Transcendental Kamyavan Excursion
On 9 September 2010, our party consisting of eleven devotees headed out in two vehicles on a long drive to Kamyavan, one of the twelve forests of Vrindavana. Srila Prabhupada mentions Kamyavana in his Caitanya Caritamrita purport quoting from the Bhakti-Ratnakar:
"In this Kamyavana, Krishna performed enchanting pastimes. Here you will be able to take darsana of many ponds and other transcendental spots. I cannot even describe in writing all the sacred tirthas found at Kamyavana."
Our first stop was Bhojan Sthali. This is said to be, by the locals, a place where Krishna would take lunch with His cowherd boyfriends. There are imprints of the bowls and plates that are said to have been used by Krishna, embedded into the rock at this place. It is customary for one to bring a food offering when one comes here. I took advantage of this holy place of remembering Krishna's pastimes with the cowherd boys to personally make an offering to the Lord where the rocks are imprinted:
Then we went to Charan Pahari, where Lord Krishna's footprints are enshrined. According to the locals there is the impression of Krishna's left and right footprints at this place. It is said that Krishna was playing His flute at this place and that the hill started to melt. The impressions of Krishna's footprints could then be seen on the stone here. We have been told that Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda, Advaita Acarya, Madhavendra Puri, Madhvacarya, Vallabhacarya and the Goswamis have come to this place to have darshan of Krishna's footprints.
Our next stop was a mountain cave said by the locals to be the cave used by the demon Vyoma to imprison the cowherd boys. The history of Vyoma is narrated in the Srimad Bhagavatam as follows:
One day, while tending the cows, Krishna, Balarama and the cowherd boys became engrossed in playing hide-and-go-seek. Some of the boys took the role of sheep, some the role of thieves, and others shepherds. The shepherds would search for the sheep when the thieves stole them. Taking advantage of this game, a demon named Vyoma, sent by Kamsa, dressed himself like a cowherd boy and joined the band of "thieves." He abducted a few cowherd boys at a time and threw them into a mountain cave, keeping them there by blocking the entrance with a boulder. Gradually Vyomasura abducted all but four or five cowherd boys. When Krishna saw what the demon was doing, He ran after him, grabbed him and killed him just as one would kill a sacrificial animal.
We had ecstatic kirtan in what locals describe as the cave where Vyomasura imprisoned the cowherd boys. We chanted an ecstatic song the glorifying the holy places and great devotees of Sri Vrindavana Dhama and then relished the sweetest bliss of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra:
We proceed to the top of the mountain to offer respects to what is said to be the impression of Krishna's hand and foot. And then proceeded carefully back down the mountain.
After reaching the foot of mountain we took darshan of what is said to be the foot prints of Lord Balarama. Then it was heading back to our base in Vrindavan town with a picnic stopover on the way.
It was was a wonderful of day of reconnecting with Krishna in His most holy Vrindavana dhama. It is said that Kamyana forest fulfills all desires, so I cautioned our party members to have only one desire in their heart during our visit, the desire for pure devotional service.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
I am British and so am finding this new text, Bhagavad-gita, a bit puzzling at times. But I am very interested to learn more. Please, can you explain why you see time as eternal? My thought was that time was non-existent in the true nature of things, that time is only present in the mundane existence. Surely it has no presence in present moment awareness. And when we fall between the gap in our thoughts during meditation, there in no sense of time either. I thought time was a manmade concept.
So my question again is: Why do you see time as real and eternal?
Thank you, humbly.
Tracey
In the material world the time factor is eternal. It is the all-devouring time factor which drags mighty civilizations to the point of complete destruction and which also drags everyone, even the greatest, most powerful personalities of this world step by step to death.
But in the spiritual world time is not present. While in the material world we are constricted by time, in the spiritual world there is no constriction of time. Hence, nobody dies or gets old there. Everyone stays young forever.
When we identify ourselves with our body by thinking ourselves to be American, Indian, or whatever, we are plugging into the time factor and subjecting ourselves to death. However when we remember and realize that we are not these bodies, that we instead are pure spirit-souls, qualitatively one with the Supreme Soul, the source of all existence, and then learn how to fully connect ourselves with that Supreme Soul through loving, devotional service, we are then opening for ourselves the pathway to eternal, all-blissful, all-knowing existence completely beyond the clutches of time.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
"In this Kamyavana, Krishna performed enchanting pastimes. Here you will be able to take darsana of many ponds and other transcendental spots. I cannot even describe in writing all the sacred tirthas found at Kamyavana."
