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| | Enviado Viernes, 26 de Noviembre de 2004 - 10:55 am: |  |
Padayatra América
April 8-22
We cross the border Alabama on the 17th and have been moving steadily.
The dealings with local people have turned out to be very sweet by the mercy of the Lord. They are simple people here, appreciative of a message to live a God-centered life.
We have seen how after speaking with us they warm up, seeing that we are not bad people; as we have heard many say- “there are bad folks around”.
We cross Atmore onto country road 57 thru Raburn and stop to rest the horses when Mr. Presley came to talk and very friendly invite us to stay on his small farm across the street. Meanwhile he went back to work, and later on his son with his wife came in a challenging mood “can I help you? This is my property!” i mentioned how his father had invited us...he didn't say much else, but still hung around, doubtful about us. Honestly, i thought better than ignore him, engage him in devotional service...”Hey, my friend could you help me haul these oats? [for the horses]”
As he was helping, more neighbors came and we all start to talk. After a few hours of friendly conversation/interfaith; and a lot of questions about the practice of Krsna consciousness we continue our nightly services. To our surprise he and his wife came back later on to take prasadam with us and offer their church facility (shower,etc..) which was right next door. They brought all kinds of bhoga supplies, and stayed for a little while longer-the wife is very inquisitive! Next morning the father came with a box full of supplies, and after a nice exchange we move on at 11:00. We are going toward Interstate 65 to cross the Mobile River. We have heard it is a 12 mile long bridge spanning 350 feet off the ground. People don´t believe that we will even try, but certainly everyone agrees it will be an adventure to cross. There is another bridge in Mobile, the state capital, which will put us through 20 miles of city downtown; the only other is about 100 miles north....the straight shot is over the Interstate, there are no county roads to get us over this one. So here we are 20 miles before the bridge moving through the back roads of Alabama.
In the middle of nowhere we stop for a rest, and “Bobby” comes to spend the afternoon with us on his day off. He takes a book and firmly believes it is destiny. He was very enthusiastic for us and brought many useful gifts. As we set out again in the afternoon we meet another long-lost friend: Mr. Richard meets us at the turn into town...he stands waiting on the corner under a tall pine tree with a picture of a confederate flag, a toothless smile stops us and asks “do you have a Bhagavad-gita I can have? I haven´t seen devotees since 1979” We cannot stop because the sun is low, but we fulfill his desire and move on. That night he found us again- and told some very wonderful stories! Jaya Srila Prabhupada!! We sleep in a church lot just 100 feet from the entrance to the Interstate.
The next day Viththalesvar prabhu dress the Deities in a very nice brilliant red outfit for the festive occasion of crossing the bridge. Candrabhaga is tense, but i pray Oh, Lord Nrsimhadeva, if Your desire is to enjoy the journey of the bridge to purify the atmosphere with Your presence and the holy name, then let us go in; otherwise show us another way... The sherriff of a neighboring county who was trying to help us find an alternative road said- “well, if you´re confident that the horses can do it- go forward! As soon as you are in, there is no way to stop or go back so they [local police] will have to help!”
“The Lord is our master and guide, He will direct us. We are simply trying to carry on with His will.” were my words.
11:00 we leave camp.
quote:yan-nama smaranad bhita bhuta vetala raksasah
rogad yasca pranasyanti bhisanam tam namamyaham
I bow down to the terrific Lord, by the remembrance of whose name all the bhutas, vetalas, raksasahs, and all kinds of disease and disturbance become fearful and are immediately destroyed.
Oh, my Lord, I just want to carry on with Your will. Let me be an instrument in the satisfaction of Your servants, my authorities- those who have inspired me to take up this path; those who want this padayatra to be on the road participating in the distribution of the holy name to every village and town of the globe.
