Yuzvendra Chahal, P.C. DNA

Farah (2018.03.23 (PTI): Cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal on Wednesday visited an elephant conservation and care centre run by a wildlife non-profit on the occasion of World Forest Day.

The NGO Wildlife SOS runs an elephant rescue facility in Mathura and a bear rescue centre in Agra. The cricketer visited both the centres on Wednesday. “The effort that they are putting to help these animals is really heart touching and I definitely hope to visit the bears and elephants again,” Chahal said.

The leg spinner interacted with the staff and the veterinarians, and extended his support to promote protection and conservation of elephants and bears in India.

He also enquired about the background of the animals the organisation has rescued.

Rescued from illegal captivity and circuses where they were ill-treated, these animals are now living a life of freedom under the care of expert veterinarians, read a statement from Wildlife SOS.

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Braj, 2018.03.23 (VT):  In a press release yesterday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced the status five towns in Braj. When the CM visited Barsana to promote Braj’s famous Lathmar Holi, he mentioned that other towns in Braj will soon receive the official pilgrimage site status that locals had been demanding.

The towns to be included on the list of official pilgrimage places are: Govardhan, Radhakund, Gokul, Nandagaon and Baldev.

The announcement means that restrictions on selling of meat and liquor will be strictly enforced in the towns, pleasing many residents. The official status also means that extra funds will be allocated to improve the cleanliness, infrastructure and visitor services in the towns.

Minister for culture, Lakshmi Narayan Chaudhary, said that extra attention will also be paid to education, health services, sewage treatment plants in the towns.

After the announcement of Vrindavan and Barsana as official pilgrimage sites in October last year, there was a crackdown on meat sellers in Vrindavan.  The ban on selling in Hindu pilgrimage sites is an impediment to Mathura becoming an Official Pilgrimage Site as there is a large Muslim population in the town.

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Govardhan, 2018.03.23 (VT): Today is the second day of the hearing of the petition against government construction activities on Govardhan’s inner Parikrama Marg. On Wednesday, National Green Tribunal (NGT) officials visited Govardhan to inspect the site where a signboard welcoming people to Rajasthan was installed. The tribunal has expressed displeasure with the action of the Bharatpur Government.

Any further construction, including the huge welcome gate that the Bharatpur Government was planning to build has been stopped. The Tribunal has also ordered that the Govardhan Shilas which were dug out of the ground to make the pits for the signboard and gate must be installed at the bottom of Govardhan Hill. Meanwhile, Sadhus are demanding an apology to Govardhan.

Ganga Das Babaji and others making offerings to Shri Govardhan, P.C. Patrika

Construction on Govardhan’s inner Parikrama Marg has been outlawed since an NGT ruling in 2015, and other sign boards that were too close to Shri Govardhan have been removed previously. Despite this, and despite knowing the religious significance of Shri Govardhan, the Bharatpur Government hired a contractor to use heavy machinery to install a tourists-welcome-sign withing the perimeter of Govardhan reserve.

Ganga Das Baba witnessed the digging on the side of Govardhan. He said that they worship Govardhan as a child, and, when the digging was going on, he saw that Govardhan had become red with anger. He was moved to tears and started the protest that led to the hearing in the NGT.

Babaji contacted several NGOs who tried to stop the construction, but the Bharatpur administration was not ready to stop the work until Satyaprakash Mangal from the National Krishna Circuit Committee, filed a petition in the NGT on Tuesday. The NGT worked quickly by ordering a stay on all construction activities that very day and summoning the officials and contractors involved to appear before the tribunal on Wednesday.

Making amends to Shri Govardhan: Fresh soil and cleaning on the inner Parikrama Marg on Thursday, P.C. Patrika

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Vrindavan, 2018.08.23 (VT): During Chaitra Navaratri, ‘Vrindavan Today’ is introducing you to the different  Devi temples of Vraja Vrindavan. Today, we take you for darshan of ‘Maa Yogmaya’ of Goma Teela (the mound upon which Govind Dev temple is built).

Among Brajwasis, Goma Teela  Yogamaya  is also known as ‘Patal Devi’. Yogamaya’s nickname ‘Patal Devi’ may refer to her position under the ground, as Patal Lok is the lowest of the three worlds. The name also indicates Durga Maya’s ability to subdue demons from the underworld.

The entrance to Yogmaya temple  is adjacent to the main alter of the iconic old red sandstone building that is Radha Govinda Temple. On the Southern side of the temple, built into the overall design, there is a raised entranceway that leads into an underground chamber. This chamber is generally accepted as the place where the original Govinda ji deity appeared, and supposedly once served as a subterranean bhajan kutir for Roop Goswami. Patal Devi is installed in the underground chamber.

Govind Dev temple

The deity is very small and delicately beautiful. Yogamaya temple only opens a couple of times in a year, during Navaratri. On other days, special permission has to be requested from the priest on the altar.

Before Govinda Dev was moved to Jaipur, He was seated on the main altar with Vrinda Devi on the left and Yogamaya on the right. Now Vrinda Devi has been moved to Kama and Yogamaya has moved to Roop Goswami’s bhajan kutir, next to the temple.

Patal Devi temple is closed for the entire year except on Navaratri. It is not easy to have darshan of Yogmaya Devi. On request, the temple priest at Govind Dev temple can open the door to allow visitors to enter the basement chamber where the deity of goddess Yogamaya is installed. There is an inner passage from Sanctum Sanctorum of the main alter, from where the priests have direct access to the ‘Yog-peeth’.

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Uttar Pradesh, 2018.03.24 (NS): In a move enhancing Indo-Nepal ties, the Government of India has decided on a hike in its financial aid to Nepal for FY 2018-19 that will begin April 2018.

With this decision, India’s financial aid to Nepal for the new financial year steps up to Rs 650 crore, a 73 percent rise over the previous year, wherein, the allocation was Rs 375 crore.

Besides Nepal, India has also decided to give financial aid of Rs 1,813 crore to Bhutan for the coming financial year, the highest among other recipient nations receiving aid from India for FY 2018-19.

“India and Nepal have close civilizational and cultural ties, and a wide-ranging and expanding partnership across diverse sectors, which stand firmly on their own. The Indian Government is committed to advancing its development partnership to Nepal as per their priorities,” said the Indian Parliamentary Committee report on External Affairs.

The report further noted that the allocation of funds to both the countries also reflects India’s commitment to support both the countries towards expediting the development of ongoing projects, among other activities in coordination with the respective governments.

This news gains significance in the light of Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s likely visit to India in the first week of April 2018.

Though a formal announcement in this regard is yet to be made, Oli’s three-day maiden trip to India after assuming office is being considered key to the foreign relations between the two countries in view of the formation of Communist-led government in Nepal.

India For a Lifeline Project with Nepal

Meanwhile, in another update indicating strong Indo-Nepal diplomatic ties, India is seeking Nepal’s help for the revival of its Yamuna River to address water concerns in the Indian capital Delhi.

This move is part of Indian PM Narendra Modi’s trans-country river-linking project that is aimed at interlinking 31 rivers and divert the excess water quantity to the arid areas.

Through this project, India is looking at bringing in water from Sharda River or Mahakali River on the Indo-Nepal borderto Yamuna near Delhi.

“The proposal has been cleared by a committee and a request has been sent to the MEA (ministry of external affairs) to initiate a dialogue with Nepal,” said Indian Secretary for Water Resources UP Singh.

The committee has met Nepal officials to negotiate with Nepal on the 540-MW capacity Pancheshwar multi-purpose hydro-power project.

The proposed Shard-Yamuna project is being considered as a lifeline project for Yamuna and is expected to benefit four Indian States: UP, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.

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Mathura, 2018.03.24 (TP): Mystery shrouded the sudden disappearance of the daughter-in-law of senior Congress leader of Rajasthan from a train approaching Mathura junction on Wednesday night. Her family members suspected the role of two women in the train and reported the matter to Government Railway Police (GRP) at Mathura station. The two suspects have also been missing along with the Congress leader’s kin.

