Friday 16th June 2006 - 07:49His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami, Tour Report October-November 2003 West Africa: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, NigeriaThe following is the tour report from HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami's final tour of West Africa. This report had not yet been shared, so we are presenting it here now.
Our respectful obeisances unto H.H. Bhakti Tirtha Swami who is very dear to Lord Krishna having taken shelter at His lotus feet. We would like to offer our respectful obeisances to all the Vaisnava devotees who are just like desire trees, having fulfilled our desire to have the association of H.H. Bhakti Tirtha Swami Gurudeva. You are all full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.
Ivory Coast
October 14-18Gurudeva arrived in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on the 14th of October after departing from London on the 12th. He missed his connecting flight from Paris and had to stay over one night before continuing his trip to Ivory Coast.
The devotees were enlivened by His Holiness’ arrival as he thrilled them with ecstatic kirtana. In his arrival lecture, H.H. first apologized to the devotees for arriving a day later than scheduled due to a disruption in his flight. He encouraged the devotees to develop transcendental greed to attain the goal of Krishna consciousness. Everything that is valuable usually has a price. If we have such thirst and eagerness to attain bhakti, then we will be ready to pay the price, and do whatever it takes to continue in Krishna consciousness.
The next day H.H. had a conference on Spirituality and Conflict organized by the Director of the National Library, Mr. Gouda, an aspiring disciple. Mr. Gouda and the devotees had organized a similar conference for VIPs in the Conference Hall of the National Library last year. Partly due to being a functionary in the government, and also due to the impact of the previous program, the response this time was quite impressive. The Special Adviser to the Prime Minister; the Directors of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Ministry of Agriculture; as well as Doctors and Professors from the University, inter alia, were present at the conference.
In his address to these VIPs, H.H. addressed the importance of relationship in order to experience inner peace, peace in the family, in our nation, and in the international arena. He explained that until we are able to experience loving relationships within our families, we cannot experience peace in our communities.
His Holiness gave an example of how to handle conflicts in marriage and how to use conflicts or negative input as a way of deepening a relationship. He analyzed the principal causes of conflicts as relating to resources as well as to psychological and philosophical factors. Lack of proper appreciation for the conflict could make conflict resolution very difficult. When there are people who benefit from conflicts, it is certainly going to be in their interest to maintain the conflicting situation and to prolong it. Quite often, conflicts appear to be provoked by lack of resources, greed, and an unequal distribution of wealth. This type of conflict is the most difficult to resolve. By putting in more resources, the different parties can be appeased.
However, in most cases, there are conflicts which seem to be provoked by resources, but the needs are quite profound. Conflicts that are caused by psychological and philosophical needs are more difficult to resolve. Even if the material resources or the needs that seem to be lacking are provided, the conflict continues. Gurudeva cited the example of the Middle East conflict. At first, the cause seemed to be land dispute, but because the conflict is compounded by psychological and philosophical needs, it is proving very difficult to resolve.
H.H. concluded by giving five ways NOT to resolve conflicts. These are the ways in which most people react when they are faced with conflicts: Avoidance, Band Aid, Conquest, Bargaining, and Role Play.
Ivory Coast is presently in a civil war crisis. The rebels control half of the country, and the international Peace Force help to maintain a fragile peace by creating a buffer zone. So, we can imagine the rapt attention with which the audience received Gurudeva’s message. Most of the government representatives present in the conference were busy taking down notes, and, after the lecture, they posed many relevant questions. H.H. responded to each of their question with much concern and wisdom.
October 16-17
On Thursday, October 16th, Gurudeva gave a lecture at the University. Mr. Gouda, his aspiring disciple and Director of the National Library, is also a professor in the Department of Linguistics. He arranged for H.H. to use his class session to speak to his students and to other students who might be interested. Gurudeva spoke on How To Know God. The students asked many interesting questions to which H.H. thoroughly responded.
After the program, H.H. went with the devotees to see a new building they hope to acquire for the Temple. The present location is too remote from the city and also too close-up in a residential quarter.
On Friday, Gurudeva admonished the devotees on the importance of maintaining the vows of initiation. He explained how it is easy to hurt our spiritual life if we commit offenses. He advised the devotees to guard against disobeying the instructions of the Guru. He used the occasion to explain why some devotees would not be receiving initiation despite his promise to them last year. H.H. also called on each devotee to share with the assembly of devotees the services they were doing, and how they have been able to continue up till date in spite of all their challenges.
H.H. spent the rest of the day in having personal darsana with the devotees and responding to his emails.
October 18
Gurudeva was going to depart from Ivory Coast today, and his final engagement was to give initiation to four devotees, two bhaktas and two bhaktins. One of the candidate was a policeman, a senior officer at the International Airport. He does such nice service by helping to welcome into the country the Gurus and other devotees besides his devotional engagements. One of the matajis made history by being the first Ivorian citizen to be initiated since the inception of the Temple in the country.
