(2010) A Journey Across to Poland (Chapter Select)

[This should make your navigation handy for A Journey Across to Poland – 2010. Hare Krsna]

A Class About Polish Tour (Berlin – 2010)

When I arrived at Berlin temple I was asked to give a Saturday class.  I was a little hesitant but then they suggested that I could do a presentation on the Polish Tour.  I showed photos and films off the internet of our favourite festival tour.

[P30] Back to Berlin?

Wednesday 25th, August 2010.

Braja was calling us all for breakfast.  We were not so enthused because we had all been given a big bag of treats for our journeys anyway.  We decided that his wake up call was a good alarm so we jumped out of bed for the sake of it.  We packed and then made our ways downstairs.  I still had no idea where I was going to end up at the end of the day so I simply made my way outside to see who was around.  None of the devotees going to the Polish Rathayatra were in sight.  I submitted to plan B (which was originally plan A), to go to Berlin.

[P29] The White Nectar (Balarama’s Appearance Day)

Tuesday 24th, August 2010.

We all awoke for the program.  I had Balarama in my mind.  There were different ways to chant the Maha Mantra; one can meditate on different personalities whilst chanting the different names.  Today I was going to pray to Balarama every time I chanted “Rama”.  The curtains flew open and there was a little set of Krsna and Balarama sitting on the alter.  Urmila Mataji had joined us for the last few days of tour and she led the morning kirtana.  I began to chant the Maha Mantra very blissfully, thinking of that white skinned cowherd boy.

[P28] One Last Mad Monday

Monday 23rd, August 2010.

I woke up, well rested and feeling newly energized.  I checked my email and found my book distribution story published on BDN.  It was an old story, that was some how neglected, from my first day of book distribution.  I published it again, on Messages from Madd Monk.

[P27] Wrecked In Rewal

Friday 20th, August 2010.

It was the holy day of Ekadasi.  The weather in Poland was wet, and it was effecting my seva in a disproportionate way; as the rain soaked up the festivals, the samosas demand was drying out.  Rain meant less people; less people meant less samosas.  I decided to use Ekadasi for what it is designed for: reading and chanting.  I know that this was a frequent option I was taking, as the tour was reaching its end, but I was taking a proactive approach to sickness.  Often people become sick at the end of the tour, from not resting, and then it can spread around to the unsuspecting.  This year I wasn’t going to fall victim to the post Woodstock cold, capable of ruining the remainder of my tour.  I waved goodbye to the early bus, as the boys headed off to set up another massive festival in Rewal, and I stayed back the base for material and spiritual recuperation.

[P26] Beyond the Soggy Ground (Niechorze)

Tuesday 17th, August 2010.

I caught up with Radheya, after samosa seva.  He had vanished for the length of our scheduled day off , so he could work on his personal sadhana.  He went to the “Tree House” to read and chant.  Whilst there, he fell asleep for some time and experienced some spooky dreams (possibly confirming that the hunting outpost was haunted).  It reminded me of my Book Distribution Graduation Course, in Mayapur.  They were telling us nice places to read and chant while out on book distribution.  “Churches are nice” said the instructor, “but never fall asleep in a church.  Many of them are built on or near graveyards so you will have terrible dreams.”  It was a true fact, well noted on the bus trips in Poland (a predominately Catholic country).  It seemed (based on this) that the hunting tower, the scene of countless violence, had a phantom guardian of its own.

[P25] Moody Monday

Monday 16th, August 2010.

We awoke to Cidananda’s enthusiastic announcement of “pizza!”  The hearty tour goers quickly complied.  It was a beautiful Monday to kick back, relax and let the excess stress dissolve away.  I passed HH Indradyumna Swami’s room.  “Maddy” he called, and I took a double take.  He started asking me about my profile picture on facebook, the one he had snapped up with his camera in Kolobrzeg.  It was funny to talk with Maharaja about facebook and his photography.  We chatted shortly and then he sent me on my way.  Just as I was leaving, he added “by the way, I read all your blogs so be careful.”  I laughed and said that I would (although I’m not sure I know where to draw the line ).

[P24] Clobbered In Kolobrzeg

Friday 13th, August 2010.

It was another day and another festival. The boys were supposed to head off to setup, early in the morning, but their transport was overcrowded. I chatted with them a little, before I went off to samosas. We made up four hundred samosas, the usual count for a typically big festival. Today was a festival in Kolobrzeg, one of our biggest, so I wasn’t surprised so see so many samosas on demand. I was punished for my silly antics, of making wet dough, and now I had to knead almost double the amount, with a cold, hard mixture.

[P23] Back On the Pavement (Ustronie Morskie)

Wednesday 11th, August 2010.

Maharaja woke us up. He was looking for Krsna Das. “Phone call” he said. We were all wondering why Maharaja had a phone call for Krsna Das. It reminded me of Maharaja’s joke on me, pretending he had a phone call waiting for me so he could steal my spot on the servers’ bench for Prasadam. What had happened this occasion is that Krsna Das’s mother had called him on one of the matajis’ phones. Maharaja was outside the room when she was looking for Krsna Das so he entered instead. It was a rather comical situation, confusing all of us in the room, but it was interesting to see Maharaja as a middle man.