Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Photos from Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance Day 2017 at…
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Photos from Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance Day 2017 at ISKCON-London.
Please find below photos from Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance Day 2017 at the ISKCON-London Radha-Krishna Temple.
Harinama sankirtan and an Abhishek were also performed.
Slideshow (please turn on sound): https://goo.gl/6dtdiR
Gallery: https://goo.gl/KBPbCT
With best wishes, Hare Krishna, David.

Vaishnava Songs App. A Music App for Devotees. Vaishnav Songs…
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Vaishnava Songs App.
A Music App for Devotees.
Vaishnav Songs gives you instant access to all devotional songs.
Just hit play to stream anything you like.
Promo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q-R-vxhfhk
As every non-devotee has some kind of music app, we’ll have one for devotees too! It will help us to murmur and remember more Vaishnav bhajans which can be sung now and then. We are all very grateful to our great Vaishnava acharyas for compiling such nice bhajans for us.
This app will definitely add an extra bit to our devotional practice.
Download it here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.krishna.vaishnavsong
Happy listening Vaishnav Bhajans!

Iskcon Silicon Valley – Srila Prabhupad’s Vyas puja 2017…
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Iskcon Silicon Valley – Srila Prabhupad’s Vyas puja 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “The essence of all Vedic knowledge—comprehending the three kinds of Vedic activity, the Vedic hymns, and the processes for satisfying the demigods—is included in the eight syllables Hare Krishna Hare Krishna. This is the reality of all Vedanta. The chanting of the holy name is the only means to cross the ocean of nescience.” (Narada-pancharatra)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/t2jwKS

The glories and importance of distributing the Bhagavad Gita.I…
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The glories and importance of distributing the Bhagavad Gita.
I am your servant Sri Bhakti Das from Chile, please accept my humble obeisances. I hope you are fine.
I would like to share with you a recent ORISSAPOST newspaper article (Indian Newspaper from Orissa).
I spoke about the glories and importance of distributing the Bhagavad Gita, the greatness of Srila Prabhupada’s legacy, our service in Chile, etc.

Becoming Krishna conscious. Srila Prabhupada thoroughly explains…
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Becoming Krishna conscious.
Srila Prabhupada thoroughly explains the simple technique of becoming KC. This is so relevant for all householders:
“So our life should be so formed that in our every activity there will be God consciousness. That is the technique of yoga-sthaḥ. You haven’t got to separately being seated in meditation as yoga, generally as we understand. Now, how much you can devote your time to meditation? Suppose one hour in the morning or one hour in the evening you can devote. But if you mold your life in such a way that always, twenty-four hours, you are in meditation, that is the platform of yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi. I am earning for the Supreme Lord. Then, when I earn, I bring things for cooking, I am thinking, “Oh, this thing will be cooked for Lord.” Now, your wife cooks, and she is also very clean because it is being cooked for Lord Kṛṣṇa. You see? Now, as far as I am concerned here, I also cook myself my food and offer to Kṛṣṇa, and therefore I ask my friends that unless it is offered to Kṛṣṇa, you please do not take it. You see? Sometimes I see that in your country, while cooking, they taste. They taste. But I request them that don’t taste before the cooking is finished. After cooking is finished and when it is offered to the Deity, then you take as much as you like, as much as you like. So that means there is God consciousness, that “This thing is being cooked for the Lord.” The cooking will go on. If you don’t think of God, you require cooking because you want to eat. The cooking is there in the program. But if you think that this cooking is done for God, then your God consciousness is there. The cooking you cannot avoid. As a householder you have to cook for yourself, you have to cook for your children, you have to cook for somebody else or for your own self. Just like I am cooking. I have no here family or children, but I am cooking for myself. So cooking you cannot stop. But if you cook with the understanding that “This foodstuff is being cooked for the Lord. The Lord may be offered first; then we shall take,” this is God consciousness. This is God consciousness. But is it very difficult thing? Anyone can accept this. Anyone can do it. It is not… Because your cooking business is not stopped. Simply the mode of thinking has to be changed. That’s all. A small technique, that “I am earning for God. I am cooking for God. I am eating also for God. I am eating also for God.” How is that eating you are…? “Now, because my body is dedicated to the service of the Lord, if I don’t eat sufficiently to keep my body fit, then how can I work?” So your eating is also God consciousness. Your sleeping is also God consciousness. So that is the way. We have to mold our life’s activities. Now, when I think that “I have to keep this body fit for working for God,” so then that is not, I mean to… That is not bodily conception of life. Just like when you think that “My car has to be kept very nicely so that I can take nice work for it,” then you are not identified with your car; you simply want to take some service of the car. Similarly, if you think that “This body is required for acting, for working on behalf of the Supreme Lord; therefore I must keep the body fit to work,” so that is not your identification with the body. But if I use this body for sense gratification and therefore I make my body stout and strong to enjoy sense enjoyment, that is the cause of my bondage.“

