This year 5600 people from 30 countries participated in the annual pilgrimage to Vrindavan, India lead by Radhanath Swami. It was held from November 7th to 17th.
Every morning participants went out in groups to visit holy spots of Vrindavan where Sri Krishna had enacted his pastimes 5000 years ago. And every evening they converged at the festival site where Radhanath Swami spoke on the pastimes of Sri Krishna andSri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This year being the 500th anniversary of Sri Chaitanya’s visit to Vrindavan, Radhanath Swami extensively spoke on the life and teachings of Sri Chaitanya from His biographies, Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita and Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat. The talk was translated into eight languages.
Following in the tradition of Sri Chaitanya, who emphasized sankirtan – the congregational chanting of the holy names of Sri Krishna, every evening after the talk devotees from many nations held hands and danced in kirtan. Devotees from United States and China, from Russia and Ukraine, from Iran and Saudia Arabia called out the holy names in one voice, for the wellbeing of the entire world. The devotional celebrations ended every night with each devotee offering a lamp to Sri Krishna, with heart-felt devotion.
Founder of Bhakti Fest, Sridhar Silberfien, who has been a special guest during the annual pilgrimage for several years, shared his experience: “Whenever I am here, I am left with tears of joy in my eyes. I yearn to be here in Vrindavan with Radhanath Swami.”
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