“Do you think the cops will agree?” queried Sampat. There was a tinge of uneasiness in his voice. “Why shouldn’t they?” I retorted, “after all, Brajahari prabhu has already informed the Juhu Police HQ about the impending Harinam…I”m sure they’ll cooperate”.
“Right!” Divya Govind quipped with confidence, “moreover, its for a great cause, we are in the process of chanting the Lord’s Holy Name, so RadhaRasabihari will help us”.
We entered the Juhu Police Station with slight misgivings a lot of hope. We tried to trace the chief, Mr. Mahajan, but were instead directed to Mr. Mullah, his assistant.
Mr. Mullah, a Muslim by birth and practice, was quite a person. Unlike the stereotype, here was a man of quick wit with a jovial attitude who would do poetic justice to the oppressed! And a poet he was too. “When I see a group of sincere souls” he was pointing to us, “my spiritual inclinations automatically take over”, and out flowed a torrent of beautiful verses on human nature and the importance of being a servant of God. “I like the idea of being a perfect servant, because we must all remember that we are servants first. Community, caste or beliefs play a secondary role to servitude”.
We were overjoyed to hear Mr. Mullah’s comments on faith, and all the more when he allocated a prime location in Juhu Beach to set up our congregational Harinam Sankirtan base for the next day, the culmination of the 12 day Ganesha Festival. Mumbai celebrates the Ganeshotsava (Lord Ganesha’s appearance day) with great pomp, and this year was not any different. The entire festival lasts for two weeks, and the twelfth day is the culmination of the mega event where millions of people gather in procession for the immersion of thousands of Ganesha deities. Everyone heads towards the sea in droves of thousands chanting “ganapati bappa morya, purcha varshi laukariya” (Farewell Lord Ganesha, please come again next year).
Srila Prabhupada had built the Hare Krishna Land adjacent to Juhu beach. So we wanted to take the opportunity of presenting Lord Caitanya’s Harinam Sankirtan to tens of thousands who would throng Juhu beach tomorrow. Srila Prabhupada has blessed Juhu beach on numerous occasions by regularly having his morning walks there.
All glories to Srila PrabhupadaAs we walked back to the temple, my mind transported me to another place, another time. I sat huddled up in a massive hall with closely-knit chairs in the company of 3000 talkative kids. We’d just finished reciting the “Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram” (The thousand names of Vishnu) for the 11th time as we awaited the results of the annual recitation competition of the stotram organized by the Tirupathi Devasthanams in Chennai in Tamil Nadu, South India.
Out of the blue, I saw a few foreigners in orange robes and shaven heads, sporting yellow tilaka like I’d never seen before walk in. Even before my twelve years old mind could grasp the brevity of the situation, the orange clad “white elephants” broke into synchronized movements of the body, urging us to chant “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare,” even as one of them lead the repertoire and the others followed. We fumbled our way through the mantra, got a hang of it soon, and burst into squeals of laughter and delight when the small old monk with a big grin jumped up and down as the beats of the mridanga drum and the brass cymbals feverishly increased in speed.
Little did I know that I, and 3000 others, were being introduced to the glorious Harinam Sankirtan movement of Lord Caitanya. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the pioneer of Sri Krishna Sankirtana. He said, “I have come to inaugurate the chanting of the holy name of Krishna, and that name will reach every nook and corner of the universe (prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama).” Twenty years later, I’m still chanting the same Hare Krishna Mahamantra with all my devotee friends and well-wishers in Mumbai’s Sri Sri RadhaRasabihari Temple.
The next morning, the day of the visarjan also happened to be Namacharya Srila Haridas Thakura’s disappearance day. That afternoon, armed with 25 kilos of Halva prasadam, a bevy of colorful flags inscribed with beautiful, auspicious insignias, a fairly good sound system neatly parked on a push-cart, mrdangas and karatalas, Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental books and various other paraphernalia, we set up camp at Juhu Beach near Centaur Hotel.
By 5pm the congregation assembled in front of the temple and began dancing ecstatically to the sweet tunes of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra chanted by a devotee from Russia, Vraja Sundara, waving tall, colorful flags and even wider blissful smiles!
As the Harinam party rhythmically advanced towards the Juhu Centaur Hotel, people at Juhu Bazaar were wonder struck- they’d never seen anything like this before! They wondered what the secret was behind those Tilak imprinted gleeful, smiling faces!
Book DistributionJuhu Centaur hotel is a three directional meeting point, which opens the neck to Juhu Beach. Crowds carrying Lord Ganesha Deities from all directions poured in. As the Harinam party approached the neck, thousands of Ganapati devotees started greeting us with loud chants of “Hare Krishna” and “Hare Rama”! And to our astonishment, the announcer in the police booth happened to be Mr. Mullah! He joyfully announced the arrival of the “Hare Krishna Party” and encouraged everyone to say “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna”, showering flower petals of marigold as we passed by!
The Congregational Harinam Party were allowed to pass on amidst greetings, chanting, dancing under clouds of colored powder thrown by the jubilant servants of Lord Ganesha. At one stretch the Harinam party overtook a huge deity of Lord Ganesha who was blessing all with his benevolent mercy. In the known history of Mumbai’s mega Ganapati festivals, this is probably the first time a congregation of more than 100 devotees of Lord Caitanya is blissfully spreading the Holy Names of the Lord of Vrindavana.
As the Harinam party entered the beach with large, fluttering, colorful satin flags with marks of the tilak, shankha, chakra, gada, padma, hanuman and a blissfully smiling Lord Jagannath and Baladeva, it instantaneously became the center of attraction for tens of thousands of Ganesha devotees.
The media had a field day. Various television networks covered the grand entry of the Harinam Party, lead by tumultuous beating of mrdanga drums, clanging brass whompers and karatalas in the presence of increasing number of dancing devotees, and were telecasting it live to all cable homes in Mumbai. The Ganapati festival is the lifeline of all Mumbaites and those who miss going to the beach personally spend their time glued to the television. Which means over 1.5 crore people were viewing this event live.
The Harinam Party paused; the devotees made announcements and received commitments from over 500 assembled people who promised to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra for at least 10 minutes everyday. The Party then proceeded towards the base where more temple and congregation devotees had joined in. Around 200 Hare Krishnas were spread all over, distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books & prasadam, with hundreds and hundreds dancing away to glory to the sweet tunes of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra kirtans led by Russian, American, and Indian devotees!
Mahaprasad + Bhagavad-gita = Bliss !!U.S born Ekalavya das Brahmachari was a prominent attraction as he spoke sweetly in Hindi to the great amazement and appreciation of the thronging crowds. Accompanied by his famous trumpet, he led a non-stop, roaring kirtan much to the delight of the crowd!
Devotee children, women and men continued preaching, dancing, distributing books, japa malas and lots of prasadam till 10 in the night with unending enthusiasm. Time and again the glaring lights of various television networks were repeatedly cast on the dancing crowds as they were immersed in tasting the nectar of the Holy Names to the sweet tunes belted out by the devotees.
The multitudes continuously surround the Harinam Party, showing their appreciation and gratitude by participating in the chanting process. Like a magnet, Lord Caitanya’s Harinam Sankirtan Party attracted the hearts of all living entities irrespective of whatever state of body or consciousness they were in.
When we were on our way back to the temple in a convoy, still carrying tall flagpoles, we overheard a person chanting, “hare krishna morya, purcha varshi laukariya” (hare krishnas, farewell…please come again next year)!
We’re already making plans now for a bigger, grander Harinam Sankirtan party for next year’s Ganesha festival!