So this is Srila Rupa Goswami's beloved Ter Kadamba! Rupa Goswami was one of Lord Caitanya's principle disciples, and as Gaudiya Vaishavas (Hare Krishna's =)) we follow the teachings of Rupa Goswami and the other 5 Goswamis of Vrindavana with our life and soul. He appeared on this earth from 1489-1564CE, and resides in the spiritual world as Rupa Manjari, one of Radharani's closest assistants and gopi companions. On this day each year, like all other exalted Vaishnava's, we honor him on his disappearance day.
This is Vishal Prabhu, one of the devotees who works at the VIHE (our school). He was offering puja (worship) to the Deities and to Rupa Goswami.
I'm lighting ghee (clarified butter) candles all around 
the altar. They are contained in little clay cups, as are all the food offerings, which you can see further down. This scene was right out of the spiritual world. To find a more beautiful place could be my life's task...
Here's a nice painting of Srila Rupa Goswami. Lord Caitanya told Rupa: "The ocean of the transcendental mellows of devotional service is so large that no one can estimate its length and breadth. However, just to help you taste it, I am describing one drop." It is said that this one drop was enough to inundate millions upon millions of universes with ecstatic, pure love of God, called prema. With this drop he composed ingenuis works of intoxicating spiritual poetry and richly philophical texts. We just finished reading his book "The Nectar of Instruction" in class. It is a spectacular text outlining the gradual progression of a genuine spiritual seeker from the beginning stages of self realization to pure love of God, culminating in the service of the servants of Srimati Radharani on the banks of Radha Kunda, the sacred bathing lake of Radharani, considered to be the topmost, intimate place in the entire universal creation.
The trees here were stunning. They grow on extremely compact clay and curl upwards like beautiful black snakes. Their canopies drape the pillars and create a heavenly shade from sun and rain.
We spent hours singing bhajans written by Rupa Goswami. He was so intoxicated with love of God that he composed some of the most beautiful poetry imagineable. In my next post, I will include some of that poetry. My roommate Jaya Sita is there playing the cello. It always adds a beautiful classic touch to the traditional Indian sounds.
Here are three great friends sorting flower petals by color for the pushpa abhiseka we had later in the evening. Pushpa=flowers, abhisheka=bath. We bath the Deities in a variety of wonderful things like yogurt, milk, honey, perfumed water, and sometimes, like today, flowers! Sanna is in the foreground, she is my great friend from Finland. The other two ladies in the back are from Russia, and they are simply incredible Vaishnavis.
Here is a picture of the offering tray with flowers, fan, ghee candle, incense, etc. Next to it is a huge baskets of lotus flower petals and a bucket of sacred tulasi leaves. I am lighting the ghee candles in the background.
Here's a tiny taste of the offerings we made for the Deities in Ter Kadamba. More sweets than you can imagine!
The man in the center at the microphone is Dina Bandhu Prabhu. Here he is leading guru puja for Srila Rupa Goswami, which is a song to honor him as a spiritual teacher. He leads the most fabulous kirtans and parikrama's (pilgrimages) around Vrindavana. I went on my first parikrama with him the other evening, and I'll write about that soon. It was simply nectar. Notice the gorgeous limbs draping above their heads.
Just look at this!!! There is a cake the size of a coffee table here!! This cake was made by some Russian women, and let me tell you, it was simply outrageous. We took all the 108 offerings, with the exception of this larger than life cake, and transferred them into beautiful clay bowls, cups and pots to be offered. This was the ecstatic moment after the offering when we got to see everything on the altar. During the actual offering the altar is hidden by fresh saris which are held up length-wise. This is so we don't go crazy over the food before the Lord gets to enjoy it. =) Maha prasadam ki jaya!!!
Here's me on a hike in the forest behind the bhajan kutir. (Ter Kadamba was one of the main places where Rupa Goswami stayed and performed his bhajan (writing and other spritual activities) in Vrindavan. This is the meaning of "bhajan kutir."
