth enough until it came time to land in Mexico. With crosswinds and difficult conditions, the plane first landed on one wheel and with the wings swinging from one side to the other a few times, everyone's heartbeat quickened. But the pilot seemed to have much experience and soon the plane was on the tarmac racing along, slowly coming to a halt. Still it made me feel that any time you go up in a plane, it's not certain that you're coming down again. Srila Gurudeva was received by government officials immediately upon disembarking from the plane. Laksmirani dd had arranged a VIP arrival and escort, which took Gurudeva direct to his next flight. Here in Mexico, Madhuchanda dd met recently with the Federal Minister for Religion and he is keen to come and participate personally in the ceremony of installing the deities here in Veracruz, Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga-Gandharvva-Nandanandana.
At the airport in Veracruz the devotees did Harinam Sankirtan as a party outside the main exit for 2 hours before Srila Gurudeva actually arrived. Baggage claim and exit was swift because this was now a small domestic flight and there was no further immigration checking. Srila Gurudeva was whisked away with other principal devotees to his residence on the ocean, a beautiful hotel-style guesthouse, for him to stay with his entourage. Many devotees have come to have his darshan from USA, all over Mexico, and other parts of the world.

The last few days in Venezuela have been very hectic. Many initiations over a couple of days with Srila Gurudeva's impending departure and also Brahman initiation for twelve men followed by the fire sacrifice. Sripad Janardan Maharaj helped Srila Gurudeva with all the initiations and then carried out the fire sacrifice on the porch outside Purujit Prabhu's house. Yesterday afternoon was street sankirtan, this time walking from the temple with a party all the way to where we did it last time and then again proceeding along that same boulevard. Five mridangas in unison sounded wonderful and with maybe 70 devotees our presence was very strong. At one point we stopped to dance on a large chessboard in the city, a perfect stage for Mahaprabhu's sankirtan. Then upon returning to the temple, Srila Gurudeva arrived there only 10 minutes after us for the evening program. One by one his sannyasis spoke and then Gurudeva concluded with a short talk, expressing his encouragment to all, to go on with their Krishna consciousness practicing life with his full blessings as well as the blessings of Srila Guru Maharaj and Sri Sri Nitai Gaurachandra. He sang, parama karuna and other songs before taking prasadam at the temple. Once again a grand sankirttan before the deities while Gurudeva was upstairs honouring prasadam. This Venezuelan leg of the tour has been most memorable and wonderful. Particularly it gave a chance to the devotees of all parts of South America to come and see Srila Govinda Maharaj, when certainly they have no chance or capacity to make it to Nabadwip. For these devotees, to get to India can be a once in a lifetime possibility, so it was so wonderful to see Srila Gurudeva's merciful extension of grace, coming to shower his blessings upon all of these devotees.

Yesterday Srila Gurudeva came once again to the temple of Sri Sri Parama Karuna Nitai Gaurachandra for the Sunday Feast. Accompanied by his sannyasis, Srila Gurudeva lead a very wonderful program. Firstly Sripad Ashram Maharaj spoke, followed by a special talk by Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj; then Sripad Janardan Maharaj spoke followed by Sripad Goswami Maharaj. This was a beautiful build-up to Srila Gurudeva who then spoke so sweetly, glorifying extensively the devotees of Caracas, the sankirttan here and his astonishment at the wonderful manifestation of Krishna consciousness in Venezuela. Then Gurudeva sang 'ki jani ki bole' and 'emona durmati'. He followed this with an incredible mahamantra kirtan, singing 'Haribol' again and again to the delight and awe of the present devotees. The whole temple became inundated in waves of nectar by the grace of Srila Gurudeva and Nitai Gaurachandra. With arati already completed on this special Sunday program, Koladwip Prabhu began grand sankirttan as Gurudeva took his leave to honour prasadam upstairs. The sankirttan was extremely sweet, even more than before, I can't think of any words to describe it adequately, which leaves me with a text blog and no words. The only word that could come to mind and also what Gurudeva himself expressed, from the pages of Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, 'chamatkara', which means complete astonishment.
This morning, Srila Gurudeva is giving initiations to several sincere seekers, eager to get connection of His Divine Grace and to begin their spiritual journey in his shelter.