In his initiation lecture, Gurudeva again reiterated the importance of respecting the ten offenses and the four regulative principles. To demonstrate the serious consequence of not respecting our vows, Gurudeva asked for a list of initiated disciples who were no longer associating with devotees or were no longer respecting their vows. Before giving initiation to the new candidates, he withdrew his mercy from the deviants.
He explained that a person who has insurance but who regularly does not pay his or her premium cannot make any claim on such insurance when the need arises. In the same way, initiation is a contract that we have to honor. We should never think that once we are initiated, we have attained the goal of being Krishna conscious. Rather, initiation is the beginning of our spiritual birth, and now we have to grow.
After the initiation ceremony, Gurudeva led the kirtana and drenched everyone in the fire of the sankirtana. About an hour later, we were at the airport. Nama Sankirtana dasa, the newly initiated policeman, and Isita Prabhu, two disciples of Gurudeva who worked at the Airport, took care of H.H.’s check-in procedure and escorted us in to the departure lounge.
Before departing, Gurudeva once again requested the senior men around to assist the temple president, Kusha dasa, in securing a new accommodation for the Temple, as H.H. just gave some laxmi to complement what they already had in order to be able to make a quick transfer.
Ghana
October 18-24Several devotees had come to the airport to welcome H.H.. Arriving at the temple vicinity in the city suburb, the devotees were already on the roadside chanting in anticipation.
The procession to the Temple now became a slow rhythmic dancing. In front of the Deities of Sri Sri Radha Govinda, H.H. took over the kirtana. The meeting of the Lord's pure devotee, the Lord’s sankirtana army, and the Lord’s divine representation produced an ecstatic uproar. Everyone was drenched in electric kirtana following H.H.’s footsteps.
Sunday, October 19
The Sunday Feast program opened up with a drama performed by Lord Krishna’s Academy School children. They acted out the story of the Syamantaka Jewel. The children were nicely costumed, and put on colorful dresses with grotesque animal masks befitting their respective characters in the play. Ila devi dasi, the School Principal, ran the commentary while the children performed. It is amazing to observe these children, most of them from the village, now expressing themselves lucidly in English and also performing with such confidence. They won the admiration of everyone in the audience. The devotees cheered up the children with rounds of applause at the end of the drama and Gurudeva later took a photograph with them.
In his Sunday lecture, Gurudeva began by commending the efforts of the school children and their teachers. He explained the importance of creating an enabling environment for our children to experience the beauty of Krishna consciousness. The children are our future, and if they are properly trained both at home and at school, they will be proud to represent the Vedic tradition. However if the children do not see their parents living a happy Krishna conscious life, then they will not be eager to be part of the future that characterized the lives of their parents. H.H. further explained the principles of a community based on selfless service.
Gurudeva commended the participation of the Ghanaian devotees in the Maha Vyasa Puja in Gita Nagari earlier in the year. He mentioned how they took over the kirtana during the Vyasa Puja and enlivened everyone with their special performance. Everywhere they went, they received a lot of appreciation. There was a heightened emotion amongst the devotees when they visited the temple in Chicago.
Gurudeva also mentioned that the devotees who went to America are presently trying to raise funds and arrange to have aids for the development of the projects in Ghana. Srivasa Prabhu and his wife, Rucira d.d. were yet to return to Ghana as they were still busy finalizing their arrangements.
Monday, October 20
Instead of Bhagavatam class, Gurudeva requested the devotees to share their experiences and the challenges in their services over the year. In this way, H.H. evaluated the progress in the yatra. He gave different advice according to the need of the particular devotee and also mentioned what help or assistance should be accorded any devotee that so deserves it. During the session, Laxman Prabhu, acting on Gurudeva's instruction, took Srila Prabhupada's murti into the altar room for re-painting. The exercise was to continue in the evening to permit as many devotees as possible to also share their experiences.
Later in the day, Gurudeva took an inspection tour of the project. He went to see the new construction which was nearing completion for the clinic. He was glad to see how far they have gone and was particularly impressed that one of the local devotees, Pandu Prabhu, was the sole financier. He then went to the Lord Krishna Academy School. The children once again treated Gurudeva to a nice drama performance. He encouraged Shastra Prabhu, the school Director, to solicit more funds to be able to cater to more children and pay the teachers. He also advised that Mother Ila could try to visit her parent in South Africa early next year.
