OUT OF THIS WORLD

My time away from Slovenia turned out to be longer than I expected. After the camp in Serbia we decided to go back to Hungary for Radhastami as my spiritual master was there again. The whole two and a half weeks was a great adventure but pretty exhausting.

The festivals at the Hungarian farm were blissful as ever. On festival days the kirtans usually last for at least four hours in the morning and at least four hours in the evening. The temple room is beautifully decorated and the super-attractive deities, Radhe Syam, are offered the most opulent yet intimate worship. This is perhaps the closest I have come to experiencing the atmosphere of Vrindavan.

The Serbian festival was a great success with over 200 devotees in attendance. While travelling to different countries it is interesting to see how the culture of Krishna consciousness mixes with the local culture and temperament of the people. From my observations it appears that Serbians are people of the heart and they are not at all afraid to express their emotions in a most enthusiastic, animated and open way. They are very warm and friendly and this created a close family atmosphere throughout the whole camp.

It took a little adjustment for me to go from the neat, synchronized, and disciplined devotion of the Hungarian yatra to the flowing, expressive, and individual devotion of the Serbian yatra, and back again. But in all places it was clear that everyone’s heart can become fully satisfied by chanting, dancing, and feasting in the association of devotees. Thanks to the Krishna consciousness movement, even a Welsh woman like myself to can feel quite at home in Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, and all other places where Krishna is being glorified.

I didn’t get a chance to update my blog while away. Now that I am back, I have a lot of work to do but I plan to write something every few days.