Newsletter March 2021

Like so many things during this time, this year‘s festival was different from others. Only a limited number of visitors were able to come to the temple room, doing so by appointment and under hygiene regulations, to see Nityananda directly on the altar and to watch the abishek. However, thanks to modern technology, many more people were able to participate in this wonderful festival and obtain the mercy of Nityananda. The Pujaris, as always, had decorated the altar most tastefully to the delight of Radha and Krishna. Although only the „pre-registered“ devotees were allowed onto the altar, somehow the opportunity to watch the Abhishek live, without having to struggle for oxygen and a seat, was very, very much appreciated and happily attended by the people present. The younger generation (Hari Vyasadeva and Gour Krishna) delighted everyone with their sensitive and rousing kirtan.

In the evening, the radiant full moon, Balarama‘s „torchlight“ as Mahanidhi Swami had once said, appeared in its majestic tranquillity over the tall forest, outshining a fulfilling day of inspiring lectures, kirtans, abisheka and prasadam. But above it all, we missed the interaction with the guest devotees who usually arrive here at festival times, but the internet provided quite different opportunities for that, which otherwise fell short. On the next day there were many extraordinary presentations on the occasion of Sacinandana Swami‘s birthday, all shown by zoom on the big screen in the temple room. This gave a direct insight into the many service possibilities that devotees around the world were doing or had invented (soup distribution for the homeless and needy in NYC at Covid times, song presentation with electric guitar from New Zealand, vacation travel accompaniment of young people in a bus across the USA, the Braj Care Project in Vrindavan, Bhagavati‘s „round trip in Vrindavan“ etc.). Very creative and inspiring!