Tuesday, October 21
In spite of Gurudeva's intention to use this visit to interact more with the devotees with less emphasis on public engagements, the devotees still managed to get him to do a few media engagements. A radio interview has been scheduled on a new radio station, Unique FM, which has become quite popular with the majority of Ghanaian listeners. H.H. was hosted by a young female journalist who was amazingly sharp and intelligent. She posed many interesting questions regarding Gurudeva's travels, his writings on Krishna conscious philosophy, and the devotees' activities in Ghana. Gurudeva was particularly impressed with the mood of his interviewer and her probing questions, and he equally responded in a manner befitting her questions. By the time the journalist opened up the line for the public phone-in, there were many callers eager to connect with H.H. on the life program. Some of the callers recognized H.H. and expressed their joy to hear his message once again. Most of those who called were regular listeners of Gurudeva's previous interviews, and they all asked interesting questions. One caller remarked that she was fascinated with the Hare Krishna Movement and asked how she could join.
At the end of the program, H.H. personally autographed a copy of Spiritual Warrior for the journalist as a compliment for her bright performance. He also gave some books including copies of Leadership for an Age of Higher Consciousness to the Director.
Just as we were about to leave the premises, the Director of another station called Radio 2 ambushed us and requested Gurudeva to please give a thirty minute recording on his station. Gurudeva warmly accepted the invitation. The Radio 2 was in the same complex with Unique FM, so we simply walked into another recording studio. The Director himself conducted the interview. He also had been a regular listener of Gurudeva's programs whenever he visited the country. This time he would like to have Gurudeva on his own program. He, however, insisted that he preferred to have a group-discussion with other devotees participating. I was then alone with Gurudeva as Baladeva Prabhu, the R. Secretary, and Jagadvasu Prabhu, the temple president for Accra, had both gone to confirm a television program.
The interview this time was quite philosophical and bordered on interfaith beliefs and activities. The Director had Gurudeva and myself responding to his questions. At the end of the recording, the Director revealed his intention for having demanded a devotees’ participation along with Gurudeva. He had always wanted to see if the devotees were also learned in the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. He was however delighted by the intelligent response he had from both speakers.
The devotees arrived from the TV stations just as we were finishing at Radio 2. There is a live morning show on the TV which H.H. features in almost every time he is on a visit to Ghana. There has been a change in the personnel running this program and the new Director is an atheist. He is particularly against featuring Christian Evangelists on his program as they are becoming more and more unpopular with the press and a section of the society due to malpractices. So, the Director would not allow us on the program to avoid being obliged to compromise his stand for the evangelists.
Wednesday, October 22
One of our godbrothers, Nrsimha Purana Prabhu, a local Chief, has been organizing a successful Nama Hatta program at his village, Suedro. Gurudeva was invited to grace the meeting which the chief organized regularly at his house.
The village is about an hour drive north of Accra. The devotees went in the school bus, a big van of about thirty seats. A few senior devotees drove with Gurudeva in his car to the venue. There were lively discussions and pleasant reminiscences of ISKCON in the early days in Africa. The devotees recalled how, with the passage of time, we have almost left a generation behind. It is almost 25 years since Gurudeva has been preaching in Africa. In the sweet exchange between Gurudeva and the devotees, we also did not notice how fast an hour passed by, and before we knew it, we were at the chief's house.
The devotees who had gone ahead of us and the group at the chief's house jointly welcomed Gurudeva and his entourage with an ecstatic kirtana. We proceeded into a large hall with a beautiful altar. Here, the hall was actually the spiritual center for the community. After a foot bathing ceremony and guru-puja, Gurudeva gave a brief talk for about five minutes as he had to attend a live radio show on the local station.
The Golden Star FM Radio was newly established and the journalist was quite excited to host an international guest in their studio. The young journalist who conducted the interview was very particular about his presentation. There was a simultaneous translation into the local dialect, Fante, and he had to constantly remind his listeners about the special guest. As he did not want to mispronounce Gurudeva's name, every time he wanted to announce his guest's presence, he would request Gurudeva to fill in the name. Satyaki Prabhu, an experienced preacher in local languages, and also one of the pioneers of the Nama Hatta program did an excellent translation.
Thursday, October 23
One of our godbrothers Vrndavana das Prabhu, a Custom Superintendent, had previously arranged a show on a new TV Station, Metro, when Gurudeva was here last year. He has a special relationship with the Director of the TV station, who is a Lebanese and a Muslim. The first time Gurudeva had a show on the television, the Director requested that the interview be conducted by a devotee, hence making the program our own presentation. Our late godbrother, Kesi Dhama Prabhu, a renowned educationist, conducted the interview then. He left his body towards the later part of the year and went back to rest at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna.
This time I was asked to do the interview. Some devotees did not really know what to expect, and they were full of promptings on what I should say, etc. However, the interview went on smoothly and to the admiration of the television staff. The program was a live transmission and there was also a phone in session. Some of the callers were again those who have been familiar with Gurudeva on TV shows in the past, so the inquiries were more like a Guru-disciple dialogue. Gurudeva left with a copy of the TV show, and I am sure it will be available for those interested in the Institute Tape Ministry.
Friday, October 24
Gurudeva left Ghana and continued on his tour to a neighboring Franco-phone country .
