By Krishna’s mercy we have just returned from a three-week tour through Vraja, the abode of Lord Krishna. We began our journey at Sridhama Radhakunda then proceeded to lectures during the Govardhan retreat and afterward spent time in holy places such as Suryakunda and Kadamba Khandi hidden throughout the Govardhan area. Finally we visited Vrndavan town. Our hearts are still filled with gratitude.Therefore, we wish to share with you in this little article some of the gifts we received. 

 

Krishna is always amazingly fresh and new and inspires a sense of deep wonder—even amazement—in His devotees. Similarly, His abode, Vraja, is full of surprises and deep spiritual and mystical dimensions.
 

Rupa Gosvami defines Krishna’s quality of being ever fresh and new, which holds also true for His name and abode: “He, who is experienced at every moment in a manner that produces a sweet wonder never experienced before, is said to be ‘ever fresh and new’ (nitya nutam).”
 

This quality of ever freshness can also be experienced in relationship to Krishna’s Holy Name and His divine abodes, such as Vrindavan.
 

Although some devotees might have visited the same places in Vraja for more than ten years, each time they visit they experience something they have overlooked before.

 

The fascination of the Holy Dhama can even be felt by newcomers. Srila Prabhupada writes: "I remember the Lord standing by the banks of the Yamuna river, so beautiful amid the Kadamba trees, where many birds are chirping in the gardens. And these impressions are always giving me transcendental realization of beauty and bliss.
 

"This feeling about Mathura-mandala in Vrndavana described by Rupa Gosvami can actually be felt even by non-devotees. The places in the 84-square-mile district of Mathura are so beautifully situated on the banks of the river Yamuna, that anyone who goes there will never want to return to this material world." These statements by Rupa Gosvami are factually realized descriptions of Mathura and Vrndavana. All these qualities proof that Mathura and Vrndavana are situated transcendentally. Otherwise, there would be no possibility of invoking our transcendental sentiments in these places. Such transcendental feelings are aroused immediately and without fail after one arrives in Mathura or Vrndavana." (Nectar of Devotion, p. 111)

 

The tremendous fascination of Vraja, which leaves the visiting devotee in a state of spiritual upliftment, can be explained by the presence of two transcendental potencies that crush all one’s coverings and give one a feeling of deep appreciation for Lord Krishna. Srila Rupa Gosvami describes it: "May Mathura Puri crush all your sins and give you the treasure of pure love for Krsna. There, the two transcendental potencies taraka and paraka arise among the visitors and residents. Taraka is the seed of the tree of liberation and saves one from a host of sufferings, and paraka satisfies the thirst for the nectar of pure love of Krsna." (Sri Mathura Stava, text 3)

 

If the devotee engages in Vrindavan in the process of hearing and chanting, he comes very quickly to the stage of spiritual realizations. Things, which at any other place are very difficult to understand due to their subtle nature, become easily revealed. In that atmosphere, which is surcharged with Radha and Krishna’s divine presence, genuine spiritual emotions awaken and one’s path becomes clear.
 

But it is important that one tries to prepare the ground for these spiritual experiences by focusing one’s mind enthusiastically on hearing and chanting. The key to the otherwise locked treasury of the Holy Dhama is the Holy Name and hearing about Krishna. These two powerful practices should be the life and soul of the visiting devotee. Then the "wonder that is Vraja" will unfold before him or her.

 

 

The main reason for Vrindavan’s attractiveness is certainly the inconceivable presence of the spiritual world, which, though unmanifest to the material senses, sometimes "leeks" into our perception. The devotees know that the Holy Dhama has two aspects: That which is seen by the senses (drsta man) and that which is unmanifest to the senses (aprakat).
 

As you make your pilgrimage through Vrindavan, you will inevitably hear from your guides: "Here is where Krishna performed His Damodara lila—the mortar on which He was bound can still be seen. And here is the cowherd boy trail that Krishna used when He returned home into the village every day, after He herded the cows all day in the many forests of Vraja." And then the guides will explain that these things were not incidents of the past, but that Krishna’s pastimes go on eternally in the aprakat dimenson: “And here at Radhakunda the divine couple is still performing Their noontime bathing activities.”

 

Devotees of Lord Krishna feel in Vrindavan that He is "just around the corner"—or, as the Indians say, "just now coming." The mood of the devotees in Vrindavan is to go in a serious search for Krishna, using their intelligence almost like a spiritual detective: Where is Krishna, where is the son of Nanda Maharaja?"
 