Sankirttan, sankirttan and more sankirttan. That was the main focus all weekend here in Caracas. On Saturday the devotees gathered downtown for sankirttan on the streets. Perhaps 100 devotees huddled undercover as rain threatened to cancel the excursion. But the devotees were very persistant, setting out once the rain had eased just a little bit. Then they gathered in the entrance to a mall for a while as the rain became heavier. Koladwip Prabhu the main sankirttan leader here sang on and on 'Govinda Hare Gopala Hare' and the devotees danced and chanted. Again with the rain easing the devotees set out down the street with Sripad Ashram Maharaj singing a very sweet melody. Four mridangas resounded in synchronous rhythm filling the streets with their transcendental sound. At times jumping, at times running and always ready to break into dance at any moment, the sankirttan rolled on for over two hours. Afterwards all the devotees went directly to Sri Sri Parama Karuna Nitai Gaurachandra's temple for the evening program. A few seated kirtans were sung, and then it was time for Gaura Arati. After about an hour of ecstatic dancing kirttan for Arati and Tulasi Parikrama, Sripad Ashram Maharaj, Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj and Sripad Trivikram Maharaj lectured before the devotees for an hour. Then 'hari haraye' and another ecstatic kirttan with devotees jumping till they almost touched the ceiling. The Caracas temple hall is perhaps 6 metres wide and maybe 12 metres long and the roof is just over 2 metres high. And in this fairly small space, hundreds of devotees join in this world famous sankirttan. The sankirttan here is really remarkable and Gurudeva has mentioned this many times. Again you can find video taken by Nimai Chandra and posted on his site at www.vaisnavadarshan.com in the What's New section.

There were fabulous morning and evening programs on the first full day here in Caracas. Srila Gurudeva sang and spoke informally for half an hour in Purujit Prabhu's house in the morning. Then in the evening he went to Parama Karuna Nitai Gaurachandra Mandir to lead the evening program at four o'clock. He sang many songs starting with 'parama karuna pahun dui jana', then 'nitai pada kamala', 'gaurangera duti pada', and then 'radhe jaya jaya madhava dayite'. Hari Kirtan Prabhu, long time dedicated servitor of Gurudeva here in Caracas sang 'emona durmati'. Gurudeva spoke for some time particularly mentioning the renowned sankirtan style here in Venezuela. He then invited Sripad Janardan Maharaj to speak, and he gave a very lively, animated lecture with everyone present laughing every few minutes. Then Srila Gurudeva invited Sripad Ashram Maharaj to say something, followed by Sripad Goswami Maharaj. Goswami Maharaj particularly glorified Nityananda Prabhu as well as the history of Srila Guru Maharaj taking his shelter before establishing the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in Nabadwip Dham. Afterwards, Gurudeva sang two more songs, 'jaya radhe jaya krishna', and 'hari haraye'. He then left the temple as the arati began to the deities. Sankirttan lasted several hours from this point and there was no question the Caracas sankirttan lived up to it's reputation. Delicious prasadam was served to the devotees afterwards.
Yesterday morning, Srila Gurudeva took his first drive down Parama Karuna highway. At first, the road in Purujit's backyard down to the swimming pool seemed a little too steep for the journey. But with Hari Kirtan Prabhu, Aravinda Lochan Prabhu and others by his side, Gurudeva happily negotiated the turns around the pool and on the road, to the delight of the assembled devotees.

Srila Gurudeva and the devotees accompanying him on his 23rd World Tour have all landed safely in Caracas, Venezuela to begin the American leg of the tour. A reported 300 devotees were present at the airport with grand sankirttan to welcome Srila Gurudeva. Purujit Prabhu arranged for a VIP arrival for Gurudeva, who waited in the lounge amidst sankirttan as the passports were stamped. A winding drive through the city completed an arduous journey for all. Gurudeva was fine for the travel and happily took prasadam and rest in his quarters.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur writes, 'bhakata seva parama siddhi prema latikara mula' stressing the importance of service to the Vaisnavas. So I felt the inspiration to particularly mention the dedicated service of some of the devotees on the Italy leg of the tour. Krishna Kanta dd and Munindra Mohan Prabhu were tireless in arranging all the various services and helping devotees with even the smallest arrangements. They themselves didn't even have time to come out on the sankirttan and other excursions. Chinmoydeva Prabhu from the USA was a constant example of full energetic service. He helped with the preparations beforehand which included paving the whole front courtyard, gravelling the side of the temple, and constructing a gazebo overlooking the valley below and the clocktower opposite. Malini dd from Malta took responsibility for arranging all the devotees accomodation throughout the tour, doing a tremendous job. Over 130 pilgrims came to see Srila Gurudeva from many different countries. Ashapurna dd was a constant servitor in the kitchen from before mangal arati, right up to the end of the night for the duration of the whole tour.
There are so many other devotees it's hard to mention everyone, Dayanidhi Prabhu's constant sankirttan, Nitai Prabhu's dedicated efforts to ensure prasadam was arranged nicely for everyone 3 times a day, the list goes on... Pranashis Prabhu's enthusiastic dancing in the kirtan hall. Every devotee's contribution made this festival in Italy most wonderful and memorable.