There is so much more to post, but so little time. Hopefully I can do proper justice to this experience in the next couple of days. It was by far one of the most touching gatherings I have ever been to. All glories to Srila Rupa Goswami!
the altar. They are contained in little clay cups, as are all the food offerings, which you can see further down. This scene was right out of the spiritual world. To find a more beautiful place could be my life's task...
Here's a nice painting of Srila Rupa Goswami. Lord Caitanya told Rupa: "The ocean of the transcendental mellows of devotional service is so large that no one can estimate its length and breadth. However, just to help you taste it, I am describing one drop." It is said that this one drop was enough to inundate millions upon millions of universes with ecstatic, pure love of God, called prema. With this drop he composed ingenuis works of intoxicating spiritual poetry and richly philophical texts. We just finished reading his book "The Nectar of Instruction" in class. It is a spectacular text outlining the gradual progression of a genuine spiritual seeker from the beginning stages of self realization to pure love of God, culminating in the service of the servants of Srimati Radharani on the banks of Radha Kunda, the sacred bathing lake of Radharani, considered to be the topmost, intimate place in the entire universal creation.
The trees here were stunning. They grow on extremely compact clay and curl upwards like beautiful black snakes. Their canopies drape the pillars and create a heavenly shade from sun and rain.
We spent hours singing bhajans written by Rupa Goswami. He was so intoxicated with love of God that he composed some of the most beautiful poetry imagineable. In my next post, I will include some of that poetry. My roommate Jaya Sita is there playing the cello. It always adds a beautiful classic touch to the traditional Indian sounds.
Here are three great friends sorting flower petals by color for the pushpa abhiseka we had later in the evening. Pushpa=flowers, abhisheka=bath. We bath the Deities in a variety of wonderful things like yogurt, milk, honey, perfumed water, and sometimes, like today, flowers! Sanna is in the foreground, she is my great friend from Finland. The other two ladies in the back are from Russia, and they are simply incredible Vaishnavis.
Here is a picture of the offering tray with flowers, fan, ghee candle, incense, etc. Next to it is a huge baskets of lotus flower petals and a bucket of sacred tulasi leaves. I am lighting the ghee candles in the background.
This is my wonderful friend Medharani. Her husband is my Bhagavad-gita teacher, Gurusevananda Prabhu. She is from Mayapur and has helped me with so many domestic musts! I've already learned how to do laundry on the bathroom floor and cook a 'brilliant' subji (veggie dish) that's out of this world. Aside from the domestic genuis she possesses, she is an extremely lovely girl to be around, and a true inspiration to me.
Here's a tiny taste of the offerings we made for the Deities in Ter Kadamba. More sweets than you can imagine!
The man in the center at the microphone is Dina Bandhu Prabhu. Here he is leading guru puja for Srila Rupa Goswami, which is a song to honor him as a spiritual teacher. He leads the most fabulous kirtans and parikrama's (pilgrimages) around Vrindavana. I went on my first parikrama with him the other evening, and I'll write about that soon. It was simply nectar. Notice the gorgeous limbs draping above their heads.
Just look at this!!! There is a cake the size of a coffee table here!! This cake was made by some Russian women, and let me tell you, it was simply outrageous. We took all the 108 offerings, with the exception of this larger than life cake, and transferred them into beautiful clay bowls, cups and pots to be offered. This was the ecstatic moment after the offering when we got to see everything on the altar. During the actual offering the altar is hidden by fresh saris which are held up length-wise. This is so we don't go crazy over the food before the Lord gets to enjoy it. =) Maha prasadam ki jaya!!!
Here's me on a hike in the forest behind the bhajan kutir. (Ter Kadamba was one of the main places where Rupa Goswami stayed and performed his bhajan (writing and other spritual activities) in Vrindavan. This is the meaning of "bhajan kutir."
There is so much more to post, but so little time. Hopefully I can do proper justice to this experience in the next couple of days. It was by far one of the most touching gatherings I have ever been to. All glories to Srila Rupa Goswami!
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