Narasimha dasa and Gaura Karuna devi dasi Radha Krsna deities

That’s the idea. Now open an area where people from all over the world may share their photos of their deities regardless of how anyone perceives their social or spiritual positions. Love and sincerity are the key.

After the week long fabulous July 1975 Rathayatra festival at the Chicago Krsna Temple the last day was most inspiring to me. A good buddy of mine and I had received our Hari Nam initiation from Srila Prabhupada earlier in the week. The Radha-Damodar buses were there with Visnujana Swami and his full crew. Their Lordships Sri Sri Kishore Kishori were glorious! The large front guest assembly room was filled with brahmacaris, brahmanas and householder men all talking and packing the last of their gear at once. The assembly of devotees were discussing their new temple destinations and assignments in high excitement with a great deal of “Hari Bol that’s great!” to “Krsna’s arrangement prabhu!”.
They further expanded their ecstatic mood by the exchange of photos of their home temple deities with those of other temple devotees. In the manner and mood of trading sports personality cards as we used to do as kids back on the 50’s and 60’s in the school yard before classes. The exciting chatter was the same and some cases louder.
I was astounded at the level of this spiritual excitement, indeed humbled. The observation was like live theatre only it was real. Some of the devotees from the St. Louis temple had somehow or other already seen and fallen in love with our our Gaura Nitai deities in Toronto. So of course they insisted on having the two small photos of Their Lordships that I had with me. They exchanged Them with a photo of their deities. I have since lost that photo over the years.
When we all got to our destinations over the next few days the new deities that we had acquired in the photo became prominent in our lives. We worshiped Them in our hearts.
Now that we have the internet we can exchange as much and as often as we like images of our deities with those interested to observe and serve Them as well. Let’s try to do that as much as possible and continue that mood of wild devotee association that we all remember that has never really left our hearts.
Ys Hasti Gopala dasa

From the UK

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this, thank you! There is a great hunger for memories on FB (i only have Prabhupadanugas as friends) and this one i’m sure would be appreciated. My Newsfeed is wonderful to scroll through, with one colourful picture after another. Devotees post vids slowly giving darshan around their temple rooms, or of their aratis etc. Kanhaiya prabhu”s posts are so nice for this. And so many Prabhupada groups now, also Deity Darshana around the World, and Deity Dress and Jewellery Making for the aspiring ‘costumiers’ amingst us! A worldwide community, a gift from Lord Krsna in these difficult times. Mother Hladini’s Deities are now up and doing the rounds- may i post your memory here under your spiritual name?- no problem if not. Ys

One thought on “Narasimha dasa and Gaura Karuna devi dasi Radha Krsna deities”

Hasti Gopala dasa says:

June 10, 2019 at 8:22 am

That’s the idea. Now open an area where people from all over the world may share their photos of their deities regardless of how anyone perceives their social or spiritual positions. Love and sincerity are the key.

After the week long fabulous July 1975 Rathayatra festival at the Chicago Krsna Temple the last day was most inspiring to me. A good buddy of mine and I had received our Hari Nam initiation from Srila Prabhupada earlier in the week. The Radha-Damodar buses were there with Visnujana Swami and his full crew. Their Lordships Sri Sri Kishore Kishori were glorious! The large front guest assembly room was filled with brahmacaris, brahmanas and householder men all talking and packing the last of their gear at once. The assembly of devotees were discussing their new temple destinations and assignments in high excitement with a great deal of “Hari Bol that’s great!” to “Krsna’s arrangement prabhu!”.
They further expanded their ecstatic mood by the exchange of photos of their home temple deities with those of other temple devotees. In the manner and mood of trading sports personality cards as we used to do as kids back on the 50’s and 60’s in the school yard before classes. The exciting chatter was the same and some cases louder.
I was astounded at the level of this spiritual excitement, indeed humbled. The observation was like live theatre only it was real. Some of the devotees from the St. Louis temple had somehow or other already seen and fallen in love with our our Gaura Nitai deities in Toronto. So of course they insisted on having the two small photos of Their Lordships that I had with me. They exchanged Them with a photo of their deities. I have since lost that photo over the years.
When we all got to our destinations over the next few days the new deities that we had acquired in the photo became prominent in our lives. We worshiped Them in our hearts.
Now that we have the internet we can exchange as much and as often as we like images of our deities with those interested to observe and serve Them as well. Let’s try to do that as much as possible and continue that mood of wild devotee association that we all remember that has never really left our hearts.
Ys Hasti Gopala dasa

From the UK

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this, thank you! There is a great hunger for memories on FB (i only have Prabhupadanugas as friends) and this one i’m sure would be appreciated. My Newsfeed is wonderful to scroll through, with one colourful picture after another. Devotees post vids slowly giving darshan around their temple rooms, or of their aratis etc. Kanhaiya prabhu”s posts are so nice for this. And so many Prabhupada groups now, also Deity Darshana around the World, and Deity Dress and Jewellery Making for the aspiring ‘costumiers’ amingst us! A worldwide community, a gift from Lord Krsna in these difficult times. Mother Hladini’s Deities are now up and doing the rounds- may i post your memory here under your spiritual name?- no problem if not. Ys

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