Lome-Togo
For quite some years back, the devotees in Ghana have established some contact with an Indian businessman and a few locals in Lome, the capital city of Togo, which is a three hour drive from Accra. ISKCON was registered in Togo since 1993 as a result of the efforts of Mr. Radhakishin Lalwani, our Indian friend, and a few local sympathizers.
Several attempts were made from then on to try to establish a Temple in Lome. It was particularly difficult to get things started because of the language barrier. In 1997-98, Divya Purusha Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada’s disciple and a French devotee, came to West Africa to assist in pioneering the preaching in Franco-phone countries. He helped with the preaching in Ivory Coast for a while and later visited Togo. His presence inspired the friends and well-wisher of ISKCON to expect that the temple would soon be a dream come true. Divya Purusha Prabhu spent about one month in Mr. Lalwani’s hotel, trying to organize the locals and using the hotel pavilion for giving classes. For whatever reason, that attempt also terminated without the goal of a temple being realized.
It was last year in October, 2002 that I went to Togo with the aim of starting the temple. By Gurudeva's mercy, we were able to realize the long cherished dream of a temple in Lome. I have already shared some of the pioneering history of the temple establishment on the BTSwamilist and on Dipika. Now we have to focus more on Gurudeva's first official visit to the second ISKCON project in the French-speaking region.
Gurudeva's very first visit here dated back into the 80’s from Nigeria. That time, H.H. and some devotees had come for the installation of a life size murti of Lord Nrsmhadeva in a Hindu Temple run by a local. The Prahlada-Nrsimha murtis were carved in Nigeria by our devotees there under the guidance of Gita Govinda Prabhu.
Gurudeva's entering into Togo this time is in his capacity as the envoy of Lord Krishna and the Spiritual Emissary for the new ISKCON Embassy in Togo. There were official staff of ISKCON waiting eagerly at the airport to garland him with sweet aromatic flowers and welcome him with a dancing party.
For the people of Togo, and especially for the Togolese devotees, this is also their first meeting with Gurudeva. So, there was such an air of expectance and great longing for the hour of meeting.
A group of devotees from neighboring Ghana had also traveled ahead with their bus to Lome in order to assist the devotees here. I have been away from Togo for about two weeks since the arrival of Gurudeva in Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire and have since been accompanying H.H. as his menial servant. There has been some arrangement left in the hands of the Temple Committee, which comprised professionals who would be receiving Gurudeva for the first time.
Dr. Akolly, a retired Chief Medical Officer for the country and a very enthusiastic devotee, had gone to the airport to welcome Gurudeva with his Mercedes Benz. When they arrived at the Temple, there was tumultuous joy and loud chanting.
After the foot bathing and guru-puja, Gurudeva took over the kirtana. Well, what happened next could be anyone’s guess. The devotees here have never experienced any kirtana like this before.
H.H. gave his arrival lecture and it was well received. The devotees asked a few questions, especially on how to approach a spiritual master. Gurudeva told the story of how Lord Siva being pleased with a devotee of his sent him to Sanatana Goswami. Although the devotee of Lord Siva was after a material boon, his coming in contact with the Goswami gave him the ultimate boon, love of Krishna.
In the evening, H.H. gave the Bhagavad-gita class. He used the story of Bhagavan Pandita and the King contained in his book, Spiritual Warrior III, to illustrate how honest and sincere souls often become the victims of a corrupt community. The devotees enjoyed the story and had wonderful realizations.
Saturday, October 25
In my absence, the Temple Committee had tried to arrange a meeting with the local Christian and Muslim religious leaders. For one reason or the other, the meetings did not take place. No other public engagement was organized, more because H.H.’s visit was during Diwali. So a radio announcement was made inviting the public for the Diwali and Govardhana Puja festival, and to listen to a discourse on Reincarnation and Overcoming Poverty by His Holiness.
After the morning Bhagavatam class, Gurudeva took some time to inspect the property. One thing that first caught his notice was the fact that there were four toilets in the building and two others in the courtyard. H.H. commented on the striking difference between the apartments in Russia where there is often only one toilet and it is more often than not situated outside the building. H.H. was impressed with the nice facilities we have obtained for preaching and more so its spectacular location. The property is situated close to the heart of the city, but in a quiet neighborhood.
H.H. spent rest of the day answering his e-mails and also giving darsana to some Indian families as well as members of the Temple Committee who have all been instrumental to the successful opening of the new temple.
In the evening, the lecture was given in the temple courtyard. One of the special features of the property is its big courtyard dotted with trees. The devotees had arranged for about a hundred and fifty chairs and a podium for Gurudeva. H.H. spoke briefly and devoted the rest of the time to answering questions.
Sunday, October 26
Sunday is usually a hectic day in our center in Lome. This is because we have devised a two-Sunday feast program: one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The morning program is usually well attended, drawing an average of about 50 participants whilst the evening draws a lesser group of about 15 averagely. Our temple hall is just spacious enough for the participants, and this generates such unbearable heat, in spite of the three fans in the hall.
