Vrindavan, 2017.04.04 (VT): On March 24th, professor John Stratton Hawley from Columbia University spoke at the JIVA Institute in Vrindavan. He is one of the foremost scholars on Hinduism in the USA, who specializes in the devotional traditions of North India, especially Surdas.

After studying world religions at Harvard University in the 1970s, Hawley did extensive research in India. Fifteen books and many scholarly articles followed, and he has won a number of prestigious awards for his work.

In 2015, Hawley published Sur’s Ocean: Poems from the Early Tradition, and this book was at the center of his talk at JIVA. Written in association with Kenneth Bryant, Sur’s Ocean contains the 433 pads (poems or songs) that appear in the earliest Surdas manuscripts. The original Braj Bhasha text of each pad, transcribed by Bryant, appears facing its translation, exquisitely composed by Hawley.

Professor Hawley with Sri Satyanarayan Das Babaji of the JIVA institute

Professor Hawley shared with us how, beginning forty years ago in Vrindavan, he attempted to find all the oldest Surdas manuscripts dated before the 17th century. To do so, he traveled to every library protecting the manuscript heritage of India. He can’t claim to have seen every manuscript, he says, but it would be surprising if there were any very old Surdas manuscripts still undiscovered.

Because of Rajasthan’s dry, hot climate, the oldest manuscripts are still preserved there. We heard a wonderful story from Professor Hawley about how Kenneth Bryant, with the help of a great scholar of the Jaipur royal family, Gopal Narayan Bahura, was able to access the oldest known edition of Surdas poems.

The manuscript is dated 1582 CE and is based on three even older collections. When Prince Charles visited Jaipur to play polo with the Raja, Bahura ji gently persuaded the Raja to show Prince Charles his manuscript collection. Thus the Surdas manuscript was brought out and they were able to have it photographed. More than 200 of the current publication’s poems are from this manuscript.

Professor Hawley encouraged us to nourish our understanding of who Surdas was by examining all the various accounts of his life. He also challenged some of the cherished notions about Surdas, which are not consistent throughout the available literature.

Many accounts of Surdas’s life were compared by Hawley in his talk. For example, the Pushti Marg scripture 84 Vaishnavan ki Varta portrays Surdas as a disciple of Vallabhacharya. But Hawley had his doubts about this as another important work, Nabhadasji’s Bhakt Maal, does not tell of such a connection. Moreover, the Bhakt Maal makes no mention of Surdas’s being blind. But regardless of these details, something vital remained constant through every portrayal: that Surdas was a great devotee of Shri Krishna, and that he wrote extraordinary poetry for his beloved Lord.

The oldest known painting of Surdas. Detail from “Peacocks have mounted whatever peak they can.”  Illustration to sīṣanī saṣaranī caḍ ṭer suṇāyo (compare Bryant 226, NPS 3946).  Circa 1660, 27.3 x 20.9 cm.  Private collection, photograph © Christie’s Images Limited 2012.

Professor Hawley also showed us the popular, modern portrayal of Surdas and contrasted it with the first known artistic representations that were found in the old manuscripts. The modern painting portrayed Surdas as an elderly, emaciated man, blind and dressed in rags, playing an ektara. But in the oldest painting, dated to 1660-1670 CE, Surdas appeared to be young and well-dressed, and without any musical instruments. But interestingly, he does seem to be blind.

Professor Hawley’s passion for Surdas left us feeling very inspired, and closer to the saint than ever.

Near the end of his talk, Professor Hawley presented some of the pads from Sur’s Ocean. A beautiful example:

सिषनि सिषरनि चढि टेर सुणायो
बिरहणि सावधान कै रहियो, लीयै पावसै दल आयो
बादर अति वनइते पवँन ताजी, चठी चटक देषायो
चंमकत वीज सेल कर मंडत, गरज नीसँण वजायो
दादुर पीक गांण मोर झलरी, सब मिल मारू गायो
मदन सुभट कर पँच बणनै, व्रज सँनमुष कु धायो
जानि बिदेस नँद को ललणां, अभलनी त्रस देषायो
सुरदास सँम्रूत वे बानै, प्राण जात व्रमायो

Peacocks have mounted whatever peak they can
to scream their warning to lonely women:
“Look out! The monsoon has come with its armies!”
Clouds, great archers, have mounted the winds—
their sleek Arab horses: they snap their whips.
Lightning-bolts brandish dazzling spears
and the thunder thunders kettle-drum sounds.
Chātak birds, cuckoos, parrots, peacocks,
and crickets join forces, singing out rāg māru,
Kāma, the warrior, clutches his five arrows
and charges straight at Braj. He knows full well
That Nanda’s Delight has left for another country,
so he terrorizes helpless women.
Surdas says, they remember bygone virtues
and the breath within them slows to a stop.

(Bryant and Hawley, Sur’s Ocean, poem 226)

“Peacocks have mounted whatever peak they can.” Illustration to sīṣanī saṣaranī caḍ ṭer suṇāyo (compare Bryant 226, NPS 3946). Circa 1660, 27.3 x 20.9 cm. Private collection, photograph © Christie’s Images Limited 2012.

Hawley highlighed several features of this poem in a very beautiful way; the following is only a paraphrasing of his thoughts.

The poem is set during the monsoon, the season of love. The heroine in separation (virahini) is generally conceived to be Radha, but that is not specifically mentioned in the poem. Thus it could be anyone pining for Krishna. Hawley explained how the ष (sha) in Braj Bhasha is often pronounced kha. Therefore सिषनि सिषरनि are shikhani shikharani, peacocks or peahens on peaks. In the rainy season, peacocks seek out high ground on which to dance and display their plumage; this is what is meant by “peaks”. Ter sunayo means that the peacocks are calling, but not just calling. The particular choice of words means a piercing call; piercing for the woman in separation, for Krishna has gone.

Savadhan kahyo: the peacocks are telling the women, separated from their lovers, to beware. And at the end, when Kaamdev (Cupid or Eros) appears as Madan in the poem, the poor suffering woman feels his arrows and, Surdas says, the breath in her comes to a stop – so the poem ends where her breath ends. It’s as if the poet himself can’t say another word until he sees his Lord. Professor Hawley feels that Krishna’s “erstwhile virtues” in the poem refer to his lifting of Govardhan Hill. It’s as though the gopis are saying that Krishna saved us in the past, now where is he? Every drop of rain is an arrow of kaam, but where is our Beloved to protect us from this onslaught?

Sur’s Ocean: Poems from the Early Tradition can be ordered online from Harvard University Press, or purchased in person in Vrindavan at Rasbihari Lal and Sons.

The post Was Surdas really blind? What did he look like? John Stratton Hawley Speaks at JIVA Institute appeared first on Vrindavan Today.

American religious studies professor and world-renowned scholar of Braj Bhasha poet Surdas (link to article on Surdas) John Stratton Hawley first visited Vrindavan in 1974 to do research for his doctoral dissertation on the subject of the Rasa Lila performances, which was eventually published as “At Play with Krishna.” Amazingly, he had never returned to Braj after that. Now that he has reached retirement age, he decided to spend a few months in the Dham and catch up on the changes that had taken place in the 40 years since he was last here. I asked him to write a few words summarizing his general impressions. We earlier published excerpts in four parts from the above-mentioned book, “The Vrindavan Pilgrimage Experience.” I, II, III, IV. Compare. See also “Was Surdas Blind? What did he really look like?“

Late at night, when it’s time to go to bed, it all comes flooding back — the Vrindavan of the last few months. Every day there’s been something. It’s been great to be back.

Some things haven’t changed. Outside my window, the angles of the buildings converge as if they were competing for a role in a Mewar painting. Roofs confront other roofs at crazy angles, streets curl mysteriously into view — from where? A sadhu asks for alms at a doorway. Pigs settle in for a communal sleep, leaving not an inch between them. Monkeys patrol the battlements, scampering along the tops of compound walls as if those of us inside were inmates in a prison. Sometimes there’s too much to smell.

Other things, though, have changed. Now it’s a city of every-weekend crowds, and the core of the crowds tends to be young. (Was it always like this and I didn’t notice, being so much younger myself?) With youth comes energy. I have been astonished at the din of Vrindavan—the constant, pulsing movement. It’s such a high — all these people here just for the sake of BEING here. Oh, there is the attraction of Banke Bihari and ISKCON and Radharamanji and Prem Mandir, of course, and for some visitors even the sense of being called. But the main attraction, I’ve come to think, is simply the desire to be here. Here is where it happens, and it’s happened here for so long.

On New Year’s Eve, on one of the jam-packed streets near Banke Bihari, I asked a group of young men why they didn’t wear shoes. I’d expected to learn of some new group-validated rite of passage, something like the speed-walk parikramas I’d seen, acts of religious bravado and sharing. But no. What was the answer? It’s the only way to make sure you don’t lose your shoes! With so many temples to go into, how could you hold onto them otherwise? There it was, an ongoing parable of Vrindavan’s central message: Losing hold is holding on.

At Prem Mandir a little boy says to his father, “Daddy, look! Cows!” Well yes: Imagine! Cows in Vrindavan! But the trick is that the cows are made of fiberglass and this little boy has figured out there’s supposed to be a connection between that model and the real thing walking around on the streets. It’s the eternal lila of representation, and it’s just as fascinating for this generation as for any other.

On my last night in town — it was the onset of Ramnavami — some lone guy with a rough and cracking voice cuddled up with a loud-speaker and kept as many people awake as he possibly could. Think of all the merit he was earning by plodding his way through that simple poem! I suspect he was thinking just that. This is the noise of Vrindavan. It made me think of the guy way back in the 1980s who enraged us all by chanting “Om Namah Shivaya” every night until 4:00 in the morning. It’s hard to find acts of religion more confrontational, amnesiac, and self-centered than these. The loud-speaker is the curse of religion. It makes you wonder whether all of religion is really about humanity trying to speak so loud as to drown out the natural sounds of creation and pretend it’s all about us.

I hope not. Vrindavan has a beautifully quiet side too.

And indeed, as counterpoint, we have the unendingly happy energy of the arati at ISKCON and the delightful variety of the music you can hear night after night at Radharamanji. Ninety-five percent of the ISKCON crowd is now Indian—what a change from the 1970s! But Radharaman is different too. I have a friend in Delhi who tunes in on Radharamanji’s darshan every day. He can’t wait to find out what elegant garb the deity is wearing. We exchange notes about it in Khan Market. In the old days I would take a picture of Radharamanji and people would crowd around with their addresses, asking for copies. Now there’s scarcely a need. Everyone is ready to snap and record, and these images go viral as soon as they are formed—virtual Vrindavan.

Many days I was overwhelmed with all that had changed since 1974. A walk down the parikrama path with Shrivatsa and Asim would now be impossible in the way it was then. As everyone knows, there is no path left. The long sandy route through dusty scrub trees, the peacocks calling and dancing on some little hill, someone’s home-made scrawl of Gopal’s name on the side of a little house—all of it is gone. The path is now fully paved, it’s a thoroughfare. Road signs are posted overhead, and we’re lucky we can still find a few ashrams along the way. Gone forever! Gone in the name of progress. Thanks, but no thanks.