A case was registered and all out efforts were being made to trace the missing women. Railway officials said that CCTV footage inside and outside the railway station is being scanned, but so far they had failed to get actionable input.

As per reports, organizing secretary of Congress Sewa Dal organizing secretary in Rajasthan, Jagdish Panchal’s daughter-in-law Sheetal of Kota district (Rajasthan) was on way to Katra in Jammu for darshan at Vaishno Devi. She was accompanied by two other female family members.

The family members said that on Wednesday night, Sheetal said she was going to the bathroom, but, when she did not return, they started to inquire. They were told by fellow passengers them that they saw two women talking to Sheetal in the compartment. The worried kin immediately informed Panchal and, as the train reached Mathura Junction, they reported the incident to GRP personnel at the station.

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Shailjakant Mishra and DM Sarvagyaram and officials at Mansarovar, P.C. Jagran.com

Vrindavan, 2018.03.24 (VT): The BTVP has announced plans to fill Mansarover  with Ganga water via an offshoot of the Ganga canal. On Wednesday, Shailjakant Mishra, Vice President of the Braj Vikas Tirtha Parishad (BTVP) and the District Magistrate, Sarvagyaram Mishra, visited Mansarover to discuss the plans.

In October last year, the BTVP announced plans to renovate Mansarover including plans to build a toilet complex near the Radha Rani temple. On Wednesday, the VP and DM reiterated these plans as well as giving details of the plans for the cleaning and renovation of the kund.

VP Shailjakant said that Mansarover  would be dredged and deepened by four feet before the Ganga water is brought in.

About Mansarovar:

Mansarover is rare wetland grove and bird sanctuary, roughly five acres in size, a few miles across the Yamuna River from the town of Vrindavan. Local tradition has it that the lake, or ‘sarovar’, was formed from the tears of Sri Radha, while in an intensely emotional state of man (wounded love). She came here alone when she feared she had lost Krishna and cried so many teas that a lake was formed.

The way some locals tell the story, Radha Rani began to sink into the mud and was rescued at the last minute by Shri Krishna, who left the Rasa Lila to attend to her.

Mansarovar is mentioned in the Gita Govindam, but its hold on the spiritual imagination of Brijwasis has mostly developed through the oral tradition. There is an ashram at the temple and the temple holds frequent Katha programs, which are mostly attended by Brijwasis from the surrounding villages.

Mansarovar, P.C. radha.name

Unlike most sacred groves, no village has grown here. The lake gives the Radha Rani temple an atmosphere of quietness and peacefulness. The temple premises are large and outside of the main temple are several smaller temples. Some of the smaller temples remain locked and visitors have to take darshan through the bars, so it seems as though temple management has some difficulty in maintaining so many separate deities.

The lake needs to be dredged from time to time to remove excess dirt and vigilance needs to be maintained so that the lake remains free of invasive weeds and garbage. The BTVP plans to use the soil removed by the dredging of the lake to create an embankment and a parikrama path will be made that will allow visitors to easily circumambulate Radha Rani’s Mansarover.

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Shri Yamuna Devi at Keshi Ghat

Vrindavan, 2018.03.24 (VT): Yesterday, 23rd March, Yamuna Jayanti, the appearance anniversary of the river Yamuna was celebrated across Vraja. The festival is also known as ‘Yamuna Chhath’ and is celebrated as Sashthi, the sixth day of Shukla Paksha in the month of Chaitra. The auspicious day commemorates the decent of Goddess Yamuna on Earth and therefore is celebrated with great pomp and show in the city of Mathura and Vrindavan.

On this occasion, Vrindavan Today interviewed His Holiness Acharya Shrivatsa Goswami ji about why Yamuna is more than a river for devotees of Shri Krishna and the Brajwasis.

VT: How did the Yamuna come to earth?

SVG: Indian spiritual wisdom has identified the ultimate reality as rasovaisa and that rasa (nectar) is manifest eternally in the Nitya Golok (realm of the Eternal), but the people of this world needed some way to make life rasa purna (full of nectar). In order for humans to get a glimpse of rasa, the rasa itself had to shower its grace upon human beings. For that purpose Rasa swarupa (the incarnation of pleasure) Shri Krishna, and His Aalhadini Shakti (pleasure potency) Shri Radha both decided to come down to this earth to give the message of Rasa aswadana (to relish the nectar). When they were thinking about descending on earth, they wondered how the rasa will flow without a channel – liquid always needs some channel to flow in.

There was a nectarine river called Virja in Nitya Golok, so Krishna requested Virja to go down to earth in the form of the river Yamuna. Before descending to earth, Virja had put a condition that she would only go the earth if Krishna graced her with his pastimes. The Lord readily accepted her condition and promised that He would begin his pastimes in Yamuna only and He would perform his pastime of ultimate ecstasy only on the banks of the Yamuna.

So, Yamuna came in the form of Kalindi or Yamuna and flowed from the Himalayas to Allahabad where she merges with the Ganges. When Shri Krishna came to the earth, He kept His promise. Krishna made his first journey through the Yamuna on the way to Gokul. This gave Yamuna the opportunity to touch and wash the Lord’s feet.

After touching the Lotus feet of the Lord, she was filled with happiness and danced in ecstasy.

VT: How do you connect Yamuna pollution with ‘Krishna Lila’?

SVG: After that most of the pastimes happened on the bank of Yamuna. The level of pollution in Yamuna even at that time gave tremendous pain to the Lord. He was determined to combat the pollution to save His patrani (beloved) Yamuna.

Yamuna was polluted due to Kaliya. Shri Krishna decided to eradicate the pollution in the river and serve Yamuna. Krishna eradicated the pollution of Kalia by sending him to the ocean.

Yamuna nirvisha bhavat – Yamuna became the sweet nectar of love again. One that thing must be noticed here is that Shri Krishna did not kill Kalia. He killed the other demons, whether they were in the form of bull, calf, horse or a crane.

Shri Krishna subduing the Kalia Serpent, P.C. Hindi-Web

He didn’t give respite to any evil except the Kalia Serpent. Through this action, Shri Krishna gives us the clear message that ‘Pollution cannot be completely eliminated’. Krishna, who is God Himself, showed that rather than trying to destroy pollution, we need to stop creating it. It is very difficult to eradicate pollution once it is created. To create pollution then try to eradicate it is a fool’s game.

By not killing Kaliya, Krishna gave the message that He could only contain pollution, only separate it and dump it in the ocean, but even He can’t destroy it. Pollution was just transferred from Yamuna to the ocean, but it remained in the ocean.

When you love and respect somebody, you take care of them, you help them with cleaning and you make try to make them happy in every possible way. Shri Krishna performed the ultimate pastime of ecstasy – the Maharasa lila on Yamuna Pulin. But the Yamuna Pulin (the bank of Yamuna), has to be  pollution free and filled with sanctity.

Maharasa will only take place if our heart is not filled with the pollution of kama, krodha, lobha, moha, matsarya (lust, anger, greed, illusion, miserliness). It is only possible to visualize the Maharasa when our heart and mind are pollution free.

VT: How can the Yamuna become clean and unpolluted?

SVG: Yamuna Pulin is the physical theatre and stage of the Rasa Lila. It should be clear that if the Yamuna Pulin is not clean and the water of Yamuna is polluted, it creates hindrance in the Rasa Lila. We must think about how the Divine Couple and the Gopis take bath in the Yamuna and perform jal kreeda (water sports). It is our duty to keep the Yamuna clean and unpolluted for the Lordships of Vrindavan.

The practice of bathing the Lordships with the Yamuna water, and cooking bhog with it was prevalent two decades back. Radha Raman Mandir and Rangji Mandir are the two temples that practiced these rituals with Yamuna water until recent times. But, the amount of pollution in Yamuna water became so severe, that these two temples had to stop using Yamuna water in their rituals.

