Dharma Yatra UK Summer 2005 – Part 1

In May and June of this year, Pujya Bhaishri conducted a massive Dharma Yatra of the UK, visiting over 15 towns and cities, over 30 temples and institutions and conducted 18 discourses. Below is the complete list of places Bhaishri visited with summaries of some of the discourses.

Sunday, 29th May Visit: ISKCON Hare Krishna Mandir, Watford.

Bhaishri was welcomed with Vedic chanting by trustees of the Temple and attended the evening Arti. He also met with the Temple president, Shri Gauridasji, and discussed some of the new projects that ISKCON are undertaking in the UK. The evening ended with a whistle-stop tour of the Temple Gau Shala.

Monday, 30th May Visit: Chinmaya Kirti, Hendon

Bhaishri visited the UK centre of the Chinmaya Mission and met with Swami Swaroopnananda and other trustees of the organisation. Bhaishri remembered with great fondness the times he had met Brahmleen Swami Chinmayanandaji and enquired about the expansion of the Chinmaya Mission, it’s activities and current projects.

Discourse: Hindu Council Brent

Over 1,000 people attended the discourse held in the evening at the Kadwa Patidar Samaj Hall in Harrow.

Some of the points Bhaishri spoke of:

· Shri Ram and Shri Krishna are two forms of the same One God. Shri Ram is ‘Maryada Purshottam’ (personification of discipline) and Shri Krishna is ‘Pushti Purshottam’ i.e. (personification of love). It doesn’t matter which form you choose to follow, however, it is important that you decide to follow God.

· During the course of life we may come across many problems and obstacles which may deviate us from our focus. A true bhakta (devotee) never gives up in life. A rose bush is always full of thorns, however in order to be able to pick out the rose one must learn to move the thorns out of the way. Similarly, in life we must try to overcome the obstacles that face us in order to achieve our goals.

· The scriptures refer to three main classifications of bhaktas. These are known as: uttam adhikari- the most worthy; madhyam adhikari- the reasonably worthy; and kanishtha- the least worthy.

· There are many reasons why people usually worship God. There are those who worship God because they wish to convey their love through prayers. Others wish to gain something from God, and yet some worship out of fear. A true devotee remains united with God through all their actions.

Tuesday, 31st May Visit: Sri Murugan Temple, East London

Bhaishri visited the newly inaugurated Sri Murugan Temple in East Ham. This is one of the few traditional temples of South Indian style temple in the UK of Lord Shree Venkateshwara. Bhaishri performed a puja ceremony and was taken on a tour of the temple by the head priest accompanied by the president of the temple. He also met some of the pujaris who had performed the ‘Shri Shiv Puja‘ and the Rudrabhishek ceremony after the Gita Panchaha Gyan Yagna 2003 in Harrow.

Discourse: Gurjar Hindu Union, Crawley

Before the discourse, Bhaishri conducted a tree-planting ceremony. In his discourse, Bhaishri spoke of the religious significance of trees.

· Trees are like Temples. They give refuge to birds, shade to travellers and represent mother earth’s beauty.

· Trees are also a symbol for a ‘Sadguru’ (spiritual master). In Hindu philosophy, the ‘Vadlo’ tree represents vishwas (trust), the ‘Limdo’ leaves are bitter but have medicinal uses, and the ‘Pipala’ tree represents dharma (righteousness). Similarly, a Sadguru also gives us vishwas and teaches us dharma, and if necessary can be harsh and bitter, but only for our own good (like the Limdo leaves). An appropriate song by Surdas states:

guruni chhaya ma besi ne rahevu
jema guru kerino amrut prasad aape
koyik var kadvo limdo aapi ek aushadhi na roop ma

“Sit under the shade of the Guru, under which the Guru may sometimes give the prasad of sweet mangoes and may sometimes give the medicine of the bitter Limdo.”

· Hinduism is not only about ethics but also has deep philosophy. The sea is measurable by its depth and a mountain by its height. Hindu philosophy has the depth of the Ganges and the height of Mount Kailash.

· A Mandir are not only for installing murtis and a place to sing Bhajans, but a place to learn about our way of life through the scriptures. Mandirs are not only for God but are also for us to think about who, what and why we are here.

· Just as we keep a Mandir clean, we should keep our bodies, which are temples for God, clean. We should not fill it with non-vegetarian food, alcohol and other such things.

Wednesday, 1st June Visit: South East Hindu Association, Woolwich, London

Bhaishri visited the Hindu Mandir in Woolwich and met the temple trustees and congregation of devotees.

Discourse: Hindu Mandir, Luton

Over 300 people came to the small temple in Luton which is rarely visited by saints and sadhus. Sitting in front of the congregation with the divine Murtis yards away, Bhaishri once again spoke of the importance of the Mandirs in our lives.

· A temple is not only a place of worship but is also a place of education. The question arises as to why we should make temples. God wouldn’t be homeless if temples were not built! Temples are made with God’s name but we have not made them for God; they are for ourselves.

· If we look at our lives, then we can see that three things are present but three things are also missing. The three things that we have are shokh (distress/regrets), moh (delusion) and bhay (fear). The things that are missing are shanty (peace), anand (bliss) and such (happiness). We often have regrets about our past. We live in delusion in the present and fear the future. Only by freeing ourselves from the past can we start living in the present and live without fear for the future.