Lecture given on Bg 2.48-49; April 1st 1966

Downtown Miracle (1 min video)
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Downtown Miracle (1 min video)
Standing on a corner surrounded by giant skyscrapers, men and women in business suits, cars honking their horns, and the scattered homeless people, we felt a bit peculiar handing out the Bhagavad Gita to all onlookers. In such a situation, the only thing we could do was simply pray for a miracle. I was accompanied by veteran book distributor Bhrgupati Prabhu, and although the environment was bitter and harsh, his association kept me clear headed and healthy. As we were showing this golden book to all the busy and fast walking pedestrians in search of monetary wealth, we were met with overwhelming rejection. It was at this time that our prayer got deeper, and Krishna began to unfold a wonderful event I will remember endlessly. What happened next was a clear example of the Supersoul intervening and leading a person to the right path.
Standing at our crosswalk, the light turned green, and on came a new flow of foot traffic towards our direction. Suddenly, one young male student began to slow and stop in the middle of the intersection in disbelief. As he moved closer, he began to jump up and down in great excitement! As he proceeded towards our book display, he grabbed the Bhagavad Gita from our hands, held it up triumphantly high, and began shouting, “Oh My God! This is It!” My partner and I looked at each other with great happiness to know something extraordinary was getting set to unfold. We proceeded to ask the male student, “I’m guessing you’ve heard of this book! Please tell us why you’re so excited, because it’s making us excited!” He then began to reveal his amazing story. To summarize, just two days ago, this young male student began to meditate, until he reached a state of what he called “trance”. In his tranquility, he suddenly heard two words which he has never heard before: “Bhagavad Gita”. This caused him to open his eyes immediately, search on Google for these same words, and he came to know of an ancient spiritual text written over 5,000 years ago. Now he was determined to find this divine literature, and through God’s arrangement, we happened to greet him with effulgent treasure less than 48 hours later.
Sometimes we may not feel like going out on book distribution, but just know Krishna can empower you in many special ways, and lead you to the most amazing experiences. I’ve attached a short video clip of the interaction. The male student was so shy and shocked that he could hardly speak, so his female friend, who also got The Bhagavad Gita, shared the story.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
YS,
– Jaya Chaitanya Dasa

Janmastami celebrated at ISKCON Gaya. On 15th August, Janmastami…
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Janmastami celebrated at ISKCON Gaya.
On 15th August, Janmastami was celebrated at ISKCON Gaya (Bihar) campus very gorgeously. More than 10,000 people attended and enjoyed bliss in whole day program. Special cultural program at evening started with Aarti at 7 pm followed by a drama entitled ‘Advent of Krishna’. A lecture was delivered by Jagdish Shyam Das (Manager, ISKCON Gaya). He said if we celebrate this type of festival for the pleasure of Krishna, people will remember Krishna more, which is solution to all permanent problems. He also said if Krishna is satisfied then whole universe will be satisfied. Musical kirtan and Krishna bhajan was performed by a devotee team from Vrindavan in which some Russian devotees were present. MLA Rajiv Ranjan, DPS chairman Sanjeev Kumar, some big business personnel like Mr Shiv Kailash Dalmiya, Usha Dalmiyan, Sushila Dalmiyan, senior physician Dr SK Panda and many other respected personalities were the guests of honor in the program. More than 56 ekadasi bhoga items offered followed by abhishek. At 12 midnight Krishna Janma muhurt was celebrated with crackers and cake cutting. The inhabitants of Gaya said this kind of festival is first time in Gaya history as there was not even a moment when they could forget Krishna. Prasadam was distributed whole day.
More than 10k worth Srila Prabhupada books distributed.