I believe that if every temple in Vrindavan takes the vow that no ritual will be performed without Yamuna water, then Yamuna will be cleaned automatically. There has to be a serious religious commitment to get Yamuna to regain her sanctity. Our commitment to serve Yamuna is the only hope for the Yamuna’s future on this earth and that is the relevance of celebrating Yamuna Chhat, the appearance day of Yamuna.

It is hypocrisy in the name of ‘Bhakti’ just to merely offer milk, flowers, clothes and money and perform Aarati to the suffering Yamuna, who has become polluted and deformed. Instead, we must all make an effort to restore the health of our mother by opposing the drains that flow into Yamuna and getting her released from the Hathini Kund, where she has been captivated.

When Shri Krishna saw the pollution in Yamuna, he was pained to see His patrani (darling) was polluted. He worked hard to restore the health of His beloved Yamuna. He drove away Kaliya to the ocean. The devotees of Krishna should also work hard to restore their mother’s health.

VT: What is the significance of the Yamuna ghats? Do you approve of the state government’s initiative to build new ghats beyond the ancient Yamuna ghats?

SVG: Yamuna surrounds Vrindavan from three sides. Her circling Vrindavan is very important because she is not just touching the physical realm or the geographical space, but is touching the lila stali (places of the pastimes) of the Lord.

The ghats on the bank of Yamuna resemble the Yamuna Pulin, where Krishna performed the Rasa Lila. From Varaha ghat to Vanshi Vat and further down, all the ghats were built to keep awareness of the lila places alive. It is ignorance that people try to separate Yamuna ji from Vrindavan’s 15th -16th century ghats, which are very beautiful. The ancient ghats of the Yamuna without water is an abomination. Destroying the ghats and building new cement structures beyond them on the river bed is a crime being committed against Yamuna and Krishna philosophy.

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The famous poet Ras Khan, a great devotee of Krishna, mentioned in one of his verses kalindi kool kadamb ki daran, where he prays to the Lord to bless him with a fortune of being reborn as a bird in his next life, living in a kadamb tree situated on the banks of river Yamuna.

The kadamb is one of the most sacred trees in Braj, which blossoms during the monsoon season producing small round yellow flowers that fills the air with its sweet intoxicating smell.  It’s botanical name is Anthocephalus indicus or Anthocephalus cadamba and some of its common names are Kadamb (Hindi), Vellaikadambu (Tamil) and Kadamba  (Sanskrit).

Vrindavan is the transcendental land of Kadamb groves where Krishna courted his beloved Radha and played pranks on the Gopis, a land immortalised by stories of His sweet love plays. No wonder why Ras Khan and many other poets have deep reverence for the tree which was very dear to Krishna right from his childhood days. From stealing the gopis clothes and hiding them on its branches to playing hide and seek with his cowherd friends among its dense leaves. From crying in separation under it to the joyful union with Radha.

It was under the kadamba tree that Krishna played his flute to signal the Gopis to perform with him the eternal dance of love and devotion, the maharaas.

Such is the glory and fortune of kadamb, which has witnessed the Lord’s magnificent and eternal pastimes. The scriptures, folk literature and songs from Braj are full of sagas of this divine tree.

kalindī-puline kadamba-viṭapi –cchāyā-maṇi-maṇḍape
śrī-rādhā-muralīdharau priya-sakhī-vṛndair vahan-narmabhiḥ
srak-tambula-vilepanādibhir aho divyaiḥ sada sevitau
rūpaudārya-vayo-vilāsa-madhurau dhyāyāmi vṛndāvane

In the forest near the bank of the Yamuna there are many jeweled altars under the kadamba trees where the gopis joyfully serve the most enchanting Sri Sri Radha Krishna by offering them attractive flower garlands, betel nuts, and sandalwood pulp. I meditate on these pastimes.  (Vṛndāvana-mahimāmṛta, Verse 83).

The kadamba tree has not only served the Lord but is a nature’s gift to mankind as well. It has myriad uses, one of the most important ones being to help in soil reclamation. Its dense growth of leaves makes it ideal for providing shade to human and animals as well as giving shelter to many birds.

The fresh leaves can be used as fodder for cattle. Its flowers attract bees, butterflies, and birds, and is also used in making perfumes. This marvelous tree is also known for its medicinal value, being used in Ayurveda for problems such as ulcer, digestive ailments, diarrhoea, fever, vomiting, diabetes, etc.

Its wood can be used for making paper, boxes, crates, furniture components, decorative items and various art works. This is now unfortunately leading to illegal cutting down and smuggling of the trees.

The extensive felling of trees, disappearing green cover and drying up of rivers have resulted in scanty rainfall and therefore kadamba trees are not flourishing in Braj since they need moist soil to thrive.

Alas! Those splendid forests of beautiful kadamba trees are nowhere to be seen now. The unbearable pain of Krishna’s separation is such that the dark grey rain laden clouds who frequently flew to Vrindavan just to get a glimpse of the charming divine couple, and pour water down in ecstasy, do not visit anymore.

Those Brajwasis whose  tears were enough to moisten the land when they cried for their beloved Nandlaal have all gone. The peacocks whose delightful dance gave immense joy to the Lord have abandoned the place in search of solitude where they can lament their fate of not being able to serve him anymore.

Never ending human desires have resulted in the destruction of Mother Nature. Not only Braj, but the entire planet is reeling under pollution and population, massive devastation of forests and rivers and exploitation of natural resources.

The trees that were once a pride and beauty of Braj are on the verge of extinction. The kadamb is also facing the same fate now. The so called “development” in this region has disturbed the purity and spirituality of the land. Vrindavan was once covered with 12 van (forests) and 24 upvan  (sub forests), but is now covered with concrete structures.

Everybody is wondering if this was the same place where Krishna spent his days with his companions and his beloved Radha, a land that was once so magical and wonderful! Where are the trees that were once hugged by the Gopis lamenting in separation from Govind? The flowers that once adorned the neck of Braj Bihari, those branches on which the eternal couple used to swing? Under whose shade sat Gopal with his friends enjoying his afternoon meal?

Where are the leaves who danced with joy on hearing Mohan’s footsteps? Where are the kadamba trees that were once an immortal companion of the eternal consort  ?

O forest of Vrndavna, why does not my heart break into million pieces on seeing the sorrowful state of the eternal land of beauty and pleasure where lived the King and Queen of unlimited reservoir of joy and happiness. What is the use of this disgraceful life if I cannot even serve a tiniest piece of this pious land whose one particle of dust is enough to liberate a soul. I pray to the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha Krishna to take me in his shelter and allow me to serve Them forever.

Even though we cannot perceive the immortal kadamb tree through our mortal eyes of this material world, but it is eternally present at the service of the ever youthfull and divine couple at their nectarean abode of Sri Goloka Vrindavan.

All glories to the kadamba tree !  

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I worship Vatsaharaṇa-sthalī, where the curious creator Lord Brahmā, eager to behold the lovely glories of his Lord Sri Krishna, swiftly kidnapped his calves and cowherd boys, after which Sri Hari assumed the forms of all these calves and cowherd boys himself and delighted their mothers, the cows and the elderly gopīs, by eating the dishes they offered him.

draṣṭuṁ sākṣāt svapiti mahimodrekam utkena dhātrā
vatsa-vrāte drutam apahṛte vatsapālotkare ca
tat-tad-rūpo harir atha bhavan yatra tat-tat-prasūnāṁ
modaṁ cakre’śanam api bhaje vatsa-hāra-sthalīṁ tām

Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā: In this verse Raghunath Das Goswami praises Vatsaharaṇa-sthalī, the place where Sri Brahmā stole Sri Krishna’s calves and cowherd boys. In Śrīmad Bhāgavatam it is described how the four-faced Brahmā, eager to behold Sri Krishna’s lovely glories, stole his calves and cowherd boys and how Sri Krishna then delighted the loving cows and boys’ mothers by assuming the forms of all the calves and cowherd boys and enjoying the dishes they affectionately offered him:

Sri Śuka Muni said (Śrīmad Bhāgavata 10.13.15-24): “O greatest of Kuru-kings! From the aerial path, lotus-born Brahmā saw Sri Krishna’s pastime of killing Aghasur and this astonished him greatly. Understanding that it was time to relish more of the sweet childhood pastimes of the Universal Lord Sri Krishna, he came to Sri Vrindavan, took Sri Krishna’s calves and cowherd boys to another place and disappeared.

