By Prem Sindhu Gauranga Das
The chanting of the Holy Names of Lord Krishna is the supreme panacea for the age of Kali. Those who chant attentively with a sincere feeling will carry the purity and the ability to influence and create a lasting change in their own lives as well as that of others in the misguided civilization of this dark age. Small wonder that devotees are constantly encouraged to participate in programmes like the Holy Name retreats to help them with their chanting and thus lead their lives closer to Krishna.
From 11th to 13th April, an enthusiastic and energetic group of 60 devotees arrived in the Holy Dhama of Govardhana for a Holy name retreat under the guidance of H.H. Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami and H.G. Srivasa Prabhu from Africa. The devotees in attendance were from several countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Mauritius, Malaysia, Brazil and India.
They came to the shelter of Haridasavarya Govardhana, the greatest of the devotees of Lord Krishna, to receive spiritual impartations, to be touched by the Holy presence of H.H. Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami and to get motivated for spreading the Holy names in their nations. The retreat offered the participants a dynamic mix of spiritual enlightenment and exciting spiritual visits to various holy places in Govardhana.
The first day of retreat began with a talk by H.H. Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami. Maharaja taught the devotees the spiritual technology of chanting attentive japa. He emphasized that we should never chant japa alone. Before chanting, we should invite our Spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, the Acharyas, the Six Goswamis and Srila Haridasa Thakura to help us in our japa. The session ended in the note that Harinama Prabhu is our only shelter and is like our armor without which we should never step out in the battlefield of material existence.
The next day started with an early morning chanting session. The morning program was followed by a wonderful discourse by Maharaja at Govinda Kunda, the site where Lord Krishna came to deliver milk to Srila Madhvendra Puri as he was chanting the pure names. Sitting in the shade of the Kadamba and Tamalatrees, full of chirping parrots, devotees heard from Maharaja that we cannot chant with feeling if we are comfortable with material life and to be able toimprove the quality of our chanting, we should trychantingsome extra rounds free from the pressure of completing them, after we have duly done our 16 rounds.
All through the retreat, a wonderful spread of delicious prasada was served by the loving and caring devotees of the ISKCON Govardhana ashrama. Devotees paid obeisances at the Pushpa Samadhi of H.H. Tamala Krishna Maharaja and thanked him for securing such a wonderful place for the devotee community in the close association of Shri Giriraja. Later in the afternoon the devotees from Africa performed tumultuous kirtans which made all devotees to dance joyfully. Thereafter, H.G. Srivasa prabhu beautifully spoke about an analogy from the seventh canto which says that the soul is like an arrow which is shot toward its target, Krishna, by the bow of the Holy names of the Lord. Prabhu also delineated some principles like, praying to the Panca-Tattva, pronouncing syllables clearly, seeking the association of sincere chanters, eliminating external disturbances and constantly reminding ourselves that we might leave this body at any moment.
On the next morning after another enlightening session by Maharaja, devotees headed toward the Uddhava Kunda. It is said that if someone performs sankirtana in this sacred place with love then Shri Uddhava, Krishna’s dear most friend in Dwarka appears there. Staying true to this prophecy, H.H. Bhakti Dhira Damodara maharaja led dancing kirtans for an hour and a half which he called as the “soul shake-down party”. He further explained that Harinama is the best spiritual technology for controlling envy and when we don’t serve Harinama properly, we become complicated devotees. Some more spiritual technologies like, repenting for our past misdeeds, crying for forgiveness, fasting on Ekadashi tithis, praying incessantly and chanting in the presence of advanced devotees like Tulasi Devi and Srila Prabhupada were explored. In the evening session, devotees shared very positive testimonies on the impact that the retreat had made in their lives.
The retreat wrapped up the next morning with all the devotees doing the Govardhana parikrama with the vow of chanting good japa, more japa.
In these few days, the participants made great new friends, forming lifelong friendships, and also ventured into some unforgettable experiences. They had opportunities to learn in depth about the all-attractive and all-merciful, Sri Nama Prabhu, the true most friend of all living entities. The devotees parted with the most rewarding, uplifting and life-changing moments that had transformational effects upon their chanting. Certainly, as they all expressed, the holy name retreat would remain a memorable event of their lives and they would return again, in the future, to retreat and make better their japa.