And yet before we reconcile ourselves to the fact that it’s dead and gone, before we determine that it’s time to move on because Vrindavan is no longer here, let’s remember that because the name stays on, people still come. They stay, too. There’s no parikrama path, but there are plenty of people to walk it. That for me is the remarkable thing. Vrindavan is still a dham—not in the sense of its being a stable, immovable abode that anchors the world, but in the sense of its being a gathering place, a place to which people are still drawn, a place where the verbal currency is still the names of God. Vrindavan has changed with the times—and in changing, it has somehow endured.

Is it still Vrindavan, though? Is it still the real Vrindavan? Is there actually such a thing? Only you can say.

===========================

John Stratton Hawley—more informally, Jack—is Professor of Religion at Barnard College, Columbia University. He has written or edited sixteen books; three more are forthcoming. These largely concern Hinduism and the bhakti traditions of north India, as in Three Bhakti Voices: Mirabai, Surdas, and Kabir in Their Time and Ours (Oxford, 2005 and 2012) and The Memory of Love: Surdas Sings to Krishna (Oxford, 2009). The edited volumes range more widely, e.g., Saints and Virtues, Fundamentalism and Gender, and (with Kimberley Patton) Holy Tears: Weeping in the Religious Imagination. Jack Hawley has served as director of Columbia University’s South Asia Institute and has received multiple awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian, and the American Institute of Indian Studies. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The post John Stratton Hawley :: Vrindavan, 40 years later appeared first on Vrindavan Today.

Vrindavan, 2017.04.04 (VT): Everyone’s beloved Banke Bihariji! His devotees would do anything for him. Even with the cash shortage after demonitization, donations continue to rain down at Banke Bihari Mandir, which is still the most popular destination in the old town of Vrindavan. Recently, a devotee from Delhi has brought his beloved Lord a very special gift: about 18 million rupees (1.8 crore).

Mr. Chaand Sehgal, CEO of Motherson Company.

On Sunday, the temple’s manager received a check from Mr. Vivek Chaand Sehgal for the service of Thakur Shri Banke Bihari Lal on the occasion of his own birthday. Mr. Sehgal is the founder of of the motor parts company Samvardhan Motherson Group in Delhi. In the period from 2016 to 2017, his company apparently did very well as he was able to offer a check worth 1,80,87,000 rupees.

No one has heard of such a large donation being given to Banke Bihariji by a single person. But the temple manager, Munish, Sharma says that the temple receives spontaneous donations from devotees from time to time.

It should be noted that Mr. Sehgal’s sister also gave a donation in the same amount to the Ladili temple in Barsana last year. The family has been generously contributing to the temples and ashrams of Braj for the last twenty years.

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One of my favorite Vrindavan sadhus was Svatah Prakash Swami, popularly known as Hari Baba. We have written about him previously, particularly in relation to the spreading of the Holy Names and popularizing the lila of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Uttar Pradesh, especially in the districts of Bulandshahr and Sambhal disticts, which are about 150 kilometers north of Mathura.

What propelled Hari Baba into the upper echelons of the sadhu world in northern India took place in 1922 when he inspired and led the construction of a community project to build an embankment along the Ganges to protect more than 700 villages from the near annual floods that afflicted the area. This project was completed on Ram Naumi in 1922, so we are remembering Hari Baba on Ram Naumi 2017. Only five years before the centenary.

G. Kamesh is a writer and blogger, a disciple of Akhandananda Saraswati, who visited Hari Baba’s baandh (dam or embankment) in 2015 and wrote about it on his blog. The following (with some editing) is excerpted from there.

Hari Baba (1884 – 1970) was one of the great sages of twentieth century India. He was a Jeevanmukta, one who has attained liberation while still alive. He was the humblest of humble servants of God. He attained self-knowledge at an early age, and thereafter was immersed in the path of devotion to God. He advocated the path of Bhakti, with special emphasis to Samkirtana, singing of God’s name. It was he who mobilized communities of villagers to build a dyke in the land of Ganga, to save hundreds of villages which used to be submerged in floods year after year. And this was done without any Government funding or help… It was done by common people from villages all around, singing the name of God, as appropriate to their path and religion.

When singing God’s name, he would always be seen with the “ghantaa” – a gong bell struck with a mallet… At all times, his eyes would be downcast, towards the heart….
How is one like us to even comprehend the glory of this sage? Let us see what Maharajshree (Swami Akhandananda Saraswati of Ananda Vrindavan Ashram) had to say about Hari Baba…

“Among all the sages that I have had Darshan of in my life, Sri Hari Baba Maharaj, was a distinctive Mahapurusha, completely non-worldly.

People knew of him as “Baandh waale Baba” (The sage who built the dyke on the Ganga), or as a sage who preached the way of kirtan (singing the name of God). However, I have seen him as a personification of complete non-attachment…

His faith and devotion to Guru remained firm and steady – he would wave the fan-whisk of worship to someone, but contemplation would be on his Guru. Dedication to Vedanta became second-nature to him even from the time of his youth. In his conduct, he was the mirror-image of Lord Sri Ramachandra. When he was immersed in Samkirtan, there would be the manifestation of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. While his speech, smile, glance would be dripping with affection, absolute samyama (self-restraint, a self-fettering, eyes-closed approach to the world) was also patently seen in him. Such was he, that on coming to his vicinity and protecting presence, even pretenders would become true devotees. The service that has been rendered by him to poor people, farmers, and villagers is indeed matchless.

I have seen in his life the ideal life that a satpurusha should lead. As a Jeevanmukta (self-realized sage) adopting appropriate role-play with one and all in his dealings in the world, in the same manner was the persona/role-play of Hari Baba in all his activities. He filled his time with the God’s-name, Satsanga (the company of sages and good people), and with the lore of sport of God. By his remembrance, one’s heart becomes cleansed.”

Hari Baba’s early life

Hari Baba was born in Shukla Paksha Chaturdashi of the month of Phalguna in Vikram Samvat १९४१ (this would correspond to February 28, 1885 AD), in a village in the district of Hoshiarpur in Punjab. He was born in a Sikh family of the Ahluwalia lineage. … It is said that when Hari Baba was born, an idol of Lord Rama fell into the courtyard of the house from the sky. It is also said that his parents had divine vision of Rama in their dreams, when he was in the womb.

On his birth, he was named Diwan Singh (pronounced Deevaan Singh). As a child, Diwan was the youngest of five sons in a family of five sons and three daughters. Diwan was different from other children and was often found sitting in silent contemplation. When he was four years old, he had the first darshan of his Guru, Brahmanishtha Swami Sacchidananda Giri. Seeing the innate goodness of the child, his Guru lifted him with love and blessed him.

Diwan did his schooling in Hoshiarpur and went on to join King Edward Medical College in Lahore for his professional education. He would return often to Hoshiarpur and visit his Guru. His mother tried to fix a marital alliance for him, but he sternly refused to be drawn into married life, and that was that. He left his medical education in the final year, gave up all material pursuits, and came away to his Guru. He stayed with his Guru and served him in every way. So deep was his Guru Bhakti, that it is said his Guru gave him oneness with his own state.

Hari Baba as a young sannyasi.

Upon Diwan’s request for sannyas, his Guru declined, saying that he did not give sannyas to anyone, but that when the right time came, he would become a sannyasi by himself. With his Guru’s permission, Diwan left for Kashi. He joined a college course in B.Sc and also started offering tuition to make a living. But the fire of dispassion was burning so furiously in him that he could not pursue a worldly life anymore. Giving away all his material things, he adopted vidvat sannyas himself. Living on alms, he chose a temple, the Shoolakanteshwar shrine of Siva, as his place of stay. When he stayed there, a Bengali Sadhu of name Shankaranand, gave him a kamandalu and invited him to his Ashram in Prayag (Allahabad) Draupadi ghat. Sadhu Diwan went to Prayag and chose a cave near Shankaranand’s Asram for his stay. There, he performed intense spiritual practice, living a life of terrific austerity. He would take Madhukari bhiksha once a week. From the Rotis collected, he would bury what was left over. Each day he would take out one Roti, wet it in water, and eat. That was his food for the day. A snake was his co-resident in the cave, and was even seen sitting on his head when he was immersed in samadhi in meditation.

After staying in Prayag for three years, he started his parivrajaka life again and returned to his Guru’s Ashrama in Hoshiarpur. While immersed in bliss in his heart, he was in some trepidation as he came to his Guru. Afraid of what his Guru would say on seeing him as a Sanyaasi, he came to him in the night and fell at his feet weeping. His Guru, however, was overjoyed, and told him – “Son! You have attained the aim of human birth. And by this act, you have brought fruition for me too! You have been a Sadhu even since birth. And now, since you have taken Sanyaasa yourself, you shall be called ‘Svatah Prakash’ (Self Radiant)!”

After staying for some time with his Guru, he started on his ‘wandering’ again. He went to Anandpur Saheb and served in a Gurudvara there, and continued his austerities. He would narrate the stories of Sikh Gurus to pilgrims coming there. He took on the service of cleaning the huge vessel used for Langhar. In the icy cold of Punjab winter, he would bathe in the Gurudvara pond at 3 AM, and then sit for meditation.

After Anandpur Saheb, he went to many other places, and came to Vraja in the region of Vrindavan. There he decided to be of service to an ailing, elderly Bengali sannyasi, a monk of the Gaudiya order. In his dwelling, he was intensely drawn by a picture of a saint. The sadhu told him that the picture was of Swami Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Hari Baba immediately recalled reading in the press in his Lahore college days, a statement of Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda had said that the bhavasamadhi of his Guru, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, was like that of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Meeting with Udiya Baba

After Vraja, Swami Svatah Prakash (Hari Baba), now a monk in his early twenties, wished to go and do sadhana near the Ganga. Going past Aligarh, he came to the region of Anupshehr, and then on to a village named Bheriya. This is near the current location of Hari Baba Baandh.

It was most probably in the month of Karthik, Vikram samvat 1965 (corresponding to Oct-Nov 1908 AD).

The young sannyasi, Swami Svatah Prakash came by train and got down at Rajghat station near the bank of Ganga, not far from Narora in District Bulandshehr. Then he walked along the Ganga, northwards, and arrived at the village of Bheriya, which is some three miles south of Anupshehr. And as destiny would have it, the great Brahmanishtta sage Udiya Baba ji (Swami Poornananda Teertha) came walking to this place from the East, at the same time. This was a momentous meeting in spiritual timelessness.

Udiya Baba

Udiya Baba, like Ramana Maharshi, was a spiritual colossus. Ever established in Non-dual Brahman, he was like the Sun of Jnana. And Swami Svatah Prakash, when he became Hari Baba, was the full-moon of Bhakti. It was a meeting of Ganga and Yamuna. There struck a relationship between these two sages, which was to last all their lives. Such was the love they had for each other, that Hari Baba has said of Udiya Baba that “No one in the world has loved anyone so much, ever, as much as Udiya Baba loved me.” And Udiya Baba on his part, had the greatest respect for Hari Baba. No festival of Hari Baba was complete without the presence of Udiya Baba. It is incredible to read that in all the decades of their acquaintance, Hari Baba never once spoke directly to Udiya Baba. He would have his face down, and speak through a second person. So great was his respect for Udiya Baba…

To give an example of how much respect Udiya Baba had for Hari Baba, consider this… Udiya Baba, like Jagadguru Kanchi Paramacharya, had taken a vow to only walk. He would never ride on any vehicle – car, bus, train etc. He walked hundreds of miles, month after month, all his life. While he stayed largely in the banks of Ganga, towards the end of his life he settled in Vrindavan.

