Saturday 23 Mar
The festival preparations have started as the first devotees from all continents are arriving in the holy land of Vrindavan. Already colors are flying everywhere in the air as the spirit of the Holi festival is getting enlivened in all the visitors. The Krishna Balarama temple grounds are the only safe place to hide from the colors, but eventually you will need to venture out…
The samadhi monument construction is about to finish, just the last few touches that are needed to complete it. The engravings and inscriptions still need to be painted and the little door protecting the inner sanctum of the Samadhi has yet to be installed. In the end it will be completed in its full glory.
Devotee friends and disciples of Kadamba Kanana Swami regularly visit the samadhi area to meditate and the late afternoons are reserved for melodious bhajans till dusk.
Sunday 24 Mar
Just one day before Gaura purinama and the Holi festival, which happens to take place at the same day this year, the amount of colors is increasing intensely. The MVT restaurant is slowly filling up and about to be taken over by all the visitors for the Samadhi festival :-). And the festival preparations are in full swing now. Pavana Gopa is working tirelessly to provide the best audio and video and scaling up to stream the festival live. Sorting out the electricity and a stable internet connection amidst the plentiful power outages during the day.
Bhoga is coming from all around the world, even all the way from South Africa, to make sure that the Samadhi festival is crowned by an excellent multicourse meal. Today Jayadvaita swami requested a big arrangement for his personal deities, Sri Sri Krsna Balarama, in celebration for The Gaura purnima festival, so the cooks are already flying through the kitchens to set things up expertly. And all these fantastic planned feasts should all be topped by the another massive offering to the Samadhi and Kadamba Kanana Swami on the 28th… Stay tuned for that.
Photos by Rasacarya, Pavana Gopa, Uddhava