Daily walk down Parikrama Marg
Post Office or Daily Needs
It’s not always about the destination, but the journey.
Almost every day (Sundays are the exception), I head out my door, down the little rocky alleyway and turn left onto Parikrama Marg about 30 feet away.
In the days before COVID and lockdowns, the Parikrama Marg was the lifeblood of Vrindavan, always alive with barefoot pilgrims circumnavigating the holy dham. The usual steady stream of devotees is but a trickle today.
Ekadashi on the Parikrama
Today is Ekadashi, a fasting day for the people on the Parikrama, who abstain from wheat, rice, other grains and beans. Ekadashi occurs twice a month, according to cycles of the new and full moons, and is considered a powerful day to make progress in spirituality. There are more people on the Parikrama because of it..
The Vrindavan Parikrama is about 6 miles, and takes about 3 hours to complete, and is always walked clockwise. Other cities in Sri Braja Mandala (the holy cities around Vrindavan and Mathura) also have Parikramas. The Govardhan Parikrama is about 14 miles and takes 5 -6 hours to complete. Devotees complete the walk barefoot.
My walk takes me a short way down the Parikrama, streaming with the pilgrims until I bear right on Bhaktivedanta Marg to the post office inside the ISKCON compound.
Just before I make that right onto Bhaktivedanta Marg is a stretch of street known as Baba Alley because a lot of babas hang out there. And always there are people coming by daily with food, Prasad, for anybody who wants it, as much as they want. The babas and sadhus fill up their little tin bucket tiffins for eating later. Nobody ever goes hungry in Vrindavan. The good citizen and ashrams of the city are always out giving Prasad to everybody.
Prasad is food that has been made for God and offered to God first, then all the people can eat and enjoy this blessed food!
On my way back home, I pass many vegetable and fruit cart vendors, and I’ll pick up something fresh to make for lunch. Fresh daily from the local farms.