New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

–by Chaitanya Das–

*Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2:24 pm- * We arrive at the (temporary) abode of Sripad
Purusa Sukta Prabhu and his good wife, Divyambara Mataji. They are on top secret ‘sabbatical’ so we are unable to reveal their exact location. It was on the way to DC though, so we stopped for lunch. Purusa is one of Chris’s original gurus, so he was especially excited to set this up.

We arrive and walk up to his door. Apt. #224. We notice an especially grandmotherish wreath on the door. Seems strange. We knock. No answer. Knock. No answer. And again. We call his phone. No answer. What gives? He must be at the store. So we go outside and wait. 20 minutes later we get him on the phone. Turns our there is another building in this apartment complex exactly like this one. He is in *that* apt. 224, not this one. Wreath mystery solved. It has been at least a year since Chris or I have seen our old and dear friend, so reunion is sweet. We catch up on old times over first class healthy Prasad, then kirtan for 1 hour. A few more niceties then au revoir, old American Vaisnava style (you had to be there). [For the rest of this article and pics, click “Continue reading” below]

*5:36 pm* – We arrive in Fredericksburg at the holy abode of Sri Sri Manisha
Prabhu’s (Manish and Nisha). They greet us with great love and devotion. It
is nice to be there. A program is arranged for the evening so we call a few
more friends form the local area to come by. Then to our great pleasure we
are surprised with news that Gauravani Prabhu and his illustrious wife and
daughters will benedict us with their presence. Seems it is our lucky night.

I immediately begin major surgery on the harmonium so graciously lent to us
by Sripad Nityodita Prabhu. When we picked it up it looked like a dog chewed
on it then pushed it down a flight of stairs to get it back for tasting like
India. In Morgantown it just barely worked. If Gauravani was coming there
was immediate need of emergency surgery. I spend hours and hours pulling it
apart and diagnosing the problem. It is completely disassembled, all keys
and parts laying on the living room floor. It was a scale changing
harmonium, so it was especially difficult to deal with. To top it off the
only tools I had to work with were from a beyond minimal K-mart home tool
set. For once my $60,000 worth of college education comes in handy. Wait,
scratch that. I mostly just used whatever skills I picked up as a little kid
messing around in my father’s tool room. Anyway after custom trimming
2.356mm off the end of each key and replacing and shaving
1.22 mm from the side of each octave rocker, I got it back together just as
Gaura and family walked in the door. Talk about auspicious.

After some friendly conversation the nectar really begins to flow. GV pr leads us in sweet, sweet kirtan of the Lord’s holy names. We feel like the most fortunate people in the 3 worlds. Then the icing on the cake is the spectacular prasadam (American-style) cooked by the lotus hands of Nisha mataji. Lasagna, deluxe salad, and so much more. Then cake and ice cream for dessert. What more can I say? (see photos. That’s Gauravanis oldest daughter, Revati, then the two Gauras together. Chris Prabhu absorbed in Bhagavatam, BC making hand puppets, and our host and hostess)