First Harinam Sankirttan Programme With the New Minibus
November 2005
Sachi Devi Dasi shares something of the day's events
"On Friday 23 September the devotees of the London Math received their new preaching minibus. The next day, after honouring a grand feast prepared by Jayanti Devi Dasi, the devotees gave the minibus a thorough cleaning, decorating it with a beautiful tilak symbol and the Math logo. With incense burning inside, the group of fourteen devotees finally set off, heading towards Southall - a major Indian community in the London area.
"It was a bright sunny day. Arriving at Southall, the Harinam party started off glorifying our beloved Lord's name. The devotees also distributed delicious sweetballs and many pamphlets to introduce people to the London Mission on Green Street. At first people were a little surprised, but gradually they became more relaxed and many started to smile, while others approached us to give donations. The older people especially seemed to appreciate hearing the chanting of the Holy Names. One man with folded hands bowed down his head and touched the feet of a member of our group.
"Upon hearing the sound of the mrdanga and karatals, many of the small children we passed by immediately began to join in with the dancing - although they were often pulled back by their mothers! It was a wonderful afternoon, and as the devotees walked back to the minibus to return to our Math, every face was beaming.
"We are planning to go out every Saturday with a sankirttan party to visit different towns and villages throughout the UK. The devotees are very excited about all the possibilities there are for the seventeen-seater minibus: preaching programmes; book and prasadam distribution; preaching about the glories of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His mission, and the glories of our Divine Guardians, Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj and Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj."
Saraswati Devi Dasi, who had the initial idea to purchase a minibus, and who instigated the search for one, adds: "This bus will transform our community into a blessed mobile unit of joyful service, allowing us to go on preaching and Harinam outings far and wide on a regular basis - as often as we like! We can also visit homes of devotees and friends for programmes, and on school holidays we can even pack up the kids and go far and wide for Harinam, camping and preachingj."
Harinam Sankirtan Ki Jaya!