In 1947, when Hari Baba was planning to celebrate the Sivaratri festival in the Baandh, he found that Udiya Baba would not be able to come, as he was very ill. But Hari Baba could not dream of having any utsav without Udiya Baba being present. So he and Anandamayi Ma came to Vrindavan. Hari Baba tried to convince Udiya Baba to come with him in his car. But Udiya Baba had his vow and he was in no condition to walk the distance from Vrindavan to the Baandh (around 150 kms). So while Hari Baba went on pleading, Udiya Baba kept Mauna (silence), and it became midnight. Seeing how disappointed Hari Baba was feeling, Ma told him – “Pitaji! Now you may please take rest. Whatever is to happen tomorrow, shall happen by itself.” On this advise, Hari Baba retired for the night.

In the morning, when Hari Baba awoke to find that Udiya Baba had already left during the night. Ma laughed and told him – “See Pitaaji! I told you that whatever is to happen will happen by itself!”

What had happened was that Udiya Baba could not bear seeing the disappointment of Hari Baba. So, at 2 O’clock in the night, he started off in another devotee’s car, and left for the Baandh. He broke his lifelong vow of never riding a vehicle, just to keep Baba’s heart. Who can understand this love! Needless to say, that Sivaratri festival in the Baandh was observed with all joyousness, and this was followed by the festival of Holi, which too was attended by Udiya Baba.

Coming back to Bheriya, the first meeting place of Ganga (Udiya Baba) and Yamuna (Hari Baba)…

This meeting in Bheriya was at the place where a venerable sadhu from Bengal had his hermitage. Known as Bengali Baba, his sanyasi name was Sri Ramananda Giri. He was an aged monk, who was held in great reverence by all Sadhus in the region. The young Hari Baba came to his hermitage and sat down under a tree, absorbed in inner contemplation. Bengali baba recognized the spiritual fire in young Hari Baba, and asked one of his sannyasi disciples to discreetly care for this young Baba.

Bengali Baba was a great ascetic, who laid great store by Madhukari Bhiksha. He would say:

Bhikshaa (food got as alms), is equivalent to a meal of fruits. It is never an acquisition (bondage). Whether the Bhikshaa food is pure/good or impure/stale, eating that is like having a quaff of the nectar of Gods, day after day!

Hari Baba becomes imbued with the mood of Gauranga Mahaprabhu

Bengali Baba’s ashram was a confluence where many sadhus would gather. One of them was Swami Achyuta Muni. He used to stay in a boat anchored near Deeppur Ghat, a few miles from Gavaan (where the Hari Baba baandh is now). Swami Achyuta Muni was a highly respected sage, well known in the Ganga region. His blissful countenance, deep scholarship, and childlike simplicity attracted many a devotee to him, scholar and lay. The Muni held classes on Vedanta treatises like Brahma Sutra, Panchadashi, Vritti Prabhakara, etc. Young Hari Baba, who would go to Ganga for his morning bath, joined these classes.

After some time, Achyuta Muni was to leave this place and go to Wardha. He extended an invitation to Hari Baba to come there, and continue his Vedanta tutelage. Hari Baba agreed, and came away to Wardha.

Achyuta Muni was a man of discipline. His rule was that his Vedanta class would commence exactly at Sunrise. Interested students would have to be there punctually. Hari Baba was as sincere as anyone could ever be. He would be up at 2 AM, walk six miles to the river to have his bath etc, do his morning exercises, meditate and be ready for the class at dawn. After the class, he would contemplate on the subject being studied. After lunch, he would take some rest, do some svadhyaya and then again attend Achyuta Muni’s class from 3 to 5 PM. After that, in the evenings, he had no fixed program. He came to know that in a place called Hanumangadi, which was nearby, there was a Satsangha where akhand (nonstop) chanting of “Shree Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya Rama” mantra was going on, for last few hundred years. This place had been associated with Satguru Samarth Ramdas (saint of 16^th-17^th century, Guru of Chatrapati Shivaji).

Hari Baba went for this Satsangh, and his life changed.

Feeling great joy after his first Satsangha, he started going there regulary. He was being helplessly drawn into Hari Bhakti. His Guru (Swami Sacchidananda Giri) too is supposed to have had a vision of Radha-Krishna in Vrindavan, but his outward leaning had been towards Jnana. Hari Baba too had, therefore, been devoted to the path of Knowledge. But now, in Hanumangadi, he was being turned over completely. He started experiencing Bhava Samadhi during the sankirtan (music and chanting). He lost control over himself. At one stage, he started exhibiting all eight Sattvik Bhavas of pure Bhakti together. These are Ashru (tears), Pulaka (horripilation), stabdhataa (stunned stiffness), svedha (excessive sweating), kampa (trembling of body), svarabhanga (choking of voice), vaivarnya (discoloration) and, finally, moorccha (fainting).

Sri Paranjape, who was in-charge of the Satsangha there, was amazed at this sight. He, along with other devotees there, lifted him and made him lie down on a mat there. Soon, Hari Baba started making Humkaar thunder-like sounds, got up, and went and sat on the altar of the Lord. He became possessed by the Lord. Sitting there, he ordered the devotees to offer bhog, and then asked them to seek whatever boon they desired. The assembled devotees were all immersed in waves of devotion seeing this unique happening. The singing was charged now. Soon Hari Baba got up and started dancing. The crowd was in bliss. Some fell at his feet, some were laughing or crying uncontrollably – all were lost in the mood. This went on the whole night, and when the Sun rose next morning, Hari Baba fell unconscious.

Upon regaining consciousness, he felt extremely embarrassed. But Paranjape ji consoled him.

Thereafter, he started attending this satsang every evening. Soon these happenings reached the ears of Achyuta Muni. When Hari Baba went for his Vedanta class, the Muni asked him about it, whether it was true that he had been going to a math and engaging himself in singing and dancing. Hari Baba remained silent. Taking his silence as affirmation, the Muni asked him to express his view. Hari Baba then conveyed, in all humility, his views. Paraphrasing what he conveyed, Hari Baba’s view was that there is no distinction between Nirguna and Saguna. In sum – “The One reality, is worshipped with many names. He said that if we examine the views of all our ancient Acharyas, there too we will find that there is no distinction between Jnana and Bhakti. There can be no Jnana without Bhakti, and no Bhakti without Jnana. It is only when Brahmanishtha becomes ripe does one find the right way to contemplate Saguna Brahman. “

In his own case, he conveyed that the bliss he had experienced in Bhakta Mandali was beyond expression. And that experience had only strengthened his Brahmanishtha.

Achyuta Muni ji conveyed that he had no complaints against that path, and that he too had done Japa of Lord’s name one lakh times every day. By that practice, even now the Japa of the name was going on automatically. But the path of practice of pure Vedanta was divergent from the path chosen by Hari Baba, and so he was free to pursue his path. Hari Baba, then took his permission to leave, and went back to Hanumangadi.

There, Paranjape ji gave him a book about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It was an English book titled “Lord Gauranga” written by Sri Shishir Kumar Ghosh. He began to read the book avidly and became profoundly influenced by it and began to give classes from it to the local devotees. But eventually he found it necessary to leave when people started to think of him as a divine incarnation.

The book on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had opened up for him the infinite heart-space of devotion. His Hari bhakti was in flood. Returning to the region of Anupshahr, he set anchor…. There, devotees found their way to him, and he spread the way of Bhakti… He would be so consumed by bhava of Krishna bhakti, that he would behave as a man possessed. In the great meadow region in the vicinity, he would wander around, jump into water bodies, with the bhava that he was jumping into Yamuna of Krishna. He would ask strangers whether they had seen Krishna anywhere… He would weep… Seeing a villager tilling the soil, he would go upto him and request him to ‘please chant the name of Hari’, and in return he would take over the plough from the man and do his job. He would be seen jumping from tree to tree, perhaps in the bhava of Hanuman…. Krishna Leela and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Leela also started happening. It was evident that the great Mahaprabhu had awakened in his heart. The transformation was complete. Swami Svatah Prakash became Hari Baba…

Once, the region was suffering from severe lack of rains. Praying for relief, the people there gathered around Hari Baba. Hari Baba said that the samkirtana of Hari would surely answer their prayers. He told them – “When Nam Bhagavan is with you, why do you have any anxiety! What is impossible for the Nam Bhagavan to accomplish? Chant the name and be free from fear!” He organized the people into a Samkirtana group. The group, led by Hari Baba, started walking around the village, singing the name of Hari. They had only milk for food. At appropriate times, they halted and had Hari Katha sessions. The plan was to do this for seven days. On the eighth day, they would gather in the Nava Vrindavan meadow nearby and the whole village would gather for a community bhajan and feast. On the eighth day, rain clouds filled the sky, and it poured.

The story of the Baandh

Word spread. People started flocking to Hari Baba. People of all communities… Around 1917 or so, during one of the Leela sessions, one person was possessed by bhava of Siva, and he told Baba that he should do the Leela of Setubandhan (the building of bridge across the sea to Lanka by Rama and the monkeys). Hari Baba smiled and said that he would do so….

The region of Ganga in Anupshahr / Badaun was a stage of periodic disaster. There were miles and miles of lowlands, and every year Ganga, during times of flood, would overrun the lands. In around 1917 a part of the Ganga had cut across and mingled with Mahava river in Badaun. As a result some 700 or more villages had been submerged in the river. But this was a regular occurrence and every year hundreds of villages were affected and the villagers has to be at the mercy of elements, sitting on trees and raised-platforms, waiting for the river to subside, living on what providence may provide. Baba was moved by the plight of the land and the people.

The time for the Setubandh leela had come….

Sometime in the month of Paush (December) 1922, Baba called for a meeting with local devotees and announced his plan to build a baandh (dyke, dam) in that area. This was a herculean aim, for not even the Government had been able to do anything like that. There was no rail connection or good roads, without which getting construction materials there was impossible. It was also impossible for railways to set up lines here, as the lands were undulating, and there was not enough time between floods for complete construction to happen. These and such were the problems voiced by his devotees. Baba was not deterred by this.

One of his devotees, Pandit Lalitaprasad, used to get the bhava of Hanuman. Baba told him that he would be crucial for this project. That he would need to invoke Hanuman in his consciousness and get on with the task. Baba quickly put the plan into motion and inaugurated the project. He put some key devotees as organizers. He said that he would take care of collecting funds. The devotees would have to gather others and get into the job of building the baandh. He himself went from village to village to galvanize the community. He did so through samkirtan. In Hindu villages he would sing the name of Rama. In Muslim villages, he sang tera zaat paak hoon.

A retired engineer from the public works department was also inducted into the project. Surveys were conducted and the project area marked out. One and all got involved. The rule was that the baandh had to be built with the constant accompaniment of the names of God. One and all had to chant God’s name and bring mud and throw it on the baandh. Baba had told the community that they should know that the baandh was God’s own form. That they would have to offer service with a sincere heart. He said that the Baandh Bhagavan would give boons, and their prayers for worldly and spiritual gains would all be answered, provided they applied themselves in all sincerity…. Within weeks, more than a thousand villagers were on the job.

Baba announced his vow that the mud-work would have to be completed by Rama Naumi, which was but a few months away. What this meant was that 34 kms of baandh mud-work would have to be built, along with six cross bandhs. Some parts of the baandh had to be much higher and broader…. Baba announced that if the work was not completed by then, he would give up his life.