“Sri Krishna went looking for his calves in the woods and, when he could not find them, he came to the bank of the Yamuna. There he saw that he had also lost his cowherd boyfriends he began to look for them too, searching in all the four directions.

“Although Sri Krishna is omniscient, absorbed in his childhood-pastimes he went hunting for his calves and cowherd boyfriends in all the woods, but could not find them anywhere. Then he understood that it was all the work of Brahmā.

“So, to increase the transcendental bliss of the loving cows and elderly gopīs and Lord Brahmā, who was so eager to behold his glories, Vrajendranandana, the Supreme Person, who is the origin of even the universal creators the Puruṣāvatāras, personally assumed the forms of the innumerable calves and cowherd boys.

“He manifested the forms of the calves and boys, with exactly the same small bodies, hands, feet, sticks, flutes, horns, lunch-bags, dresses, ornaments, natures, attributes, names, forms, pastimes and behavior towards their mothers and fathers. In this way he proved the truth of the scriptural saying, sarvaṁ viṣṇu-mayaṁ jagat, ‘All that we see in the universe is Viṣṇu.’

“After this Sri Krishna, having assumed the forms of all the calves and cowherd boys, left the forest, his own forms playing with him in his original form) and entered Vraja while playing with them and resounding his flute.

“O King! Sri Krishna, who had now assumed the forms of Śrīdāma and Subala, drove all his individual cows over different paths, made them enter into their individual barns and himself entered into the individual homes.

“When the mothers of the cowherd boys like Śrīdāma and Subala heard the flute-song, they quickly rose to their feet and came running out to lift the Supreme Brahman Sri Krishna, who was offering his obeisances to their feet, up from the courtyard with their arms, held him on their laps, tightly embraced him and made him drink their breast-milk, which was tasty like nectar and intoxicating like wine and which trickled from their nipples out of pure motherly love.

“Then the mothers, as usual, massaged Sri Krishna, who had assumed the forms of innumerable cowherd boys, with fragrant oil, bathed him, anointed his limbs with sandalwood pulp, dressed and ornamented him in a wonderful way, put wonderful protecting tilaka on his body, fed him, asked him what had happened that day out in the meadows, heard his stories and put him to sleep in bed.

“When Sri Krishna, who had assumed the forms of innumerable cowherd boys, was thus cuddled by the mothers he experienced unlimited bliss. In the evening the cows returned from the forest, entered into their barns, and began to affectionately lick their calves, that had come close to them, softly and deeply mooing, and fed them the milk that was trickling from their udders out of sheer motherly love.”

The place where Brahmā stole Sri Krishna’s calves and cowherd boys is known as Vatsaharaṇa-sthalī. The names that Vajranābha had given to these places, according to the pastimes that Sri Krishna performed there, are described in Bhakti-ratnākara as follows:

“Śrīnivāsa said: “Look, here is Vatsavana. Here the four-faced Brahmā stole the calves. Here is Unāi (Undi?) village. Here Krishna blissfully enjoyed different dishes with his friends. In this Bālahārā (Barahara) village the four-faced Brahmā blissfully kidnapped the cowherd boys. Behold this place called Parikhama (Parkham). Here the four-faced Brahmā tested Krishna. This place is known by all people as Sei. Here Brahmā was enchanted by Krishna’s illusory powers. Here Brahmā hid the boys and the calves he had stolen and here he also saw the same boys and calves in Krishna’s vicinity. Because he said sei ei (they are he) and ei sei (he is they), this village is called Sei.” [These villages are all in the Chaumuhan block in Mathura district.]

Raghunath Das Goswami says: “I worship this Vatsaharaṇa-sthalī.”

nija pati śrī kṛṣṇera, mañjula mahimā āro,
daraśana abhilāṣa tare.
brahmā yoto vatsagaṇa, śrī kṛṣṇera sakhāgaṇa,
druta sab apaharaṇa kore

“Desiring to see the lovely glories of his master Sri Krishna Brahmā quickly stole all of Sri Krishna’s calves and friends.”

śrī govinda kutūholī, dekhi brahmāra caturālī,
govatsa o sakhā-rūpa dhare
yoto vatsa sakhāgaṇe, tādera yoto mātṛgaṇe
nānā bhojya samarpaṇa kore

“Sri Govinda curiously beheld Brahmā’s cleverness and Personally assumed the forms of the calves and the boys, to whom their mothers offered different eatables.”

govinda bhojana kore, sei sei rūpa dhare,
mahānande bhāsiche sakale
nitya vraje kori vāsa, bhaji ei abhilāṣa,
manohara vatsahāra sthale

“Assuming their forms Govinda ate all these dishes, and thus everyone floated in oceans of great transcendental bliss. May I always live in Vraja. With this aspiration I worship this enchanting Vatsahāra Sthala.”

Commentary of Sri Radha Kund Mahant, Pandit Sri Ananta Das Babaji Maharaj is named Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā (a drop of the nectar of Stavāvalī), and was published in Gaurābda 503 (1989 A.D.) from Sri Krishna Chaitanya Shastra Mandir, Vrajananda Ghera, PO Radhakunda (district Mathura), U.P., India.

Devotional songs in Bengali that follow each commentary were composed by Dr. Haripada Sheel.

© Translated by Advaita dāsa in 1994

More of Ananta Das Pandit’s writings in English translation can be found at Tarun Govinda’s blog, Amrita Tarangini.

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Shri Dwarkadish temple, Mathura, P.C. shrimathuraji.com

Vrindavan, 2018.03.26 (VT):  Yesterday, was Ram Navami, and Braj’s temples were filled with devotees from near and far who all came to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Lord Ram’s appearance on earth.

One of the most popular places to spend the festival was Mathura’s Dwarkadish temple, where Shri Dwarkadish adorned Lord Rama’s attire for the occasion. Devotees turned out in their thousands to witness the abhishek ceremony and enjoy the festivities.

This year, Ram Navami fell on Sunday, giving devotees from out of town a good opportunity to celebrate the festival in the Dham. Devotees arrived in Dwarkadish temple early in the morning to see the abhishek ceremony at 6.30am. After the abhishek, Shri Dwarkadish was adorned with Shri Rama’s shringar, including a bow and arrow.

In Vrindavan, there is a long tradition of Lord Krishna taking on the appearance of Lord Ram. The famous devotee of Lord Ram and writer of Shri Charitramanas,  Sant Tulsidas, had darshan of Lord Ram in Vrindavan, when the deity of Lord Krishna kindly changed form to appear as Lord Ram for the transcendental pleasure of Sant Tulsidas. The temple where this event took place is in Gyan Gudri, Vrindavan and is known as Tulsidas Temple.

In ISKCON Vrindavan, Ram Navami is not only celebrated as the divine appearance day of Lord Ram but also as the auspicious day on which Srila Prabhupad established the worship of their lordships, Shri Shri Gaur Nitai, Shri Shri Krishna Balaram and Shri Shri Radha Shyamsundar and Lalita Vishakha. These beautiful deities help devotees to engage in devotional practice and develop seva bhav (spirit of service), helping  them  to make spiritual progress and immerse themselves in contemplation of Shri Krishna’s eternal pastimes and eventually go ‘back home’ to the transcendental realm of Golok Vrindavan.