And because there are many "wonders" in Vrindavan, the concept that indeed here is the spiritual world becomes not so difficult to grasp. Let me share a few of these wonders with you.
 

This year, like all the other years, portions of Radhakunda suddenly transformed into nourishing white milk. Yes, you have read properly: All of a sudden the water turns into milk. The explanation is that Ksirodakasayi-Visnu, Who resides in the ocean of milk, wishes to bathe Srimati Radharani with milk and therefore suddenly makes an abhiseka (a sacred bath) to Radhakunda. This is an example of how the spiritual dimension "leeks through" and becomes visible in our sensual reality. Or consider the story of the "sacred dog."
 

A devotee living at Radhakunda told me that one day, when he had a darshan of Radha Gopinatha at Nityananda’s sitting place, he was suddenly taken out of his prayerful mood by loud, protesting howling. When he tried to find out what was wrong, he looked into the reproachful eyes of a black dog: He had stepped on her tail. The devotee regretfully went out of the temple to buy some biscuits for the offended dog, which she graciously and not at all greedily accepted.

 

During a second visit, he saw that he had done right: When the pujari performed the artik, that black dog came from its resting place and, believe it or not, sang the artik song as much as the dog throat allowed. Now the curiosity of the devotee was awakened: Maybe this was a great soul in a dog body. He decided to check if he was correct in his assumption and visited the place many times. He found out that all the artiks were sung by the dog. Even when the dog was sickly, she came forward during the artik time to sing her glorification. When the devotee asked the pujari about the identity of the dog, the pujari said, "O, she is a great bhakta. She committed a mistake in her past life but now gets ready to return to the spiritual world."

 

Vrindavan Dhama reciprocates with the pilgrim in an almost mystical way, through its inhabitants including the blissful animal devotees.

Once a friend of mine chanted at the side of Giriraja under a large, old tree. However, he could not concentrate very well because a couple of parrots screamed very loudly above his head. Finally he got up to find out the reason for the parrots’ behavior. What he saw amazed and chocked him. Just over his head, maybe five meters up, in the branches, a huge black snake tried to come out of its tree whole—most probably to attack him. The parrots, however, protected him. Courageously they flew one attack after the other on the snake, furiously threatening it with their open talons. Many sadhus have been bitten in Vrindavan by the black snakes, but my friend was protected. Maybe because of his serious chanting.

 

On this journey I also saw how Vrindavan reciprocated with my own spiritual desires. For a long time, I had wished to enter more deeply into the understanding of Lord Caitanya and His wonderful pastimes. This year, when I arrived in Vrindavan, the taxi did not take me to the address where I stayed but turned into another road. Because I was singing with the devotees in the taxi, I could not protest. When the taxi finally stopped and I went out to pay my obeisances to the Holy Land, I saw that I had arrived directly before the sitting place of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanya Mahaprabhu also came to me through the mercy of Vrndavana Dhama at the end of my stay. As I was just preparing to leave, a nice devotee came and requested me to help to arrange a beautiful garment and crown for Dhamesvara Mahaprabhu, the Deity of Visnupriya in Navadvipa Dhama.

 

In this way Vrndavana Dhama showed me that She understood my desires to come close to Lord Caitanya and also showed me that Vrndavana and Navadvipa are like two rooms in the same house—tightly connected and identical.

 

During our visit we were fortunate to visit a few dear places:

 

 

This was the third Govardhana retreat—with the best attendance. Srila Prabhodananda Sarasvati describes what the devotees saw every morning: A transcendental effulgence that emanated from Giriraja and softened our hearts: "A splendid transcendental ocean of effulgence is emanating from the hill of Sri Govardhana. The blissful effulgence appears like dots upon the hill. A drop of that nectarean effulgence makes the sweetness of millions of oceans of nectar distasteful." (Vrndavana Mahimamrta 4th sataka, text 100)

 

Giriraja is one of the five transcendental personalities in Vrindavan who are able to give love of Godhead to the devotees. As we sat every day for a few hours and chant and hear about Krishna in a sacred valley of Giriraja, my heart became softened by His very personal influence. I wrote in my diary: "If you really wish to experience anything in the Holy Dhama, you have to stop expecting and planning. Relax! Move over. Get down from the driver seat of life and invite Sri Sri Radha and Krsna to occupy the emptied seat. Isn’t that what surrender is all about? I pray to Giriraja, that He will give my exhausted heart divine love for that youthful couple. He carries the divine couple in His many caves, on His beautiful stones, some of which are looking like ideal sitting benches, and on His walkways. He can certainly show the way to Them.... The way of love.

