General Overview: I thank HH Romapada Swami, HH Candramauli Swami and HG Bada Hari Prabhu from the bottom of my heart for organizing such a wonderful festival of Holy Name, which truly inspired me in multiple ways. All Glories to the Vaishnavas who have struggled day and night to please Vaishnavas, Guru and Krishna for the successful organization of this festival. Truly speaking, I found this festival immensely meaningful in my sadhana (regulated practice of devotional service). This festival was a perfect combination of depth of the glories of holy name, ecstatic kirtans, upliftment and improvement in taste for chanting of Krishna's holy name.

His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja arrived in College Station in the early afternoon of a hot summer day in Texas after a long 90 minute drive. After his arrival, without spending any time to rest after the long drive in the fierce summer heat, Maharaja immediately commenced his services. The first ceremony on the agenda was the Abhishek (ceremonious holy bath) of the Deities. Maharaja performed the Abhishek to the accompaniment of melodious kirtan performed by the devotees. After the Abhishek was completed and the Deities were being dressed, Maharaja commenced his ‘Deity Welcoming’ lecture..

As more and more people deviate from following the laws of nature and the laws laid out by God Himself, the burden that Mother Earth carries by the consequent ravages of the materialistic culture is immense!

Anecdotes from His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja’s visit to Penn State: Mar/April 2010

If there's one quality or attribute that can describe His Holiness Srila Romapada Swami, it is his mood of service to his spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, our founder acharya, and his being unswayed by any obstacle that disrupts him from executing this duty. All other qualities are naturally manifest in him because of this. We are truly blessed to have his association in any form let alone have an opportunity to serve him, because as aspiring devotees we have the fortune to witness a soul who's completely acting on his real self-interest, as a servant of Krishna each and every moment while undergoing so many austerities and sacrifices for our benefit.

On March 4th, Maharaja arrived in St. Louis by car from Urbana-Champaign, a 3 hour drive away. He commenced extending his pure association to students at Washington University in St. Louis, presenting "You Are What You Eat". He began in a very humble mood commenting "dinner is the best part", and "I have a lot to live up to" after a short introduction. His inspiring presentation was uncompromising in sastric conclusions yet 'tasteful' to a western audience. His humble, yet persuasive personality is awe-inspiring and can only be balanced by deep Krishna consciousness. From him we hear that Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura had a similar mood.

Just three days after the Chicago Christmastime programs, the St. Louis New Year’s programs began. Since it was still winter vacation for us students, we decided to join His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja in St. Louis to kick off the New Year. A total of four cars—three minivans and one car—stuffed with Chicago devotees drove five hours south in order to receive the most nectarean association of Maharaja. We were all extremely excited to be able to hear from Maharaja for an extended period of time—first, in New York at Vyasa Puja, then in Chicago, and then again for the next 3 ½ days in St. Louis!

December 30

His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja was in Chicago from the 23rd to the 27th of December 2009. Maharaja spoke on some very interesting topics such as humility and self confidence, self-acceptance and self-improvement, specifically addressing the apparent paradox. For the youth, Maharaja spoke on discovering our identity and finding our voices in Krishna Consciousness.

All the programs took place in the Kishore Kishori temple, where many devotees were accommodated for the weekend retreat. By Guru Puja each morning, there were many devotees already present. Maharaja entered, and before we knew it, we were all singing “Jaya Radha Madhava.”

Srila Romapada Swami reached Hyderabad early morning 1:00 am. He arrived almost 5 hours late due to a strike in the Indian Airlines flight that he was supposed to board. We could see one of the many austerities that Maharaja takes to nourish us with his association. Next day in the morning Srimad Bhagavatam class he was welcomed by the radiant smiling faces of over 250 eager devotees. Maharaja complimented the smiling faces of devotees comparing them with a garden of Sun Flowers!

23 Sep'09 Wednesday
Our minds were full with the wonderful experiences from the recent Japa retreat at Gita Nagari; our hearts were brimming with the loving exchanges we had with the devotees at the retreat and our focus had not yet shifted from the Holy Names. In short, this visit by Srila Romapada Swami Maharaja was awaited with great enthusiasm and eagerness by the handful of devotees here.