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Vrindavan, 2018.03.26 (VT): A team from the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) carried out an inspection of the River front development project that is being executed by the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department.

A five member team comprised of Ishwar Singh (Member Convener – NMCG); Shri Ajay Kumar (Superintending Engineer, Central Water Commission); Mr. Izam (Archeological Survey of India), Prof. Sarazuddin Ahemed (Zamia Milia University) and Dr. Arvind Kumar (Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board), visited the site in Vrindavan on Saturday.

The NMCG team conducted a site inspection to review the project, which was challenged in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Allahabad High Court by the river activists, and is still pending before both the courts.

On January 31st, the NGT passed the judgment that the entire project was subject to be reviewed by the National Mission for Clean Ganga, and the government departments which have undertaken the project will not claim any equity in that regard and remove the same, if required by the National Mission for Clean Ganga to do so at their own expense.

The NMCG was instructed to review the project based on the ‘Ganga notification’, which provides for protection of flood plains of Ganga and its tributaries, its demarcation and activities that can be carried out in such eco-sensitive areas. The salient portion of the notification related to the project states,

“No person shall construct any structure, whether permanent or temporary for residential or commercial or industrial or any other purposes in the River Ganga or its tributaries. Provided that in exceptional locations, temporary structures can be raised after prior permission of the National Mission for Clean Ganga acting through the State Ganga Committee and the District Ganga Committee: Provided further that in case any such construction has been completed, before the commencement of this order, in the River Bank of River Ganga or its tributaries, the National Mission for Clean Ganga shall review such constructions so as to examine as to whether such constructions are causing interruption in the continuous flow of water or pollution in River Ganga or its tributaries, and if that be so it shall cause for removing them.’

NMCG officials inspecting the construction on Saturday

Irrigation department officials, Shri Sanjeev Tiwari and Shri Shailesh Saraswat; Shri Satish Kumar from the Public Works department; Counsel for the Irrigation department in NGT, and Smt. Deep Shikha Bharati were present during the inspection. The members of the Dharma Raksha Sangh and Yamuna Rakshak Dal met the team members and demanded that a Sewerage Treatment Plant of 5 MLD should be established upstream of the Kosi Nala before the sewage from Koshikalan enters Vrindavan.

Talking to VT, Dharma Raksha Sangh National Convener Acharya Badrish said, “The ill conceived project has destroyed the ghats of Vrindavan. The new cemented ghats should have been built across the river, so that the flow stays permanently on the original ghats. The project has forced the river to leave its original course on ancient ghats of Vrindavan.”

None of the applicants who challenged the project in the court or their representatives were seen during inspection. Talking to VT, Shri Akash Vashishth, the petitioner in the NGT said, “We came to know about the visit only from the newspaper on the following day. Our counsel was informed, through email, two days after the inspection, on Monday.” This can’t be considered a mistake, because Yamuna is very important to us and we have been at the forefront of the movement to save the ancient Ghats and protect the Yamuna riverbed. There must be a malafide intention behind this deliberate move. We shall challenge it in whatever way we can.”

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Sarvamangala Ma

Vrindavan, 2018.03.26 (VT): There is one organization in Vrindavan that is working from many angles to provide spiritual, cultural and medical facilities and services. At Vatsalyagram Vrindavan, Navaratri is one of the biggest festivals of the year, and, this year, the cataract operation camp was held in tandem with a special daily-pooja in Sarvamangala Ma temple, underneath the replica of Kailash mountain pictured above.

A picture of Sarvamangala Ma was placed next to the altar for the pooja and auspicious mantras were chanted every morning for the nine days of Navaratri. Special worship was also conducted in front of the Kailash mountain replica and Shiva ling, which was installed in 2016, after being brought specially from the Kaveri river.

This Navaratri, busloads of visitors came to stay in Vatsalyagram’s guest house and observe the festivities.

The eye camp was held in the hospital behind the temple. All year round, the hospital provides eye examinations to fit lenses and diagnose cases needing surgery. Every few months, (depending on sponsors) the organization facilitates an eye camp, in which hundreds of people who have been suffering from clouded vision due to cataracts are able to see clearly once again.

A team of doctors from Mumbai travels to Vrindavan to perform the operations, which are undertaken with the aid of state-of-the-art technology. Patients are given accommodation and meals and provided with dark glasses to help them deal with the extreme light-sensitivity that occurs after cataract operations.

This eye camp, 325 patients had new lenses installed by the team of expert surgeons.

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Radha Kund, 2018.03.27 (VT, Mahanidhi Madan Gopal Das): Since every pastime of Bhagavan Sri Krishna is eternal, in some other universe Radha Kund will appear at midnight on Chaitra Purnima (March 31, 2018) before the amazed eyes of Radhika-Shyama, and all their dearest sakhis and manjaris.

Sri Jiva Goswamipada proves that Chaitra Purnima (this year, March 31, 2018), is the real and actual appearance day of Sri Radha Kund in his commentary to SB 10.45.3: “Bhagavan Sri Krishna killed Arishta on the full moon day of Chaitra month (caitra-paurṇamāsyām ariṣṭa-vadhaḥ) when Krishna was eleven [and then Radha-Krishna manifested Shyam Kund and Radha Kund].” That wonderful appearance lila, as described in the Purāṇas, will conclude this article.

So the actual appearance of Sri Radha Kund takes place at midnight on Chaitra Purnima. I and a few bhāvuka bhaktas celebrate this wonderful lila every year on this date by doing puja and taking a midnight bath in Sri Kunda. So why don’t you also please join us for this holy occasion?

Saturday, 31 March, 10-12 p.m.: Harinama Sankirtan and Midnight Snana

So what about the Radha Kunda Bahulashtami midnight snana in Kārttika month? Is this a required niyama for Gaudiya Vaishnava? The answer is absolutely not!!!

Why? Because no Gaudiya Vaisnava granthas or Acharya mahajanas mention midnight bathing in Kārttika. Nevertheless, Gaudiya Vaishnavas must and do take bath on the day of Kārttika Bahulāṣṭamī to honor Karttiki Devi Srimati Radharani, Radha Kund, Sri Rupa Goswamipada, and the Padma Purana. The proof or praman for the necessary daytime snana is this:

In his Mathurā-māhātmya, Sri Rupa Goswami quotes the Padma-purāṇa Kārttika-māhātmya (v. 420):

govardhane girau ramye rādhākuṇḍaṁ priyaṁ hareḥ
kārttike bahulāṣṭamyāṁ tatra snātvā hareḥ priyaḥ
“Near the delightful Mount Govardhana is Sri Hari’s beloved Radha Kund. One who bathes in Radha Kund on the day of Bahulāṣṭamī (Kārttika-kṛṣṇa-pakṣa) will become dear to Sri Hari.”

Certainly Gaudiya Vaishnavas want to become dear to Sri Hari, and especially dear to his most beloved Swamini Sri Radhe, so they will all bathe in Radha Kund on this auspicious, transcendental day.

Summary:

Karunamayi Premapradata Srimati Radharani is compassionately bestowing a double mercy on the Gaudiyas because we get to worship Sri Radha as Sri Radha Kund by taking at least two yearly baths:

1. Chaitra Purnima midnight bath on Radha Kund Appearance Day and,
2. Kārttika Bahulāstami daytime snāna.

So why do lacs of people take Radha Kund bath at midnight on Bahulāṣṭamī? The answer is that barren North Indian married couples worship a local fertility devata named Ahouri (Ahoi) in hopes of getting a child. The puja rites prescribe many activities culminating with a midnight bath in Radha Kund.

It seems that over time, the Gaudiya’s daytime Bahulāṣṭamī snāna merged with the grihastha’s midnight in Radha Kund, resulting in Gaudiyas’ thinking that they are bathing at midnight to celebrate the appearance of Radha Kund.

