AN UNBELIEVABLE DAY .

I am walking up the dusty road to see this amazing sight. I have heard about this phenomenon many times but this is the first time I have the chance to come so near it. We are in Pandharpur the spiritual capital of Maharashtra and it is Bhaimi Ekadasi. I am now reaching the main road and the sight that meets my eyes is just overwhelming. More breathtaking than I had ever expected. Thousand of people walking. Children, women, men. Young and old rich and poor. They are coming on foot from all over Maharashtra and nearby states to visit Lord Vitthala here in His temple in Pandharpur. They have been walking for days some of them for weeks and they are singing and chanting the holy names of Vitthala and Rukmini, Radha and Krishna, and are all glorifying Saint Tukarama and other saints from this holy land. It is an amazing sight. The men on the procession, dress alike in white dhoties, kurtas, and typical Gandhi hats, walk in lines of six or seven abreast. They beat small brass cymbals, in such a perfect rhythm that even when several hundred play, it sounds like one person alone. In the front, several men carry saffron flags. Next, a group of men carry a decorated palanquin bearing the symbolic footprints of their saint. The leader of the group are walks at the back, playing the vina, accompanied by one or more drum players.
Behind the men follow the women, dressed in bright colorful saris. Some carrying tulasi kirtana leaders, interspersed with lively songs glorifying Lord Vitthala.
Day after day, undaunted by the heat, the pilgrims have been filling the air with tumultuous chanting. Sometimes they dance and sometimes run, rushing ecstatically towards Pandharpur and their Lord. In the midst of this procession the words spoken by the Lord in the Padma Pur€Ša come alive:

“O Narada, I stay where My devotees glorify Me.”

This outstanding display of devotion is called Dindi, a pilgrimage on foot that ends in Pandharpur, and those who perform it is called Varkaris (a person who have made a vow to walk to Pandharpur regularly). It has been performed for the last seven hundred years.

I join this river of holy people and flow towards the heart of Pandharpur, the Vitthala Mandir. Here they will all patiently wait in long lines to get just a small darshana of our Lord Vitthala. As I join the march they all greet me and shout Hare Rama Hare Krishna. It is such a nice feeling. Can you imagine 100.000 devotees assembled at the same place. I feel myself set back in time to the reign of Lord Ramachandra million of years ago where everyone was a devotee. Where devotional life was so natural and predominant that you could not even imagine that it could ever be any different. It is like being transferred to the spiritual world. We are crossing the Holy river Chandra Bhaga which is described in Srimad Bhagavatam and along her banks as far as the eye can see thousands and thousands of pilgrims are going into her waters to purify and offer prayers. They are playing and splashing water on each other and everyone is laughing and smiling. There is no need of intoxicants or artificial entertainment to experience happiness here. I experience such a variety of colours and smells and this condensed devotional energy from all these beloved devotees of Lord Krishna is unlike anything I have ever experienced before.

Bilvamangala thakura warns travelers passing through Pandharpur, “Do not walk on the bank of the Chandra Bhaga river. A bluish-black person stands there, and even though His hands rest peacefully on His hips, He is expert at stealing the heart of anyone who sees Him.”

It seems that these vakaries carefully ignore Bilvamangala thakura’s advice. In fact, they are especially eager to meet that person.

After being absorbed in this great walking festival for the last three hours I am now walking back across Chandra Bhaga river to our ISKCON Pandharpur temple to quietly engage in meditation on all these wonderful people and their wonderful master. I pray that I at one point in time will be blessed with the chance to put aside my computer and mobile and just fully join this wonderful river of devotion from its spring to its destination here at Pandharpur Dham.

Lord Vitthala Ki Jay.