In2-MeC

Katikati, New Zealand
15 November 2003

I am now staying at a house on a hill above the town of Katikati, which is three hours by car south of Auckland. Katikati is near the port city of Tauranga, on the Pacific seacoast. There is no central ISKCON temple here; but there is a preaching center in Tauranga, and a good number of devotee families reside in this area.

My godbrother Atmananda Prabhu drove me down from Auckland, and he continues to drive me around Katikati. Atmananda is going to university in Auckland but he keeps his home on this same hilltop where I am staying.

The house in which I live is owned by Trivikrama das, a disciple of HH Prabhavisnu Maharaja. This is a comfortable, roomy place that Trivikrama built himself over a period of seven years. It is made from mud bricks that have a 10 percent cement content. From touch, these bricks have a heavy solid feel, like stone blocks, not cement. The house has its own water source and the electricity comes from a nearby waterfall, where Trivikrama installed a generator. I told him, "When the world ends you'll be the last to know."
The devotees took me to a hot pool spa today. We soaked in the mineral water for nearly 2 hours. It was very relaxing! This evening I am giving a lecture at the home of Jayatirtha Caran Prabhu, my old friend who gives me valuable advice about puja. I stopped in his home for lunch yesterday when I arrived in Katikati from Auckland. He daily worships 50 silas on his altar!

Tomorrow (Sunday) I give the feast lecture at the Tauranga preaching center. Today I took lunch prasadam at the home of the family that operates this center. Caitanya Nitai and Mother Goloka Prema are grhasta disciples of HH Giriraja Swami; their daughter is Citralekha dasi. Citralekha had an unfortunate accident when she was a little girl. She broke her neck. Since then she has been confined to a wheelchair. Now, as a young woman, she cannot walk and has limited use of her hands and arms. But she goes out on the street in Tauranga in her wheelchair and distributes books and preaches. Twice a weeks she gives lecture at the preaching center. All the devotees here respect her as a saintly person. She believes that Lord Krsna arranged her to have that accident so that she would become a serious devotee, and not be swept away by the maya that attacks young people when they reach adolescence.

The weather in New Zealand is ever-changing at this time of year. It is not yet summer; this country lies in the southern hemisphere, beneath the equator, so its seasons are opposite those of the northern half of the planet. When it is winter in Europe it is summer in New Zealand and Australia. For many of the days that I have been here (like today!) it's been cool and cloudy; often it rains. At least it is not really cold, but it is not warm either.

From the Katha Upanisad

That by which one perceives both
the states of sleep and of being awake;
Knowing that it is the immense, all-pervading Self,
a wise man does not grieve.

He who was born before heat,
who before the waters was born,
who has seen through living beings--
Entering the cave of the heart,
one sees Him abiding there.

A person the size of a thumb
resides within the body;
The Lord of what was and what will be--
from him He does not hide Himself.

The person the size of a thumb
is like a fire free of smoke;
The Lord of what was and what will be;
the same today and tomorrow.

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