On 16th August Srila Prabhupad appearance day was celebrated. Devotees started Vaisnav bhajan at 10 AM followed by pushpanjali, bhoga offering and aarti. Feast prasadam was distributed. At evening temple devotees along with outside devotees glorified Srila Prabhupada. DPS principal Mr Abhishek Kumar and DAV vice principal Dr Anita Sinha were the guests of honor. A play on ‘Contribution of Srila Prabhupada’ was performed….Jai Srila Prabhupada

Lord Krishna’s Appearance Day at Golokadham Germany 2017…
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Lord Krishna’s Appearance Day at Golokadham Germany 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Pure devotees chant the Hare Krishna mantra, and simply by hearing this chanting from a purified transcendental person, one is purified of all sinful activities, no matter how lowborn or fallen one may be. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.126 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/yrVCGL

Srila Prabhupada Vyas Puja Offering 2017 – ISKCON Pune (9 min…
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Srila Prabhupada Vyas Puja Offering 2017 – ISKCON Pune (9 min video)
In 1965, a 69-year-old spiritual teacher from India arrives in the West and settles among the hippies of New York’s Lower East Side. From a tiny storefront, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami starts a revolution of consciousness influencing tens of thousands in the US and worldwide. This is a small offering made by ISKCON Pune Devotees as a Homage to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami on his 121st Birth Anniversary and on completing the 51st Anniversary of ISKCON. Vyasa-puja is an annual celebration by devotees of Krishna to offer homage to their guru, or spiritual teacher. Krishna says, “ one who claims to be My devotee is not so. Only a person who claims to be the devotee of My devotee is actually My devotee.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/znqL7v

My dear divine Master Srila Prabhupada, please accept my most…
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My dear divine Master Srila Prabhupada, please accept my most humble obeisances unto your lotus like feet.
Citraka dasa: A distinguished astrologer, after studying your personality declared that you were a person capable of building a home in which the whole world could live peacefully.
And as a matter of fact, in due course of time, you did create that house which now exists, open for all. It is like an extension of the original abode of the Lord, Goloka Vrindavana.
It is not a physical space, ashram or farm community. It is a reality existing in sound. It is the sound which originally emanated from Lord Chaitanya and His associates, like the six Goswamis, and was further expanded by your translations of Srila Vyasadeva’s Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita and the rest of the cream of the Vedas, into western languages.

Yes, the sound of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and the teachings of the Srimad Bhagavatam are our real and eternal home. The Lord has chosen this way to be present in this age of Kali, in the form of the transcendental sound of His Holy Names. And the whole world can reside there.
The key you gave to enter and live in it is the sankirtan method of being constantly in contact with this sound – by hearing it, vibrating it, individually or collectively, reading it or writing it. As long as all these are performed with rapt attention.

And now, thanks to your sublime service, millions of fortunate souls who come in contact with your blessed influence, are meeting like this the Lord Himself and experience again their relation with Him. Each one according to the humility, faith, sincerity and devotion which masters by his practice of your sacred instructions.

When I think of you crossing the ocean in a small cabin of Jaladuta, suffering repeatedly heart attacks at such an old age, I become overwhelmed by strong emotions of gratitude and love. It is thanks to this heroism and sacrifice of yours that now I am saved.

And then, later, remembering when you had to support a year of struggle in the cold of New York, with no money or friends, or even warm clothes, I am crying for your sacrifice and for the lack of mine.