 

The trees here are accomplished pujaris in the sense that they are used to making aratikas to Radha and Krishna with their many branches. Yes, they see their lordships! Let them pass on the information, how to meet Them - let the atmosphere and the mountain speak to my exhausted heart. Please speak to me! Show me the right way to meet my Lords.
 

Each day we heard a lecture of Srila Prabhupada wonderfully selected by Bhurijan Prabhu. As Srila Prabhupada’s words open our perspectives - we feel he brings us to Vraja.
 

"When Krsna comes within this universe, His Goloka Vrndavana also comes with Him. Just like when the king goes somewhere, his full staff, his secretary, his military commander, his this, his that, everyone goes with Him. Similarly, when Krsna comes on this planet, all His paraphernalia, entourage, everyone comes to display, to attract us, that you are after this, you want to love.
 

"Yes, you see in Vrndavana, how everything is based on love. There is nothing else. They do not know that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they don’t care to know it. But their natural affection and love is so intense for Krsna, that they cannot think anything else except Krishna twenty-four hours. That is Krishna consciousness.

The boys, cowherd boys, they go with Krishna in the forest with the cows. The whole day they enjoy company of Krishna. When they come home at night after that, they are speaking with their mothers. ’Mother, Krsna is so wonderful. He, in the afternoon, there was a gigantic demon. He came, He was devouring us, and Krsna killed him.’ And the mother says, ’Oh, Krsna, yes, I know, Krsna is a very wonderful little boy.’ That’s all. He does not, they do not care whether Krsna is God or anything. But Krsna is very wonderful.

 

"Whenever there is some danger, they come to Krsna. There was heavy rainfall, they all came, all the villagers came to Krsna. ’Krsna, what is to be done?’ And Krsna said, ’Alright, I will do.’ He was only a 6- or 7-year-old little boy. He lifted the whole hill and made it an umbrella, made it an umbrella.

So this is Krsna love, [...]

 

"This is Krishna consciousness. We are teaching people to love Krsha, that’s all. Our program is to place our love in the proper place.

Now, if somebody asks, "How can I love Krsna? I cannot see Krsna. How can I love Krsna?" then Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, ramyã kãcid upãsanã vrajavadhû-vargeòa yã kalpitã. If you want to know the process of worshiping Krsna, or loving Krsna, just try to follow the footprints of the gopis. Gopis. [...] So they kept themselves at home. But Krsna was, say, miles away in the pasturing ground, and the gopis at home thinking, "Oh, Krsna’s feet are so soft. Now He’s walking on the rough grounds. The particles of stones are pricking His sole. So He must be feeling some pain." In this way thinking, they used to cry. Just see. Krsna is miles away, and what Krsna is feeling, they are simply thinking of that feeling: "Krsna may be feeling like that." This is love." [...]" (Seattle, Sept. 30, 1968)
 

By hearing daily from the lotus lips of Srila Prabhupada we obtain the foundation of our Krishna consciousness, which, in my eyes, is the practical, honest, and realistic way to the Divine Couple. And we also become trained for life.
 

"In conclusion, if a disciple is very serious to execute the mission of the spiritual master, he immediately associates with the Supreme Personality of Godhead by vani or vapuh. This is the only secret of success in seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead of being eager to see the Lord in some bush of Vrndavana while at the same time engaging in sense gratification, if one instead sticks to the principle of following the words of the spiritual master, he will see the Supreme Lord without difficulty. Srila Bilvamangala Thakura has therefore said:

 

 

 

RADHAKUNDA: An Entry in my Diary

 

There comes a time in one’s life

Where one becomes tired of everything else

Except for the longing of the heart

And one’s own journey to his beloved.

 

Ragunnatha das Gosvami, who resided for a long time at Radhakunda, wrote in his old age:

"O beautiful lake, my queen eternally enjoys amorous pastimes with Her beloved on Your shore. If You are most dear to Them, then please mercifully show me now Srimati Radharani who is my life and soul."