Just before the start of the Sunday program, Gurudeva requested that it would be better to hold the class in the courtyard, especially since the chairs have been hired for the period of his visit. Soon after the Deity greeting, all the members and visiting guests marched into the courtyard and helped to arrange the chairs in the garage area to be shaded from the sun. Only about a hundred chairs could fit.
No sooner than the lecture began did we realize the timely vision of H.H. The hundred chairs soon got filled up. Gurudeva was happy about the arrangement. An old man, called Foe-Ben, who has been one of the pioneers of Krishna consciousness in Togo, came with his family and a few of his adherents at his preaching center in his village, Noepe, about 30 km from Lome. Quite a few of our congregation have had contact with Foe-Ben initially. After a while, many of them stop visiting him because of what they termed as a hotchpotch process.
This Sunday was actually the celebration of Govardhana Puja. Gurudeva spoke on the significance of the pastime of lifting Govardhana Hill. We had intended to make the Govardhana Hill of prasadam, but somehow we missed the chance of setting it up. Gurudeva had looked forward to the chance of dishing out Giridhari’s mercy, and when he learned that we could not set it up for some reasons, it was obvious that we missed some golden opportunity of receiving such mercy directly from Gurudeva’s hands. We were somewhat disappointed, but H.H. however remained unperturbed.
The evening Sunday program was also held in the courtyard. Since it was after sunset, the program was held in the open courtyard. Gurudeva had wanted to take more questions, but one of the Temple Committee members reminded us that the announcement on the radio was that the Guru would be speaking on Poverty Eradication by Spiritual Methods. Gurudeva took the cue but he emphasized the advantages of poverty as a means of spiritual upliftment over material well-being. Perhaps if they were looking for some India Magic to getting rich quick, they were surely disappointed.
Monday, October 27
Gurudeva's flight to Nigeria was to depart at about 8 am. Many of the members had come to bid him farewell and to also escort him to the airport. After his farewell speech, we took off to the airport accompanied by numerous devotees in the Ghana temple bus. At the airport, we met with unexpected problems though not unusual for those accustomed to traveling within Africa. First we learned that the flight had been postponed until 3:50 pm. Since I was to buy my ticket at the airport, and the Ethiopian Airline agents were nowhere to be seen, we decided to go to their office in town. At the office we had more disappointing news-the flight to Lagos has been cancelled.
It was like the God of traveling was conspiring against us. We went checking all other airlines to see if there was any going to Lagos but to no avail. Ethiopian airlines were the only flight to Lagos and only once a week. We did not want to subject Gurudeva to the ordeal of traveling by road, but the only options left were either to go by road to Ghana for a four-hour drive and to connect by air to Lagos sometimes in the week, or just drive all the way to Lagos for a seven-hour trip.
Gurudeva weighed the options and decided to go to Lagos by road. He asked the devotees to call Nigeria and inform the leaders there that we would be arriving by road late in the afternoon. The devotees returned to the temple whilst we chartered a car for the onward journey to Lagos, Nigeria.
In this way, we experienced first hand some of the ordeals of traveling that Gurudeva often has to go through just to be able to make himself available for us. We surely know the effect of constantly changing climate, food, and water on the body. What about the hazards of air travel, and what to speak of a long distance road journey on African roads! We know very well what all this meant to Gurudeva’s health, and in spite of all the inconvenience, he is ever ready to make the necessary sacrifice to reach out more like a true spiritual warrior, and a war commander genuinely concerned about the morale of his troop on the battlefield. I think this experience will help us to become more selfless, and just like Gurudeva, ready to reach out more for the suffering conditioned souls.
Nigeria
We arrived in Lagos late in the afternoon. The leaders had gathered in Lagos and had been quite jostled and puzzled after going to the airport and learning about the cancellation of the Ethiopian flight from Lome. They could not reach Lome by phone and neither could the devotees in Lome get through to Lagos by phone. So they had remained in limbo not knowing exactly what to do. One could imagine their surprise when we suddenly appeared at the Lagos Temple gate.
Lagos
October 27-29After the reception ceremony, Gurudeva gave a briefing of his European tours. He mentioned how the success of his preaching in Russia was largely as a result of the African connection. The media was fascinated by his being American and also an African Chief. He reminded the leaders how much they are taking for granted, including several big temples, built and owned by us. Now all the temples have their own vans recently donated by one of our godbrothers Bali Prabhu to facilitate the preaching. Gurudeva let us know that in most other countries devotees do not own the properties. Many of the properties they are using for preaching in Europe and in America still have a mortgage. Most of our temples in West Africa are palatial buildings literally speaking, in comparison with what one obtains in many other countries. In spite of all the facilities, the number of devotees is dwindling.
