Hare Krsna Prabhus,

We're in the middle of the Mayapur Festival in Sridham Mayapur. Today is the third day of the Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama, and there are two parties going separately (walking an average of five miles a day) to many of the different holy places commemorating the pastimes of Gaura Nitai. About three thousand devotees accompanied by eleven sannyasis are taking part in this most ecstatic event.

On the second day, after Jayapataka Swami spoke about the Deity of Hari-Hara, a Deity that is half Siva and half Visnu, he asked if anyone in the crowd (of about a thousand devotees) would like to volunteer to do a five-minute skit about the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. He needed seven people. After no one came forward, I mentioned that there were seven sannyasis on the stage, and maybe they could do it.

They agreed,but they needed five minutes backstage to learn their lines, so Maharaja asked me to speak about book distribution during that time. I told the devotees about a pastime of Lord Siva and Parvati in which they went to one village dressed as ordinary village people.

While they were walking around a beggar came and asked for a donation. Lord Siva said he didn't have anything, but Parvati told him he should give something. He ended up giving him a watermelon. The beggar was not very satisfied, however, because he didn't like watermelon, but he took it anyway thinking he could get something for it in the village. He found someone to give a few paise for it. Then he went on his way. When the person that bought the watermelon cut it open, he was surprised to find it filled with priceless jewels.

The beggar that had received the melon didn't know the great value of what he had been given so he practically just gave it away. This is also the situation that we find when we distribute books: people receive these great treasures of knowledge, but because of not knowing what is the priceless value of them they give them to someone else or throw them away or keep them in their house for years and years but never read them. The duty of a sankirtan devotee is to try to help them understand how important the book is so that they don't make the mistake of the beggar.

Then the swamis came back on stage (they were Jayapataka Swami, Kavicandra Swami, Gopal Krsna Maharaja, Umapati Swami, Mahavisnu Swami (British), Bhaktisiddhanta Swami, and Bhakti Vrajendranandana Swami.

A drunkard comes out barely able to walk (Mahavisnu Swami). A thief sees him and decides to rob him (Kavicandra Swami), which he does but the drunkard is somehow able to stop him and even kills him. Then the yamadutas come to take him away (Jayapataka Swami and Bhakti Vrajendranandana Swami, but before they can reach him Lord Siva (Umapati Swami) comes and chants in his ear: "Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga!"

The thief becomes purified and the Visnudutas (Gopal Krsna Maharaja and Bhaktisiddhanta Swami) arrive on the scene and tell the yamadutas that they're in the wrong place at the wrong time. The thief becomes a devotee and goes back to Godhead.

This was all done spontaneously, so the devotees really appreciated it.

Gaura Gaura Gaura Hari!

© dipika.org April 2, 2003