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Vrindaban /Govardhana /Bombay I leave

February 13th, 2001

Vrindaban /Govardhana /Bombay

I leave the japa-kutir early this morning to spend my last day in the dhama at Govardhana. I have the taxi stop in front of the Sri Krishna-Balarams Mandir for a quick darshan of Sri Sri Radha-Shyamasundara.

At the temple I beg every devotee I meet to pray that I may return. I then follow my ritual of leaving the dhama: I hug saintly Vibhu Caitanya, then take caranamrita from his hand, point to Sri Sri Radha-Shyamasundara and, in broken Hindi, beg him to request Radhe-Shyam for my quick return. He smiles and nods.

On my way to Govardhana, I stop at Radha-kunda for one last bath. I pray to be able to assimilate my experiences in Vrindaban so that I may incorporate them in my life even outside the dhama.

A realization comes: although Vrindaban is glorious and an unparalleled inspiration for spiritual life, more important is to take full shelter of the holy name and remain in good consciousness regardless of one’s place of residence.

After Radha-kunda, lunch, and rest at the Bhaktivedanta Ashram, I leave for Mathura to catch the evening train to Bombay.

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