H.H. said he would prefer to spend most of the time during this tour with the devotees and do less outside programs. He would be doing seminars and would also like the devotees to share with everyone their services and challenges for the past year and a half.
October 28
The Lagos temple president had arranged for a press interview with one of the leading newspapers in the country, The Sun Times. The journalists were eager to interview Gurudeva as they learned about his previous meeting with the incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo. In their interview, they first asked H.H. what message he has for the people of Nigeria as a preacher who has been in and out of the country several times. They also asked him to make known what sort of advice he would have for the President of the country in lieu of the present circumstances. Finally, the journalists requested H.H. to shed light on the role of religion toward nation building. H.H. responded to all these questions with clarity.
October 29
Gurudeva was scheduled to leave to Benin City today, but before leaving there was yet another engagement to honor. The devotees had organized a courtesy call on the Director for Refugee Foundation, of the Organization for African Unity, now African Union.
The Director, Mr. Olusegun Olusola, was a TV celebrity on a popular program that span for about three decades in Nigeria. He has since served as a Nigerian Ambassador to Ethiopia. He was very glad to meet with H.H. He mentioned how he has been very much impressed with the work of H.H. in spreading awareness for the plight of the suffering humanity through his writings and travels.
Gurudeva similarly recognized the efforts of those who are trying to contribute to consciousness-raising activities. He appreciated the point made by the Director about African Heads of State who later became victims of their own inhumane policies. Some of them ended up in prison or became refugees as a consequence of civil war caused by their misadministration. Gurudeva offered him copies of his books.
Before his departure to Benin City, while waiting in the VIP lounge at the airport, he met with senators in the Nigerian government who were on a special assignment to a troubled spot at the Delta Oil region, where there has been on-going tribal conflicts. Gurudeva had a mutual exchange with the leader of the delegation. The Senators at once realized they were having a privileged conversation with an expert in conflict resolution. They were delighted at the rare opportunity they had in profiting from Gurudeva's wisdom while on their way to a delicate mission.
At Benin’s city airport, the devotees had come in numbers to welcome Gurudeva. Also present amongst the devotees at the airport to receive H.H. were a well-known professor and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, our godbrother Pandita dasa, and a Pharmaceutical industrialist, Acarya-Ratna dasa and his wife who is a traditional chief. When the Senators alighted with Gurudeva, they were more than impressed to see the array of his disciples and well-wishers who had all come to welcome him. They relished the parting moment when they exchanged their contacts and received copies of H.H.'s books.
Gurudeva drove with Acarya Prabhu in his Mercedes Benz to the temple with a convoy of devotees' buses accompanying him and chanting all the way.
October 30
The Benin Temple is one of the oldest projects in Nigeria and has the most active congregation in the yatra. It has such a big facility and it accommodates big gatherings quite easily. Gurudeva loves holding festivals and seminars here.
H.H. at once began his seminars instead of normal classes. He gave a seminar on "How to become empowered in Guru and Krishna's service". Due to other engagements already scheduled, H.H. decided that the seminar would continue for a few days.
The ITV Television crew who had come to interview him were already waiting before the end of the morning program. The TV interview automatically took relay from the seminar. The producer of the program is a long time friend of the temple who had hosted H.H. several times on his TV shows in the past. He was glad to be meeting with H.H. once again.
Later in the day, Gurudeva attended a Nama Hatta program at Acarya Prabhu's house. All the devotees were present there. Gurudeva offered the sandhya-arati and later gave a very inspiring lecture.
October 31
This morning Gurudeva requested the leaders as well as other devotees to give report of their services and also share their challenges for the past year and a half. This was to permit all the devotees who did not have the chance to share their experiences with other devotees to also do so.
At about midday, H.H. went for another radio program. This was a popular live broadcast which addressed current issues around the city. People phone in to give their comments in what appeared to be an opinion poll on the issue of the day. On this particular day, one of the big-time Nigerian Evangelists was going to have a rally in the City of Benin, and there had been a big publicity hype.
The producer of the program was the same TV man who came to the temple to interview Gurudeva the previous day. He addressed the issue of how many Christian evangelists are using miracle as a means of attracting crowds. He requested H.H. to give his view on miracle as a tool in the hands of both positive and negative energies.
The phone line was opened to the public, and there were at once several people trying to reach H.H. at once. Gurudeva managed to answer a few calls. They were all expressions of dissatisfaction with religion in the way it is being practiced by the present day evangelists. Some of them expressed their desire to become members of the Hare Krishna movement, but they were afraid of having to give up meat-eating. Gurudeva gave useful clarifications on the concept of religion and different level of practices. He also explained that giving up meat-eating was not a compulsory criterion before joining our movement.
Port Harcourt
November 1- 4Shortly after Deity greeting, Gurudeva and his entourage departed Benin for Port Harcourt. It has been about three years since Gurudeva last visited this temple. During his last two visits to the country, he had not been able to visit many temples due to his health.