This idea is absolutely incorrect. Because of personal concerns, seasonal conveniences, and most importantly the time factor, the truth concerning various events, especially religious celebrations, becomes covered and lost.

Surely, during the time of Sri Jiva Goswamipada (15-16th century) and up to the 17th century with Srila Vishvanath Chakravarti, all Gaudiya Vaishnava observed the real and true Radha Kund Appearance Day by bathing in Radha Kund at midnight on Chaitra Purnima.

But as was said, the time factor, the mixing of different local religious rituals, and Kārttika pilgrimage concerns have distorted the truth and caused confusion among most Gaudiya Vaishnavas. Now is the time for the sunlight of our Gaudiya shastra siddhanta to shine through the dense cloud covering of time, distortion and misconception.

So anyone who can walk, drive or fly, we humbly beg you to come to Sri Govardhan Maharaj for a holy midnight dip in Sri Radha Kund Dham under the the Vasanta rasa-filled full moon night of Caitra to rejoice over the actual appearance day of Sri Radha Kunda!

Radha Kund Appearance Lila:

In his Sārārtha-darśinī ṭīkā (SB 10.36.16) Srila Vishvanath Chakravarti quotes the Radha Kund appearance pastime from some purāṇa, which describes a joking conversation between Radha-Madhava after Krishna killed the Arishta demon bull on Chaitra Purnima during ardha-pradoṣa-kāla, i.e. about 9:30 p.m.

Viṣṇu-purāṇa: “The innocent young gopis say,“Ah, Krishna, don’t touch us now, O killer of a bull! Alas, even though Arishta was a terrible demon, still he was posing as a bull, who represents dharma, so you will have to undergo atonement, just as Lord Indra did after killing Vritrasura. But how can you purify yourself without going to the trouble of visiting every single holy place in the three worlds?”

Krishna: “Why should I have to wander throughout the entire universe? I will immediately summon all the countless pilgrimage places here and take my bath in them. Just watch!” With this, Sri Mukunda strikes his left heel on the ground.

Then Krishna says, “Just see sakhis! The Patala Ganga has come!” Then all the holy places magically manifest before Mukunda.

Proudly, Priyatama says, “O gopis, just see all the holy places are now here!”

Gopis: “No, we don’t see any holy places. What are you talking about anyway?”

Then all the holy tirtha join their palms and proclaim, one by one:“I am the salt ocean.” “I am the ocean of milk.” “I am the Amara-dirghika.” “I am the river Shona. ” “I am the Sindhu. “I am the Tamraparni. ” “I am the holy place Pushkara.” “I am the river Sarasvati.” “And we are the Godavari, Yamuna and Reva rivers and the Triveni of Prayaga. Just see our waters!”

Sri Krishna then takes a purifying bath in all those tirtha waters while arrogantly taunting the gopis: “Bho, bho, sakhis! I have produced a pond containing all the holy places, whereas you gopis have never done any pious acts to please Brahmaji.”

Sri Radha boldly replies, “Just watch, Shyamasundara! I will create an even more beautiful pond than yours. Turning to her confidantes, Radhika says, “Hey Sakhis! Get to work!”

In a ditch created by the hooves of the huge asura, the gopis start digging a kund with their golden kankanas or bangles. Within an hour, the expert damsels of Vraja manifest a most majestic and beautiful divine kunda.

Completely astonished at their feat, Sri Krishna says, “O Priyaji! you and your sakhis can fill your lake with the holy waters from mine.”

“No! no! no! That’s impossible”, repliesRadharani, “We will not even touch, what to speak about takingyour water which is completely contaminated with your terrible sin of killing a cow. I have unlimited sakhis who can easily bring billions of pots of pure water from Manasi Ganga. And thus the fame of Mykundai.e. Radha Kundwill be unequalled!”

Bhagavan Sri Krishna then gestures to a celestial representative of all the holy places gathered there. Arising from Shyam Kund, that devata bows to Vrishabhanu Nandini, and then prays to her with folded palms and tear-filled eyes:

“O Devi! Brahmaji, Shivaji and Lakshmi can never understand the fathomless depth of your glories. Only Sri Krishna knows, and thus with his own hand he humbly wipes off the perspiration from your face when you are tired. And Krishna always thrills in delight whenever he gets the chance to wash your beautiful lotus feet and fasten your ankle bells. In fact, Shyama feels supremely fortunate simply by touching the tips of your toes.

“It is on Krishna’s command that we are now living in this lake created by one stroke of Krishna’s heel. Alas! The tree of our cherished desire will only bear fruit if you are pleased and grant us your merciful glance!”

Sri Radha: “Well, then what do you want?”

In unison, all the sacred places plead, “Our lives will be successful if we can come and fill the wonderful lake you have manifested. This is the only benediction we desire.”

Casting a side-long glance toward Shyama, Srimati Radharani replies to the sacred celestials: “Oh, certainly, please come!”

Then all the holy rivers and lakes collected in Sri Shyam Kund forcibly break the boundary separating the two kunds so they can swiftly fill Sri Radha Kund with their sanctifying waters.”

Sri Hari: “O Priyatama! On earth and throughout the universe, your Radha Kund will become supremely more famous than mine! And I will personally come here daily to bathe and enjoy water pastimes with you and all my preyasis. Indeed, your beautiful Sri Kunda is as dear to me as you are!”

Srimati Radharani: “O Prana Priyatama! I don’t even care if you vanquish hundreds of Arishtas here, I will still come here every day and bathe in your Krishna Kunda i.e. Shyam Kunda.

“Furthermore, I proclaim forevermore that anyone who has intense devotion for my Sri Kunda, and then bathes or resides here, he or she will surely become very dear to me.”

Then that very night [Chaitra Purnima], Sri Krishna and the Vraja-gopis happily bathe, laugh, splash and play in Shyama-Radha Kunds. Afterwards, They all dance and spin, thrill and rejoice in their Vasanta Purnima-maha-rasotsavam on the banks of Radha Kund.

At that astonishing and most auspicious time, the lightning strike of Srimati hits the Krishna cloud to create a torrential downpour of blissful prema to flood the three worlds with their playfully divine lila-rasa:

Chaitra Purnima Appearance Night of Radha Kundki jai! Jaya Jaya Sri Radhe!

vaikuṇṭhāj janito varā madhu-purī tatrāpi rāsotsavād
vṛndāraṇyam udāra-pāṇi-ramaṇāt tatrāpi govardhanaḥ
rādhā-kuṇḍam ihāpi gokula-pateḥ premāmṛta-plavanāt
kuryād asya virājato giri-taṭe sevāṁ vivekī na kaḥ
The holy place known as Mathura is spiritually superior to Vaikuntha, the transcendental world, because the Lord appeared there. Superior to Mathura Puri is the transcendental forest of Vrindavan because of Krishna’s rasa-lila pastimes. And superior to the forest of Vrindavan is Govardhan hill, for it was raised by the divine hand of Sri Krishna and was the site of his various loving pastimes. And, above all, the super excellent Sri Radha Kund stands supreme, for it is overflooded with the ambrosial nectarean prema of the Lord of Gokula, Sri Krishna. Where, then, is that intelligent person who is unwilling to serve this divine Radha Kund, which is situated at the foot of Govardhan Hill?

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Mathura, 2018.03.26 (PTI): In a bid to generate local employment opportunities in and around Mathura, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to exploit the rich cultural heritage of Brijbhumi to promote tourism here among international tourists.

The government has decided to rope in various travel agencies to encourage the Taj Mahal-bound international tourists to neighboring Agra to visit the temple town as well to explore its various religious and cultural marvels, including the local temples and the museum, said State Minister for Culture and Minorities Welfare Laxmi Narain Chaudhary today.

