I finished university study in Germany in October and left for Mayapur shortly afterwards. Several devotees I spoke to had already participated in the Bhakti-sastri course in Mayapur and recommended it to me.

During the time of my secular studies, I never really deeply absorbed myself in the nectar of studying Srila Prabhupada's books. Not having much association of devotees made it more difficult to keep up regular reading the way I wanted.

Now I am looking back, and the Bhakti-sastri course is not what I thought it would be -- it is much better! I knew that I was going to acquire knowledge of the essential books of Krishna conscious philosophy, but I didn't guess how much it would go beyond that.

We are studying in a group of young women from all around the world, of different ages and backgrounds. The fact that the class is composed of only women creates a very trusting and comfortable atmosphere. We are able and more likely to share things that might not be addressed in the association of men. Women surely have different questions on particular subjects, like for instance the personal application of teachings related to the grhasta ashram, etc.

There are, in addition to the regular Bhakti-sastri course hours, facultative classes about stri-dharma (the role of women in marriage and Vedic society). Apart from that, there are events on weekends -- like parikramas to nearby holy places and seminars given by H.G. Hari Sauri Prabhu in the garden of the institute about his personal experiences with Srila Prabhupada.

Speaking of the garden, every day after class we all take prasädam, which is provided by the institute, in the garden. It is a nice opportunity so spend time together and get to know each other outside the classroom.

When we finish the course and return to our homelands, most of us likely will not have the same kind of conducive surroundings and facilities for having such good sadhana and association. It might be a challenge for some of us to manage introducing our experiences and realizations from the course in our daily lives. One might sometimes still sit at home reading Srila Prabhupada's books and feel overstrained by high standards and the seemingly impossible goal of going back home to Godhead, what to speak of actually performing devotional service! The course gives the opportunity to discuss and inquire about personal difficulties in our devotional practice, and thus we may learn how to practically apply the philosophy in our lives.

Actually, this is another reason that makes the stay in Mayapur so valuable! The course itself facilitates the exchange of experiences in the practical application of sadhana-bhakti by establishing valuable relationships with other participants. Besides that, there are many advanced souls living at this holy dhama, and we have the opportunity to have their association and learn from them.

Additionally, the holy dhama has its own effect -- I feel like a little bee in the middle of an amazing process of purification! Whatever offense I am committing, the reaction is coming right back to me. Like that I am seeing my own shortcomings and Krishna's hand and mercy in showing them to me in a way that they become more obvious than usual. Due to the influence of the holy dhama, all heart-cleaning spiritual activities performed here are even more potent. I can see many opportunities for learning, apart from the actual contents of the course.

In this way the importance of the daily temple morning program is very evident. Even though it is not directly part of the course, it adds so much to the experience in general. It is not very hard to focus on the study of the books when the day is embedded in many spiritual activities. Having the daily darsana of the deities -- Sri Sri Radha-Madhava, the Panca-tattva, and Sri Nrsimhadeva -- accepting different kinds of maha-prasadam, hearing inspiring lectures given by very senior devotees, and associating exclusively with devotees make it much easier to get absorbed in transcendental subjects.

I personally feel that this experience will provide a lot of spiritual strength for the execution of my devotional service in the future. I am confident and excited about that. I have learned a lot and feel inspired to go on studying. From my stay in Mayapur and especially the participation in the Bhakti-sastri course, I have gained a new motivation for studying Srila Prabhupada's books -- I want to share that wonderful knowledge with others!