The sun has been shining all week, and the rain has moved away, much to the delight of the devotees camped in tents, dotted under the trees at the back of the ashram. Srila Gurudeva has been very happy and taking in fresh air every day on regular afternoon scooter rides. Followed by 50 or more devotees he rides up and around the road in both directions, while also circumambulating the Sri Giriraj Govardhan deity presiding over the Ashram. We are now preparing once again for the Sunday midday program after a busy weekend of events. Our sankirttan party of 30 devotees danced through Milan once again yesterday afternoon for several hours, flooding the busy streets with the chanting of the Lord's names. This time we had the opportunity to go further into the busier areas around the Duomo, and we stopped several times, surrounded by dozens of appreciative onlookers. Of particular note was our ladies section whose dancesteps were perfectly synchronous and whose happy enthusiastic mood was completely infectious to all the devotees and all the passersby. Rain brought our kirttan undercover, only to strengthen the reverberation and energy of the devotees as Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj rounded out an extremely ecstatic afternoon. With all flyers given out, and many books sold, we ducked for cover in the nearby Metro and made our way to the local train that brought us back to the gentle hilly slopes and our Villa Govinda Ashram.
This morning Srila Gurudeva spoke beautifully in his room before giving initiation to a sincere newcomer, now Sarojini devi dasi. Her name means she who was born or came out from the lotus, and it is a name of Srimati Radharani. Gurudeva spoke deeply on the four verses from Srimad Bhagavatam 11th Canto, Chapter 20, 27-30, beginning, "yato sraddha mat kathasu..." and culminating in "bhidyate hrdaya granthis..." The essence being that with full faith and firm conviction in our service life, we will cross over all the material obstacles and attain the Lord's lotus feet. He was in a very happy mood, showering his blessings on the Italian devotees and giving full nourishment and encouragement for their spiritual lives.

Yesterday afternoon, 32 devotees gathered for an expedition North to the town of Lecco, nestled in the foothills of the pre-Alps. Many of the London devotees visiting Italy came along on this sankirttan trip, which began with a half hour winding train ride. The scenery here is so picturesque with large hills towering over valleys with village after overgrown village every few kilometres. This whole area is covered in snow during wintertime and I can only imagine how beautiful it is at that time. Lecco is a fairly small town, with tight streets and many outdoor cafes. The mountains surrounding the city tower behind the churches and other large buildings creating a mystical atmosphere. After winding through a few sidestreets we came out to see the spectacular lake bordering the city. We chanted along the sidewalk by the lake's edge and stopped on a large pontoon for a while. The first hour of our kirttan was on fairly empty streets, but come 5 o'clock more and more people were milling around after work. The devotees stepped up the pace and we were all soon dancing ecstatically near to the main thoroughfares. We checked the train timetable and had more time to spend, so we set out for another lap of the city. With several books sold and a very happy receptive public, we felt extremely satisfied to have come out. We were just on time to catch our train and made our way back to Villa Govinda for evening prasadam.

Yesterday was a day trip to Milan for Harinam Sankirttan. Malini devi dasi was busy throughout the day organising and co-ordinating the excursion. Due to the traffic concerns and also a lack of available parking in the city centre, we decided that the best way to go would be by train. The half hour train ride began in the beautiful hilly area of Villa Govinda but soon we were seeing buildings and suburban life springing up out of the windows of the carriage. After a handful of stops, we arrived at the terminus in Milan, and began to search for our guide for the day.
Madhurananda Prabhu was waiting there for us and after a few stops on the metro we came up, a short walk from the main tourist areas of town. Our party of perhaps 20 devotees led by the ever-enthusiastic Sripad Bhakti Premika Siddanti Maharaj, set out along the streets. Now I could truly say that I was in Italy. The brick and stone streets, tramways and sidewalk cafes were a perfect place for our wandering sankirttan and everywhere we went the public were responsive and interested. We stopped several times on the wide footpaths as devotees handed out red Villa Govinda flyers and offered our books for sale to passers-by. After about an hour we arrived in a courtyard where demonstrations were going on and street performers were eagerly juggling all kinds of things. Soon we were the centre of attention, with a circle of onlookers. Every second person had some kind of camera out taking photos and videos of our group. Dayanidhi Prabhu lifted the chanting to new levels and everyone was dancing happily inspired more and more by the crowds.
Then it was time to move on, through some back streets to our main destination, the Duomo di Milano. It is a cathedral and the most famous landmark in Milan. It stands perhaps 8 stories high and has been under renovation for some years and now shines an off-white colour compared to the blackish colour it was before the work began. It turned out that we did parikrama of the Duomo, finally settling in the large square in front. We could have kept going further up the busy streets but we were running out of time and needed to get back before it was too late. After some lovely sankirttan in front of the Duomo and some crowd participation, our sankirttan party headed back the way we came and eventually arrived at the metro station for our finale nearly three hours after we had started. Some drunks joined in the final stretch adding some further colour to our afternoon.
Unfortunately we missed our train, and had to wait another hour, but upon arrival at the station near our Math, Munindra Mohan Prabhu and the other devotees were waiting with cars to take us to the temple and a delicious prasadam dinner.
Everyone expressed their joy at the sankirttan including Srila Gurudeva, who saw photos and videos the next morning. Some video of this day along with many other videos and photos of the tour are available on Nimai Chandra Prabhu's website, www.vaisnavadarshan.com in the 'What's New' section.

