$title="27th May 2001 - Nectar from Timisoara"; include("../sys/top.php"); ?>
Haribol! PAMHO! AGtSP! AGtGM!
When we arrived at Timisoara temple, Mataji Syamala (the wife of Murari
Krsna p.),
Visnu Rahasya and bh. Aditya were awaiting us. The temple is an old family
house with another building with two flats in the back and and with big
garden (15 x 30 m), where the devotees grow salads and some vegetables.
GM's rooms and bathroom are in the back building and my room is directly
opposite to
his. In between there is small veranda and when he needs something, he just
calls me and I come. We brought all GM's luggage into his room. Immediately
after arriving GM ate some fruits (bananas and apples) and little yoghurt.
He said that tomorrow he will take rest and give no lecture. Visnu Rahasya
and Bh. Adityu were on SKT today and have distributed together 120
Isopanisads, so they were in extasy. Bh. Aditya is 20 year old Indian boy
who now lives and studies in Timisoara.
In the evening we have made some chapaties for GM (from brown flour) and
then I have massaged his knee. To help his knee he now uses a special lamp
with infra-red rays. He said his elbow was OK, he only feels little pain
there if he pushes it.
Then Prabhu Nityananda (das) came in, so we all together ate wonderful
prasadam, which he brought from the bakery which devotees here have (it's
called 'Radha Damodara'). So now was night and the time to take rest. Now I
was supposed to sleep in my rooms, but I didn't feel very comfortably...you
know, it's an old building, in the room there is some old furniture and my
mind was restless. Now I heard somebody knocking on the door. It was
Visnu Rahasya, who just wanted to ask me something, so I took the
opportunity
to ask him in return if by chance there wasn't somebody who would like to
share the room with me for the night. He immediately voluntered and brought
his sleeping bag in. We were talking together about various things for some
time. Now it was around 10 pm. Than all of a sudden GM came in and was
looking around the room. As we were paying our obeisances, he asked me:"So,
how do you like it here?" "Well,GM..." "It's little spooky here, but don't
worry."he interrupted me. Then he saw the heating (which at least for me
seemed to be unusual) and asked:"Oh, it's working here? In my room it's
maybe broken." So Visnu Rahasya showed to GM how to turn it on and off.
It's really special: you have big box (2x1 m) and inside it is something
like a part of a stove and the whole thing works on gas. So with one hand
you have to open a gas supply and with the other you have to kindle fire
inside this-simultaneously. Then as we were leaving his room, he asked:
"Do we have some fruis? I'm ever-hungry..." So we have brought him some
more fruits. After this we finally went to take rest.
Thursday May 24. Today GM was taking rest. After he finished his puja,
he chanted his japa. When I have asked him if he would like to take some
prasadam, he said that first of all he must chant his rounds. Then he asked
for some fruits, so I have brought him some bananas, fresh strawberries
and yoghurt. The strawberries are really nectar here - they are sweet and
red and smell nicely - not like those in the west, which are just like
plastic.
In the evening Murari Krsna pr. went with GM and me to the university,
where he works, so that we could send some e-mails. Before he came, GM came
into my room and in light conversation he told me something about preaching
in Romania. He said that here and also in Bulgaria, the atmosphere is very
tamasic. But the difference is that Romanians are of the roman origin, like
the Italians, so they tend to be very lazy. In Bulgaria at least, the
people do have some enthusiasm, maybe due to their slavic origin. But in
any case he said that the people who come to KC and are very much
enthusiastic right from the very beggining, you can immediately know that
there is something wrong. He said that those persons who seem to be
hesitating, who are around for years, they will usually last. Therefore the
situation in Romania is stabile and there are no big problems. Also this
bakery has great influence on the people. He said that preaching here is
difficult, because the people here are just concerned with how to earn
their livelihood and are not able to think beyond that. Than he told me how
the Orthodox Church is having great influence on the people: "Once I was
standing in Buchurest ih front of a big church in downtown and I was
watching the people passing by. Practically all of them were doing like
this...(he indicated making a cross on his chest with the hand) The Church
has simply brainwashed them..." Also people are
very suspicious here, so if the devotees for example would build a new
temple, people would think'Oh, there is something wrong. Maybe they are
thieves or the mafia stands behind them.' Then GM told me how in 1990,
after the fall of communist dictature when everything was spaced-out,they
bought the building which is now a temple, for a very small price.
Then we went to the university. Meanwhile GM was speaking with Murari
Krsna pr. about his knee. He said that this bike accident only revealed the
problem with his bones. After the accident he went to someone, who knows
shaitsu, this Japaneese esoteric things. And the man said to GM that the
damage caused by the accident is not so serious, but that there is
something else. Later this was confirmed by doctors at the Bhaktivedanta
Hospital in Bombay, who told GM, that his bones are weakening due to old
age. Actually all this is caused by some stomach problems. Therefore GM has
now this diet and also takes three times a day three different kinds of
teas.
Then we were answering the e-mail, but something happened there in the
computers, that it became frozen and nothing worked although the screen was
on. This happened to GM and to me also. For me it was worse, because I have
lost one letter (actually it is this one -now I write it once again). GM
commented it:"Just see this technology, how it is useless!" Than he
explained why he is no more on com.
"On com everyone knows your name and they can just plug you in so many
garbige things. Now I have my e-mail address and only those who want to
write me know it. So I answer only those letters, but even that is
sometimes too much for me."
When we have finished there, we went back to the car. While going down
in an old elevator GM commented: "Romania is like an old film. But somehow
I like it. Romania and India also. It's just as if the time has stopped and
you are back in the 50's."
In the car he elaborated:" What I like here is this peace. But it's
not the same kind of peace as you have in India. In India, it's in the mode
of goodness, the people still know something... But here the peace is
tamasic. So it's completely different quality of peace..." and he
laughted.
When we arrived at the temple, GM said:"I'm tired and hungry
simutaneously." He had Visnu Rahasya fry some potatoes in ghee and ate it
with great pleasure.
ALL GLORIES TO GM!!!
ys Vidyagati das include("../sys/bottom.php"); ?>