Māyāpur Realizations

Māyāpur residents speak about life in the holiest of holy places.

Adapted from interviews by Mahāmāyā Devī Dāsī

Originally from England, Kṛṣṅa Mādhurī Devī Dāsī joined the Hare Kṛṣṅa movement in Australia. She had lived in Vṛndāvana for a few years before moving to Māyāpur three years ago.

IN THE MORNINGS I assist the pūjārīs, the devotees directly attending the Deities. I take care of the Deities’ paraphernalia, set up the jewelry trays, make new jewelry, iron Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva’s clothes, clean the Deity paraphernalia rooms, grind sandalwood to make paste, and so on. In the afternoons I do secretarial service in the office of my spiritual master, His Holiness Jayapatāka Mahārāja.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's mood of compassion is very much predominant in Māyāpur. The dynamic energy of devotees engaged in spreading Kṛṣṅa consciousness enlivens the atmosphere. Traveling groups are always going out to distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, and when they return there’s a nice mood of appreciation from the other devotees.

Efforts to deliver Kṛṣṅa consciousness to others are always expanding. Bhakti Puruṣottama Mahārāja regularly organizes Bhagavad-gītā conferences, where people who have bought Gītās from the traveling book-distribution parties are invited for a three-day intensive course in bhakti-yoga. There are similar programs for students. Of course, guests are always coming here just to visit, and devotees engage them in either chanting in the temple or writing the holy name in the park.

Because Māyāpur is near the Ganga, the breeze from the Ganga is always blowing over us. Gaṅgā-devī [the goddess of the river] is always chanting the holy names of the Lord. Therefore anyone who comes in contact with the Ganga or is touched by the breeze becomes enthusiastic to chant Hare Kṛṣṅa.

The emphasis on teaching Kṛṣṅa consciousness, while cultivating our own hearing and chanting, creates a healthy, balanced mood. We cultivate our attachment to the holy name and at the same time try our best to distribute the holy name to others.

It feels like we’re in a spiritual oasis, insulated from the material world. Lord Caitanya is holding us up by His causeless mercy; therefore everything is so much easier here. As soon as we enter Māyāpur, we feel lightness and relief, having come under the cooling shade of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. Māyāpur is the spiritual world. When Lord Caitanya is pleased that we are sincerely taking shelter of and following the instructions of His pure devotees, then everything will be revealed to us.

Living in Māyāpur has helped me so much spiritually. I came here during an extremely stressful time in my life. I wanted to take shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya, who is so very merciful. And His dhāma, His sacred abode, is similarly merciful. When I came to Māyāpur I felt protected and sheltered. Wherever we are in Māyāpur, we can hear the holy name. Devotees chant round the clock in Śrīla Prabhupāda's original house, tapes of his chanting are played over loudspeakers in Śrīla Prabhupāda's Samādhi and in the park, and devotees are almost always singing for the Deities in the temple.

I have been able to appreciate more and more the great value of the association and friendship of the Vaiṣṅavas. It’s the most treasured thing. This society of devotees that Śrīla Prabhupāda has given us is a precious gift. In times of need, especially, we depend on the mercy of the Vaiṣṅavas. It’s through the Vaiṣṅavas that Kṛṣṅa extends His mercy and kindness. We’re so much indebted to Śrīla Prabhupāda and also to all the devotees by whose mercy we’re able to live here in Māyāpur and attempt to render some service.

Before I came to Māyāpur, Kṛṣṅa took everything away from me, even the persons most dear to me. Within the space of two weeks my husband died and I lost my previous spiritual master. So when I arrived in Māyāpur I was in a very wretched condition. Somehow I became the object of the compassion of the devotees and received their mercy. By hearing from the Vaiṣṅavas I was able to accept everything that happened to me as Kṛṣṅa's mercy. By taking shelter of the Deities, who are so very merciful, and experiencing so much reciprocation from Them, I’ve been feeling increasing hope, faith, and conviction in my Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Although by Kṛṣṅa's arrangement my life is much simpler now, I’m experiencing greater happiness and satisfaction than ever before.

Uttama-śloka Dāsa is in charge of Śrīla Prabhupāda's Samādhi in Māyāpur. Originally from Italy, he has been living in Māyāpur for ten years

SINCE I FIRST CAME to Māyāpur, it’s become much busier—more activities, many more devotees, many more pilgrims. Māyāpur is attracting the attention and interest of not only the people of West Bengal but of all of India. It’s satisfying the spiritual quest of all the people who visit.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's Samādhi receives an average of 125,000 pilgrims a month in the high season (winter), and 45,000 in the low season (rainy season). In the peak month of January, we have up to 350,000 pilgrims. On holy days such as Gaura Pūrṅimā, 50,000 people come in one day. We distribute 700,000 pieces of prasādam a year.

Forty devotees serve full-time at the Samādhi, and another forty are staff members.

Donations from prasādam distribution and museum tours provide enough money to maintain the Samādhi and the grounds.

I’d like to encourage everyone to come to Māyāpur. It’s a wonderful spiritual experience that’s not to be missed.

I tried many times to stay in other temples, but I never could stay long. I don’t think I’m very spiritual. But although I’ve often thought of leaving Māyāpur, I’m still here. So Māyāpur must be very good for spiritual life.

I can’t compare living in Māyāpur with living in any other place. I feel cared for in Māyāpur. Despite my inability to dive deep into the essence of the dhāma, I do feel that Māyāpur offers a unique gift.