Our first stop was Bhojan Sthali. This is said to be, by the locals, a place where Krishna would take lunch with His cowherd boyfriends. There are imprints of the bowls and plates that are said to have been used by Krishna, embedded into the rock at this place. It is customary for one to bring a food offering when one comes here. I took advantage of this holy place of remembering Krishna's pastimes with the cowherd boys to personally make an offering to the Lord where the rocks are imprinted:
Then we went to Charan Pahari, where Lord Krishna's footprints are enshrined. According to the locals there is the impression of Krishna's left and right footprints at this place. It is said that Krishna was playing His flute at this place and that the hill started to melt. The impressions of Krishna's footprints could then be seen on the stone here. We have been told that Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda, Advaita Acarya, Madhavendra Puri, Madhvacarya, Vallabhacarya and the Goswamis have come to this place to have darshan of Krishna's footprints.
Our next stop was a mountain cave said by the locals to be the cave used by the demon Vyoma to imprison the cowherd boys. The history of Vyoma is narrated in the Srimad Bhagavatam as follows:
One day, while tending the cows, Krishna, Balarama and the cowherd boys became engrossed in playing hide-and-go-seek. Some of the boys took the role of sheep, some the role of thieves, and others shepherds. The shepherds would search for the sheep when the thieves stole them. Taking advantage of this game, a demon named Vyoma, sent by Kamsa, dressed himself like a cowherd boy and joined the band of "thieves." He abducted a few cowherd boys at a time and threw them into a mountain cave, keeping them there by blocking the entrance with a boulder. Gradually Vyomasura abducted all but four or five cowherd boys. When Krishna saw what the demon was doing, He ran after him, grabbed him and killed him just as one would kill a sacrificial animal.
We had ecstatic kirtan in what locals describe as the cave where Vyomasura imprisoned the cowherd boys. We chanted an ecstatic song the glorifying the holy places and great devotees of Sri Vrindavana Dhama and then relished the sweetest bliss of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra:
We proceed to the top of the mountain to offer respects to what is said to be the impression of Krishna's hand and foot. And then proceeded carefully back down the mountain.
After reaching the foot of mountain we took darshan of what is said to be the foot prints of Lord Balarama. Then it was heading back to our base in Vrindavan town with a picnic stopover on the way.
It was was a wonderful of day of reconnecting with Krishna in His most holy Vrindavana dhama. It is said that Kamyana forest fulfills all desires, so I cautioned our party members to have only one desire in their heart during our visit, the desire for pure devotional service.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Answers According to the Vedic Version:
Question: Why Do You See Time as Real?
Hello.I am British and so am finding this new text, Bhagavad-gita, a bit puzzling at times. But I am very interested to learn more. Please, can you explain why you see time as eternal? My thought was that time was non-existent in the true nature of things, that time is only present in the mundane existence. Surely it has no presence in present moment awareness. And when we fall between the gap in our thoughts during meditation, there in no sense of time either. I thought time was a manmade concept.
So my question again is: Why do you see time as real and eternal?
Thank you, humbly.
Tracey
Answer: It is the All-Devouring Factor
I appreciate very much your sincere inquiry.In the material world the time factor is eternal. It is the all-devouring time factor which drags mighty civilizations to the point of complete destruction and which also drags everyone, even the greatest, most powerful personalities of this world step by step to death.
But in the spiritual world time is not present. While in the material world we are constricted by time, in the spiritual world there is no constriction of time. Hence, nobody dies or gets old there. Everyone stays young forever.
When we identify ourselves with our body by thinking ourselves to be American, Indian, or whatever, we are plugging into the time factor and subjecting ourselves to death. However when we remember and realize that we are not these bodies, that we instead are pure spirit-souls, qualitatively one with the Supreme Soul, the source of all existence, and then learn how to fully connect ourselves with that Supreme Soul through loving, devotional service, we are then opening for ourselves the pathway to eternal, all-blissful, all-knowing existence completely beyond the clutches of time.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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