You wrote: “Vaisnava is never alone. When I first came to the United States I was seemingly alone for one year. But I never felt alone. I always felt the presence of my Guru Maharaja. Myself, I was cooking, I was printing books, I was selling books, everything seemingly alone. But I did not lose my determination. Actually, you should know this, you are never alone.” (Srila Prabhupada letter, December 27, 1974)
With such example, Srila Prabhupada, you taught me how to take shelter of the Lord even in the midst of the greatest difficulties.

Although your body was in such a, practically always, painful condition, you never manifested any symptom of suffering because you were absorbed in a state of transcendental consciousness. You were engaged intensely in your preaching mission while keeping your body’s maintenance reduced to the absolute minimum.
Thank you, Srila Prabhupada, if you hadn’t done so where would I be now?

It is beyond description the benefit that your movement has generated and it still does every single day! Please allow me to present, for your pleasure, a “panoramic view” of your Iskcon as it stands today.

After the unprecedented worldwide celebrations for the 50 years of Iskcon, attended by heads of state and politicians of important countries like UK, India and others, filled up stadiums and venues like the Netaji Indoor Stadium of Kolkata and the famous Sydney Opera House of Australia, with Gala Dinners in Washington D.C. and Houston full with VIPs, Iskcon stepped into its 51th year of its assistance to your missionary work with full enthusiasm for further growth and accomplishments.

The first and most worthy attainment of all is its unity and strict adherence to your instructions. Your Governing Body Commissioners have found the way to cooperate and engage in an ever improving and refining work of legislation for the smooth functioning of your worldwide society.

They also have made arrangements ensuring that in the future there will be a smooth transition to the next generation of qualified leaders with the help of the GBC College for Leadership Development. And there is an ongoing work for the monumental task of writing a constitution for Iskcon.

More than 532 million of your books have been distributed so far and are still being translated in new languages and distributed even in countries where it was unthinkable previously, like China, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan and other Muslim nations!

New ways of distributing them have been introduced by stalwarts like Vaisesika Prabhu, as for example, placing them in Motels or presenting and distributing them in bulk to teachers and students of different schools and other educational institutions.

New devotees are made and new strategies are being developed for attracting, training and guiding them into the process of initiation, like those existing in Bhaktivedanta Manor and Krishna House in Gainesville headed by Kalakantha Prabhu. As for today, there are more than 75,000 ISKCON devotees who have received initiation.

There are also about 2,000 home study (Bhakti Vriksa) groups who meet regularly (consisting of some 30,000 devotees). The worshipers who attend the ISKCON centers annually are calculated to be about 7 million.

Many big new temples are being constructed all over the globe, with some of them being architectural wonders like the one in Ujjain and Tirupati by Bhakti Charu and Gopal Krishna Swamis. Presently there are more than 650 Iskcon temples in over 100 countries.

The superb Temple of the Vedic Planetarium in Mayapur is quickly becoming a reality under the guidance of Ambarisha Prabhu. It promises to be a world attraction making Lord Chaitanya’s birth place famous and known to all.

There are street Harinama parties practically 24/7 in all the seven continents, even in Antarctica where two devotees held the first kirtan and distributed your books there for the first time, placing the Bhagavad-gita As It Is in several Antarctic research stations. There are at least 1,000 public Harinama chanting parties going out on the streets worldwide every week.

Padayatra parties with bullock-carts and Gaura-Nitai murtis keep traveling in many countries of the planet, attracting the attention of the local media and thus creating favorable impressions to the populace. Just for the 50th anniversary of Iskcon 64 of them were performed. To this date, Padayatra devotees have walked 210,000 km on Padayatra Worldwide, visiting 52.000 villages in 110 countries.

Hundreds of Rathayatra and other similar festivals are taking place without interruption all over the globe. More than 6,000 Vaishnava festivals are held every year globally in ISKCON Centers. There is also the mobile Festival of India team which travels all over the US and with its near to perfect equipment sets up festivities for all the temples in that big country.

