baby yajna

Haribol!

Last week, a fire yajna (auspicious ceremony) was held honoring the babies born this past year and those who will be born this year.  All the mamas were garlanded and all the babies and mamas sat around the fire.  Everyone there was blessed with Nrsimhadev oil and all the kids and babies were given Nrsima pavitras and a small package consisting of frankincense incense and a locally made beeswax candle.  A nice feast followed cooked by a local devotee.

However, in between the ceremony and the feast, chaos ensued...in Mayapur, hanging off random building edges and trees are semi-huge and huge bees nests.  One way they are removed is to smoke them out and take down their hive.

When the bees sensed the smoke from the yajna, they went wild!  They started swarming like made and attacking people right and left.  We high-tailed it out of there and none of us got stung (thankfully!).  A good number of devotees got a couple stings and a few got a whole bunch of stings :(  

We're told the bees don't like the colors red, blue and black and will go after those while they can't see white...they didn't seem to be paying too much attention to what people were wearing though...no one had any allergic reactions thankfully, and everyone was able to enjoy the feast--it was an intense experience for all!  The bees didn't stop till everyone was OUT of the park and the smoke cleared.  Then they went back to their daily affairs and didn't bother anyone.  They are a type of honey bee and usually quite benign...

yajna kunda

mamas and babies participating in the ceremony

close-up of the fire with priest offering ghee in the background

nitai and bhima participating

Haribol!

these are the bee nests, all surrounding where we were...

you can't see any honey comb,  just a moving mass... 

this one is really big...

what a nice b-day

This year, pushpa abhishek (bathing the Deities in flower petals) was on Jan. 16th (my b-day).  The day before, devotees were invited to help create the flower dress for Radha-Madhava.  Timings were from 4 p.m. on the 15th straight through to 6 a.m. on the 16th!  We were there from about 4 p.m. till 10 p.m...late night prasad (tastey kitchari, potatoes, rasgullas and gokula/ginger tea) was served, so we didn't get to sleep till around midnight.

We all (Nitai included) got to help with the flower outfit--we do the same at our home temple, but this was on a massive scale!  We learned a couple cool tricks of the trade to implement back in Portland.  I was so tired that day, from lack of proper sleep.  We were invited to a feast that afternoon and I could hardly keep my eyes open...but when I got inside that room and was handed a glue gun and told, "ok, you take charge of this skirt", all tiredness vanished and I got super into the project.  I was blessed to help with Champakalata's skirt.  Nitai helped a bit on Sudevi's skirt and Bala Nitai was helping everyone all over...

The pushpa abhishek festival was so much fun!  It was on the evening of the 16th.  Thousands upon thousands of flower petals were showered on the Deities, then were rained on the devotees.  We also do this in Portland, but again--this was on a massive scale!

Check out the pics...

early on, just after 4...the skirts are just beginning to get their flowers...

one service the kids did--trim flowers off their stalks into baskets

just a portion of the flower stock

more flower stock (those big baskets are filled!)

all the flowers were attached to the cloth with hot glue

yay!  Champakalat's skirt is finished!  it was used as the model for the rest of the skirts...

Nitai helping out--his job was to squeeze the glue for me

Sri Sri Radha-Madhava ki jaya!!

this is Champakalata, one of the 8 sakis, she stands on Madhava's side...it was her skirt that I was blessed to work on

Jaya Narasimhadeva!!  He always wears this necklace (you can't see it so well in this picture) of 108 silas...They are encased in silver wire cages...

a small portion of the flower petals used in the abhishek

That's Jananivasa prabhu with his arms raised, showering flowers on Radha-Madhava.  The chota deities were in that covered platform in front.

I love this picture--i gave our camera to a friend who was right up on the altar and he snapped this one...note all the flower petals @ Their feet!

Tungavidya, Chitra & Champakalata sakhis 

everyone was covered in flower petals...i'm still finding them in random places like our pockets and my bag...

Nitai had a blast--how often are you encouraged to throw things at people and they are happy when you do?

oh the goshala!