The name of God filled the air. The community was in motion. One is reminded of the bridge built from Rameshwaram to Lanka during the Ramayana time.

The night before Rama Naumi came. Baba got up and went to a specific area of the baandh. And he found that the work there was far from complete. He had announced earlier that he would give up his body if the work was not completed by Rama Naumi. In keeping with this resolve, he himself started working and announced that he would not eat and give up his life if the work was not completed that night. Word of his intent spread like wildfire in the villages. The villagers rushed to the baandh and joined him in the labor… In a few short hours a mountain of mud was ready and before nightfall the task was completed.

On the night before Rama Naumi (which fell on 26^th March 1923), the Baandh mud-work was complete. Baba started the stone-work the same date. Mounds of stones started getting accumulated at the site. By the dussehra of Jyestha month, most of the stone work was complete.

By sheer dint of the divine name, by the force of community participation, a 34 kms long baandh was constructed along the route of Ganga. An incredible achievement…

The Baandh Festivals

On Vijayadashami day of the month of Ashvin (Oct 1923) the first festival was held on the baandh. Since that day, countless festivals have been held here. Holi was celebrated with great festivity. This is the day of Jayanti of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The day preceding Holi was the Jayanti of Hari Baba. Guru Purnima and other festivals were all celebrated in a grand scale at the Baandh. Akhand naama samkirtan, pravachans by sages and scholars, Raasleela, Krishnaleela, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Leela etc were regularly enacted. Hari Baba would be completely immersed in the bhava of the Leela. He would be fanning the idol or the person acting the role of Krishna etc, for hours on end. During the keetans, he would be dancing and striking his heavy gong bell (ghantaa) – swinging round and round, and the whole orchestra of drummers, instrumentalists and singers would keep beat with him…. Each day was a celebration of God….

The greatest of sages of North India have graced the Baandh with their presence during these festivals. Udiya Baba would come . Without him, Hari Baba would not conduct any festival. After 1946, Anandamayi Ma also came regularly to the Baandh. Hari Baba became deeply devoted to Ma, who he saw as Jagadamba. Among other great spiritual personages who came to the baandh were Krishnanand Avadhoot, Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, Brahmachari Prabhudutt ji. Paramahamsa Baba Avadhavihari sharan, Baba Gauraangdas, Shri Bhole babaji, Swami Shastranandaji, Swami Shukadevananda ji, Maharajshree Swami Akhandananda Saraswati and many others.

Baba laid great emphasis on regular maintenance of the baandh. Villagers would regularly work on applying mud, reinforcing stones etc. He also laid great emphasis on Cleanliness. He involved every single devotee in the task of keeping the whole length of baandh clean. The band of Hari Baba devotees became renowned for ‘cleaning’. Wherever they went, Baba would ask them to pick up brooms and clean the place before participating in any festival!

Sharing a clip form youtube, which shows Hari Baba at the Baandh during the later years. People are seen doing shram-daan (offering of work), working on Baandh maintenance. Anandamayi Ma is also seen, visiting the baandh.

During the baandh festivals, many divine happenings were seen. Episodes of people hearing anklet sounds, sudden fragrances filling the air, devotees seeing their Ishta Daiva etc. Any number of people had their prayers answered by coming here, participating in Baandh cleaning and maintenance, and joining the samkirtan… Baba laid terrific emphasis on sincerity and devotion. At times, when he could not tolerate the vices of some of the people in the area, he just walked away.

Once, in 1937, he simply set off to Rishikesh and walked nonstop and reached there in five days, covering a distance of 150 miles on foot. He ate nothing on the way. From Rishikesh he set off up the mountain… And his devotees finally found him in Uttarkashi, and begged and pleaded with him to come back. He finally relented and agreed to return later, and proceeded with some of them to Gangotri. After sending his devotees back, he stayed in Gangotri for a month. Taking bhiksha once a day, taking bath in ice old Ganga by dipping again and again, wearing no wool, using no angheeti (coal heater) – he stayed there. He had promised to return back to Karnavas to the presence of Udiya Baba by Guru Purnina, which he did. But the Baandh was his home. All in all, Baandh Bhagavan, as it became known, truly was the Divine in the form of a baandh.

The Vrindavan ashram, which is next door to Udiya Baba’s ashram in the Davanala Kund area, was established in 1941. More pictures can be seen HERE. His role in spreading Mahaprabhu lila throughout the Hindi-speaking areas is noted HERE.

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Vrindavan, 2017.04.06 (VT with input from Amar Ujala, India Today) In the holy city, the liquor business is thriving.

Legally, Vrindavan is a dry area. But in spite of the law, the booze is coming in. Alcohol is easily available on demand through a network of illegal dealers.

The sadhus and sants of Vrindavan have raised this issue with the government, but until now, it seems no one has paid attention. Amar Ujala reported that when the government and police are notified of such illegal activity, the initial inquiries are not followed up.

And although liquor sale is illegal in Vrindavan proper, there are plenty of government-sanctioned shops in the outskirts and in villages all around Braj. Even the Vrindavan suburbs like Panigaon, Chhatikara and Sunrakh all have liquor shops.

Take the case of Sunrakh. The tiny village has a number of “English” and desi liquor shops, six of them just a short distance from the Chhe Shikhar Temple. These shops remain constantly crowded with patrons, many of them intoxicated. Devotees visiting the temple find themselves disgusted, and at times harassed.

In 2011, the Excise Duty Department of the Government of India itself opened a liquor shop in Sunrakh. Dozens of local women protested. “We villagers feel that the presence of the liquor shop in Sunrakh is creating a disturbance to the peace and our way of life,” said one Sunrakh resident, Ramwati. Others complained that the drunk men who hung out by the liquor shops harrassed the village girls and made it hard for them to even leave the house.

And again, in 2015 an illegal wine shop in Chaitanya Vihar, within Vrindavan’s dry-zone, was given a license to operate by the Excise department. Local residents torched the shop in anger, withdrawing only after Mr. Sanjay Yadav, the Excise Officer, appeared personally on the scene and promised to cancel the shop’s license.

Illegal wine shop torched by local residents in Vrindavan’s Chaitanya Vihar (2015)

Mathura, too, is facing its share of problems. Although alcohol shops are not illegal there, most of them are ill-placed. A large number of them are in residential areas, marring the ambience and saftey in those neighborhoods. And many of Mathura’s liquor shops are in close proximity to schools and temples, which is against legal standards.

For example, there is a liquor shop near the Hanuman temple at Bajrang Chauraha on Maholi Road. Female devotees attending temple services have complained about being harassed by the drunk men who frequent the shop, but nothing has been done to fix the situation. Similar   problems have been reported at the Baglamukhi temple, the Jain temple in Mathura-Vrindavan road, Shiv Temple at Mathura Junction Road, and Masani Gurudwara to name a few.

In 2015, Mathura MP Hema Malini wrote to then-Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav demanding an immediate ban on the sale of alcohol and meat in the entire Braj region.

“Government records show that the British-era rules are being followed and meat is not being sold in Mathura and the rest of Braj, while the reality is that both meat and liquor are being openly sold even near religious sites. The Uttar Pradesh government should immediately take action against the meat and liquor shops and shut them down, besides declaring Braj a dry zone,” she said.

Shri Rajesh Bhatiya, , says that with the formation of the BJP government in the state, the demand for removal of open shops around temples has started to resonate.

Perhaps Yogi Adityanath’s crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses will spread to Braj’s illegal liquor shops too.

Read more:

Declare Braj a dry zone: Hema Malini asks UP CM Akhilesh Yadav

Sunrakh women demand closing of liquor store

Angry mob torches wine shop in Vrindavan

Liquor consumption climbing in holy land of milk and curd

कान्हा की नगरी में मंदिरों के करीब चल रहे मयखाने

ड्राई एरिया में शराब की ऑन डिमांड सप्लाई

Sadhus Demand “Dry Zone” in Barsana

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Vrindavan, 2017.04.06 (VT): Today the festival commemorating the life of Vishnudas Babaji Maharaj of Bhagavata Niwas in Raman Reti. Vishnudas Babaji (1916-1997) was one of the followers of Ramkrishna Pandit Babaji and succeeded Kripasindhu Das Baba as Mahant of Bhagavata Niwas in 1972. Like Kripasindhu Dasji, he was a great devotee of the Govinda-lilamrita and practitioner of ashta-kala lila smarana.

Born in Bankura in West Bengal, his inclination to a life of renunciation came when he was only 15. His name at home was Badal. was He ran away from home, but was followed and found in the railroad station before he could get too far away. Eventually, however, he made his escape and with no money and with the kindness of a ticket inspector traveled by train to Hathras Junction. From there he walked to Mathura where after bathing in the Yamuna at Vishram Ghat he went to Vrindavan.

Badal hadn’t eaten for three days. He was sitting on the steps at Keshi Ghat. Feeling a little dizzy and weak from hunger, he was yet imbued with the thought of the Divine Couple. It was the rainy season and in those days, the water ran rapidly at Keshi Ghat. Still he stared at the water and thought he saw Radha and Krishna. He stepped into the turbulent water, but the current took him away and pushed him under. He temporarily lost consciousness and when he came to, he found himself on the shore a few hundred meters downstream from Keshi Ghat. He felt as though he had undergone some kind of transformation experience and that the Yamuna had thrown him on the banks of the river where Krishna and the gopis had conducted their rasa dance. He was not just in the worldly Vrindavan, but the other-worldly Vrindavan also.

Yadunandan Das Babaji (1866-1978)

He gulped down water from the holy river to slake his hunger, but to no avail. Then he saw a beggar on the road who was walking somewhere quickly and decided to follow him, thinking that there would be something to eat at the end of the beggar’s journey. Indeed, he followed him as far as Rangaji temple, and there had some prasad — but only makhan-misri, some butter with sugar candy, Krishna’s childhood favorite. Still, somewhat dazed by his experience, he wandered into the Govindaji temple and had darshan of Govindaji, then sat on the steps outside. It was then that Yadunandan Das, who was to become his guru, happened by and began talking with him.

Yadunandan Das, who was actually living at Surya Kund at the time, was a disciple of Jaikrishna Das Babaji in parampara from Siddha Madhusudan Das Baba of Surya Kund.  But like the young Badal, he was from the same West Bengal district of Bankura and had also run away from home as a teenager to take shelter of the Dham 30 years earlier. He took the boy with him back to Surya Kund and there began to train him in the life of a Vaishnava vairagi. He gave him initiation and engaged him in the service of Siddha Madhusudan Das Baba’s samadhi, then gave him bhek, with the name “Vishnu Das.”

Kripasindhu Das (1882-1972)

One day, during the cold season, Vishnu Das was attacked by pneumonia. Yadunandan Das was a frequent visitor to Vrindavan and a member of Pandit Ramkrishna Baba‘s entourage. Not knowing what to do with the boy in the remote and isolated Surya Kund, he brought him to Vrindavan, where the Ramkrishna Mission Hospital was the most advanced medical facility in the region.

Yadunandan Das lay Vishnu Das by the well in Dauji Bagicha (the current site of the Vrindavan Research Institute). Ramkrishna Pandit Baba assigned a Nimbarki baba who was living with him, Shyam Das, and his closest student, Kripa Sindhu Baba, to take care of him. Within a short time, the young Baba was returned to health, but neither he nor his guru could leave the company of Pandit Baba.