New community farm projects with cow protection are being set up and the Agricultural Ministry has been created to guide and lead them towards the establishment of Daivi Varnashrama Dharma, headed by Bhakti Raghava Swami. Presently Iskcon counts 65 established farms and eco-villages.

Restaurants are being opened all over the world. These restaurants, other than being a source of income for the missionary activity, have contributed dramatically to create a favorable impression for your movement due to the first class preparations they offer and their reasonable prices. There are 110 vegetarian restaurants run by Iskcon devotees so far.

Free prasadam distribution to millions is going on daily. Just the ISKCON Food Relief Foundation – Annamrita, which recently won a prestigious National Quality Award, feeds 1.2 million kids every day with Krishna prasadam. So far Iskcon has given out 3 billion plates of prasadam worldwide.

There are programs developed for reaching out to all kinds of people. The politicians, the scientists, the celebrities, the university professors and academics, the businessman and entrepreneurs, the prison inmates, the yoga practitioners, the woofers and the youth. Some of the devotees have academic titles, like Radhika Ramana, Garuda, Shaunaka Rishi and Yogesvara prabhus and through their preaching have drastically increased the appreciation of many well-established intellectuals for the Vedic tradition.

Your Bhaktivedanta Institute is still preaching to the scientists with Drutakarma and Rasaraja Prabhus being by now known and appreciated speakers in many science related events.

Sound and safe schools are functioning in many communities ensuring the proper education for the children of the devotees like the Mayapur Academy, the TKG Academy in Dallas and others. Presently there are 54 Iskcon educational institutions, including primary schools, secondary schools and colleges. There are some schools which have gained support from the government, as for example in UK, in which even the Queen of England paid a visit and expressed appreciation for the education given.

A group of qualified devotees has formed the team of Child Protection Office assuring the proper conduct among adults and children within the walls of Iskcon society.

The ISKCON Youth Ministry, headed by Manorama prabhu, is organizing annual bus tours so that the newer generations of devotees can travel together and visit several Iskcon temples, engage in devotional service and associate with advanced devotees.

An other branch of the movement, the Bhaktivedanta Research Center, headed by Hari-sauri prabhu, has taken up the mission of finding and preserving all the scriptures related to the Vaishnava Gaudiya tradition assuring thus their preservation for the future generations.

In many countries the movement, thanks to the tireless work of the local devotees, has been legally recognized by the state authorities, with the status of a bonafide religious institution. Millions from the diaspora of Indians all over the world have accepted Iskcon as their shelter and spiritual authority.

The deity worship in your temples has been enhanced and kept authorized under the guidance of the deity ministry headed by Nrsimha Kavaca Prabhu.
In many temples, there are regular visits from local schools and many students having thus the opportunity to familiarize with the Hare Krishna movement.
Other temples, like Radhadesh in Belgium, have become touristic attractions and they have a steady flux of visiting guests who are given tours and taken care properly with nice facilities specially designed for them.

Arrangements have been made in several places for the care of aging devotees and their preparation for their departure from this world like the Bhaktivedanta Hospice in Vrindavan created by Giriraj Swami.

New books are being written by your disciples and followers, some of them becoming best-sellers, like one of Radhanath Swami, to expand your glory and make Krishna consciousness ever more accessible and known to the masses.

Japa retreats, kirtan melas, specialized seminars are being conducted regularly as also educational courses like Bhakti-sastri and others allowing a deeper cultivation of Bhakti for those inclined.

Many devotees are entering the sannyasa order of life, dedicating themselves completely in the preaching mission of your Iskcon after they have been selected and trained by the Iskcon Sannyasa Ministry headed by HH Prahladananda Swami.

Your followers have become expert in using the media and are producing many high-quality videos, musical productions as also professional theatrical and dancing performances, like the Bhaktivedanta players. Recently a new, professional movie about your life and achievements, “Hare Krishna!”, produced from your expert disciple and videographer Yadubara Prabhu and his wife Vishaka Devi Dasi, has been released and shown in regular movie theaters in the USA, proving to be a big success.

