OUT OF THIS WORLD

Last week I spent a few days at Pandavas Paradise (Paraíso dos Pândavas). My husband and I try to go there every couple of weeks to get out of the city and spend some time with the beautiful deities in their beautiful natural surroundings.

Here is one of the photos I took last week of the view from the simple wood chalet we stay in while we are there:

The area is well-known in Brazil for its “spiritual vibrations” and has become a hub for all kinds of spiritual seekers. It is on a bed of quartz crystals, at an altitude of about 1300m, and it is still quite unspoilt by modern, industrial agricultural methods.

When we are there we have more time and space and peace to reflect on spiritual subjects.

In the mornings we walk down to the small forest near the chalet to chant japa. There is a small stream there that makes a sweet and peaceful sound and we sit next to it and chant:

In the evenings we go to the temple where we have small deities of Gaura Nitai and Yoga Nrisimha:

There are no devotees living at Pandavas Paradise full time so the deities are only worshipped when we visit and during the retreats. My husband decorates the altar (with flowers that grow around the temple) while I set up the arati paraphernalia; sometimes he sings bhajan while I perform the puja and sometimes we swap. After the arati, we sit before the deities and sing the Maha-mantra together.

Here is a view through the window of the pujari room at sunset:

During the day we read, go for walks, bathe in the waterfalls… more in Part 2.