All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga

I Found Myself
On Pilgrimage in India by Bus

Glancing around Sri Govinda Dham Temple in Australia I found myself spellbound by a vision that has been given in grace. Devotees were chanting glories to Lord Krishna on Janmastami and the centre of the kirttan was ablaze with the fire of purification. I blinked and the room was filled with golden light. In that moment I recognized the invitation to go to India and accept this blessing of initiation being offered by our Gurudev, Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj. The window of time available was the month of Karttik. Many other devotees from Australia were also making this journey and they were excited to tell me of a pilgrimage by bus from Nabadwip to Vrindavan, so this too seemed destined.

My arrival into Calcutta was sweet and I felt grateful to be taken straight to the Dum Dum Park Temple. As I offered dandavat pranams to Srila Gurudev my heart was pounding through my chest and ringing in my ears. The space was so full of love and I settled down blessed with the company of Gurudev and his devotees as we laughed and shared stories. The next day we were off to Nabadwip.

The Nabadwip Temple felt otherworldly and within a few days of grace I was given initiation, after which followed an intense fever and then relief. I then started to experience a beautiful adjustment to India, and this was obvious by the grace of my Gurudev. A window into temple life revealed surrendered souls moving around the clock. It was both charming and humbling as they served us prasadam on leaf plates and earthen cups. In these moments I realized that I had no idea what sort of deep surgical spiritual operation had begun. My previous spiritual guidance had been through the practice of vipassana meditation, a 'Course in Miracles' and my other half of two years who has been a devotee of Gurudev for the past three years.

Just before I went to jump on the bus headed toward Vrindavan I offered my obeisances to Srila Gurudev. Full with anticipation I climbed the stairs to Gurudev's quarters and touched my head to the ground. As I lifted my head to gaze at Gurudev I could see a transcendental golden glow all around and he appeared weightless. He commented, "So now you will go and see India, you have been blessed by Krishna."

"Thank you for your grace Gurudev," I replied, and then went. I was ecstatic.

It was 8.30 pm and the scene at the bus was hilarious. Only at that moment did the test of patience begin to present itself. Once settled in our seats we travelled through the night to Gaya. From the moment we arrived there I was in a daze, I had no reference point in my mind to refer to the space I was in. The environment felt raw and I was seeing a new face of India. We ate prasadam and were off on horse and carriage.

Gaya: Worship worn into the walls

Our first stop was alongside the River Phalgu where Sita made pinda (an offering to forefathers) to Dasarath, Lord Rama's father. The altar revealed the hand of Dasarath coming out of the ground to receive this offering. Hanuman, Siva, Krishna and Radharani and other Lords' Deities were present here where worship was worn into the temple walls. Next stop was a visit to the banyan tree that spoke of Sita's pastimes, then we went to visit Lord Siva's Bholanath Temple. The sun was almost fully set as we proceeded to the Vishnupada Temple.

As we entered people were rinsing their feet and the marble floors were wet. Upon coming before the altar I witnessed an intensity of worship that has made a deep impression on me. The altar in the centre was a stone slab low to the ground where the priests were doing puja. This is where Vishnu placed His foot and you could see its reflection through their placement of sandalwood paste. I was in awe of the intense vibration in this temple as we began circling the altar chanting the Mahamantra. We were all feeling ecstatic at this point. This is the temple where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went to meet His Guru, Ishvara Puri, and then subsequently he took initiation in Gaya at this place. We then slept.

Bodhgaya: Peace and clarity

The following morning, after parikrama and prasadam, we were off to Bodhgaya. This is the place were Lord Buddha sat under the peepul tree and attained enlightenment. A descendant of the tree remains and is located just behind the temple. The grounds are marked with all the different areas that Buddha would sit week by week following his awakenment. This is an incredible place. A wonderful feeling of peace and clarity overcame me as I paid my obeisances to Buddha.

We travelled by bus through the night again and arrived early next morning in Prayag. We headed on parikrama down to the River Ganga where we all boarded boats that took us to bathe where the three rivers meet: the Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati. It was beautiful and the water felt silky smooth. We were now fully revived and ready to travel again.

I enjoyed travelling on the bus throughout the day. The ever fresh face of India left very strong impressions on me. We stopped for refreshments and prasadam and proceeded again travelling through yet another night by bus.

Taj Mahal: Dressed in a soft rose colour

We arrived in Agra at about 4.30 in the morning. I was feeling challenged by the overnight bus trips and had to be in a constant state of surrender to deal with my body's reaction. The rest of the passengers went off to visit the Taj Mahal this morning, though us three westerners could not go unless we were prepared to pay the special 'foreigners' entrance fee of 750 rupees. Instead we went on our own adventure around the perimeter of the site and were guided to a special spot where we had a nice bird's eye view. It was early and the sun was new on the horizon, so the Taj Mahal was dressed in a soft rose colour.

Govardhan: The most sacred place

The next stop was our destination: Govardhan. I was elated to arrive in this most sacred place and could now integrate the journey we had just made. It has taken a further ten days to begin to understand the significance of that journey for me. I can now see how important it was for lessons of patience, tolerance and prayer. No doubt the bus trips through the night were challenging but they helped me deal with things that came to the surface that could have otherwise laid buried deep in the subconscious. The mornings always brought a refreshing renewal, so I didn't suffer from exhaustion.

The opportunity to visit these sacred sites was well worth everything, and visiting them has given me the chance to feel different moods of worship. In particular I now recognise even more how very sweet the mood of our devotional line is and how blessed we are to have our Gurudev's mercy.

— Jayamala Devi Dasi (now safely back in Australia)

The Karttik Bus Pilgrimage Party then engaged in parikramas of Govardhan, Vrindavan and many holy sites in Sri Mathura Mandal before returning to Nabadwip via various other places of interest including Ayodhya and Haridwar. Jayamala Devi Dasi only booked on the outward leg of the tour, as she had her flight home to catch.