It was a sunny day since a long time. The fog was gone, and the morning sun cast its pleasant rays over Radha-kunda, inspiring new life in the environment stiffened by the coldness and the moisture. From the winter forest to the summer forest. All six seasons are present in the forests around Radha-kunda.

Since the weather was clear, we left for Govardhan with Yugal, on bike, to film the parikrama. A pleasant ride in a pleasant weather, and lots of good footage, some of which will be available shortly. A bit embarassing, though, that my first parikrama of Giriraja should be riding on a bike. Giriraja is so beautiful. Christmas eve is a public holiday also in India, and huge amounts of people are on the move. An uninterrupted stream of pilgrims flows around the mountain. We even get stuck in a traffic jam at the town of Govardhan.

After the parikrama, I leave for the parikrama of Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda with Malati. Tomorrow we were scheduled to head for Vrindavan to meet Braja and Rasaraja, and the kunda-samskara was supposed to start on the 26th, so time was short if we wanted pictures of the two kundas with water still inside. We end up with some 200 pictures, which should cover both kundas from just about any angle.

Coming up the stairs from the bank of Shyama-kunda, we bump into the ever-so-jolly Prana Krishna Das Baba. He is always going somewhere with a big smile on his face, often with his gong, doing kirtan. He always comes to pat my back in a lovely manner. I am also always happy to see him. Moving on with the parikrama, we take a closer look at the new paintings that have been painted at the sitting place of Mahaprabhu. Very charming, and painted with an intriquing style. See "Views" for a big picture of the painting.

After the parikrama, we went to meet Babaji Maharaja. I asked some questions regarding Yogapitha-seva concerning the moods of the parshadas of Mahaprabhu in aprakata-Navadvipa. Baba explained how the prakat-lila and aprakat-lila of Mahaprabhu are somewhat different in appearance; for example, Mahaprabhu only joins Svarupa and Ramananda during his years as a sannyasi, while in the aprakata-lila they are both present in youthful forms in Navadvipa-dham.

I also asked about the appearances of Advaita Prabhu and Srivas Thakur in prakata-lila, as many artists depicted them in many different ways. Concerning Advaita's beard, Baba quoted a passage from Chaitanya Bhagavata, explaining how he just had a little bit of beard on his chin, not the full, long beard we sometimes see. Concerning Srivas Thakura, Baba explained that as he was a grihastha, he had long hair, and was dressed in white. Long hair was normal for grihasthas during those times, though nowadays most people keep it short, many even assuming the appearance of renunciates.

We told Baba of our upcoming visit to Vrindavan on the following day, and also mentioned that Jagadananda would be coming to Vraja soon. He will be staying right next door from us at Radha-kunda, a month is the plan for now. Baba was happy to hear that the obstacles on his path to Vraja had been removed. Earlier, I had filmed a video clip of Babaji Maharaj inviting Jagadananda over and assuring him to not worry, that his desire to come over would be fulfilled. By the grace and desire of all Vaishnavas, this is now turning into reality.

After the darshan, we followed the regular daily routine — returning home, preparing an evening snack, posting to the journal and taking rest. I won't be boring you with mentioning this every day, but it does always happen.