Eventually, as Pandit Ramkrishna Babaji Maharaj grew older, he still insisted on going out for madhukari, but he would walk taking the shoulders of Kripa Sindhu Baba, whom he affectionately called bachchi, with one hand, and Vishnu Das, nicknamed Lallu, with the other.

Although Vishnu Das had little formal education, in the association of Pandit Baba and Kripa Sindhu Baba, he adopted their bhajan style of strict discipline. He would rise at one or two in the morning, bathe and begin his practice of lila-smarana. Like Kripa Sindhu Baba, he memorized the entire Govinda Lilamrita in Sanskrit and would often speak on the topic of Krishna’s daily pastimes in the nitya-lila as presented by Kaviraj Goswami. He also knew many of the other details of the Gutika, such as the descriptions of the Yoga Peeth and so on, which he taught to whomever was serious about bhajan and came to him.

Not long  before Pandit Baba entered the nitya-lila in 1940, he told his followers and in particular Kripa Sindhu Baba, who had been with him for more than 20 years, to leave Dauji Bagicha and to establish another ashram on the other side of the Chattikara Road. This they did, and the wealthy owners of the land signed it over to the sadhakas. This is now known as Bhagavata Niwas and is where Pandit Baba’s tradition lives on.

Vishnudas became the Mahant of Bhagavata Niwas in 1978 and remained in that position until his departure in 1997. It was he who planted the trees and created the tapo-vana mood of the ashram. He made garlands for Girindra Bihari, the Govardhan shila that is worshiped at Bhagavata Niwas, tended the garden, took care of the samadhis of Pandit Baba and later of Kripa Sindhu Baba and his own guru.

The central pathway on entering the ashram.

In 1978 he created the Girindra Bihari Trust, and as he was becoming older and wished to increase his manasi seva, he turned the responsibility for the service to the ashram to Shukadeva Das, who is still the principal sevait of the ashram. When the time came for him to enter the nitya-lila, he asked his disciple Amarananda Das to lie him down on the Vrindavan dust and the other devotees to do sankirtan. As the kirtan rose, he announced, “Now I am going to [Ramkrishna Pandit] Baba’s side.” He closed his eyes and entered the nitya nikunja. It was Chaitra Shukla Navami, i.e., Ram Naumi. The devotees celebrate and have the feast on the following day.

[Based on Vraj ke Nava Bhakta Mal by Anuragi Baba.]

This is the new main entrance to Bhagavata Niwas, built some time in the last two years.

More scenes of greenery at Bhagavata Niwas.

Some langoor monkeys came for prasad. The pickings were good.

The langoors were also joined by a couple of bovine brethren. In general, it appears that there is an attempt to keep the natural environment and no new buildings are going up on the property, just the bhajan kutirs that rim the ashram. However, it still does not seem as though the residents have attained the visceral distaste for the ugliness of materialistic garbage that tends to slowly accumulate and remain unless something is done. If this ashram were kept as clean and followed the same rules as the Tatia Sthan, it would be one of the most beautiful ashrams in Vrindavan.

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Mathura, 2017.04.02 (VT): The much ballyhooed Peacock Conservation Center project will continue be developed on two hectares of land belonging to the Van Chetna Kendra or forest awareness center, situated on the Mathura-Vrindavan marg.

Peacocks and other species of birds are losing their natural habitat due to the slow but sure transformation of Vrindavan and its surrounding areas into a concrete jungle. Peacocks hold great importance in Vrindavan because Braj is the land of eternal pastimes of Lord Shri Krishna. Being the dearest bird to Shyamsundar, it makes it all the more special. As a result of deforestation, these beautiful birds are facing loss of habitat, which has provided a much-needed motivation to the conservation department in gaining a new momentum for its conservation.

The detailed project report (DPR) has been approved for the conservation of peacocks. The forest department had sent a DPR of Rs one crore to the Peacock Conservation Center in December-January and the same had also been sent to the local government. Last month, the Housing Development Officer received first installment of Rs 55 lakh as part of the conservation project funding. The executive committee will start the conservation work soon.

The Peacock Protection Center will be developed on two hectares of Van Chetna Kendra located at Mathura-Vrindavan Road. The developmental work has been distributed into three main phases. The first phase will include work on building a high wall around the periphery as well as the beautification of the main gate. In the second phase, large plants will be planted in the Conservation Center premises, because peacocks are more inclined to make their home on large and dense trees.

In the same phase drinking water and solar lights will also be installed. In the third and final phase, treatment and supervision of injured peacocks will be arranged with the valuable assistance of the Veterinary Department. While developing the Peacock Conservation Center special attention will be paid to the natural environment of the area. It is also worthwhile to note that, at present, the number of peacocks in the district is only 4,298.

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Vrindavan, 2017.0407 (DJ, AU) From today, everyone’s beloved Banke Bihari Lal will appear in beautiful palaces made of flowers (phool bangla). The phool bangla festival begins on Kamada (Phuldol) Ekadashi in the Banke Bihari Temple, and will continue up to Hariyali Amavasya. For 108 days, Thakurji will give his darshan amidst the most lavishly fragrant flowers.

The tradition of offering Banke Bihari a flower house or phool bangla in summer was started by Swami Haridasji himself. The purpose of this offering is to give Thakurji relief from the summer heat. In those early days, Banke Bihari’s phool bangla was an intimate affair in Nidhivan Raj, but in modern times the phool banglas are extremely grand and opulent.

Generally, devotees have to wait one year for the chance to sponsor a phool bangla for Banke Bihari. Temple sevayat Srinath Goswami says that most of this year’s bookings were made last year, and if anyone wants to offer one this year, the chance is very slim. There may be only one or two days left available throughout the summer. According to Prahlad Vallabh Goswami, the cost of each phool bangla ranges from thousands to hundreds of thousands of rupees.

The phool bangla tradition also nourishes Vrindavan’s economy, providing a good deal of business to the gardners who provide the flowers and the artisans who construct the banglas. Both Indian and foreign flowers are used, including carnations, marigolds, lillies, lotuses, orchids, rajnigandha (tuberose), roses and various kinds of jasmine.

Shri Radhavallabh Ji, Shri Radharaman Ji, Shri Radha-Shyamsundar Ji, Shri Saneha Bihari Ji and other deities of Vrindavan will also be offered phool banglas during this period.

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Radha Kund, 2017.04.08 (Vishakha Dasi for VT): Today is the disappearance day of Siddha Jaikrishna Das Babaji of Kamyavan (also known as Kaamvan).

Jaikrishna Das Babaji was in the lineage of Shri Gangamata Goswamini of the Gangamata Matha in Puri. No one knows who his guru was or where he was from. When he first came to Braj, the goddess Vrinda Devi instructed him through a vision to settle down at Kamyavan. There he lived under a tree performing intense spiritual practice and meditation on Radha and Krishna’s eternal lila.

It is said that the methods of lila meditation practiced in Braj today are to a great extent influenced by Siddha Jaikrishna Das Babaji of Kamyavan. In fact, Siddha Krishnadas Babaji of Govardhan and Siddha Madhusudan Das Babaji of Suryakund were both his followers.

Because he lived in the open air, the Brajwasi children used to pester him a lot while he was trying to meditate. For this reason, Baba began to think of leaving Kamyavan for some place even more remote. But the villagers did not want Baba to leave, and so they built a small hut for him on the bank of Vimal Kund, where he could do his meditation in peace.

Vimal Kund (P.C.: Manorama Dasi)

Baba remained in that hut doing bhajan constantly, coming out only once a day to bathe in Vimal Kund and collect alms (madhukari).

It is said that Baba never slept at all. Throughout the night, he drowned in thoughts of Radha and Krishna. Sometimes he would pray, and sometimes he would weep. At times he could be heard arguing lovingly with someone. When he would scream out loud, overwhelmed with sacred love, his whole hut would shake. Once the ceiling even cracked from the sound.

Siddha Jaikrishna Das Babaji had a powerful magnetic energy around him. This divine attraction pulled people to him, even from far away. If anyone got Baba’s association just once, it became impossible for that person to leave him.

Once Shri Bhagavan Das Babaji visited Jaikrishna Das Babaji. Immediately, the two became so close that it felt impossible to leave. Whenever the subject of Bhagavan Das Babaji leaving came up, both of them would fall unconscious. After one month Bhagavan Das Babaji managed to tear himself away with great difficulty. But still, Jaikrishna Das Babaji’s memory remained with him.

On another occasion, Shri Naval Kishor Goswami came to visit Baba, bringing his deities Shri Radha-Madanmohan. Even Radha-Madanmohan felt so attracted to Baba that they decided to remain with him in Kamyavan. The night before Goswamiji was supposed to leave Braj, Madanmohan came in his dream and said that although he was pleased with him, he would rather stay with Baba from now on. Goswamiji left in tears, leaving Madanmohan behind.

The ancient deity of Vrinda Devi was rediscovered and worshipped by Shri Roop Goswami about five hundred years ago. She now resides in Kamyavan. Siddha Jaikrishna Das Babaji received great blessings from Vrinda Devi. (P.C.: Unknown)

Soon after, a humble young Babaji came to assist Siddha Jaikrishna Das Babaji. He took wonderful care of Shri Radha-Madanmohan and of Baba. Baba was very pleased with him, and decided to teach him the path he himself followed – the path of complete absorption in Radha and Krishna’s pastimes through meditation (ashta-kalin lila smaran). Jaikrishna Das Babaji asked the young Babaji if he had his guru-pranali (the list of the names of the gurus in his lineage), and  siddha-pranali (the names of those gurus in their eternal gopi forms).

The young Babaji replied, “Please forgive me, Maharaj. I have no idea what guru pranali is.” Jaikrishna Das Babaji explained to him about the path of ashtakalin lila smaran and why the guru pranali and siddha pranali were important to this extremely deep practice. He instructed the young Babaji to go back to Bengal and ask for the guru-pranali and siddha-pranali from his Gurudev.

The idea of such deep meditation on the lila was very tempting. But the young Babaji was completely captivated by Jaikrishna Das Babaji’s love. The thought of leaving him and Shri Radha-Madanmohan was unbearable for him. He started weeping. But Siddha Baba calmed him down with sweet words, and at last the young Babaji agreed to go to Bengal.

Hathras Junction Railway Station

And so one morning, with great pain in his heart, the young Babaji set out for the train station. At that time there was no railway station in Mathura, so he had to go all the way to Hathras to catch the train. Saying goodbye to Baba, he wept as he walked down the lonely path. He reached Hathras at night.

Standing on the platform the young Babaji thought, “It would be better to die than to board that train. But if I disobey Baba, that is also death for me. Either way, I am dead.” He started praying intensely to Radharani and Vrinda Devi. “I know you know everything. I am your helpless servant, so why are you throwing me out? You are my only shelter. Please have mercy on me, o Radhe! Please bless me that before the evil moment of sitting on that train comes, may my soul leave my body!”

Suddenly he heard the sound of the approaching train. Barrelling in at full speed, it raced towards the young Babaji. But the train did not stop. It simply kept going, till it was out of sight. Radharani had heard his prayer! And so the young Babaji made up his mind to return to Kamyavan.

