My latest reading: “Greetings from Vrindāvana” by Dhanurdhara Swami.
This 206-page book, smartly designed, consists of entries from a journal Dhanurdhara Swami kept in 2000 through 2003 and shared with friends and followers.
The entries are full of deep, thoughtful insights into Vaishnava philosophy and practical spiritual life. Dhanurdhara Swami takes us on tour with him as he leads friends from New York on pilgrimage in Mayapur and Vrindavana. What a zesty mix–America and India, metropolis and village, modernity and eternity, New York and Vrindavana! The pilgrims encounter saintly pujaris, biting mokeys, thugs who beat up their driver on the road, and Krishna Himself in the form of His sacred land, His literary revelation, and His holy name.
We all have a relationship with Krishna, and the truth of that relationship is finally the deepest truth in our lives. But how are we to find it and “make it happen” for us and dedicate ourselves to it with a pure and full heart?
It all happens in Vrindavana. And Vrindavana happens for us–reveals itself to us–in the company of spiritually advanced souls.
Such is the company we find here, as Dhanurdhara Swami takes us on tour of Vrindavana, shares with us his own experiences and realizations and those of the pilgrims traveling with him, introduces us to colorful spiritual people in Vrindavana who’ve been his friends and acquaintances over the years, and fills us with what he has heard from close lifelong companions who, like him, have dedicated themselves to the service of Srila Prabhupada.
I highly recommend this book.