I have personal experience in Vṛndāvana and other holy places that it’s so difficult to stay unless you’re very Kṛṣṅa conscious. If you commit offenses in the other dhāmas, the reactions come to you like a ton of bricks. But in Māyāpur it seems that no matter what mistakes you make, the Lord doesn’t kick you out. There’s always a second chance. That mercy is very tangible. That is my experience in Māyāpur, and that’s why I’m still here.

Śivānanda Dāsa, originally from Poland, received spiritual initiation at the age of thirteen. An accountant for the construction department, he has lived in Māyāpur since October 1996.

Māyāpur is the most Kṛṣṅa conscious place I’ve ever lived. Everyone who comes here knows about Kṛṣṅa. I joined ISKCON in 1982, when Kṛṣṅa consciousness was underground in Poland. There was no question of giving Kṛṣṅa consciousness to others. We could not even leave the house wearing a dhotī.

Living in Māyāpur has made me more Kṛṣṅa conscious. You can’t forget Kṛṣṅa here. And I’ve become more conscious of how Kṛṣṅa fulfills our desires, whether spiritual or material.

For example, one day my wife was telling me stories about our Deities, which she has worshiped since before we were married. She said that every time she ran out of incense, someone would give her some incense, even though she hadn’t asked for it. This happened many times, not just with incense, but also with oils and other paraphernalia.

I was thinking, “I’ve taken care of these Deities for two years, but nothing like that has ever happened to me.”

Then the very next day, I ran out of incense, and a brahmacārī gave me a gift of some incense. Kṛṣṅa fulfilled my desire so quickly, making His own arrangements for my service to Him.

I was a devotee for ten years before my first visit to Māyāpur. Once I came, I liked it so much I started coming every year. My desire now is to stay in Māyāpur and be an accountant for the new temple for the rest of my life. Let everyone come and get their desires fulfilled.

Yamānujā Devī Dāsī, the wife of Śivānanda Dāsa, is also from Poland. She is twenty-seven years old, has an infant son, and loves to distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, a service she has done since the first day she joined ISKCON, nine years ago.

Māyāpur is an easy place for those who want to distribute books for life. Just step out the door and people are there, always new people. The Indian people are eager to hear from us Westerners. They want to know why we took up Kṛṣṅa consciousness. In the West I often had to struggle just to get myself out of the house, and people weren’t always nice. In Māyāpur you don’t have to make a special endeavor to tell others about Kṛṣṅa consciousness; there are so many opportunities.

Even with a baby I’ve been able to continue distributing books. Mādhava is helpful. He takes time from me, but he also gets the attention of the people. They come to see the baby and end up with books.

One time I was speaking with a friend near the temple, and a group of villagers surrounded us.

The eldest man, the group leader, said in Bengali, “Look at the little Vaiṣṅava, and he has little tilaka [the clay mark on the forehead].”

Someone else noticed, “And he has little neck beads.”

I took out a book, The Life and Precepts of Lord Caitanya, from between Mādhava and his front pack and said, “And he also has a little śāstra [scripture]—for a little price.”

They liked the joke and bought the books I had with me. I had to go back to the box and get more so that they could each get one.

My desire to do this devotional service has been fulfilled in Māyāpur. I don’t know if I’d be able to do this in the West with a baby. Here I have to make an endeavor not to do it.

In Māyāpur if you make even a little endeavor, you feel very much rewarded. In the West I felt like I had to struggle more. In Māyāpur, Kṛṣṅa consciousness seems so natural.

One day I was thinking about how I had been neglectful in my chanting, and I decided to do something about it.

I prayed to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, “Please help me with my chanting,” and then I went to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam class.

After class, a Bengali brahmacārī [male celibate student] I didn’t know said, “Did you lose your beads?”

I checked, and I didn’t have them. “Strange,” I thought.

He said, “They’re hanging on the gate in front of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva.”

As I retrieved them I thought, “The Lord must have heard my prayer.”

Since then I have really tried my best when chanting.

Any devotees with no particular mission in the West should come here. So many guests come that we can’t

possibly speak to all of them. We need hundreds of devotees to answer questions, take the guests around, and make them feel welcome.

Originally from a village in West Bengal, Kamalapati Dāsa joined ISKCON in Māyāpur in 1992. He is the community’s leading distributor of Śrīla Prabhupāda's books.

THE DIFFERENCE between my life in Māyāpur and my former life is like the difference between heaven and hell. When I was at home, I didn’t have the association of devotees. I had no idea about the four regulative principles—no meat-eating, no illicit sex, no intoxication, and no gambling. I didn’t know that Kṛṣṅa is God. I didn’t recognize that the material world is full of misery.

When I was living at home, I had no idea that there is so much pleasure in living in an ashram. I knew only the stereotyped life—getting a job, getting married, and so on. After coming here, I could understand that there is a much better life, the life of devotional service.

I find a clear distinction between material life and spiritual life. In material life people are envious of one another, always quarreling, fighting. In spiritual life those things are not there—or at least they are rare.

When I received my brāhmaṅa initiation, my spiritual master told me to live in Māyāpur and preach wholeheartedly. For the last six years I have been distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda's books. My main preaching areas are the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland. These places are in the Himalayan foothills northeast of Bengal, and they are all disturbed by terrorists. Though my service is sometimes dangerous, Kṛṣṅa always protects me.

Living in Māyāpur and distributing books help me understand the instructions and teachings of my guru, Śrīla Prabhupāda, Lord Caitanya, and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Mahāmāyā Devī Dāsī, who conducted the interviews, is a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Originally from the USA, she spends most of the year in Māyāpur. When she’s in the States, she proofreads for BTG. She is compiling a database of Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples.