Journey to Ekachakra By Gauranga Mohindri

Five thousand years ago, when two of the greatest armies in the world were at a ruthless war, the supreme personality of godhead, Lord Krishna, openly made a vow that he would never pick up a weapon during this battle. But when Bhishma Pitamah was mercilessly slaughtering thousands of soldiers and was about to kill his dearest friend and devotee, Arjuna, just to save him, the lord of all lords, Sri Krishna, in front of all these mighty and esteemed warriors broke his vow and picked up a chariot wheel and charged like a fierce lion towards Bhishma. As a meteor travels thousands of miles to earth, likewise this wheel is said to have been thrown miles away and landed up in a remote town of West Bengal, and was thus given the unique name Ekachakra; Eka means one and Chakra means wheel. Symbolic or factual, the essence of this episode and location is spiritual. At this sacred place the incarnation of Lord Balarama, Nityananda Prabhu, appeared as the closest associate in the pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Living in Mayapur for more than a month, I visited all the nine islands of Nadia and most of the holy places except for this one and now was the time to embark on an exciting venture to this magnificent place. Accompanying me on this journey were my two friends Srihari, Krishna and their families. Krishna is an active person but usually pretty quiet and to himself. Srihari, a bit contrasting, is extremely talkative, jolly and frank. Well, these two have been my best friends for nearly seven years, and we’ve had many adventures together, and now one again!

While we were getting ready for the trip, we heard a soft and hollow knock on our apartment door. My friends and I ran towards the bulky wooden door in excitement, anxious for who would be at the doorstep, our tour guide for the day or just the milkman. The door swung open, revealing our visitor, it was our guide a loving, and benevolent, dark-complexioned local devotee named Bhajanandhi Prabhu, the person who would be touring us to and around Ekachakra. He had booked us a twelve-seater car for our travel to Ekachakra, but it was not the thing we expected. The car was white but was covered in rust and grime. The windshield of this car had several cracks, the seats inside were torn exposing the yellowish foam under the thin black seat cover and there was minimal legroom. Being accustomed to the luxury of living in Melbourne I knew it would be a hard time for me to travel in this car, but knowing the reward I would receive after this five-hour austere drive, I jumped in and took the backseats with my friends.

It was six in the morning when we left, and the air was refreshing and filled with the excitement of the day. As we were driving, my mind was enraptured by the surrounding village scenery. Local village children were swimming in the crystal-clear lake, having a whale of a time. They seemed as if they didn’t have a care in the world. The children were diving into the waters and playing water fights. As we drove on, I spotted a lush rice paddy field, where farmers were harvesting their crops with their sickles. The atmosphere of this remote village was peaceful, lively and pleasant.

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