Oh... where are these impudent aspirations and where am I?

Endless mountain ranges lie between my impurities and the Divine Couple. I am a material being and They are completely spiritual - beyond the minds of everyone.

Still - because of being touched by the touchstone of the Dhama a small particle of Krsna conscious aspiration has arisen. May it grow by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada to become the real thing: Intense unwavering eagerness, which is the preliminary entrance price to the kingdom of love of God.

 

It is amazing how one can appreciate the Holy Dhama especially when there is a peaceful moment, the loudspeakers are silent and the host of visiting pilgrims is reduced. After Kartika, Radhakunda shows Her mercy to the devotees, who are like me, a little sensitive to disturbances. It is said that Radharani has an open treasury here - anyone can come and upon touching the waters of this kunda, experience a wonderful feeling within the heart. In the morning the waters of this kunda appear like shining gold, as the sun rises in the east and dances over the kunda. Srimati Radharani worships every day the sun, and in the morning the sun returns the worship to Radharani. Nowhere else in the world one can see a sunrise like in Radhakunda.

 

 

 

On our way to Kadamba Khandi I make an sobering experience: A group of about ten young boys and girls see me and start to bombard me with the pealed skin of cucumbers. In the beginning I couldn’t recognize that the children were trying to make fun of me - I actually thought they were greeting me with a shower of fragrant Jasmine flowers. Only when the wet skin of the cucumber touched my face and hands I realized with an astonished laughter how self-deceitful I was. Instantaneously I felt happiness. Vrndavana Dhama had taught me a lesson in humility. I expected flowers and I got what I deserved: A reminder of my insignificant position - a realization that is necessary to enter a true understanding of the Dhama. I was immediately sure that our pilgrimage to Kadamba Khandi would be wonderful. Vrndavana Dhama gives you what you need. That is another wonder of Vraja.

 

We visited this beautiful forest of Kadamba trees on a horse drawn chariot. When the road became too bumpy (or as they say in Vrndavana "too jumpy"), we continued to walk and passed on the way through the villages of the different gopi servants of Srimati Radharani. One kind Brijbasi was guiding us, all the time chanting the Holy Names. By his wonderful example, we also dove into an ocean of the chanting and spoke and sang about Krsna the whole time. Later in the evening we visited Lalita’s village Uchagaun and chanted the Lalita-astakam for her pleasure. We overlooked wonderful Vrndavana from an elevated mountain. The sun was just setting: Time for Krsna and Balarama to come home from the forest - herding Their cows in front of Them.

 

SYAMAKUTIR 

 

This is maybe the most isolated, beautiful forest at the side of Giriraja. Gaurahari and myself chanted here for the day and experienced what any pilgrim will experience in Vrndavana: Attracted by the sweet vibration of the Holy Name peacocks and Nila gaus lost their natural fear of humans and surrounded us fearlessly minding their own business.

 

 

 

Knowing that I would write this article, I performed a few interviews to hear how the Brijbasis explain the wonder that is Vraja.

 

1. I asked the son of Atul Krsna Gosvami, whose great-grandfather was so enthusiastic for preaching about the glories of Krsna that he went by horse drawn chariot to Afghanistan. This is how he explained the fascination of Vraja:

 

"In Vrndavana there are five types of nectar:

Renu amrta (The nectar of the dust of Vrndavana)

Venu amrta (The nectar of the flute)

Dhenu amrta (The nectar of the cow)

Nandasuno (Krsna) and

Vrsabhanunandini amrta.

 

Anyone who comes to Vrndavana will understand that Krsna is both, the Supreme Lord, the Supersoul in everyone’s heart and the director of the whole universe, as well as the most lovable personality. By the influence of the dust of Vrndavana however, his understanding of Krsna’s awe-inspiring attributes like that He is the source of everything, will retreat in the background and only His sweetness and mercy and other lovable qualities will be meditated upon. Then the son leaned forward and told me: "There is a secret about the dust. It is like powder sugar of love. You have to understand that Radha and Krsna are like condensed sugar dolls of love. When They come together a fine dust is created - as sweet as powder sugar. And that is the highly potent dust of Vrndavana. Remember when Akrura saw Krsna’s lotus feet in that dust, he throw himself on the ground forgetting everything else. Anyone who touches the dust of Vrndavana, has the greatest blessing upon his life. The dust of Vrndavana is so powerful, Prabhodananda Sarasvati says: "For persons whose bodily decoration is the dust of Vrndavana, touchstones are insignificant."

