London awake! - nagar sankirttan in central London
Report on Harinam Naga-sankirttan in central Lonon on Sat 18 Nov 2006 by Sripad Bhakti Swarupa Tridandi Maharaja
The devotees drove in the Temple minibus from the Math up to central London around 5.30pm and parked as usual in some available spot near Russel Square, near the famous Covent Garden and Holborn. (This area seems to have been providentially provided also, since parking anywhere in the downtown area is very scarce on the street, and the multi-story carparks are exorbitantly expensive). Aboard were our leader Dayanidhi Prabhu, a veteran from the first London Math days, Lalita Madhava Prabhu, Rasamayi Pandita Devi Dasi and two devotees from Equador on their way through London to India. Sripad Narayana Maharaj from Mauritius, also regular, could not be present unfortunately due to services elsewhere.
Myself, I approached Central London from Earls Court, a cosmopolitan/student/flat area west of downtown where I had been distributing books and collecting. I waited at the corner of Tottenham Court Road near Centrepoint for the devotees to arrive there, and together we moved off down Oxford Street under the bright christmas lights, chanting the Holy Name. With every day nearer to Christmas now the streets become more busy as eager shoppers arrive in droves attracted by the 'glare of Maya', as Srila Swami Prabhupada would say, searching for some ultimate happiness, or even any happiness. Such however is the subject of another essay!
How thrilling then when after an hour or so we were joined at Oxford Circus (approrpriate name!) by Damodara Prabhu, our joint mrdanga player, and Rama Gopal Prabhu, another London veteran from the Math's 'Dinsdale Road' days (he's originally from Oldham, Lancashire!) Well now things really began to fly. I had been leading the chanting from Marble Arch down to Oxford Circus, now Ram Gopal took over (we usually take turns leading the kirtan), and by the time we had moved down the majestic Regent's Street past the famous Hamley's Toy Shop (reputedly the world's biggest) and arrived at Piccadilly Circus the 'Vaikuntha Bubble' had encapsulated the chanting party and any who came within earshot. Around this time Rasamayi Pandita Devi Dasi sadly had to leave also as she had to take an early morning flight abroad.
Crossing the complicated junction at Piccadilly Circus, somehow the party stopped spontaneously at the island in the middle and the Nama-kirttan continued apace. A crowd around the famous Eros statue adjacent to us looked on as quickly many souls felt some quickening and joined in the chanting as they could, singing or clapping or dancing. Some more 'seriously' and some for 'a bit of a laugh' but in the end, who's to say, they were joining in Mahaprabhu's mission of chanting the Lord's Name. Of course Sri Chaitanya Himself in His pastimes as a young sannyasi was criticised by the Mayavadi sannyasis of Benares headed by Prakasananda Saraswati for neglecting to study, study, study Vedanta and instead chanting and dancing sentimentally and so attracting the ignorant public. But Mahaprabhu humbly answered that His Spiritual Master deemed Him unfit for such study and gave Him the Hare Krsna Maha-mantra, and by continuously chanting it, He said, "I have become mad".
There is one Christian gentleman who every week stands also on this island and tells of his Lord through a megaphone, the loudness of his message increasing proportionately as the Harinam approaches; this time it was as if he realised there was no way he could compete with such inundation, as the waves of sound rolled forth. By now also some persons had come with drum and flute to accompany the kirttan.
Unfortunate creature as I am, bound helplessly in Maya's net, at this point I was beginning to feel seriously weak due to lack of physical sustenance, being of hypoglaecimic tendency, so I decided I had to find something to eat if I was to continue with the party. By Fate or providence also I was unable to quit the event in any case due to the fact that my bag containing the essentials of my material identity was presently resting on the back of Dayanidhi Prabhu, he having offered kindly to carry it since I had been transporting it around the city all day. The problem was that he was deep inside the kirtan-rasa and the strap of the mrdanga he was expertly playing was trapping my bag onto his body. No way was I going to interrupt events by trying to disentangle it therefrom. So I managed to at least extract some money out of the bag and proceed to the 'pizza-slice' cafe in nearby Leicester Square. Sitting outside the cafe at a table I reckoned that the Harinam party would have to pass this way, the route they always took, but by the trime I had refuelled, no sign. Walking back to the 'island in the Circus' I was astonished (but not astonished) to find them still there chanting, as before. By now there were even film crews, I don't know for documentary or private - the cameras were certainly big enough - filming the devotees from all angles. Leaflets with the Math details were being distributed also.
Finally the party moved off, through Leicester Square (after 'circumambulating' it, not wanting to 'leave out' any at the far side who might think they could escape!) and along Charing Cross Road towards Centrepoint again. At the junction with Tottenham Court Road usually we pause again and after chanting 'Hari haraye namah krsna...' the kirtan ends but today, oh no! As I was out in front, I naturally stopped at this spot but then I felt a gentle push from behind as the party shuffled me forward and the naga-kirtan continued through the side streets all the way to where the van was parked.
As we walked the crowds thinned out to eventually being the occasional straggler or drunk/near hysterical group of girls/men returning from a bar or club passing. Then I noticed a blind man with a white stick, who we had already passed about half a mile earlier and whose head had turned towards the sound, came walking with his stick tapping from side to side, right through the middle of our party as we stood around the van chanting down this obscure side street! I mean, what are the chances of that!?
By now it was nearly 11pm after five hours chanting and eventually the final 'haribols' sounded and the kirtan ended, Dayanidhi Prabhu sounding the 'prema-dhvani' to finish. Some returned in the van, and some accompanied me on the train to various accomodations. What a night. Even the exhaustion I felt for the next days could not dim the experience.
Sri Krsna Nama-sankirtan ki jai!
Srila Gurudev ki jai!