The state cultural secretary has been instructed to tie up with travel agencies to meet this end and encourage them to include Mathura on the travel itinerary of international tourists, he said.

Mathura district magistrate too has been asked to revise the travel itinerary and include Mathura Museum too in it, he said.

Dwelling upon the aesthetic beauty and archaeological importance of the hundreds of antique idols and sculptures, kept in Mathura museum after their excavation from various sites in and around the holy city, the minister said these artefacts belong to Kushan period and are of immense historical and archaeological value.

He said owing to their historical and cultural importance, these artefacts are well known the world over, making their replicas a popular gift to foreign dignitaries by the government, the minister said.

Chaudhary said Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath too is keen to spruce up Mathura’s image on international tourists map to generate employment among local youths and revenue for the district.

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New Delhi, 2018.03.27 (ANI): In a bid to improve the livelihood of widows and destitute women in Mathura and Vrindavan, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed temples in the two cities to donate all flowers offered to them to shelter homes.

By doing so, the top court said women in these shelter homes run by the Uttar Pradesh government can use the flowers to make perfumes, incense sticks (agarbattis) and so on, thereby providing a means of livelihood for them.

The Supreme Court further sought consideration from the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) to extend this scheme to all major temple towns such as Varanasi, Tirupati, and others, keeping in mind the welfare of widows and destitute women.

The apex court also directed all state governments to provide details of shelter homes being run, number of widows and destitute women residing in these homes as well as the schemes in place for the welfare of these women to the aforementioned ministry so that the functioning of the schemes can be monitored and extended to multiple states, wherever necessary.

The plight of widows in places like Mathura and Vrindavan has been examined by authorities time and again, and measures are being taken to improve living conditions and eradicate the social stigma surrounding them after being abandoned by their families.

In July last year, the top court while expressing concern over the plight of widows who are forced to live a life of destitution, asked the Centre to frame schemes to promote their remarriage. The court stated that the Centre must take steps to rehabilitate them by imparting skills, thereby helping make them independent.

Further to this, the Supreme Court in August had constituted a five-member team to ensure proper rehabilitation for the Vrindavan widows, suggest steps and measures that could be taken to rehabilitate, compensate and make lives of the women residing in Vrindavan better.

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One of the subjects I have been thinking a great deal about is identity and globalization. My identity in Vrindavan is that of a Vaishnava sadhaka living in the Dham. This identity has to fight against the demands of the ever-increasingly dominant modern, globalized culture.

Now there are two kinds of people living in Braj. The first are true blood Brijbasis, some going back many generations. Though there are many of these, the religious elites, the Gosais, are at the top of the hierarchy. But the traditions hold that all these Brijbasis are namasya, because they are most directly serving the Vrindavan lila. Times are changing, but they have been learning the game known as “Braj” for many generations. And many of them are now in the process of learning how to “be Braj” in the world.

Collectively also, the battle is on for an identity for Vrindavan. Brijbasis are not immune to external influences. But that is the meaning of Vrindavan being incarnate in the world. This is the 21st century, and Brijbasis of the 21st century are not going to be allowed to live in a bubble. My very presence here is a testimony to that fact.

Those who come to Vrindavan from outside, the second kind of Brajavasi, come carrying all their samskaras which lie under the hubris of knowing better than Brijbasis how to be a Brijbasi. That is not good for an immigrant. And that is what we are, immigrants. Refugees, even.

And of course there are others who come from outside who are serious sādhakas. And to be a serious sādhaka in Braj means to become or endeavor to become a Brajbasi.

Now, as a foreigner here in Braj-Vrindavan, I can feel quite acutely my foreignness. And indeed, that is the center of the problem, because my Westernness can be considered both a virtue and a flaw.

To start with, we have language. I often feel I am cursed by my strong samksaras — one of the most important of which is the “operating system” called the English language.

Language is the software by which we operate the rest of our human hardware, namely the brain. And it literally shapes everything about the way we see the world and life and meaning, with both universals and particulars and all the shades in between.

I find it somewhat difficult to be a Brijbasi. It is hard to say even what I mean by that. I have been thinking about the concept of Braja bhava sadhana. By that I do not so much mean actually following the local culture as it is today, as I do following the ideal Brijvasi mood of love for Krishna.

It is the idea of belonging to his land. To be a descendant by connection to the families of Krishna’s associates. The Brijvasis don’t have to aspire to a world where Krishna is everywhere, they are already living there. This mood can take anyone from anywhere, it transcends language and culture.

At the same time, it should be remembered that outsiders also MAKE Vrindavan what it is, by importing their own idealism, their own vision, into the dream of Vrindavan.

Who first implanted this dream here? Outsiders: Mahaprabhu, the Goswamis and their followers and the other great souls who came from all over the subcontinent to discover Vrindavan by the Yamuna — an unlikely, dusty, barely livable land on the edge of the Rajasthani desert, infested with bandits and local rulers who were little better than thugs.

They came to restore, as they saw it, a spiritual epicenter, an alternative reality, the abode of the Divine Couple, a place of ferment in the arts, attracting people from every corner of India to create a new Brij culture based in the divine romance of Radha and Krishna.

No social expression of any ideal is perfect, but the Love of God in the form of Radha and Shyam is the ruling dream of Braj.

Here I write in English — and that after exposing myself to English videos and texts of the rather popular kind — and am coming to feel more and more as though even the touch of the English language corrupts me, exposing me repeatedly to the products of that culture, which are so easily accessible through the internet.

And indeed it is a greatly powerful thing, this media-created world: it is possible for the interlocking global psyche to become obsessed with trivialities. That is, of course, the English-programmed world, the one that “rules the world.”

In India there are ample protections for a foreigner who does not want to take his India straight. And this is true for followers of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada also, some of whom have lived insulated in the Dham for their entire adult lives and yet at best speak Hindi in the manner of a British housewife in the Raj dealing with the servants. This means, quite simply, that they have never submitted fully to Braj.

The English language is the most important of the obstacles to entering Braj. English is the world’s lingua franca, and a lingua franca is always the medium that favors the rulers. And therefore it sets the parameters for the normative understanding of the world.

Because of that, an English and Anglicized Indian can commiserate together about the horrors of poverty and the ubiquitousness of the garbage, widows and mistreatment of women, and so on, in great depth. In other words, when we speak English we adopt the “enlightened” world view that accompanies that language, which is the centerpiece of globalized culture.

Those who remain ensconced in their own language operating system, will, by definition, not have the same operating system as a Brijbasi. They will thereby never truly know the reality of life here, except judgmentally, externally, from the view of their conditioned sense of reality and the need to impose that standard on these “others.” How can you become a Brijbasi if you “otherize” them?

Now, the usual answer one expects to get are the familiar critiques of Gosais and Brahmins and sadhus, which go all the way back to the beginnings of the British presence days when Suttee and the treatment of women and about a hundred thousand other things were condemned by Baptist missionaries.

From the point of view of globalization, which is the daughter of the same forces that brought us imperialism, it is not hard to find negatives in Indian culture.

The dream of India we were invested in was that of its idealized golden ages: the tapovans of the rishis, the mud huts and rice fields of Bengal and Braj; the life of renounced babajis and simple villagers who share their bread with them. Some of it is still there, but is quickly being infected with smart phones and TV-dishes.

It is not easy to just abandon one’s cultural conditioning as the discipline of Braja vasa sadhana demands, and this is how we find that there are deep prejudices deep that prevent us from doing it.

In my own life, it happened a number of times the the doors of that world opened up to me, but I did not have the right kind of anthropological spirit to completely “go native,” even though in dress and behavior I was as far as one could possibly go from the norms of my birth destiny as a Canadian.

Had I stayed in Canada I would have been as a “normal person” doing something staid and satisfying like being a professor of something suitably arcane, pontificating on Hindu religious nationalism and its geopolitical implications or whatever and pretending that because I had learned a little of Indian languages and had even lived in India for a little while, that I was ever anything but an outsider there and that culturally I really belonged in the Anglosphere.

