A Special Palace Renovation in New Vrindaban
Srila Prabhupada in his Palace
Palace Renovation
By Nityodita das
Recently there was a flurry of pictures online of the Grand Opening of Srila Prabhupada’s Palace, 1979. The memories evoked from those photos reminded me of the wonderful years spent rendering concrete service (pun intended) there and the community momentum that was built alongside its construction.
In 1980, I, along with several devotees were interviewed by BTG magazine and they quoted me as saying that my experience was that building the Palace actually built us into devotees! It was way more than a construction project, it was devotional training in the art of offering love to guru and Krsna!
Now that the Palace is undergoing major renovation work by hired professionals , I was contemplating how to generate, at least in my own heart, a revival of the original enthusiasm of those special days leading up to and immediately following the several years of grand festivals at the Palace.
As I was praying, a tiny group of devotees, Trevor, Kalpa, Daivata were pulling me with their invitations to the Palace to attend Prabhupada’s Mangal arotik at 6am. I was torn, as that was my japa time. But after a few days, I agreed to go…just one day….just to “encourage” them. Lol
But what happened though was truly amazing! Although, there was only a handful of us, the transcendental acoustics generated by the enthusiastic singing of Samsara Davanala Lidha Loka……in the temple room somehow super amplified our voices and I had to look up towards the dome to make sure I wasn’t missing the presence of any demigods singing! The intimacy I felt between us kirtaneers, who were chanting and dancing with abandon, seemed like something out of Chaitanya lila. This heart to heart feeling was enhanced by Prabhupada’s powerful presence magnified by the compactness of the sacred space of his gold and marbled temple room.
Prabhupada’s Palace main temple room.
This Kirtan transported me back to a place of intense joy and service, the Grand Opening………..of the heart. This renovation is universal! It is available for all! No previous experience necessary, no resumés required! The only tools needed are your hands for clapping or making music, legs for dancing and voice for singing! No professional chanters needed!
Now, I regularly attend Prabhupada’s Mangala arotik every day that I am at New Vrindaban, have made it a regular part of my sadhana and am humbly inviting everyone to help renovate Prabhupada’s Palace!