 

2. Govinda das, an Ayurvedic doctor, who often treats sadhus for free:

Once a sadhu came to my father from Niduvana. He was beside himself with bliss and could not speak properly. He had experienced something so wonderful that he had written some of his experiences in a notebook and wanted to know what to do with it.

After my father had read it - he said "Give it to Yamuna devi - it’s not meant for other eyes. She will keep it as a secret."

Soon after the sadhu had thrown his notes into the Yamuna at the bank of Kesi Ghat, he blissfully left this world while lovingly chanting the Holy Names of the Divine Couple.

 

The wonder of Vraja cannot be explained by the intellect - you must approach it through Krishna consciousness or Krishna bhavanamrta.

Vrindavan speaks to the new devotee through its charm and mind-enchanting beauty, which make him suspect that there must be the Lord behind. These qualities are the fragrance of the Lord.

The older devotee, who already has firm conviction, will feel transported to sweet memories of Krishna. How he dances blissfully and barefoot under the kadamba trees. How He calls and meets His dear devotees. How He wears a turban with decorations, etc. How He meets with Srimati Radharani.

And the most advanced devotee will meet the fulfilment of His desires.

 

3. An European devotee, who lives in Vrndavana for two months each year (Strictly speaking the term "Brijbasi" applies only to those born in Vraja):

Today in the morning, a child died and was carried away. In the evening a girl was born to the same family, as the moon arose. The family took it with composure: Radharani’s krpa."

Everything here is seen as Radharani’s mercy. Another example:

Two days before I arrived, the fourteen-year-old Kana helped his parents to cut grass for the cows with a grass-cutting machine. All of a sudden, his hand got entangled with the machine and was cut off—step by step. A good part of the lower arm is missing now. Everybody was screaming in anxiety—the parents cried for two days altogether. But no one allowed the mind to take over in this traumatic situation. No use lamenting. The situation could not be changed anyway. When Kana returned from the hospital, he appeared very humble, accepting his destiny with a blissful effulgence and a bright smiling face.

In the West there would have been psychologists, who would have counselled the boy for many months so that he could cope with his destiny. But his doctor simply told him not to think about the incident any more and just continue with life and learn writing with the left hand.

He also saw it as Radharani’s krpa.

 

It is simply not possible to describe the wonder that is Vrindavan in a short article. Great transcendental seers such as Rupa Gosvami and Prabhodananda Sarasvati have written voluminous books about the subject. "Even though the spiritual sky possesses the entire opulence and glories of millions of Vaikuntha planets, still it cannot be compared with even one particle of dust from Vrndavana." (Vrndavana Mahimamrta)

Radha and Krishna glorify Vrindavan by saying "Jaya Vrndavana," "Isn’t Vrdnavana wonderful?" or "O, Vrndavana." (Vrndavana Mahimamrta)

"Just by seeing this abode, even from a distance, loving sentiments for Radha and Krsna are automatically aroused." (Vrndavana Mahimamrta 17.12)

It is important to note, however, that Vrindavan is only accessible to a devotee who goes there in a service spirit. If one comes there with the demand to enjoy spiritual experiences, Vrindavan will raise the teacher stick and point one towards the cow barn, where one has the chance to become trained in the service school by serving Krishna’s dear devotees.

 

Srila Prabhupada once said that Vrindavan is not a dot on the Indian land map, but a state of consciousness. In Vrindavan all the devotees are walking on the divine plane of service to the divine couple. The cowherd boys, Nanda Maharaja and Yasoda and also the gopis are prepared to lay down their lives thousands of times, just to give pleasure to Krishna. Vrndavana consciousness means service consciousness. If one tries to enter Vrindavan without a service attitude, one will not arrive in the divine kingdom of God but in a dusty loud village somewhere in Uttar Padesh, where the rickshaw drivers seem to have only one thought in mind: How to cheat a western visitor.

But if one comes there as a humble servant of guru, Krishna, and the vaishnavas, not expecting anything from Them except Their causeless mercy and service opportunities, Vrndavana Dhama might briefly lift its veil which covers it from the vision of the materialists and then one will experience "The wonder that is Vraja!"