There was a frantic effort to get H.H. to travel by air, because Port Harcourt is another five hours of unpleasant driving from Benin, due to bad roads. Unfortunately, the flight connections from Benin to Port Harcourt are almost non-existent; it requires going back to Lagos before en-routing forward. Gurudeva was determined to do whatever was necessary to reach out to the devotees and the congregation in Port Harcourt, so he agreed to go by road. As expected it was far from being a smooth journey. The first half of the journey took twice the time it required due to the usual road problem.
The temple president, Canakya Prabhu, who is also the Regional Secretary, had been very eager to get H.H. to visit Port Harcourt. One of the reasons was because, since the last time H.H. visited, he had constructed a very cozy bungalow for Gurudeva with the help of some of the congregation members.
The Indian Community is also very active in the temple activities here. Many of them have been in this city for decades and have helped to develop our project. Gurudeva's first program was to attend a Satya-Narayana Puja in the house of one of the Indian members. Many Indians as well as local devotees had converged at his house to welcome Gurudeva. The Indian family was happy that their house was the first to be blessed by Gurudeva on his arrival in Port Hartcourt.
H.H. gave a short speech after the puja and gave a personal darsana to several of the families. Also in the gathering was the veteran Nigerian journalist, Mr. Amakiri, the publisher of the Beacon Weekly journal that has been serializing Gurudeva's books. He gave a few recent copies of the publication to Gurudeva. H.H. appreciated very much the media preaching which Mr Amakiri has been doing.
A very popular Show Biz man, Charley Boy and son of one of Nigeria most renowned Judges, has been showing interest in Krishna consciousness for some time now. Both H.H. Kavicandra Swami and H.H. Bhakti Tirtha Swami have featured on his TV shows and have also maintained contact with him since discovering his interest in our lifestyle. He got hint of H.H.'s visit and gave a call while we were still in Benin. He was happy to know that Gurudeva's next visit in his Nigerian tour was to Port Harcourt where he was incidentally present at that time. So, he had given his hotel address to the devotees and requested if H.H. could call on him since it might be very difficult on his part to visit the temple which is very far from the city.
Fortunately, the hotel was just around the corner from the Indian man's house. We at once drove in to see Charley Boy. He was dressed in a Punjabi suit and he was in the company of his sisters and a grown up daughter. He was glad to see Gurudeva, and he was particularly overwhelmed with the warmth of Gurudeva's gait and the simple manner in which he treated him like a friend.
After introducing his family members and H.H., he immediately invited his daughter and sisters to pose whatever questions they might be having on Krishna conscious lifestyle.
They were indeed very curious, especially as they had noticed that their brother who was already considered weird by the public had begun to associate with the devotees. For Charley Boy, this was also an opportunity for him to clear his image from any misgivings in the eyes of those who are very close to him so that he can be peaceful about his involvement with Krishna consciousness. Gurudeva spoke to them calmly, allaying their fears, but, at the same time, presenting them Krishna conscious lifestyle as everyday realities. He gave them copies of the Beacon journal where passages from his books have been appearing weekly in the city. It was gratifying to watch the gradual transformation of these Western-minded and class-conscious women from skeptics into real admirers. Charley Boy, seeing the transformation in his sisters, became even more eager to identify with the devotees and he immediately asked for a japa-mala and a bead bag.
We arrived at the Temple late in the night, and H.H. advised that everyone should take rest. The devotees who had not seen Gurudeva for quite some years could not resist the desire to welcome him with kirtana.
Sunday, November 2
Rapid development has taken place both on our temple land and its surroundings. What used to be an isolated village is now fast becoming a petit-ville. The school children were the first to make a song presentation to welcome Gurudeva. They thrilled everyone in the audience with their rich, powerful, and angelic voices. These children who looked very ordinary in their appearance gave a lucid and melodious rendering of their musical performance that captivated all.
After the children's presentation, Gurudeva invited their teacher and handed her his garland to a loud cheering. His Holiness remarked that the teacher must be exceptional to be able to train the village children to sing so nicely. The school kid's presentation was followed by a television interview which was recorded right there in the temple room. The TV crew did four different recordings on the following topics: 1) The Will Of God, 2) The Prevailing Planetary Situation, 3) Attaining Self-Realization, and 4) The Fundamental Belief, Worship, and Practices.
The congregation listened attentively whilst the journalist posed his questions to H.H. TV recordings and Sunday Feast lecture were thus held simultaneously. Gurudeva spent the rest of the day responding to his e-mails and also giving darsana to devotees. Some devotees had come from our Enugu Temple including Uttara d.d., the wife of our late godbrother, Janaka Prabhu. Gurudeva was seeing her for the first time since her husband left the body, so he accorded her much time to encourage her in her devotion and her charge of their two children.
