Posted August 18, 2003

Click here for full size

"To choose to attend to the Lower East Side," wrote Allen Ginsberg about Srila Prabhupada, "what kindness and humility and intelligence!" Anyone present at the Angel Orensanz Art Center on the Friday before Ratha Yatra can attest to the fact that Srila Prabhupada's vision is still alive and thriving on the Lower East Side almost forty years later.

The Angel Orensanz Art Center is in a neo-gothic former synagogue, a five-minute walk from 26 Second Avenue. The center was the venue where devotees from the Second Avenue community hosted the International Sankirtan Festival. The synagogue, designed in 1849, played an instrumental role in the birth of the Jewish reform movement in America. It now hosts cultural events throughout the year. The ornate central altar, once the inner sanctum of the synagogue, was a perfect asana for Sri Sri Doyal Nitai Vijaya Gauranga, the presiding Deities of the Lower East Side preaching projects.

As the devotees poured into the hall, His Holiness Sacinandana Swami welcomed them with his warm bhajanas. Then His Holiness Radhanath Swami lectured to a packed house on the significance of Lord Caitanya's cleaning the Gundica temple. Maharaja implored the audience to take up the task of self-purification by engaging in service to Krishna and His devotees and thus be in the proper frame of mind to receive Lord Jagannath. Sacinandana Maharaja then gave everyone entrance to Sri Vrndavana dhama with a slideshow that he himself narrated.

The stage was now set for the appearance of the Lord Himself. Amidst cheers and chants, Lord Jagannatha, His brother Lord Baladeva, and His sister Subhadra Devi— the personal Deities of members of the congregation— were ushered onto the stage and were offered an adivasa (welcoming) ceremony. Everyone present was invited to offer a candle and a prayer to Their Lordships. With the addition of each candle, the stage became a little brighter, until the altar's effulgence made it clear that the spiritual world had indeed manifested in New York City.

The transformation would not have been complete without a rip-roaring New-York-style kirtan, led by veteran Sriman Vakresvara Pandit. An hour later the floorboards were still quivering as over 200 devotees and guests danced, jumped, spun, and defied gravity while Vakresvara Pandit Prabhu powerfully called out the Lord's holy names.

The man in charge of lighting for the hall later told us that when he saw the floorboards shaking and trembling under the weight of the dancing devotees, he raced down to the basement to check for ceiling damage. When he saw there was none, he returned to the hall, relieved— and started to dance in the kirtana with the devotees.

In order to share the magic of this wonderful evening with the Vaisnava community, the devotees of 26 Second Avenue are distributing recordings of the program. "Ecstasy on the Lower East Side" features digital quality recording on two audio CDs, including excerpts from Sacinandana Maharaja's chanting, highlights of the unforgettable kirtana orchestrated by Vakresvara Pandit Prabhu, and the complete lecture delivered by Radhanath Swami. Also included with the CDs is a stylish t-shirt featuring an award-winning Krishna art design by Bhakta Peter Adamski.

"Ecstasy on the Lower East Side" is available for a $15.00 donation, and may be purchased online at www.krishnanyc.com, the official web page of the 26 Second Avenue community.

Now the entire 26 Second Ave community is looking forward to seeing what magic manifests when His Holiness B. B. Govinda Maharaja comes on August 15 with his bhajana band for another evening at the same hall, followed by a Maha-Harinam on August 16.

© dipika.org August 18, 2003