And, of course, there is a strong Indian samskara in me, stronger than for most Western Vaishnavas. I did spend all those years, living the life of a mendicant in Nabadwip and Vrindavan. I had the association of many great saints, knowingly or unknowingly. Even as an outsider, I had a great many significant experiences in my immersion adventure. And to say I did not go native would be partially wrong. Even to fail at going native leaves indelible marks.

English is for me, in a way, a kind of drug. It is the easy option. It is the fast food of thought consumption and production. For me, it still functions better as an OS than Bengali or Sanskrit. And yet, for a long time, I have pretended to be close to being able to function entirely in Bengali or Sanskrit. I do not think primarily in those languages. I do not spend time discussing matters, in writing or in conversation, in languages other than English. Perhaps I am too old now to think that I can find the continued energy to pursue this particular perfection.

This is the control language has over us.

Now, it must be emphasized: English is equipped with hubris. Because the English-using world, the Anglosphere, has a disproportionate influence on the world as a whole, it has become “normative,” meaning that the spectrum of ideas or presuppositions that are dominant in normative discourse now permeate most of the world’s other cultures also, whether or not those norms are natural to them.

By sheer persistence and the force of its mediatic and economic power, the values, goals and ethos of the Anglosphere penetrate and transform the local cultures also.

It is those kinds of entertainments, the idealization of certain lifestyles, etc., all of which can be subsumed in the mastery of the art of mesmerizing populations with this American formula of mind control, i.e., the creation of a normative reality and many sub-realities simply for the purpose of making you willingly participate in the consumer culture and spend your money. It is the fine-tuning of Maya through human creativity and industriousness.

These thoughts are of concern for me. What offense have I committed that I have so little taste, even after all these years, for the gifts of my acharyas?

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I will continue my meditations on Braj Vasa sadhana in the pages of Vrindavan Today.

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Mathura, 2018.03.28 (VT): Rescue attempts are underway to save a bear that was being kept in a small cage and made to dance. On 17^th December, an Indian bear trainer tried to take a pair of dancing bears into Nepal, but was captured by police. The bears – Sudevi and Rangila – were sent to a zoo, but Sudevi did not survive. Now a Farah NGO has joined the campaign to have Rangila brought back to India.

Seventeen year old Sudevi died after the bears were entrusted to Kathmandu zoo. The Farah branch of Wildlife SOS is currently campaigning to have nineteen year old Rangila returned to India. The organization is petitioning the Nepali Government for the return of the bear and has contacted the Indian officials including the Minister for Environment.

Bears can live up to 30 years in captivity and are protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Indian sloth bears and Asian Black bears are both considered to be vulnerable to extinction.

Wildlife SOS director, Gita Sheshamani, said that Sudevi died due to not receiving proper medical care at Kathmandu zoo and that Rangila is being kept in a small cage. Wildlife SOS runs a bear sanctuary in Agra and the elephant sanctuary in Farah, Mathura.

After a successful campaign to rehabilitate dancing bears, the illegal practice of keeping dancing bears has been reduced to almost nil. According to the Wildlife SOS website:

As of 1996, research indicated that there were more than 1200 ‘dancing’ bears scattered throughout the country. With cooperation from Government officials, and the help of our partner organizations International Animal Rescue, One Voice, Free The Bears and others, Wildlife SOS has been able to rescue and rehabilitate over 620 dancing bears. They are now living peacefully in four large natural sanctuaries across India, enjoying a life where they’ll never again have to endure such cruelty and pain. In December 2009 the organization rescued what they believed was the last ‘dancing’ bear in India.

Bears playing at one of the organization’s sanctuaries:

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Braj, 2018.03.28 9 (VT): After a particularly mild winter, the Indian summer is setting in early. The heatwave has already caused rail tracks to bend in Mumbai and, in Braj, people have started worried about whether Thakurji is comfortable.

By serving Thakurji and worrying about whether Thakurji is feeling hot, devotees forget about their own discomfort and become absorbed in service.

Phool Bangala in Radha Raman temple, P.C. Shri Mathura Ji

The extravagant phool bangalas (flower decorations) that adorn temples and altars of temples such as Radha Raman and Banke Bihari, are one of the methods used to help thakurji feel cool. The ‘phool bangala season’ begins after Kamada Ekadashi, which was observed on 27^th March this year, with people making big donations to provide for one day of flowers in prominent temples.

Another method that devotees use to keep Thakurji cool is applying sandalwood although many have to fall back on imitation sandalwood powder as real sandalwood comes from a slow growing tree and is expensive. In Braj’s temples, sandalwood paste is ground from cut branches of the sandalwood tree. Devotees will soon start grinding the paste, in preparation for Chandan Yatra (sandalwood festival), which begins from Akshay Tritya. This year Akshay Tritya falls on April 18^th. On this day, the main deities of most of the temples of Vrindavan are covered in sandalwood paste, and, in the following days, the Uttasav Vigrah deities are covered.

Many temples also pay attention to the comfort of visitors in the extreme heat.  Radha Damodar temple uses water coolers to cool down the temple room and Sarvamangala Ma temple is air conditioned.

The makers of Thakurji’s poshak (clothes) have started making special summer clothes, especially for Bal Gopal as Brajwasis are particularly fond of worshipping Shri Krishna’s child form. Just as as people lovingly dress Thakurji in sweaters, now, with just as much care, people are selecting clothes that will be comfortable in the heat.

Clothes are being made of light cloth, including cotton and net. Poshak sellers are expecting a rush on Thakurji’s summer clothes in the beginning of April. Poshak Seller Rajkumar Agarwal said that the demand for summer clothes is starting to pick up.

Radha Damodar’s phool bangala and chandan seva

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Bandi, Anandi and Manovanchha Devi

Baldeo, 2018.03.28 (VT): Bandi, Anandi and Manovanchha Devi. The temple of these three goddess of Baldeo is among the prominent Shakti Temples of Vraja. Bandi Anandi and Manovancha Devi temples of Bandi village are among the most frequented local temples and are a source of inspiration to Brijwasis.

Situated just three Kilometers from Baldeo, the village of Lord Balaram, thousands of devotees gather in Bandi village to worship the three Devis during the time of Chaitra Shukla Chaturdashi. On Chaturdashi, a grand fair is organized to mark the occasion. Several rituals are performed, including the mundan samaskar (first head shaving) of the new born babies.

Chaturdashi Mela

The temple of the three Devis was built in the 14th century by a wealthy man from Agra named Ghasi Ram Seth. Ram Seth was an ardent devotee of Goddess Shakti. It is said that these three Devis were the Kuldevis of different clans of the Yadavas.

The miracle of Bandi Devi is described in the third chapter of the tenth canto of Shrimad Bhagwatam. The Bhagavatam says that the gatemen of the Kamsa’s prison fell asleep miraculously, when Krishna was born. This was the miracle of Yogmaya, in the form of Bandi Devi.

Yogmaya gave ‘Anand’ or pleasure to Nanda – Yashoda and Vasudev – Devaki. So she is worshiped in the form of Anandi Devi. Yashoda Maa prayed to Goddess Shakti to save Krishna – Balaram from Kamsa and their wellbeing. Her desire was fulfilled; therefore the Goddess was named as Manovanchha Devi.

Anand Kund

People offer silver tongue and eyes to the Goddess as it is believed that worshiping Goddess Manovanchha heals problems such as stammering, stuttering and squint.

The new brides of the Jadon clan of the Yadavas visit this temple after the marriage. The Three Goddess manifested from the nearby Anand Kund. According to the Garga Samhita, Maa Bandi Devi decorated Radha ji before the maharasa. Bandi Devi gave Tilak to Radha as a wedding gift and Maa Anandi Devi gifted ear ornaments to Radha Rani.

Temple entrance

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