Srila Gurudeva's stay in Italy has been very restful over the last few days. He has been seeing devotees in his room and also going outside a few times a day, both walking and on his scooter. One morning, in the fresh air outside he sat in a nice place with the morning sun at times peaking through the clouds over his shoulder, and informally spoke beautiful slokas explaining the sweetness of the Krishna conception of divinity. He summarised, "We pay our full dandavat to everyone, and then we go to the playground, to play with Krishna and his associates with full intimacy." Here everyone's hearts are being attracted so strongly to surrender and serve, by the shining example and expressions of our beloved Gurudeva.
So many devotees have made the pilgrimage to Villa Govinda Ashram. Today Gurudeva gave first and second initiations, including many of a large group of Hungarian devotees. This was the culmination of their stay with us, as they prepared to take their overland journey back to Hungary. Sripad Bhakti Pavan Janardan Maharaj carried out the fire sacrifice procedures ably assisted by Ranjit Krishna Prabhu. Many devotees from the London Math are visiting in a rotation arrangement and Sripad Nyasi Maharaj has been with us for some days now. Also several devotees have flown in from California to see Gurudeva in this beautiful peaceful ashram. The persimmon trees are covered in almost ripe fruit and there are grapes ready to pick as well. Most of the rose bushes have some flowers on them and there are many other flowering plants. The devotees here also have a large patch of vegetables with many ripe tomatoes along with several other vegetables.

Yesterday evening Srila Gurudeva and all the devotees in his entourage happily arrived in Villa Govinda, Italy after transit through most of the day. Several flight plans for various devotees made the day very difficult for managing and organising, but Sripad Avadhut Maharaj and the Russian devotees handled everything beautifully. It has been cool and wet overnight here in Italy and the clear air from the rolling hills is very refreshing. Sripad Goswami Maharaj gave a lovely talk this morning to begin the day's programs and many many devotees are expected to visit over the coming two weeks.

Today was a trip to a special traditional Russian 'banya'. In terms of a western equivalent you could call it a sauna with the dial turned up to extreme. I asked them how hot it was and was given a reply, "oh 80-90 degrees celsius." So we all got into our gumchas and covered our heads with cloth hats and went inside. Constructed using bricks and with wooden seats and steps inside, the banya is very intense. Within a few minutes, sweat uncontrollably comes from your pores and gathers in pools on your skin. The first time inside usually lasts about 5 minutes and then everyone is retreating to the cold pools outside. There are even special custom bucket baths attached to the wall with automatic taps and a string to pull to 'cool off'. I was thinking at the time that they would be an excellent addition to our ashrams for the pre-mangal arati preparations. Several Russian men were walking in and out with nothing on, holding towels in their hands. It seems that this particular experience is favoured by men needing to drop some kilos, and seeing them engage in their ritual certainly added to the experience. After a few minutes in the cool, it was time to again enter the banya, this time for perhaps 10 minutes. The idea is to sit inside for as long as possible and then go outside to cool off. It is very very rejuvenating, working on circulation, cleansing the body through the pores and helping in many other ways. After going in and out 5 or 6 times, it was time for a break in the private change room. Time for some very thick and delicious honey and cups of herbal tea. After about 15 minutes it was time to go in for the second session. It seemed that 2 sessions was enough, perhaps 3, for a total of about 2-3 hours. Also during the second session it was time to use some short branches of sage and passionflower to enhance the experience. The branches are dipped in warm water and slapped all over the body, to help stimulate the circulation even more. Also at times the Russians seemed unhappy with the level of heat and would open the door to the fire and throw extra water on the coals to send blinding steam into the air. This increases the temperature even more and usually clears the room within a few minutes. It is no longer possible to remain inside. The whole experience was wonderful and it was also a great chance to get to know the Russian devotees some more and share in some of their tradition.