Siddha Jaikrishna Das Babaji’s altar

Meanwhile in Kamyavan, Vrinda Devi appeared to Jaikrishna Das Babaji in a dream and scolded him saying, “Why did you send that boy outside of Braj? His guru-pranali is on your Beloveds’ altar!”

Baba jolted awake, but Vrinda Devi had disappeared. Weeping, he mentally begged her for forgiveness.

When the sun rose, he bathed in Vimala Kund and woke up Shri Radha-Madanmohan. And it was true. The young Baba’s guru-pranali was there on the altar.Embracing that sacred manuscript to his heart, he went to the temple of Govind Dev where the ancient deity of Vrinda Devi resides.

There he sat in meditation, weeping and praying to the goddess with a mixutre of thanks and longing, hoping that the young Babaji would return home. Baba did not eat or drink anything the whole day out of anxiety.

Around sunset, the young Babaji returned home and bowed to Jaikrishna Das Babaji, bathing his feet in an endless river of tears.

Jaikrishna Das Babaji was overjoyed and embraced the young Babaji. After taking prasad together, the two revealed to each other the great mercy received from Radharani and Vrinda Devi. After this incident, Jaikrishna Das Baba’s fame began to spread throughout Braj Mandal.

To be continued…

(These stories from the life of Siddha Jaikrishna Das Babaji are taken from Shri Haridas Das Babaji’s Gaudiya Vaishnav Jivan and Dr. OBL Kapoor’s Braj ke Bhakt and The Saints of Braj.)

The post Siddha Jaikrishna Das Babaji of Kamyavan (Part 1) appeared first on Vrindavan Today.

Mathura, 2017.04.09 (OI, GKT, LSI) Over 5,000 cases were settled at a mega People’s Court (lok adalat) organized by the Mathura District Legal Service Authority on April 8th.

Lok adalats or people’s courts help ease the burden of the regular court by settling pending cases in their jurisdiction. These courts settle disputes such as traffic accidents, divorce settlements and so forth.

The lok adalat aims at fast and fair resolution, and is not as strict as the regular court regarding application of the law. Both parties in a case must agree to use the lok adalat, and no fees are charged. If the case is already pending in the court, court fees are refunded if the case is settled in the lok adalat.

“A total of 5,055 cases were settled today and an amount of Rs 1,90,17,557 was realised [in the settlements] in different cases,” said district judge Ramesh Tiwari, who is also the head of District Legal Services Authority.

Two more mini lok adalat will be held on April 15 and April 22.

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Part of the Bhumi Puja

Vrindavan, 2017.04.09 (VT) ISKCON Vrindavan will offer an assisted living facility for elderly devotees. The project, organized by ISKCON Vrindavan Devotee Care and Community Serivces, was inaugurated on April 4th with a Bhumi Puja.

The mission of the new facility is to provide care for seniors who have trouble caring for themselves. In the beginning, the facility will feature fifteen small apartments with attached bathrooms, an elevator and a recreation area. There will also be several live-in caregivers, with a medically-trained professional on site. The center will provide battery-powered rickshaws to shuttle residents to and from the ISKCON temple.

ISKCON Devotee Care Director Prema Prakash Das said that devotees of all ashrams – whether they are brahmacharis, sannyasis or grihasthas – who have offered their lives for spreading the message of Krishna Consciousness, are eligible to live in the facility with a recommendation from ISKCON authorities. He hopes to provide services on a “pay as you like” basis; those who can afford to pay can pay, and those who cannot will stay for free.

ISKCON president Panchagauda Das said, “Srila Prabhupada wanted the devotees to come to Vrindavan to retire, to finish their days. We can see that our congregation is really growing and developing all over the world, and many devotees have spent many years serving in Srila Prabhupada’s mission. […] So we are trying to provide a small facility to assist devotees and help them to stay in Vrindaban.”

Devotee Care Executive Board (left to right): Shrimati Kusha devi dasi, Shri Prema Prakash Das, Shri Panchagauda Das, and Shrimati Gaurapurnima devi dasi

Land and a small building with several rooms were donated to the project by Shri Shyamasundar Dasji, a very senior devotee in ISKCON. The existing structure will be used primarily as an office and housing for caregivers. Donations are currently being accepted for constructing the main facility.

Prema Prakash Das added, “We are trying to develop this project in such a way that we are also able to help our local devotees and others whenever they have medical issues. We already have two Ayurvedic doctors, a naturopathist, an accupressure specialist, a dentist and an eye-doctor on board.”

ISKCON Devotee Care provides medical camps service of the devotees. One popular serivce is offered by a physical therapist from Delhi who can reportedly relieve any kind of joint and nervous pain without the use of medicine. His service is well-known at ISKCON Delhi, where local people, politicians and police alike come to find relief. This service is now being made available in Vrindavan as well every Saturday and Sunday, completely free of cost.

The Devotee Care Project is led by ISKCON Vrindavan’s temple president Shri Pancagauda Das, his wife Shrimati Gaura Purnima devi dasi, the director of Devotee Care Shri Prem Prakash Das, and ISKCON Vrindavan Community Services Director Shrimati Kusha devi dasi.

For more information on the project and related services, please contact: Prem Prakash Das at +91 88812 42466 or email VrindavanDevoteeCare@gmail.com

Some details from this article were taken from a previous publication by dandavats.com

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This is a continuation of the life story of Siddha Jaikrishna Das Babaji of Kamyavan, whose disappearance day was yesterday. Read the first part here. 

Radha Kund, 2017.04.09 (Vishakha Dasi for VT): The Raja of Bharatpur heard about Jaikrishna Das Babaji and became very anxious to have his darshan. Baba, however, refused to meet the Raja. He never met with worldly-minded people.

One day while Baba was out collecting alms, the Raja came to Baba’s hut disguised as a poor farmer. He sat down in the doorway and waited for Baba to return. But as Baba was walking towards home, he suddenly stopped and turned back towards the village.

Ghat of Vimal Kund, Kamyavan (P.C. Manorama Dasi)

As he walked through the village, Baba cried, “O Brajwasis! O my friends! My hut is on fire! Please go and put it out!” The villagers quickly ran to Baba’s cottage, but they did not see any fire. They only saw the Raja sitting there, dressed like a farmer. With folded hands, the Brajwasis begged the Raja not to force himself on Baba anymore. Reluctantly, the Raja went home, and Baba washed the place where he had been sitting with water and cow dung. But Baba’s blessings were with him; his heart soon became humble and free from worldly attachment.

One day at midday, something happened in Baba’s lila meditation which made him very sad. He started weeping in deep separation from Shri Krishna.

Suddenly there was a knock at Baba’s door. He did not answer it. He could hear some children playing outside.

“Bengali Baba! Bengali Baba! Open your door!” said one boy. Baba said nothing.

“Baba, o Baba! We are very thirsty! Please give us some water!” As usual, some boys had come to disturb his meditation. He kept silent.

“Bengali Baba!! I know what kind of nice bhajan you are doing! You heartless Baba, you are as cold blooded as a butcher! Hey! Come out of your hut and give us water! We are sooo thirsty!!”

Baba burst out of the door with a stick in hand. But as soon as he opened the door, he was surprised to see the banks of Vimal kund filled with so many beautiful cows, and many cowherd boys, each surpassing the other in beauty. His anger disappeared immediately.

He said to the ringleader, “Lala! Which village do you come from?”

“I’m from Nandgaon,” the boy replied.

“What’s your name?”

“Kanhaiya.”

Bābā turned to another boy and asked “What’s your name?”

“Baldau,” the other boy replied.

Kanhaiya said, “Baba, don’t waste time. First give us water, then talk.”

Baba did not have any cups or glasses. So the boys cupped their hands and Baba poured water directly into them from his water pot.

As Baba served the water, Baba looked into Kanhaiya’s eyes, and Kanhaiya stared into Baba’s. It was like some magical spell, so absorbed they were in each other. Kanhaiya wasn’t drinking; he was only looking at Baba with so much love. The water fell like a stream on the ground, but neither of them noticed.

The boys started laughing and clapping their hands, and it was only then that Kanhaiya realised what he was doing, and started to drink.

When he was satisfied, Kanhaiya said, “Look, Baba! We come from a long ways away every single day, and we don’t get anything to eat or drink. We are going to come to you every day from now on. Keep some snacks and drinks for us.”

Baba said, “No, Lala! Don’t come and disturb me like this every day!”

Baba immediately went inside and shut the door. But there was something so mysteriously attractive about those boys. He felt the irresistible urge to have another look. But when he opened the door, all the beautiful cows and cowherd boys were gone. How could they disappear in just a moment? Was it all a dream? A hallucination? No. The water Baba had spilled was still there on the ground. And their sweet fragrance still lingered on the banks of Vimal Kund.

Suddenly Baba realized that Kanhaiya must have really been Kanhaiya… he was Krishna himself, whom Baba worshipped. A wave of bhaav flowed through his body like an electric current, and tears began to flow. He was overwhelmed with joy to think that Krishna had come… but when he remembered he told him never to come back, all his joy turned into grief. The sadness was so intense that he felt his heart would burst. Through his tears he thought he could see Kanhaiya, and Kanhaiya was saying, “Get up Baba! Don’t be sad. Tomorrow I will come back to you, and this time, I will never leave.”

The next day, an old Brajwasi woman came to Baba with a beautiful deity of Laddu Gopal. She said, “Baba, I am very old! I can’t serve my Gopal anymore. Please serve him from now on.”

Baba said, “How can I serve Him, mother? Gopal is a small baby, and needs so much care. Where will I get all the things he needs?”

“Don’t worry about that, Baba,” said the old lady. “I wil provide everything he needs.” Speaking thus, the old woman went away.

Vrinda Devi (P.C. Manorama Dasi)

That night in his dream, he saw that the old lady was actually Vrinda Devi, showering him with her blessings.

Krishna’s nature is topsy-turvy. Sometimes someone calls for him, but he does not come. Sometimes someone does not call for him, yet he comes. Sometimes he even comes to those who completely snub him. Many great ascetics call and call for him till they are worn out, and he does not even appear in their mind’s eye.

But for his accomplished devotees, he is always right behind them.

After serving Gopal for some days, Siddha Jaikrishna Das Babaji left his body on chaitra shukla dwadashi. Perhaps he heard the flute song of Shri Krishna and departed. His last words were, “Where is my shawl? Where is my blouse? Where is my beautiful skirt?”

Gopal! I want to ask you something. Will you answer? You flew just like a honeybee from Bengal in the form of Shri Radha-Madanmohan, to relish the sweetest nectar of Baba’s loving seva. So many days you drank that honey, but still your thirst was not satisfied. So you came in yet another form to his humble cottage. Baba is Radharani’s maidservant; his power to serve you is as infinite as you are. Perhaps even if you took infinite forms, and enjoyed infinite service from him, still you would not be satisfied. Tell me, what was it about him that charmed you so?

Siddha Baba’s Gopal

(These stories from the life of Siddha Jaikrishna Das Babaji are taken from Shri Haridas Das Babaji’s Gaudiya Vaishnav Jivan and Dr. OBL Kapoor’s Braj ke Bhakt and The Saints of Braj.)

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Mathura, 2017.04.09 (OI): Social activist Madhumangal Shukla has demanded handing over the maintenance of Yamuna’s Ghats in Vrindavan to the Archaeological Survey of India for their proper upkeep.

