ISKCON’s 15th AnnualVraja Mandala Parikrama, Part 6

Day 11. Parikrama of Badrinath. Today we were joined by HH Mahavisnu Goswami and HG Deena Bandhu Prabhu. En route, we visited the Haridwar, Har Ki Puri, Hrishikesh and Laxman Jhula of Vraja Dhama. We had our Srimad Bhagavatam class on the foothills of Badrinath.

HH Lokanath Swami: "Lord Krsna never leaves Vraja, nor does He like His devotees to leave. He brought the Ganga here — Manasi Ganga. In Radhakund, He invited all the holy rivers. Similarly, when Nanda Maharaja wanted to go on pilgrimage to Badrinath in the Himilayas, the Lord brought all the residents of Vraja to this place, which is non different from Badrinath. Actually, this is the original Badrinath. All the holy tirthas in the universe reside in Vraja Dhama. Sometimes, we refer to these combined radio and cassette players as "two in one." This Vraja Dhama is "All in One." All the sacred rivers and places, all the incarnations of the Lord, are all in this holy dhama."

We also visited the village of Gantholi. It was here that the gopis in a playful mood tied together with a knot (Ganth) the sari of Radharani and the top cloth of Krsna. Also, here 500 years ago, Lord Caitanya got darshana of the Gopal deity. Initially, this deity was installed on Govardhana hill. Lord Caitanya would not step on the hill. Therefore, by transcendental arrangement a rumor started that Turkish soldiers were heading in the direction of Govardhana. Gopala’s priests took Him to Gantholi for protection.

Day 12. Badrinath to Kedarnath. The Kedarnath temple is situated on the top of a hill. In order to go to the temple, we had to climb up more than 300 steps.

HH Mahavisnu Goswami: "We are all very fortunate to be allowed to come to the dhama. Ambarish Maharaja says that the success of the feet is being allowed to use them in going to the different temples of the Lord. If they are not used like this they are as valuable as bamboo sticks.

"We worship this Vraja Bhumi because the Lord performed His pastimes here. His footprints are everywhere in this land. There is not one grain of dust here which has not been touched by His feet."

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His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

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