I really like this. It has a nostalgic old fashioned feel about the scent. It's woody and musky, yet with gentle floral notes. Some warm prickly moments - the envelopment of wool - the freshness of grass - the excitement of closeness - a summer evening bonfire..... This is a good scent - it is not aggressive, but does have a clear and profound presence that informs and warms a room, lingering perceptibly for some time afterwards in a cleansing and healing manner. This is my sort of scent, and is one I am marking down to buy again from Gokula. It perhaps doesn't have the range, depth or interest of some of the big scents in my Heavenly category, but it is, for me, very, very likeable, so that's where it is going. It is in many ways quite similar to Panchavati, a long time favourite of mine - and I'll be interested to do a side by side comparison later.
It is named after Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the man who formed the Hare Krishna Movement. and introduced the Western world to the Krishna aspect of Hinduism. As I've recently been exploring some incenses mainly made for those interested in magick, witchcraft, the occult, the ancient ways, etc, I've been thinking more closely about the spiritual aspects of burning incense. People burn incense for all sorts of reasons: to freshen up a room, remove bad odours, deter flying insects, create a mood or atmosphere, or simply for the pleasant aroma. Some folks, though, burn incense for more profound reasons - spiritual or religious. They would be burning the incense for the impact the aroma or the burning materials would have upon their body or spirit - and perhaps with how they connect to the world (or nature or the divine). When burning incense for occult or spiritual reasons the aesthetic aroma may not be a priority - the ingredients, and the purity of those ingredients would be more important. It seems to me with some of the ancient incense makers, like the Indians, there is a beautiful blending of the aesthetic and the spiritual. Gokula incense is made, I understand, by Haridas Madhavdas Sugandhi of Pune, who follow the ancient methods of Indian incense making.
Date: July 2017 Score: 42
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Gokula has changed the name of the this to Om Shanti in their Classic Line. We certainly agree on this one! From the moment you light this, the champa-like fragrance draws you right into its domain. It is soft, rich, and compelling with a musky overtone that blends well with its Madhavdas base. Listed as a 1 hour burn, I'd buy this stick again!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen the Panchavati for sale. I'll keep my eyes open, though. Thanks.
I love how you've been exploring Gokula recently. I think Mark has imported a decent selection of incense, and sells it at fair prices. Not quite everything works for me, but there is quite a high base line below which the quality never goes, while at the other end, some of the scents are very heavenly indeed. I feel Gokula should be a better known distributor. I can't imagine anyone who really enjoys incense being disappointed if they bought ten random packs.
DeletePanchavati are very common.
DeleteI like the small ones as they can be carried around in your pocket. Here's some of the long ones on Amazon, being shipped from India:
https://www.amazon.com/Panchavati-Dhoop-Sticks-Dozen-Boxes/dp/B0017R9402/