Haribol!

Well, i've got a bit of time to write now, since we're all in bed recovering from some yucky stomach virus that seems to be going around...thankfully, we all seem to be on the mends.

I realized that I've written nothing about the goshala, but it's so a part of our lives here in Mayapur.  The goshala is where the cows live and are cared for--and it's right across the road from where we stay.

For the first month or so, we would just bring our veggie and fruit scraps to feed the cows.  Then, a group of devotees organized a weekly visit to the goshala so the community can get more connected with the cows.  You see, there are SO MANY cows and bulls here--too many for this space.  ISKCON Mayapur is trying to figure out what to do so all the cows and bulls are cared for properly.  This group not only feeds and gives love to the cows, but brushes them as well (which they absolutely LOVE!).

Finding a cow brush is simple, just go to your local store and ask for a laundry scrub brush--works great!  So, the first set of pics is from early on in our stay and the second is from one of those community cow lovin' days...

We go to the goshala every other day or so, though it's been at least a week since our last visit due to busy schedules...we always bring our brushes and veggie/fruit scraps...it's a very rewarding and special experience--to be so close to the cows and have them react with you in such an intimate, intelligent way.

At first, Nitai wouldn't get too near the cows, but now he's feeding and brushing them like a pro.  It's been cool to see the change.

Oh!  And if any of you get a chance to brush a cow, they love love love to get brushed under their necks, on that super soft, flappy part...I don't have a pic of that, but I'll get one and share later.

we call him the "cuddly" one because he always hops up on the feeding trough for a nuzzle

nitai is in love with this baby calf...actually, connecting with her turned his fear into delight

Bala Nitai was just standing there and this big bull came over for some love

these are some of the hard working (& strong) ladies who work at the goshala...mainly shoveling and carrying heavy loads of cow dung out of the stalls...

Nitai brushing one of the cows

here's that cute baby again

and the cuddly one...

  

it's been awhile

Hare Krsna everyone!

sorry we've been MIA for a bit 'o time...busy schedules combined with poor (horrible) internet connection...anyways, we have a lot to share with you all, though i'm not sure where to begin...well, let's start with the classes we've been taking.

Bala Nitai (Brad) and I both took a Deity dressmaking class (which was more on the dress designing side, as well as learning some embroidery), and are currently taking a flower arranging/garland making class.

He recently completed his Samskaras class and is now taking Festivals.  I know he's enjoying both and learning a lot of cool things.

Starting this Saturday, we get to help make flower outfits for Radha-Madhava for pushpa abhishek taking place next week!

For our final in dressmaking, we had to fully design a full outfit--complete with finite detail down to every sequin or bead or whatever...anyways, we really want to bring home a new outfit for Nitai-Sacinandana (our temple Deities) for Gaura Purnima, but how to get one done in time?
Thankfully, we were able to design one for our final and are now in the beginning stages of having the Deity dressmakers here in Mayapur make the outfit!  We've been told it is quite the involving project, like you have to be there everyday to make sure they're doing what you want...so, we'll see how it goes!  I need to get the pattern to them a.s.a.p...

anyways, here are some pics:

nitai doing some embroidery while we were working on our projects...we learned how to assemble cloth on the frame pictured, as well as transferring a design from paper to cloth for embroidery...we're thinking of bringing a frame home so we can all create beautiful outfits for Sri Sri Nitai-Sacinandnana...

Bala Nitai working away on his embroidery--we all had the same pattern to do...we were working on an outfit for some of the Mayapur Academy Radha-Krsna figures

oh!  and we also were taught some sweet jewelry making techniques like this one pictures here...

i really didn't think i'd get all my embroidery done but...

here it is!  jaya!

bala nitai and i made this today in garland class--it's a head piece for Radharani and the sakis...

here's a belt for Krsna we made together...there's a secret in holding the small garlands in place--you string a length of rose stem right in to keep them nicely separated...

bala nitai is preparing for his samskara assesment--this is on the roof of the academy