The traffic is very heavy. According to the latest local report, the bridge itself is 8-10 miles long; with 3 peaks- the 3rd being the biggest spanning 400 feet above tree line. There are two lines of heavy traffic with a 10 foot wide line for parking emergency; and a 3 foot tall cement wall between you and the Mobile River. Our wagon measures 7 feet wide which means 1.5 feet on each side-to the wall or the traffic. Hare Krsna ! The Lord let us enter!
Trucks, buses, literally hundreds if not thousands of vehicles from both sides see us! The wind is refreshing, Their Lordships look beautiful. What a glorious moment- They are crossing one of the biggest bridges in the southern USA letting so many glance upon Them. The holy name, chant loudly! The blaring rumble of the trucks is tough to bear, but “seeds of love” are being placed upon thousands this morning. People “honk” in a nice mood, encouraging us. Candrabhaga looks very tense, still she´s hanging on. Viththalesvar prabhu is chanting japa.
Kana, Balaji, myself [Avadhuta Siromani d.] and Ugra Nrsimha make a powerful team....I realize that all my attention should be on Balaji, he will be the one to support the lines [reins] and keep the wagon straight. I will trust Kana to follow the step and remain grave (as he always is) with hundreds of cars and trucks racing at a speed of a good 80-100 mph just 2 feet from him;and my heart all the while in a prayerful mood to Jwala Nrsimha. Please my Lord, protect against the sense of being a controller, thinking myself the doer, enjoyer. Destroy that demon of false pride and humble myself unto You. Only You can make us pass this bridge, otherwise everything will be finished! Let me be Your servant, let me take shelter of Your lotus feet.
Mile one, everything is smooth; green grass on the sides give solace. I can´t even look around because of the extreme attention required in these moments. Two, three miles...pray to the Lord to keep proper consciousness. Kana das & Balaji das are doing phenomenal! We move 2 miles at the level of the swamp, over two good sized hills, then suddenly we see ahead a monstrous hill going up to the third bridge... 400 feet of deep hill... here we go !!
Jaya Nrsimha, Jaya Nrsimha, Jaya Nrsimhadeva!! Kana and Balaji are pulling hard.
The sun came out and it´s glorious. Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundara are like kings looking over Their kingdom; the holy name purifies all kinds of jivas that very quickly pass by. At that moment on the top we see a sign “construction work” the parking lane will be closed ahead.... HARE KRSNA
At the proper moment a police car appeared on the scene just half a mile before the end of the bridge, and quickly he closed off one line of traffic so that we could continue without stopping. We passed the dumbstruck construction workers and then back to the parking lane. 100 yards after, again land.
The Lord made it!! All glories to Jwala Nrsimha who very mercifully led us on this adventure! It is only His glorious moment. By that mercy this insignificant soul was able to participate seeing the Lord as the power behind any action.
At the end of the bridge we stop, and the police officer was simply astonished. It was a sight to see the padayatra cross one of the biggest bridges in south US. He was very interested to receive the padayatra article in the Back to Godhead magazine and sincerely said “God bless you”.
We move off the Interstate Hwy onto country roads- narrow, curvy, and hilly; but the more straight route into Mississippi. As always, throughtout the small towns people come and leave impressed- touched by padayatra. We sleep on Hwy 80 after Creola.
April 23 2004
In the morning a group of workers from the Texaco petroleum plant around the corner came out to greet us. After 30 minutes or so of introductions, explanations, and relations one gentleman remarks “Yes, I know of your movement from John Lennon, [looking at the altar] is this Radha and Krsna??” ( being from New Orleans he was familar with Krsna consciousness to some extent.) Others very friendly and simple-hearted wanted to hear about our journey.
They took all kinds of information and magazines, loaded up in their trucks and left. After another hour as we were preparing to leave, our friend returned with a 5 gallon container of water. Soon after another worker came bringing industrial donations, courtesy of the company; such as soap and batteries. Another one came out with medical supplies-it was very sweet. Being sincerely inspired, each one helped in their own way.
Hare Krsna, moving on....
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