Lost in the crowd.
We arrived at Kolkata airport and while waiting for our luggage meet another pilgrim heading to Mayapur, the sacred center of bhakti yoga in West Bengal. Her name is Krishna Mala, and she is from Istanbul. There in no temple there, but she has a small yoga studio where she teaches yoga, healing arts and Krishna consciousness.
The next morning, I attend mangal arati, the 4.30am kirtan, and worship service at the Temple. I am not alone. There are at least 5,000 other pilgrims in the huge kirtan hall and I am feeling the pinch. Being used to small crowds so early in the morning at DC–5 to 10 people at our kirtan–I have some trouble adjusting. I move to the edge and observe. I’m feeling lost in the crowd and back away.
And then I see her, Krishna Mala from Istanbul, right in the center of the crowd. She is beaming, completely relishing the company of thousands, and the energy of the huge chorus of voices chanting the maha-mantra. She is totally lost in the crowd, lost in the moment, and experiencing great joy. She moves in closer. She rarely is allowed to have loud kirtan in Istanbul, and never is it with 5000 others!
That small vision snaps me out of my petty selfishness and I begin to feel gratitude. How much I take for granted my place in the world, where I can freely and publicly be a devotee of Krishna. In Istanbul and other places one has to be careful. Bhakti-related spiritual practices are more hidden, more guarded. But here in Mayapur, it’s everywhere, it’s open, and it’s exhilarating.
I’m still not a huge crowd person. I still stand at the edge but that doesn’t matter anymore. The crowds are just what Krishna Mala needs. And I need them too.
By Ananda Dasi (Community President of Iskcon Washington)