The last two days have been particularly wonderful here in Lahta, Saint Petersburg, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. First was the remembrance and celebration of Sri Lalita-saptami, the Divine Appearance of Srimati Lalita Devi. Srila Gurudeva gave his darshan in the morning, describing very beautifully the position of Sri Lalita Devi in the pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna. He quoted the well-known first verse of Srila Rupa Goswami's Lalitastakam, "radha-mukunda pada sambhava gharmma bindu..." an explanation of which is given by Srila Guru Maharaj in Sermons of the Guardian of Devotion Volume One. Srila Gurudeva then proceeded to chant and explain aspects of the other 7 verses of this astakam, particularly mentioning the bamya mood which Lalita Devi encourages in Srimati Radharani. This mood is to externally show opposition to Krishna. He also spoke about Lalita's position as the leader and Guru who is training and preparing all of the sakhis and manjaris for the service of Srimati Radharani. He then spoke about Sri Rupa Manjari and Srila Guru Maharaj's connection given by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur and how this current of service is coming through our parampara. He concluded by singing sweetly in a special tune the song "radha-krishna prana mora jugala-kisora."
Sri Radhastami day was particularly wet and windy, and Srila Gurudeva was taken quickly to the temple room in the morning to preside over the celebrations. He said many wonderful things including various verses of the Goswamis in glorification of Srimati Radharani. Particularly he mentioned the "yasyah kadapi.." verse of Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati and the "asabharair amrita-sindhu... " verse of Srila Raghunath das Goswami. After concluding his beautiful lecture, he was requested by the devotees present to sing. He sang very sweetly several songs, just as he used to sing for Srila Guru Maharaj on this occasion; "radhika-charana padma," "radha bhajane jadi.." "radha-kunda-tata kunja-kutira" and others, concluding with "jaya radha madhava." Srila Gurudeva then took his leave and Sripad Janardan Maharaj started a big sankirttan. The sankirttan continued for three hours straight including the Bhoga-arati and Midday Arati. Prasadam included some very beautiful whole capsicum stuffed with rice pilau. The program for the day including invitation of guests was actually scheduled for the evening, so before too long the program again started in the temple. Sripad Goswami Maharaj delivered a beautiful evening lecture at 6pm and then Sripad Avadhut Maharaj sang the evening arati and parikrama to Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga-Radha-Madhavasundarjiu. Avadhut Maharaj then sat down to sing a few more songs before prasadam time, but half-way through the first song, his phone rang taking him away. Then one of the devotees here Abhiram Thakur Prabhu sang the next song, but was soon getting to his feet and beginning a grand finale sankirttan. Everyone eagerly joined him on his feet, and very soon the devotees were dancing from one end of the temple to the other without any care for the time or for prasadam. Then the pujari Ananda Moya Prabhu, who serves from morning to night tirelessly all year round was handed the microphone and the kirttan inconceivably went to another level of sweetness. After almost an hour of sankirttan it was time for prasadam for the guests and devotees. All the while Srila Gurudeva was watching on his television from a webcam permanently fixed above the nat mandir. The feast was delicious and completed an extremely joyful day in the shelter of our beloved guardian, Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj.

Sunday was a joyful day on the streets of Saint Petersburg. With devotees from Moscow present to provide extra enthusiasm, we were at times running in sankirttan down Nevsky Prospect, with full energy in our Harinam party. For a full two hour sankirttan with perhaps 30 devotees, we were dancing more than half the time and receiving all kinds of responses from the Russian public. One man particularly sticks in my mind - he had both index fingers of both hands pointing to both of his ears, making circles swiftly, indicating his opinion that an ambulance should swiftly come and take us all off to the mental hospital. It was a very happy day, and many people joined in, although mostly joking. Still by the power of Sriman Mahaprabhu's grace and by the able guidance of the leading sannyasis present, supported by the sincere devotees, so much benefit was being extended to all.

This week in Saint Petersburg has gone steadily with the daily programs going on. Srila Gurudeva has been happily staying in his quarters most of the time and seeing devotees and visitors in the mornings and afternoons. Sripad Avadhut Maharaj spent some days in Moscow, and in his absence the ashram has been nicely ticking over each day, without any extra activities. Srila Gurudeva has given his darshan in the specially made darshan hall here almost every morning, but has only ventured to the temple a couple of times. He is eagerly watching the many videos and photos coming from all over the world including that which the devotees are taking here of the programs of the tour. Sripad Janardan Maharaj, Sripad Ashram Maharaj, Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj and Sripad Srutasrava Prabhu are keeping a constant flow of Hari-katha and sankirttan in the temple three times a day. Sripad Madhava Maharaj is also giving classes in the mornings in Russian. Many devotees came from Moscow over the last week to participate in the festival and have had their first opportunity to see Srila Gurudeva. Today Srila Gurudeva gave further initiations to a few newcomers and then sang sweetly the kirttan "jaya radhe jaya krishna jaya vrindavan". The Harinam sankirttan party went out both yesterday and today warming things up for a busy weekend of programs.