“The ghats are losing their glory. The basic purpose of their construction by kings is being defeated owing to their neglect,” he said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said if the ghats are properly protected and maintained by ASI, it will attract domestic as well as foreign tourists.

Shukla citied the example of Vihar Ghat, unearthed recently along with 24 stairs by residents of Vrindavan. He said, the Ghat has not only has become an attraction for local residents as well as domestic tourists, but the daily aarati of Giriraj Mahraj in the form of a shila (a sacred stone) unearthed at the Ghat gives solace to hundreds of pilgrims daily.”

The proper management of the Ghats may also result in employment to local people, the letter stressed.

At present the Ghats are maintained by the municipality.

Vihar Ghat. Till recently, this ghat was buried under construction debris and earth. Now excavated by concerned citizens of Vrindavan.

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I take shelter of Krishna’s playground named Āsthānī at the base of Nandishwar Hill. It is a beautiful pavillion, lovingly made of large stones, by expert architects, set in a square shape. There Sri Krishna plays many fun games with his friends; thus it is anointed by the fragrance of Sri Hari’s lotus feet.

VERSE 62:

prītyā nandīśvara giritaṭe sphāra pāṣāṇa vṛndaiz
cātuṣkoṇye’nukṛti gurubhir nirmitā yā vidagdhaiḥ
reme kṛṣṇaḥ sakhi parivṛto yatra narmāṇi tanvann
āsthānīṁ tāṁ hari pada lasat saurabhāktāṁ prapadye

Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā: In this verse, Raghunath Das Goswami praises Sri Krishna’s playground named Āsthānī. āsthānī maṇḍapaḥ pāṇḍu-gaṇḍa-śailāsanojjvalaḥ. āmoda vardhano nāma paramāmoda vāsitaḥ (Radha Krishna Gaṇoddeśa Dīpikā) “On the white slabs of stone adjoining Nandishwar Hill is Āsthānī, the place where Krishna sits with his friends. He looks very beautiful sitting at this place.” Another name of this place, which is always scented by the greatest perfumes, is ‘Āmoda Vardhana.”

Sri Nandishwar Hill is the abode of many of Sri Govinda’s pastimes, and it is most dear to Vrajendranandana. sambhrājate priyatayā vrajarāja sūnor govardhanād api gurur vraja vanditād yaḥ (Vilāpa Kusumāñjali – 60) “Nandishwar Giri is most dear to Sri Nandanandan and is even more worshipable for the people of Braj than Govardhana!” Krishna is always intoxicated by the taste of the blissful games he plays here with his friends. Sri Nand Maharaj engaged different expert artistic architects in making a square platform here out of large jewel-studded slabs of stone where his Gopāl could play with his friends. How many sweet and humorous pastimes of laughter and joking Sri Hari expands here with his friends!

Das Goswami is a maidservant who has taken shelter of Sri Radharani’s lotus feet. Sometimes she goes to Nandishwar as a messenger who carries a message of virahiṇī Srimati, and sees Sri Krishna playing here on this platform. When Mādhava sees Srimati’s maidservant, he blooms up, as if his life is fulfilled! How wonderful is the majesty of Sri Radha’s love, that ānandamaya vigraha (Krishna, the embodiment of transcendental bliss) considers himself blessed when he sees her maidservant! Krishna is completely subdued by the love of Sri Radha, who is his pleasure-potency. Sri Hari, who perspires when he is repeatedly fanned by Sri Radha’s restless eyelids, who is agitated even when he lives in the city of her beauty and who remains thirsty, even though he drinks the nectar of her smile again and again, is the bestower of our delight!

In his maidservant form, Das Goswami experiences how this wonderful playground called Āsthānī smells of Sri Hari’s lotus feet. His heart and mind are intoxicated by this wonderful bodily fragrance. This bodily fragrance has the greatest influence on the young ladies of Braj!

netra nābhi vadana, kara yuga caraṇa,
ei aṣṭa-padma kṛṣṇa aṅge
karpūra lipta kamala, tāra yaiche parimala,
sei gandha aṣṭa padma saṅge

“There are eight lotus flowers on Krishna’s body – his eyes, his navel, his face, his hands and his feet – and these eight lotus flowers smell of lotus anointed with camphor.”

hema kīlita candana, tāhā kori gharṣaṇa,
tāhe aguru kuṅkuma kastūrī
karpūra sane carcā aṅge, pūrva aṅgera gandha saṅge,
mili ḍākā yeno koilo curi

hare nārīra tanu mana, nāsā kore ghūrṇana,
khasāya nīvī chuṭāya keśa bandha.
kori āge bāurī, nācāya jagata nārī,
heno ḍākāti kṛṣṇa aṅga gandha

(Caitanya-caritamrita Antya Ch. 19)

“When golden sandalwood with aguru (Aquilaria agallocha), vermilion and musk is mixed with camphor and spread on Krishna’s body it adds to Krishna’s original bodily fragrance and merges with it as one. That combined fragrance steals the bodies and minds of the women and makes their noses dizzy. It makes the women of the world dance like madwomen. Thus Krishna’s bodily fragrance acts like a robber.”

Radha’s maidservants perceive how this fragrance maddens their mistress with feelings of ecstatic love. Das Goswami says: “I take shelter of this Āsthānī platform, which is scented by the fragrance of Sri Hari’s lotus feet!” As a result of such surrender, Raghunath Das Goswami always wishes to experience the sweet pastimes that are taking place there.

giri-taṭe nandīśvare, vidagadha kārigare,
kṛṣṇa-krīḍā kautukera tare
vistṛta pāṣāṇa-vṛnde, catuṣkoṇa kore chande,
ye ‘āsthānī’ sunirmāṇa kore
śrī govinda sakhā saṅge, madhumaya krīḍā raṅge
yathā nitya korena vihāra
hari pāda-padma gandhe, āmodita ye maṇḍape,
āśrayete lālasā āmāra

“I want to take shelter of the platform called Āsthānī at the base of Nandishwar Hill, which was constructed in a square fashion with large slabs of stone by expert architects, where Sri Govinda always enjoys his honey-sweet games with his friends and which is delightful with the fragrance of Sri Hari’s lotus feet.”

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Vrindavan, 2017.04.06 (DJ): On taking over the UP Chief Minister’s post, Yogi Adityanath ordered a judicial inquiry into cost overruns in the outgoing government’s Gomati River project. Now it appears that this has led to a probe of irregularities in the riverfront project in Vrindavan, which was undertaken on the Gomati model much touted by the Socialist (SP) Akhilesh government.

Work on the project was started without the government making tender notifications or receiving bids, Rs 177.81 crore being allocated. No environmental clearance certificates were sought or granted by the relevant ministries. Thus Rs 40 crores was spent on creating a retaining wall with sheet piling, but now the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the High Court have found the work stopped work, declaring that the work causes a serious threat to the river’s ecology.

The goal of the project was the repair and beautification of old ghats on the Parikrama Marg and the construction of new ones, as well as the building of a large drain on the Vrindavan side of the Yamuna to prevent sewage from entering the river.

It seems that the executing agency Uttar Pradesh Project Corporation Limited (UPPCL) awarded the contract to a Meerut company without first inviting bids on the contracts. Work started in May 2016 on a large scale, but not only did the proper governmental departments not get Non Objection Certificates from the Environment Department and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), they did not get one from the Irrigation Department either before starting.

By September, about Rs 40 crores had been spent (about 6.2 million US dollars). A petition was filed on behalf of environmentalist Akash Vashishta in the NGT objecting that the work began without environmental clearance. Furthermore, it was said in his petition that widespread damage to the Yamuna riverbed was being caused by the parallel drain, which was being constructed improperly. This led to the court issuing a stay order in September 2016. The UP government and other agencies fought the stay order, but it was upheld in December of last year.

Meanwhile, Mahant Madhumangal Sharan Das also made a petition in the High Court. It was said that under the river front project, beautification of old ghats was to be done over a distance of nearly two km from Keshi Ghat to the Madan Mohan temple. The distance of the work site is just 44 meters from Keshi Ghat, which is within the 100 meters area protected by the Architectural Survey of India. After this, the High Court also gave a stay order.

So far, work on the parallel drain has been completed to an extent of 1.5 km and the sheet piling work three hundred meters. Mr. S.K. Goel, the CEC of the irrigation department said that the Commissioner of Agra Division told the High Court that the construction work at Keshi Ghat had no relation with the Jugal Kishore temple, which is a protected monument of the Archeology Department. Thus there was no need to seek permission from the ASI for the construction.

The project was meant to be completed by December 2016, before the elections, in a bid to woo Hindu voters away from the BJP.

The SP government made a mistake to approve the DPR (detailed project report) and release funds to the irrigation department without noticing that no Non Objection Certificate had been issued. Furthermore, officers did not hold any public hearings to get feedback from the people of Vrindavan. As a result, they did not recognize the extent of local objections to the project.

Some officials working on the Vrindavan project are also worried that the Gomati Riverfront investigation will lead to testing of the quality of the work that has been done. However, A.K. Vajpayee, a junior engineer of the executive body, said, “Let them investigate the work, what has been done is up to standard.”

Meanwhile it has been announced that CM Adityanath Yogi is likely to visit Vrindavan before the end of the month.

Concrete pipe for the parallel drain littering the Parikrama Marg.

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Mathura, 2017.04.10 (PTI): Two men have been arrested for allegedly robbing a Greek national onboard the Mangala Lakshadweep Express a fortnight back, police in Mathura said today.

On March 27, Angelica Elene was travelling to Delhi when the two accused, Faizan and Vinod Gupta, both residents of Ghaziabad, looted her purse after the train crossed Kosi Kalan station, Government Railway Police (GRP) inspector Vijay Singh said.

The duo escaped after pulling an alarm chain of the train, the officer said.

Upon reaching Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi, the woman lodged a complaint there and mentioned that the purse contained Rs 10,000 in cash, two mobile phones and her passport. The case was later transferred to Mathura GRP, he said.

The two accused were arrested yesterday from Mathura railway station and Rs 4,000 of the looted cash was recovered from them, police said, adding that the suspects had thrown the passport away as it was of no use to them.

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Vrindavan, 2017.04.12 (AU): Hanuman Jayanti was celebrated lovingly on Tuesday,  by the residents of Shri Krishna’s homeland, Vrindavan.

This year marked the forty-fourth anniversary of the Hanuman Jayanti festival organized by the Hanumat Ramayan Samiti at the Om Namah Shivaya Ashram in Vanshivat. Beginning from the ashram, a parade (shobha yatra) was taken out through Gyan Gudri, Gopinath Bazar, Pattharpura and several other major thoroughfares of the town, before returning again to the ashram. Hanumanji rode on a flower-decorated float, and stopped at various places for the faithful to offer worship. Devotees performed aarti and showed flower petals on Hanumanji to express their love for him. On other floats, various lilas of Shri Krishna and Shri Ram were depicted in tableau. Shri Gopal Krishna Shastri, Bihari Lal Vashishth, Banbihari Pathak, Dr. Gopal Prasad Sharma, Swami Narayanacharya, Radharaman Pathak and others were present.

