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By Prema Sindhu Gauranga dasa
From November 29 to December 4, around 200 devotees eagerly gathered in Govardhan for the 10th annual VIHE Holy Name Retreat–all the way from South and North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, Russia, Israel, India, and even China. Giriraj Govardhan, “Haridas varya,” the topmost among the devotees of Lord Krishna is the perfect spiritual abode to retreat from the relentless material anxieties and reconnect with our spiritual selves. His Holiness Sacinandana Swami and His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu are offering this inspiring Holy Name Retreat every year to help devotees progress on to another level in the chanting of Japa.
The opening ceremony of the retreat started on the rooftop of an ashram overlooking the gracious form of Giri Govardhana bathed in the soft rays of the afternoon sun. The teachers, joined by
Her Grace Jagattarini Devi, pointed out our rare good fortune as we sat near Govardhana, who is a “mountain of blessings,” and chanted the holy names in the best devotional mood at our command. The teachers promised the devotees that the Holy name Retreat would be experience-oriented and that the participants could expect to have breakthrough experiences and deep revelations; as the retreat is designed to help remove obstacles, they would experience a positive transformation in their chanting. “This is the land of Krishna!Expect miracles to happen” warned His Holiness Sacinandana Swami in his introductory speech–thus setting the pace for a heart-transforming, miraculous atmosphere, which overwhelmed the devotees throughout the week.
Bhurijana Prabhu and Sacinandana Maharaja, both known for their sincere endeavors in bhakti, took the devotees on the boat of the holy name, invoking good winds through their profound insights into the art of chanting. Bhurijana Prabhu set the mood of sincerity and proper intention as he took everybody through a spiritual journey with Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s ’Songs of Saranagati’, while Sacinandana Swami opened the treasure box of tips and guidelines based on Sri Harinam Cintamani during his workshop ‘Chanting under the guidance of Srila Haridasa Thakura.’
It was emphasized in the sessions that we must have the mood of a servant while chanting the Holy names. Giriraja Himself takes pleasure in serving the devotees. Similarly we should serve the Holy Name to make Krishna happy. While chanting, we should maintain focus, and when the mind wanders, we should bring it back to the simple goal of being with Krishna in the form of the Maha Mantra. These simple instructions took on a new meaning in the association of our expert guides and of the sincere devotees all gathered for the same purpose of getting closer to Krsna. While chanting, we cannot keep our false ego aside unless Krishna helps us. We should pray to Krsna in the form of the Holy Name to allow us to get closer to Him. Begging help from Guru, Gauranga, the previous Acaryas, and the Vaisnavas, it seemed we were able to touch Krishna by hearing His Holy Names.
The retreat included a day reserved exclusively for getting drowned in ecstatic kirtana. Prestigious kirtaniyas such as His Holiness Sacinandana Swami, His Holiness Bhakti Bringa Govinda Swami,
His Holiness Indradyumna Swami, His Grace Bada Haridas Prabhu and His Grace Ekavira Prabhu led melodious and meditative kirtans that immersed everyone in the bliss of the nectarean ocean of the holy names of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna.
Srila Prabhupada has given us so many jewels in Krishna consciousness that it is impossible to count them all, but the jewel of the association of devotees is right there at the top. The experience of the potency of chanting in the association of so many wonderful senior devotees – all at one place – was so profound… Each kirtana drove us deeper and deeper into setting our focus on the holy names. The various kirtanas gave an opportunity for all devotees to get some taste for the holy names, and the
awe-inspiring classes of His Holiness Sacinandana Swami’s and His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu’s set the mood for devotees to cry out for the holy names like never before. The pouring rains that suddenly caught us unprepared at Surabhi Kunda at the very beginning of the kirtan day and the cold Vrindavana winter weather that ensued could not dampen the enthusiastic spirit of the gathered devotees—just like that of the Vrajavasis who took shelter of Giriraja five thousand years earlier.
With yet another day of intense hearing and workshops, His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu continued his session on ‘Songs of Saranagati’, leading us to understand that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had put the complete essence of all the scriptures in these songs. Saranagati means ‘turning toward Krishna’, just like the cowherd boys took complete shelter of Krishna during the forest fire. His Holiness Sacinandana Swami’s experience-oriented chanting workshop enlightened the devotees with a prayerful mood for chanting inspired from various prayers by Vaisnava Acaryas. We learnt to chant with body, mind and a prayerful heart.
The retreat also took us to Ter Kadamba – the place so dear to the hearts of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, where Srila Rupa Goswami composed His Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, handed down to us by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada as The Nectar of Devotion. At that most holy place we got the opportunity to chant 64 rounds in the cooling shade of Srila Rupa Goswami’s bhajana kutira. With the many guidelines given to us by our teachers, we were equipped to go deep into chanting japa.
Chanting with advanced devotees helps us call out to the Lord with sincere faith and desire and that, in turn, changes us from deep within the core of our heart, transforming our abstract faith into something more physical and tangible. As every part of your body is engaged in the chanting, something miraculous happens. For that short span of time, everything around us fades away. The Hare Krishna Maha Mantra attracts the mind, cools the senses, and fills the heart with love of the Supreme. Just chanting out loud on our own gives us a chance to taste the Holy Names and enjoy the relief and calm it brings, but doing so under expert guidance can bring about amazing results.
In this way, with a week of deep spiritual discussions, workshops on mantra chanting, meditation, and prayer, the hearts of the participants transformed whilst the Holy Name became the focal point of the week. It was very enthusing and inspiring to be able to focus only on the spiritual needs of the soul by consciously aiming to plug out of the material world and plug into a new dimension of reality – the reality of the soul in its relationship with Krishna. This relationship is easily established through chanting the holy names in the association of sincere spiritual seekers in the sacred land of Vraja, where unconditional mercy is shed from all sides on one who genuinely tries to connect to Radha and Krishna.
We humbly offer all these experiences and our gratitude at the lotus feet of His Holiness Sacinandana Swami and His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu, who have inspired retreats such as these to sprout all over the world for the devotees to come together and deepen their appreciation and love of Sri Nama Prabhu.
About the author:
Premasindhu Gauranga das is a disciple of H.H. Jayapataka Swami. He came in touch with ISKCON in Pune in 2007 and joined full-time in ISKCON Juhu in 2010 where he served the BBT for 4 years. He now serves at the VIHE.