I've had a busy time since arriving in Wellington. I'm certain that the only way I've been able to keep functioning is solely by the mercy of the devotees here.

On Tuesday I went to see Dr. Dan, who is primary reason I am in Wellington. He did a few tests, said that in some areas it looks like the treatment he gave me last time I visited had been fairly successful. He did a few other tests, one that somehow measures energy, and he said that I seemed to have 1/2 the amount of energy that I should have, which I kinda of agreed with. Then, he hooked me up to some machine, which measured...something, i'm not really sure... I don't realy know exactly what he was doing...but my Gurudeva said that in terms of my health I have to use whatever saw is available to cut the wood, so I'm just gonna surrender to Dr. Dan and see what happens. He practices heaps of different alternative medical systems. He has put me on some homeopathic stuff, which he says will help me with my revolutionary tendencies. He thinks that this might be part of my health problems. We'll see what happens.

Tuesday night we read Krsna book together, and sang some bhajana's, to prepare ourselves for the next day.

Wednesday, of course, was Janmastami. I woke up at 2:30, with a bit of a sore tummy, but full of energy. I got up, along with boddhi, my new room mate extraordinaire, and chanted as much as I could before the morning programme started. It was supposed to start at 4:30, but Mahavana was rather sick, so we just stuck to the regular 7am programme. After I finished my first set of 16 rounds for the day, Mother Khadiravana, Mahavana's wife, asked if I could give bhagavatam class as Mahavana couldn't. So, although I had planed on chanting more, I surrendered, and went to prepare for a class. There were about 13 devotees who showed up at the asrama in the morning. It was nice to see them all, especially Martin who was a very dear friend of mine, but who had a momentary break in his practice of Krsna consciousness. As soon as I finished that class, which was about an hour long, I was asked again by Mother Khadiravana if I would also be able to fill in for Mahavana Prabhu at the Janmastami celebrations, as he was supposed to give class there as well. That was abit more of a surrender. It meant spending much of the day going through the class Mahavana had prepared, getting my head around it, and working my way through the powerpoint he had set up for it. The result was that I didn't get to chant as much as I had hoped to that day. I have yet to actually fulfill my desire to chant 64 rounds on Janmastami. Perhaps next year I'll be able to do that.

I had a surprising amount of energy for the whole day. I think it may have been a result of the one treatment that Dr. Dan gave me. As a result I managed to fast the whole day, till midnight, only taking a small plate to break fast. It was a great festival. Festival days are the mothers of devotion. I tried my hardest to be prayerful all day. My constant prayer was based on a verse in the sixth canto of the Bhagavatam, spoken by Ajamila. It's one I meditate on often. The first line is my favourite "I am such a sinful person." Humility is a good way to start a prayer.

During the festival I was asked by Bhakta Sam to speak to a friend of his, who was a philosophy student, going for his masters degree. It was a huge auterity talking to him, it was so dry. I'm not into philosophy that doesn't have practical application...whats the point? In life I want happiness and success that completely fulfills the deepest desires of my heart, not some process of disecting and analysing arguments for not real purpose other than to enjoy some mental pleasure temporarily.

We broke fast, and got home about 2 am I think. As the following day was Prabhupada's appearance day, I was asked to help cook the feast, which meant waking up at quarter to five...not alot of sleep. It also meant that I missed out on the whole celebration, as I was in the kitchen. I didn't get to read out my offering either. But the feast was good. I finished my rounds at about 6 pm or something like that.

Because I didn't get to read out my offering, I decided to place it on here, so that I can prove that I actually did write one...though it is a fact, I didn't put much effort into it at all. I was too busy preparing classes yesterday to do it.

------------

Dear Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to your lotus feet.

Srila Prabhupada, in your most wonderful book, KRSNA, you explain so perfectly what makes Krsna so special. You explain that all of Krsna's activities, from the very moment of His birth are entirely unparralleled. They are completely beyond compare.

Srila Prabhupada, making an analysis of your life, it appears that in many ways, so many of your activities are also unparralleled. Your coming to the west, with the intense desire to serve the instructions of your Gurumaharaja is completely unparralleled. There is no one in the history of the world who endeavoured in this way with so much determination, and faith in the words of their guru. In this way you are unparralleld. Your ability to make thousands and thousands of first class devotees out of so many degraded personalities, turning hippies into happies, is completely unparralleled. You possess an amazing ability to explain the highest spiritual truths, the highest concepts of love of Godhead, in such a way that people from any background are able to grasp the concepts you explain. This is unparralleled. Not only that, but you formulated the perfect progamme of devotional engagement perfectly suited to the nature of passionate westerners. This is totally unparralleled. This is your unparralleled position as founder/acarya extraordinaire.

Srila Prabhupada, I am such a sinful person, but somehow or other, I have now gotten this most wonderful opportunity, by your grace. On this most auspicious day, I beg for your special mercy so that I can completely control my mind, life and senses, and always engage in devotional service, so that I may not fall again into the deep darkness and ignorance of material life. Please grant me this determination, so that my life will be successful.

Please help me to fully appreciate the complete perfection that you have given the whole world through your unparralleled books. I beg today for the eagerness to dedicate my life to your books, and their distribution. At least in some way or another may I always be in direct contact with the distribution of your books, and may I take every opportunity to encourage everyone I meet to take your books seriously in their lives. May I always be a servant of your ISKCON, which is the greatest shelter available in this dark period of the world.

your aspiring servant,
Vidyapati dasa