It was announced that a pilgrimage to Brindavan would be held between 13th and 21st of September, 2008. Having heard so much about this great place from our Guru Maharaj on various different occasions, I immediately registered for the tour. I booked my train tickets and was on board the train.

Let me take you along with me, as I experience the divine bliss of the Yatra….

Day - 1     Day - 2    Day - 3    Day - 4       Day - 5   

   DAY - 1  (Monday, Sep 15)
 

Members of our satsangs, from different parts of South India came to Vrindaban in their allotted buses at around 5:30 am. They were around 300 in number. Many of them did not miss a chance to take a holy dip in River Yamuna which was gently flowing by. Soon, all of us were ready for the day’s pilgrimage – five buses were waiting to take us. Everyone could sense that the Yatra was meticulously planned and being executed. All of us were given badges / ID cards. Shri Ravi of the satsang led the entourage while Sri Balaji Bhagavata provided the narration.

The day’s trip started with the visit to the holy ‘Janma Sthaan’ (birth place) of Sri Krishna at Mathura Dham. Just before entering the main sanctum sanctorum, all the devotees had the darshan of ‘Pavithra Kund’ – where Devaki had her cleansing bath after the delivery of every one of her children who were heartlessly killed by Kamsa.
The boundaries of the pond where embellished in art and spoke volumes of the architectural skills of our forefathers.

It was a scintillating experience to see all our Nama Dwaar members chanting the Mahamantra at the ‘Janma Sthaan’ of Sri Krishna. It was so evident from their faces that they all were cherishing the absolute grace of our beloved Guru Maharaj which only gave them this everlasting spiritual experience.

Then we proceeded to a beautiful temple of ‘Janma Sthaan’ in the same premises built and maintained by the followers of Pushti Marg. All of us were astounded by the vastness and sculptural beauty of the sprawling temple hall. The presiding deity – the Divine Radha-Krishna couple stood out of the world in beauty and charm.

After a while the convoy proceeded to the ‘Raman Reti Dham’. This is the place where the Lord, as a little cowboy with his brother Balaram and other cowherd boys, used to play. The sand of the place is considered to be highly sacred. Sri Balaji Bhagavata gave a terse yet wonderful narration of the glory of this place. On hearing about this place, the devotees rolled on the sand in Bhakti with tearful eyes and of course the mahamantra in their lips, which is the general worship in that Dham.

We then marched towards the ‘Brahmaand Ghat’ where Bhagavan Sri Krishna revealed the entire cosmos in his tender little mouth to His mother Yasodha when she tried to catch him red-handed eating mud.

By now, it was past noon. We had a delicious lunch in the lawns near ‘Brahmaand Ghat’ temple in the banks of the river Yamuna.

After resting for a while, there was an excellent lecture by Sri Balaji Bhagavata on the birth and Bala Lila of Sri Krishna. Sri Chattanatha Bhagavata, Sri Srikanth Bhagavata, and other instrumentalists accompanied this rendition. As audience, we were totally immersed in the lecture, which contained beautiful songs composed by our beloved Guru Maharaj and other great Saints.

From there all of us proceeded to the ‘Utkal Bhandhan Dham’ and ‘Nanda Bhavan’. Bhagavan Sri Krishna, as Bala Gopala, crawled all over this place in His childhood. Remembering that form of the Lord, all the devotees crawled inside the sanctum sanctorum. The eighty-four pillars of the temple have stood test of time for almost six thousand years, right from the days of Sri Krishna.

The sun was setting and the first day of the Yatra was coming to a close. All of us had a great dinner Prasad and retired for the day.