Hanuman Jayanti was celebrated in various ways throughout Vrindavan. Some arranged non-stop readings of the entire Ramayan, and some offered beautiful palaces made of flowers (phool-bangla). In the morning at the Luteriya Hanuman Mandir, there was a recitation of Shri Ramcharit Manas and “Hanuman Chalisa” along with a havan (fire offering). In the evening a phool bangla was offered. Sevayat Mahesh Goswami offered the aarti and distributed prasad to all.

At the Singhapaur Hanuman temple in the morning, Hanumanji Maharaj was offered akhand path, special clothes and ornaments, 56 kinds of food offerings (chhapan bhog), and aarti. Special Hanuman pooja was also organized at Neem Karoli Ashram. At the Uddhav-Gopi milan sthal in Gyan Gudri, a continous reading of the Ramayan was held for Panchmukhi Hanumanji, as he enjoyed a beautiful phool bangla offered to him by his devotees. Prasad was distributed to conclude the program.

At Hanuman Teri, a seminar was organized on “Hanumanji’s devotion in human life.” During the program, Mahant Vrindavan Das and Dashrath Das said that another name for bhakti (devotion) is Hanumanji. By devotion to him, the soul is easily liberated from the worldly sufferings of Kaliyug. Ramsharan Das, Narsingh Ramayani, Krishnadas, Shyamdas and others were present.

In the temple of Shri Radha-Sneh Bihari Ji, the Akhil Bharatvarshiya Brahman Mahasabha organized a pooja of Hanumanji’s chitrapat (picture), praying for peace on earth and blessings upon the nation. Acharya Atulkrishna Goswami, Bihari Lal Vashishth, Balkrishna Gautam, Ramvilas Chaturvedi and others were attended the event.

The Women’s Satsang Mandal lovingly and enthusiastically celebrated Hanumanji’s birthday, which is also the 14^th anniversary of their association. Attendees included Rashmi Mishra, Priyanka Sharma, Pushpa Sharma, Chanchal Sharma, and Sudha.

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Vrindavan, 2017.02.14 (CofC): I am a 16-month-old black bull, thrown onto the streets after my mother stopped giving milk.

I have been scrounging the rubbish dumps and other places in Vrindavan where I knew I could get some food. I heard many people saying that I am a handsome bull, but that’s it: no food for my hungry body. The only one who really cared and gave me food was Mohanachandran, and the members of SCS and FAC.

One day I was hungry and could not find any food. As I was passing a vegetable stall, out of hunger I took one potato. But the next moment I collapsed with severe pain in my back right leg and could not stand. I realized that I had been beaten with a stick by the owner of the stall, and my leg was broken.

The stall owner, feeling guilty, made a tourniquet of bamboo and tied my leg with cloth. I crawled away to a quiet place at the back of the stalls and just laid there, not knowing what my fate would be.

Some neighbors took pity on me and gave me food and water. After two weeks of agony and pain, I heard the familiar voice of Mohan calling out “Shyam!” (that is what they call me). I heard him telling his friend that he had been looking for me for many days and was worried and concerned. He had asked around, and one of the house owners told him that I was lying at the back of the vegetable stalls.

When he saw me lying down with my leg wrapped in blood-drenched cloth, he was shocked and in tears. Immediately he called Care for Cows, whose staff came immediately and checked me out. They decided I had to be taken to Care for Cows Gaushala for treatment.

Photo Copyright: Care for Cows

The ambulance from the free cow ambulance service came, and I was transported to Kiki Nagla.

I was surprised to see the number of cow lovers and staff of CFC present to receive me. One brought me some gur, one brought some laddus, another brought me some water. One mataji (Nadia) started brushing me. I had never felt such love.

I was laid down on a carpet in a huge room, and my wound was cleaned and proper medical attention was given.

After three days in the Care for Cows Gaushala, I know that I am in the safe hands of kind and caring cow lovers. Dr. Pramod had a look at my broken leg and he is sure my wound can be healed, and I will be able to walk in 2 months. I am grateful to the members of Care for Cows, SCS Team, Archak (Ambulance), Dr. Pramod, and most of all my dear friend Mohanachandran.

Care for Cows does wonderful service, taking sick and injured cows off the streets, providing them medical treatment and a loving home at their gaushala. Please check out the Care for Cows website and donate if you feel inspired.

Photo Copyright: Care for Cows

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This is the continuing serialization of 252 Vaishnavan ki varta, the lives of the saints following Vitthalnath, son of Vallabhacharya. It has been translated from the original Braj Bhasha by Krishnaa Kinkari Devi. This is the fourteenth varta. See previous.

Varta 14

The story of Ganesh Vyas, a Srimali Brahmin who lived in the West.

*bhav-prakash*

Ganesh Vyas is a devotee of Satvik disposition. In the Eternal Lila his name is Pramodini (a gopi). She manifests from Ratikala and is thus a form of her Divine loving sentiment.

Ganesh Vyas was born into a family of Srimali Brahmins in the west. His parents died when he was only a few months old. One of his uncles took him into his home. He grew up there, and when he was about twenty he joined a group of people that was traveling to Mathura. They reached there after traveling for a few days.

At that time Sri Gusainji was residing in Mathura. He was performing his prayers on Visram Ghat. It was there that Ganesh Vyas had his sight.

He addressed him, “O, Maharaj! I am an orphan, having no parents. I take shelter in you. Please make me your disciple. Please give me some service.”

Sri Gusainji recognized him to be a Divine Soul and told him to take a bath in the Sri Yamunaji River. He bathed and came to Sri Gusainji. Sri Gusainji initiated him with the Name and Brahma Sambandha. He then employed him as a personal servant. Ganesh Vyas began to serve very lovingly.

*Part 1*

Once Ganesh Vyas was traveling to Dwarka to deliver some supplies to the Lord. One evening he had just left one village and was traveling towards another when it began to rain really hard. He looked around but could not see anywhere to shelter. Then he saw a temple underneath a spire. He ran towards it.

He saw that there was a statue of a goddess inside. There was lots of worship paraphernalia there but nobody to be seen. Ganesh Vyas thought to himself, “There must be a priest in this temple. Perhaps he has gone into the village. He will be returning soon.” Thinking thus, he found some shelter outside, put his luggage there and sat down.

Night fell but no-one came there. That Devi was very powerful: she looked after all her things herself. Offerings came to her on a regular basis from one King. She would eat them and then just sit there. If any Pujari dared to come there she would devour him. Thus she was famous in all the local villages. Worship paraphernalia would be donated but she collected them all and put them to one side.

At that time, one lone man came there to have her sight. He said to Ganesh Vyas, “Do not sleep here. No priest ever sleeps here. No-one can stay here.” Ganesh Vyas asked him the reason for this. He told him, “No-one stays here or sleeps here because if they did, the Goddess would eat them.” That man had the sight of the Goddess, told all of this to Ganesh Vyas and then departed.

Fearlessly, Ganesh Vyas went inside and put all the donated items in one corner. He bathed the Goddess, sounded the Lords name in her ear and put a Prasadi tulsi mala around her neck. He made her into a Vaishnava. He looked around and found all sorts of items lying there. Using them he cleaned the temple. He stayed there that night. He ate whatever Prasad he had with him and he drank water from a nearby well. Then he went to sleep.

That night the Goddess spoke to the king in a dream and told him not to offer her the type of things he had been bringing. She told him that she had become a Vaishnava, and that she would not now eat [meat] as before. She told him to employ a priest there to cook for her, and that she would eat whatever he cooked. The king was very surprised.

The next morning, Ganesh Vyas picked up his supplies and carried on his journey. The king then came to have the sight of the Goddess. He noticed that someone had washed the temple and bathed her. He noticed the tulsi mala tied around her neck. He was very happy to see all this. He then employed a priest to serve her and provided him with supplies for the daily offerings. The priest would cook and make the offerings to her and then he would eat.

*bhav-prakash*

This is the true form of an accomplished Vaishnava: they purify the gods, godesses and pilgrimage spots. This Vaishnava was so kind that he stopped his journey to fulfill that goddess’ purpose.

*Part 2*

Sri Gusainji would often be angry with Ganesh Vyas but he never let it bother him. He was a great Vaishnava. The more Sri Gusainji was angry with him the more pleased he became. He thought to himself, “I hope that Sri Gusainji will always be angry with me. He is only angry because he regards me as his close servant. Otherwise whom would he have to be angry with?”

*bhav-prakash*

This teaches that you should only be angry with those you know to be your own.

*Part 2*

Ganesh Vyas thus felt that Sri Gusainji’s anger was one of his great qualities.

After some more time, Ganesh Vyas left his body. One Vaishnava came to know this and went to relay the news to Sri Gusainji. When he heard those words, that Ganesh Vyas had left his body, his hair stood on end. Seeing this horripillation of Sri Gusainji one Vaishnava asked, “O, Maharaj! You always used to be angry with Ganesh Vyas! So now, hearng this news, why are you getting goose bumps?”

Sri Gusainji replied, “It would be impossible to find another sevak like Ganesh Vyas. There is no-one like him, nor will there ever be. I was angry with him, but he always regarded that as a good lesson. He never felt bad about it. He was very very close to me.” Hearing these words of Sri Gusanji the Vaishnava kept silent.

Thus concludes Varta 14, the story of Ganesh Vyas who was a recipient of Sri Gusainji’s great grace and an accomplished Vaishanva, although his story really has no end.

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Vrindavan, 2017.04.14 (VT): With the new Supreme Court ruling banning alcohol sales within 500 meters of national and state highways, liquor stores are shifting to markets and residential areas. In several areas of Uttar Pradesh, women are protesting this mass migration of liquor shops into their neighborhoods.

On Wednesday, the women of Mathura joined in the fight.

Outrage was directed at a newly-opened alcohol vendor at Krishnanagar Chaurah, where a group of ladies blocked access to the shop for a good forty-five minutes before police took control of the situation.

In front of the ancient Kankali Devi temple, demonstrators performed kirtan as they protested a liquor shop nearby. Women blocked the road at Bhuteshwar-Govardhan Chaurah, chanting slogans and demanding the closure of such ill-placed alcohol shops. The women brought traffic to a complete standstill for about an hour, until police assured protesters that the shop would be closed.

It’s not only the religious stigma against drinking that fuels the women’s fire; it is also a struggle against rampant alcohol abuse and the social terrors that go with it.

Prohibitionists argue that alcohol has never been an integral part of Indian culture. While brewed alcohol was a tradition, especially among India’s indigenous people, distilled alcohol was introduced during the colonial period. And Indians took to it without any of the associated western social and cultural rituals. As one anti-alcohol campaigner says: ‘Our upwardly mobile, globe-trotting young Indians proclaim it is all about drinking responsibly. How do I explain “responsibly” to a woman who has been beaten black and blue by her drunken husband? Maybe these youngsters have developed a culture of social drinking but look at the men in our villages and in poorer areas. They buy a quarter (180ml) of hard liquor and down it right there in the shop, then stagger home if they are lucky, or just collapse by the roadside.’ She argues: ‘For the wives and daughters of such men, only prohibition will do.’ – Mari Marcel Thekaekara, on Tamil Nadu’s women-led anti-alcohol protests in 2016

Full prohibition of alcohol may be unlikely in Uttar Pradesh, not only due to related problems like bootlegging, but also because of the huge amount of revenue alcohol brings in. The UP Excise Department’s projected income for the 2016-17 fiscal year was Rs 19,250 crore (almost 3 billion US dollars).

Related News: In dry Vrindavan, liquor on demand

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