->

Govardhan Bhurijan Prabhu just arrived

November 29th, 2001

Govardhan

Bhurijan Prabhu just arrived in Vrindaban. We talked for some time. He invited me over to his place to see his new Deity. I was surprised to see on the corner of the altar of his exquisite Sri Sri Radha Giridhari (govardhan silas) his new deity, three small wooden carved monkeys, one covering with his two hands his eyes, the next his mouth and the third his ears, the famous hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil icons. For a moment I was puzzled. I then caught on to import:

Bhurijan was an experienced resident of ISKCON Vrindaban, having lived here for over fifteen years. He realized, unfortunately, how any large gathering in Kali Yuga, even holy places, tend to become bastions of mundane topics, especially politics. To advance in bhakti, one has to be determined to avoid that. His new unorthodox deity thus served as a reminder to protect one from the main impediments to pure bhakti while living in the Dham. I did notice how he would expertly and politely gear any discussions away from even a scent of politics, or criticism, to meaningful discussions. Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil?a helpful reminder while being in the Dham.

Comments are closed.