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Padayatra America 2004, #5
From Avadhuta Siromani Dasa
Posted Nov. 29, 2004

June / July

The next step was to start organizing veterinary papers so that by the time we reached the border the tests would be complete and we wouldn't have to stop for a quarantine.

Moving south. We were hoping to be in Mexico the first week of July.

With the help of the local people we were able to find a veterinarian certified to perform the tests we required for the border, but he was some 20 miles out of the way in Bay City. No problem.

After hearing about our situation, Dr. Randy came out to meet us on the road and even donated some of the vaccinations. He was astonished at the health of Kana and Balaji. He asked many questions about what they ate, what times, miles, etc. "I have never seen horses performing such an extraordinary task, a 2,500 mile trek, standing so healthily," he said.

Texas roads are wide and open. You can't see the end. Shade was difficult to find, but the Lord was always making some arrangement. The temperature was 95 degrees (and up).

We crossed the biggest ranch in the United States. It makes up a whole county, Kennedy County. For 60 miles we found nothing but pasture. It was very hot, but we always found a kunja for the Deities. Even in these remote places, people were coming into contact with Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya.

We were moving south, closer to Harlingen, where we had an appointment with a customs agent who would bring us into Mexico (they wouldn't let us walk). We were coming close but still the papers had not arrived.

We contacted Dr. Randy in Bay City, and he told us that he had done all the tests, but when he was going to send the application papers to the United States Department of Agriculture in Austin, the office told him not to send them because there was a temporary suspension of livestock crossing at the border. Hare Krsna! Therefore he simply held on to the papers.

As we came into the Harlingen area, we contacted Mrs. Betty who informed us that we were missing an important requirement on the exportation application, an official authorization from Mexico for a customs liaison who would bring in the horses. Without that agent's name, the application would be rejected, and we would lose all the laxmi (hundreds of dollars).

Mr. Randy was not aware of this, therefore the Lord made the whole arrangement for the border to be closed for one week (very unusual) just to give us time to get in touch with Mrs. Betty, who was overseeing the details and working on the papers. Mr. Muller, our customs agent would meet us on the weekend, and we planned to cross the border on Monday.

Ekodeva prabhu would be waiting on the other side to welcome us, and a new country would receive Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundara and Jwala Nrsimha on its roads.

Praying to the lotus feet of my Guru Maharaja and His Holiness Lokanath Swami that they may blessed us to carry on enthusiastically with our service as our life and soul.

Padayatra America ki jaya!

July 4th, South Texas–

The scene was quite different. Hot temperatures. We started to see palm trees. Everyone was bilingual, and there was a mixing of Latin descent. Things were simpler, but still the American standard of material life was present. On one side was a struggle to live, and on the other side was the same struggle, simply camouflaged by some aspect of sense gratification and increased material facility.

A young officer from the border patrol told us how they had just caught a few people in the desert, where the people-smugglers, known as "coyotes," bring in hundreds of people a day, people desperate for a better life. People want to come in, but we want to go out.

Anyway, the Lord has an arrangement for Latin America, and I simply want to participate, even if I don't know what lies ahead.  Tomorrow we would reach the Department of Agriculture in Brownsville to begin the exportation process and meet with our customs agent, Mr. Muller, who would bring us across. Thus we would complete our 2,700-mile trek through North America.

Culture shock just on the other side of the Rio Grande (which is no longer Grande). On the one hand, more poverty, but at the same time a cultural background that made us feel more welcome.  As soon as we entered, at the first stoplight, many young single mothers with small children, ragged and dirty, approach the wagon for one peso. We showed them the Deities, distributed cards with the holy name, and ask them to chant. This is what we had to give.

We were hosted at a local horse association for a few days in Matamoros, which was a classic Latin American town. The cathedral was the center of downtown, with a picturesque park full of shade trees, where people of all ages would sit to eat, talk, sleep, lounge. Street dogs decorated the paths, and fruit was sold on every corner. It was a familiar atmosphere (personally I felt very much at home), and we were confident of the reception of Padayatra, especially since the Vaisnavas were eager to see Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundara and Jwala Nrsimha expand the impact of Their mercy by conquering the Latin American countries.

O my Lord Nrsimha, You came in Your ferocious (Ugra) vigraha form, full of love for Your devotee. Desiring to preach, You came in this Deity form and developed this program. You manifested Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundara and put this program on the road. Through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and now the frontier of Mexico.

O, Lord of Prahlada, we are leaving behind a country that has felt Your impact, a country where You have distributed Your mercy in the forms of  the holy name, spiritual books, devotional service—all opportunities for those suffering in the world of duality to come closer to You. This is all to Your credit.

Under Your guidance, we have faced many difficulties, and by Your mercy we have learned and we have solidified our relationship with You. All glories to You!

O Lord Nrsimha, only You can help us satisfy Your servants, those who desire to see the glories of the holy name expand to every village and town on the planet. This is Your Padayatra Do with it as You desire.

We beg to remain engaged in helping You expand the mission wherever You wish to go, knowing that this will be the perfection of our service—to simply live Your will-—and that You will grant whatever we may need to face whatever lies ahead.

 "Obeisances to Lord Nrsimha, the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is supreme in all the worlds. He is the resting place of all the living entities, eternally glorious with strength, power, heroism, and splendor. He is brilliant like a great silver mountain, splendid with a great mane, dazzling with a ruddy golden glory that fills the universe." —from Visnu Dharmottara Purana

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