Ever new Krishna conscious paintings to illustrate your books are being produced and several Iskcon Art Museums have been set up for permanently hosting them like the ones in Radhadesh, Belgium, (Museum for Sacred Art ) and Villa Vrindavana, Italy.

All the several divisions of your BBT have been printing huge quantities of your books, some of them destined for specific sections of society, of rare value and beauty like the Bhagavad-gita illustrated, Krishna-art and others. All the printers now are after the BBT knowing well the number of books the Iskcon distributes every year.

The devotees have a strong presence on internet and are using expertly the social media for introducing and cultivating people online. Technical wonders, like live broadcasting of temple programs through the web, allow even those who do not reside close to a devotee community, to be nevertheless connected. Viewers can even make questions and interact with the speaker by calling in, transforming thus each temple program into a television studio, with few physically present and with the majority of the audience attending from home or from their work place.

An other branch of the movement, headed by Anuttama Prabhu, is organizing or participating regularly in Interfaith dialog events, to keep your movement in a proper and balanced relationship among the different religious denominations.

The property trustees, assigned by the GBC, make sure all the properties of Iskcon are held properly, all the legal procedures and requirements are observed and that no abuse of any kind is taking place.

The Vaishnavi Ministry is making sure that ladies within the movement are protected and that there is no possibility of exploitation.
The Ministry of Justice is handling any cases of unruly behaviors within the society and the ISKCON Dispute Resolution Office mediates when there are differences among vaishnavas.

These are the Ministries which are operating within Iskcon to serve your will:

Ministry of Communications
ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry
Ministry of Health and Welfare
Congregational Development Ministry
Vaishnavi Ministry
ISKCON Youth Ministry
Ministry of Sannyasa Services
Ministry of Book Distribution
Ministry of Cow Protection and Agriculture
Ministry of Padayatra
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice: ISKCON Dispute Resolution Office
Ministry of Fund Development
Sastric Advisory Council
ISKCON Property Office
ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection

Thus, dearest Srila Prabhupada, your mercy is being made available in an amplified way, allowing each and every individual to engage his mind, body and words in Lord Chaitanya’s movement and make his life perfect. Thanks to your dedicated disciples, who are acting on your behalf as your personified energies, each performing miracles in his area of responsibility, your beneficial influence is spreading far and wide all over the globe.

Which other movement is endeavoring so intensely, year after year, in distributing this king of knowledge and connecting the unfortunate conditioned souls with Lord Chaitanya, right in the middle of Kali-yuga! All glories to Your Divine Grace!

You wrote: The preacher must love the people. Otherwise why he is taking? He can do it for himself at home. Why he is taking so much trouble? Why in eighty years old I have come here if I do not love? So who can love better than a preacher? (Morning Walk–May 17, 1975, Perth)

And you did demonstrate to love us all Srila Prabhupada by giving us the exact same thing that you were relishing: Krishna-bhakti and Nama-rasa. What could be a higher act of love than this?

With your living example of a highly devoted Bhagavata, that I had the fortune to personally witness, you taught exactly and practically how a saintly personality behaves and how he prepares to leave his body: like an other Maharaj Pariksit, always absorbed in the transcendental sound, talking about Krishna, hearing about Krishna, reading about Krishna and preaching about Krishna.

I bow down to you and offer again and again my heartfelt obeisances and gratitude.
And now let me use your matchless gifts that I have received and make my life successful, demonstrating by example the proof of how your teachings actually work!

Thank you Srila Prabhupada, thank you!
Your aspiring servant
Citraka dasa

Ecstatic August 5th Harinam at Jacksonville Beach, Florida,…
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Ecstatic August 5th Harinam at Jacksonville Beach, Florida, United States (Album with photos)
Every month many Harinams are held at various football games, parades, events and beaches. Jacksonville beach is one such location. Devotees blissfully sing and dance with the sincere drunks and distribute books in the scorching summer sun – often coming back ten shades darker.
Afterwards, everyone takes prasadam at Mother Vishnupriya and Godruma’s home. Sankirtan yajna ki jaya !
(photos by Narottama)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/tTq8Zg