Los Angeles SD Newsletter
LILAS…
CARRYING ON FROM HIS LAST LIFE?
From the UK Congregational Newsletter
When Vikesh Sharma was only five years old he preferred to make shrines in different rooms of his house rather than play with toys. He saw his grandmother getting up before dawn to offer ghee lamps to her deities and he liked to copy her. By the age of seven he was daily bathing and dressing his own Krishna, Shiva, and Durga. One year later, a Shiva baba came to the town and Vikesh became a convinced devotee of Lord Shiva. As the years went by his parents took him to see many Indian gurus and he became equally convinced to worship many other divinities and holy men and women. By the time he was twelve he had over 108 deities crammed in a cupboard. "In the summer holidays I went to visit a few cousins who were devotees of a man claiming to be Godhead. Eventually he also entered my 'mini-heaven' inside the cupboard"
Where was Vikesh living, receiving exposure to all these exotic religious ideas? Rural India? Nope. Just a few miles from Gatwick airport as it happens, in the little town of Crawley. Only formed as a new town in 1947, Crawley is unremarkable in many ways, but it has apparently placed itself on the touring map of many wandering sadhus. Only God, it seems, knows why.
Vikesh came to the Bhaktivedanta Manor with his family for the very first time, and immediately became so attracted to the kirtana and Deities that he didn't want to leave. He decided to take up Krishna consciousness seriously. "The next day I put all my deities in a large box and started to worship only Krishna. I started chanting 16 rounds and also began reading Bhagavad gita daily." Many trips to the Manor and one India pilgrimage later, Vikesh remains a staunch devotee of Krishna. Now, at the ripe old age of 14, he chants, reads and worships daily: "Three shalagram shilas from Badrinath in the Himalayas, (smooth, round, black stones described by scripture to be Vishnu incarnate), Brass Gaura Nitai, and pictures of the Six Goswamis, the guru-parampara and Hanuman. I also have Shiva, Ganesh and Durga on my altar but worship them Vaishnava style".
Not content merely with personal puja, Vikesh wanted to draw other Vaishnavas to Crawley for association or 'sadhu-sanga'. Fellow devotee Witesh was also there in Crawley but neither he nor Vikesh thought ISKCON would ever reach their town. But he received a phone call from a member of the Pandava Sena youth group, and now there is a branch in Crawley attracting many youngsters. And of course, wherever there is energetic Krishna consciousness, many adults are attracted so parents come too. Recent visitors to the group have been Romapada dasa, Dharanidhara, and Dean, Bhavesh, Gopal, Deepesh, Bobby, Nili, all of whom contribute lively kirtans, classes and guidance. Yet another English town in which kirtana can be heard and Vaishnava company enjoyed. What about your town?
THE APPEARANCE OF LORD VISHNU WITH GARUDA
From Padmamali dasa (Prague CZ)
During the Srila Prabhupada marathon 1996, when I was just a new bhakta, I was one time so spaced out that for an hour I couldn't even approach anyone. I became angry with myself and started to preach to my mind, "How can you just sit here while all these people walking by are actually searching for these very books you're holding in your hands? Do something!"
At last I pulled myself together to stop one young man who was hurrying back to work with his sandwich. He was interested in the books so he invited me to his shop. It was an alternative gift shop full of oriental and Indian gifts. His two colleagues also liked the books, but no one was willing to buy them. They were just interested in the vegetarian cookbook.
I began to narrate a story about Lord Vishnu and showed them the picture from Srimad-Bhagavatam where Lord Vishnu is carried on the back of Garuda. One of the shop assistants exclaimed, "Hey, He looks like our one!" I asked, "What?"
They took me upstairs to a statue covered with cloth. She uncovered the statue and there He was, Lord Vishnu standing on the back of Garuda, ready to release His Sudarsana Cakra. I cried out, "Vishnu" and paid my obeisances.
At that moment someone entered the shop and the shop assistants went down to look after them. I remained alone with the Lord and prayed to Him for His mercy to allow me to distribute some books to these people. They returned and told me that it was my last chance to see Him because one twelve year old girl had already bought and paid for Him and she was picking Him up tonight.
With renewed enthusiasm I showed them all the books again. This time they were really inspired and the young man I had first met opened the cash register and pulled out some money. The Lord was very merciful and they took 17 books between them.
The young girl wasn't the only one to take the Lord home that night. He resides in hundreds of millions of homes all over this planet in His form of Srimad-Bhagavatam. I regularly visit this shop and bring them some prasadam and they always like to give nice donations.
Your Servant
Padmamali Dasa (Prague CZ)