The last 3 days have been full of activity here in Saint Petersburg. Weekends are generally the time when devotees and guests have more opportunity to join the programs aside from their work and study commitments. Srila Gurudeva only gave darshan briefly on both Friday and Saturday along with a few initiations. Friday afternoon was another beautiful sankirttan though the streets of Saint Petersburg. As our sankirttan party was starting out Srila Gurudeva was taking a tour of the city, and he came past in his car to see our party.
Saturday afternoon was the weekly program at the temple where guests are invited to come and experience darshan, arati, a lecture, sweet congregational chanting and an earlier, scheduled mahaprasadam feast. Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj delivered a very beautiful lecture explaining Krishna conscious concepts from a scientific point of view, proving the essential foundation of the necessity of faith. Sripad Ashram Maharaj lead a particularly ecstatic sankirttan in the temple room, showing off his South American dance-steps and attracting everyone to begin dancing from one end of the kirttan hall to the other.
We were again blessed by a sunny day on Sunday and the newly arrived Sripad Janardan Maharaj joined Sripad Ashram Maharaj to lead our devotees onto the streets with our sankirttan party. For two hours they both lead ecstatic sankirttan with Sripad Janardan Maharaj notably dancing very beautifully as he sang along the last stretch, back to our vehicles. Upon returning to our temple, guests had already arrived and Sripad Avadhut Maharaj was ushering us into the temple room to begin the kirttan. Srila Gurudeva entered the temple hall and delivered a beautiful lecture about the "aradhyo bhagavan" sloka of Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur. He then sang sweetly and took his leave as the arati began. Ecstatic sankirttan ensued and afterwards everyone was feeling very happy and fortunate to be able to participate in this wonderful gift of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, in the shelter of Srila Gurudeva and his dear sannyasis.
Today Gurudeva was feeling quite well and gave darshan and initiations in the morning. He came to the temple in the afternoon, first sitting in the outside gazebo and taking in some fresh air. He then entered the temple and began speaking about Jayadeva Goswami and how his deities were Sri Sri Radha-Madhava. He mentioned various songs of Jayadeva, Chandidas and Vidyapati that Mahaprabhu loved. Particularly he commented that we are singing a few of their general songs, but not trying to sing or enter into any of their higher compositions. Then Srila Gurudeva posed for several photos with the devotees before retiring to his quarters.

Sri Krishna Janmastami was beautifully held here in Saint Petersburg led by our beloved Srila Gurudeva. Srila Govinda Maharaj has been giving darshan every day and speaking very beautifully for up to an hour at a time. About a dozen initiations happened over the Janmastami-Nandotsava festival days and over 100 devotees and guests from Saint Petersburg attended the festivals. Gurudeva came to the temple hall after 5pm as a local musician played traditional Indian music and everyone gathered for the ceremony. One of the Russian devotees performed a dance routine about Sri Krishna for the pleasure of Srila Gurudeva and everyone present. Then Srila Gurudeva sang the kirttan 'Yasomati Nandana" and began his lecture. He mentioned the essential aspects of Krishna's birth and very sweetly captivated everyone as he chanted and discussed various verses from the Srimad Bhagavatam. Having spoken for almost an hour he finished his talk singing "Jaya Radha Madhava". Srila Gurudeva took his leave and then Sripad Goswami Maharaj and Sripad Ashram Maharaj spoke briefly before it was time for the evening arati led with full energy and enthusiasm by Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj. Everyone was dancing as we all chanted, celebrating the Lord's divine appearance. After the arati Sripad Vijay Raman Prabhu had scheduled the prasadam for everyone, but first there was the Tulasi parikrama to be done. Through the inspiration of Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj, we took the sankirttan outside and around the whole temple. Perhaps 30 devotees joined in a very lively kirttan that rounded the temple 5 or 6 times and then stopped outside, near the front gate and beside the prasadam servery. Grand sankirttan continued led by Sripad Ashram Maharaj and then Sripad Avadhut Maharaj was handed the microphone and everyone was jumping enthusiastically as the kirttan reached its finale. Afterwards everyone took sumptuous prasadam and then rejoined the program in the temple room where Sripad Avadhut Maharaj sang and gave a lecture in Russian. By 11pm it was time for the fireworks outside on the beach by the Baltic Sea. Most devotees watched from the temple veranda, giggling as Sripad Avadhut Maharaj lit up the fireworks with a long stick that had a large flame on the end, then swiftly ran away in his saffron robes as the fireworks began to explode. This concluded a very wonderful Janmastami day. Sri Nandotsava was equally beautiful with Srila Gurudeva again giving morning darshan including initiations. Then in the afternoon Sripad Ashram Maharaj led us into the streets of Saint Petersburg on nagar sankirttan. We chanted through the streets, to a very receptive public, with Makhon Chor Prabhu stopping several times to explain to the public why we were there. He beautifully talked about Mahaprabhu's gift of Nama-sankirttan and invited everyone to participate. After two hours of dancing and chanting we returned to our starting place and completed the procession. After a long drive through peak hour traffic we arrived back at the temple to join the evening arati and lecture by Sripad Srutasrava Prabhu translated by Sripad Avadhut Maharaj. Tasty wholesome prasadam finished off a very wonderful two-day event.