On Monday morning, H.H. took a walk around the property and visited the school premises. The Port Harcourt school is actually our first Hare Krishna school in the region. There are about 80 pupils in the school and they are all from the village. Besides the school project, the temple also sponsors free medical care for the villagers once a month as well as gives a free supply of water. The school was on holiday during H.H.'s visit.
At about midday, Gurudeva was invited by the Publisher and the Editor in Chief for the Beacon Journal, Mr. Minere Amakiri, to give a talk on Crisis in Leadership to the members of his staff and a cross-section of the readership of Gurudeva's column in the journal. Present in the conference were four professors from the university of Port Harcourt and Rivers State University of Science & Technology. There were also representatives of civil rights organizations.
Back in the temple, Gurudeva again gave another seminar. It was somehow similar to the Death Meditation of the Eight Noble Path. Gurudeva requested everyone to write his or her obituary. In a nutshell, how would each and every one of us like to be remembered after leaving this world. Gurudeva gave the example of a great personality who had a chance to change his pattern of living because of an untimely report of his death. He had a chance to learn how people would like to remember him, and he found that some of his cherished values were not represented in the obituary. He spent the rest of his life dedicated to promoting that value. Some of the devotees were frightened about the idea of writing their obituary whilst some others saw it as a chance of listing their life achievements.
Gurudeva would be returning to Lagos the following morning on the 4th of September. He was contemplating returning to the States earlier than scheduled as he began to observe his health deteriorating again. Before dispatching the leaders who had been traveling with him, H.H. issued out a serious warning. He reminded all the leaders how much they have been blessed in the service of Guru and Krishna, and to whom much is given much expected.
H.H. demanded that the leaders should now use what they have to achieve optimum results. He was not satisfied with the status quo where everything has become stagnant. Increased growth is a sign of spiritual healthiness and stagnation or retrogression is a sign of weak consciousness. He therefore requested all the leaders to submit their letters of resignation with a six-month grace in which they either improve the conditions in the temples or their resignations will be validated. H.H. requested that Varaha dasa [I] remain in Nigeria to represent him in all the programs that have been arranged which he would not be able to honor personally due to the change in his schedule.
Tuesday, November 4
Gurudeva took off from Port Harcourt to Lagos by air, whilst all the other devotees returned to their base. Bali Prabhu was at the airport in Lagos to receive him. From the airport they drove straight to yet another engagement where performing artists were campaigning for the presidency of the PMAN (Performing Musical Artists of Nigeria). A popular TV celebrity and a friend of ISKCON, Charley Boy was also contending for the post and he had invited H.H. to be there to grace the occasion.
Gurudeva and Bali Prabhu got there just in time despite the Nigerian traffic. It was quite a gathering of Nigerian socialites and judges. Gurudeva was invited to give a short speech on the influence of the entertainment industry on development. Just as usual, H.H. was able to capture the attention of everyone while giving them higher understanding of the effects of sound vibration on the consciousness and making it relevant to the occasion. Everyone appreciated the Swami's contribution. (Charley Boy won the election and he is now the President of PMAN.)
Gurudeva arrived back at the Lagos temple towards evening. It had been a hectic day moving around in Lagos after just flying in from Port Harcourt and coupled with the toll of his activities during his tour of the region. All these are beginning to tax on Gurudeva’s health. He has already asked that his doctor should be contacted in Washington so that he could have his check-up before proceeding to Mexico.
Shortly after his arrival at the temple, the devotees who had been traveling also arrived from Port Harcourt. H.H.’s flight to London had been confirmed for the next day, the 5th of November. The Lagos devotees had hoped that H.H. would stay a little longer in Lagos, and they arranged a program at the National Theater in collaboration with the Nigerian artists. Many Eminent personalities were also invited to give a talk on the topic Spirituality and Arts. Unfortunately, H.H. could not prolong his stay just for this program. He again assigned Varaha dasa to represent him.
In the evening of November 5th, H.H. boarded a KLM flight from Lagos to London, where he was expected to stay briefly for an initiation ceremony for a few aspirants before continuing to Mexico via the US.
We sincerely regret whatever inconveniences Gurudeva must have experienced during his tour of West Africa. It has become almost a routine that whenever H.H. visits this region, he always returns with impaired health, yet he never stops coming. He is indeed merciful and he is the savior of the most fallen. We pray that we will grow to become the devotees that he would like us to be. He has promised to return to the region in about six months time to see if we have made any serious efforts to improve things beyond the state in which they are now. He has especially given a stern warning to the leaders to either shape up or step aside by the time he revisits.
We hope that you will all pray for us in West Africa to be able to do that which will please the spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada said in the purport of Bhagavad-gita 4:34 that the secret of advancement in spiritual life is to please the spiritual master. May all of you out there waiting to receive the baton of the relay in marching on with Gurudeva in our race back to Godhead be more sensitive to his needs and receive more of his blessings through your dedicated loving service.
All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga!
Compiled by
Varaha Dasa
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