Srila Govinda Maharaj has safely, happily and smoothly arrived in Saint Petersburg, bringing joy to the hearts of all of the Russian devotees, as well as the visiting dignitaries from around the world. Srila Gurudeva's flight was in his own words "worry-free" and "clear of any disturbance," to his own expressed amazement. Having arisen early on the morning of his flight, he felt strong and travelled 10 hours on the plane along with the extra transit time to arrive in Saint Petersburg late in the evening yesterday. He reached the temple about 10:30pm last night to be greeted by 60-70 devotees loudly chanting in sankirttan on the street in front of the temple. After prasadam and some rest overnight, Gurudeva joined the morning program in the temple with the devotees and gave a lecture for nearly an hour before the beautiful Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga-Radha-Madhavasundarjiu. After further rest, prasadam and meeting with devotees, Gurudeva again gave darshan to everyone in his darshan hall beside his residence this afternoon. He sang four songs and answered the heartfelt questions of the sincere devotees present. During his darshan this afternoon Sripad Ashram Maharaj arrived from Mexico giving much pleasure to all present, particularly Srila Gurudeva. Certainly everyone in Saint Petersburg is looking forward to the nectarean flow of Hari-katha to come over the next several weeks from Srila Gurudeva and his sannyasis. Srila Gurudeva commented this morning, "What fear can one have with so many sannyasis present!?" The planned arrival of Sripad Janardan Maharaj in a few days will bring the sannyasi attendees to seven; Sripad Goswami Maharaj, Sripad Ashram Maharaj, Sripad Siddhanti Maharaj, Sripad Avadhut Maharaj, Sripad Bharati Maharaj and Sripad Madhava Maharaj are all here now nourishing the devotees and supporting Srila Gurudeva in his preaching efforts. Today's Harinam sankirttan was cancelled due to Gurudeva's darshan and also the very windy wet weather outside. But everyone is looking forward to grand sankirttan over the coming days and to continue the glorious preaching efforts here in Russia headed and co-ordinated by Sripad Bhakti Bimala Avadhut Maharaj.

You can find the previous posts about the World Tour via the links in the sidebar.

The last few days have seen the end of Summer and the beginning of the Russian Autumn. Actually Ananda Vardhan Prabhu explained to me that now there is another season, a rainy season, just like in India. Certainly it's been raining regularly over the last few days but I wasn't sure if he was telling truth or not. He added that actually it rains for the next 3 months and then the rain gradually turns into snow... an exciting prospect from behind the double glazing of my warm room, that's for sure. As we sit outside in the midday sunshine taking prasadam, I am wrapped up with several jumpers while my Russian counterparts are walking around in T-Shirts and Indian kurtas. Within 10 minutes of prasadam I feel my hand is about ready to fall off. I'm starting to notice how most of the visiting dignitaries are taking prasadam indoors, looking out of their respective windows at the brave souls outside. So it's certainly going to be an adjustment for Srila Gurudeva and his party from Bangkok, which is mild, warm and temperate, to the constant waves of dark rain clouds riding the strong breezes blowing over our Lahta temple from the Baltic Sea.

I came to Saint Petersburg a few days back, to await the impending arrival of Srila Govinda Maharaj and to join the temple program and activities organised by Sripad Avadhut Maharaj, Sripad Madhava Maharaj, Sripad Vijay Raman Prabhu and the dedicated Russian servitors. One such dedicated servitor, Subala Sakha Prabhu came to India at the start of the year and returned to Saint Petersburg in February. Upon his return he started a brand new endeavour to take the books of our Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math into bookshops across the city of Saint Petersburg. Over the course of the 6 months or so to date around 500 books have been sold through 20 or 30 shops that are all ordering our books, and reordering them as they sell. To me this is a remarkable and wonderful effort of preaching to serious intelligent persons, and an excellent avenue that would be great to see attempted in other cities around the world.
Last night, Subala, Indubala dd, Amrita Krishna Prabhu and the other devotees here organised an official launch of the Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat Russian Edition in the central outlet of one of the largest chains of bookstores in Saint Petersburg. Sripad Goswami Maharaj attended and delivered a beautiful presentation of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the Krishna conception of divinity. An intelligent audience of 40-50 people asked questions for about an hour and Sripad Goswami Maharaj beautifully charmed and captivated them. Even midway through his talk, people were eagerly purchasing the large volume from our support staff. A video of Mahaprabhu's life was shown for 10 minutes and 10 minutes of chanting in kirttan rounded out a very successful program.

With Srila Govinda Maharaj's travel postponed, I find myself separate from the tour for some days. This weekend I stayed in our Moscow Ashram at Kiselnyy and we had some very nice programs with guests and devotees coming as possible to attend. The Sri Giriraj deity, usually presiding in Moscow, had taken a vacation to Saint Petersburg in expectation of the arrival of Srila Gurudeva, so we were without his presence. It is really very inspiring to see the humble service mood of the devotees here and to hear of their recent successful preaching endeavours in Moscow tied in with the Indian Independence anniversary celebrations.

The last two days have been very sweet in the association of Srila Gurudeva and the devotees. Many Malaysian devotees returned home yesterday morning, and spent some time with Srila Gurudeva before going. Gurudeva visited a buddhist temple not far from our centre here, and fed the large fish in the lake there. He took several photos including one of a large form of Lord Vishnu riding Sri Garuda which was above the entranceway to the temple. Unfortunately he couldn't climb all the stairs in order to go inside. This morning Srila Gurudeva came downstairs and sat in his darshan chair to inaugurate daily sankirttan in the centre. Together with the devotees we took turns to sing songs from the morning program for an hour and a half. More devotees arrived including Urmila and the visiting Chinese devotees accompanied by Sripad Yudhamanyu Prabhu. Afterwards Srila Gurudeva retired to his room, and the devotees took breakfast.
This afternoon Srila Gurudeva decided to go to Safari World, a wildlife park here in Bangkok. There were lions, bengal tigers, rhinoceros, giraffes, himalayan bears, zebras, and many other animals in a drive-through park, where the cars drive within a few metres of the animals as they wander around. Gurudeva and the devotees took several photos, with the lions and tigers although a little sleepy in the afternoon sun, of most interest.

Srila Gurudeva along with all the devotees here, celebrated the Disappearance Festival of Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj very beautifully yesterday. Joined by several of Srila Guru Maharaj's disciples including Sripad Bhakti Sudhir Goswami Maharaj, Sripad Srutasrava Prabhu, Sripad Yudhamanyu Prabhu, Sripad Anadi Krishna Prabhu, Sripad Parampada Prabhu and Sripad Aprakrita Prabhu along with family members, Srila Gurudeva led an intimate ceremony recounting the glories of Srila Guru Maharaj and his pre-eminent position in the Rupanuga sampradaya. He spoke extensively about Srila Guru Maharaj's desire to preach, his preaching activities in Sri Gaudiya Math, as well as his preaching desire after establishing Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. Although he was inclined towards a life of bhajan at that time, still he would accompany preaching parties to various areas, and also constantly encourage Srila Gurudeva and others to go out and preach the glorious conception of Mahaprabhu as given by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur in the line of Srila Rupa Goswami. Srila Govinda Maharaj sang the songs 'Sri Rupa Manjari pada' and 'ye anilo prema dhana,' and led the pushpanjali offering to Srila Guru Maharaj, after the devotees had offered arati to Srila Guru Maharaj. A sumptuous prasadam feast included some of Guru Maharaj's favourite dishes; muri, samosas, and others and the devotees were very happy to have the opportunity to worship Srila Guru Maharaj in the presence of his chosen successor, Srila Govinda Maharaj.
In the afternoon, Srila Gurudeva took a ride to town to see the decorations and celebrations of the city in honour of the Queen's Birthday. Returning in the evening, Gurudeva took his prasadam and rest. More devotees arrived to see him and offer their humble prayers at his lotus feet, and everyone associated well into the night on this most auspicious day.

Our second day here in Thailand was very relaxing for Srila Gurudeva. Through the morning he saw the many visiting devotees giving his merciful affectionate blessings and expressing how happy and surprised he was that so many devotees had been able to come to Bangkok. In the afternoon, he went out to the neighborhood on a scooter rented for him by Paramananda Prabhu. He rode around with many devotees in tow, and surveyed the green parklands and waterways nearby. Afterwards he returned for his evening prasadam and preparations for the grand festival the next day.

Everything came together very nicely for the grand 23rd World Tour of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. The first leg of the tour was a nicely timed midday flight on Jet Airways from Kolkata into Bangkok, Thailand. Many devotees came from Nabadwip to see Srila Govinda Maharaj off. Devotees had visited and called for several days in order to offer their wellwishes and affectionate obeisances.
We were fortunate to have a flight that was perhaps half-full and every care was taken for Srila Gurudeva, with a padded wheelchair all the way to the plane. A short flight (including a few delicious chum chums) and we were soon descending on the green landscapes of Thailand. We weren't quite ready for the reception, which was beautifully orchestrated by Sripad Paramananda Prabhu, our host here in Bangkok. He was inside the airport, meeting us up the ramp with garlands and officials, to ensure the smooth transit of our whole party through customs and baggage claim. We calmly passed a two hour cue at immigration to the head of the dignitaries line and very soon we were looking on as Sripad Srutasrava Prabhu pulled up with Srila Gurudeva's car, with Yadu Krishna Prabhu of Russia in another car behind. We were swiftly whisked away towards central Bangkok, only to meet an uncommon jam. After patiently working our way through the many toll booths, we came away from the centre of the city and were soon at the Paramananda Prabhu's house of residence.
It is a beautiful two-storey house, with ample room and comfortable decor. Srila Govinda Maharaj was received by around 30 devotees who had travelled mainly from Malaysia and China. He sat immediately in his chair giving darshan, quoting a few verses including sadhu sanga sadhu sanga sarvva sastre kaya, lava-matra sadhu-sanga sarvva siddhi haya, about the importance of getting the association of a devotee even very briefly. He chatted with everyone for around 30-40 mins before retiring to his quarters for prasadam and rest. Every arrangement was made and the devotees all happily gathered to take prasadam, catch up and sort out accomodation. This evening is a time of rest as we prepare for what promises to be a busy weekend with the Disappearance festival of Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj to be celebrated on Sunday.