Vrindavan, 2017.05.01 (VT): With Yogi Adityanath’s government focused on developing roads to and within the State’s pilgrimage destinations, the road to Govardhan is also getting an upgrade. A new six-lane highway will soon connect Govardhan to Jaipur and Agra.

The new highway will run from NH-2 at Chhatikara to Govardhan, then through Adeeng and Sonkh, before connecting to the Bharatpur highway. It is not clear if this will be an addition to the existing smaller road, or a completely new undertaking. Either way, the land for the project will be purchased by the government from local farmers.

A consultant from Jaipur presented the plan before the Deputy Chief Minister and the Public Works Minister, Keshav Prasad Maurya. Pending their approval, the project was to be submitted to the central government with a request for funds. It appears the plan has already been submitted.

Once complete, the new highway will be about 100 kilometres in length.

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.01 (AU, VT): A merger of the Vrindavan Municipality with Mathura seems imminent. But all over Vrindavan, Brajwasis are protesting against the merger.

On Sunday a major meeting was held at Sheelwali Kunj under the auspices of Mahant Vidyanand Ji Maharaj. A number of prominent sants and Brajwasis attended to denounce the municipal merger with a united voice.

Swami Chitt Prakashanand said, “Our own government wants to destroy our identity and culture. Vrindavan is absolutely unique and cannot be compared with any other place, including Mathura. The two cities can never be combined, just like oil cannot mix with water.

Another attendee, Sant Haribol Maharaj commented that, “No one has the power to take away Vrindavan’s identity. The Brajwasis are ready to go to any extent to protect Vrindavan.”

It was added that despite the holy nature of Mathura, it is not the same as Vrindavan even in Shri Krishna’s eyes, and combining the two towns is completely unacceptable from a spiritual and religious point of view. The government should consult the holy men of Vrindavan and understand their feelings before making such a monumental decision.

Acharya Mridulkant Shastri, Dr. Adityanand, Acharya Vishnukant Shastri, Sant Govindanand, Mahamandaleshwar Navalgiri, Gita Sharma, Govind Sharma, Bihari Pathak, Bantu Bhaiya, Sumit Gautam, Shivam Gautam, Hemant Bharti, Vishnu Sharma, Naveen Tentiwala and others were present at the meeting.

At the Shakkhar Sindhi Dharamshala, Nandkumar Pathak presided over a rally of Brajwasi Pandas against the combining of the two cities. The padadhikari of the sabha, Shri Ramnarayan Brajwasi, and Murarilal Thokdar said that if the government turns a blind eye to the Brajwasis’ request, then the Pandas of Braj are ready to take to the streets in protest. Another participant warned that the  government is playing with the sentiments of the people of Vrindavan, and that if the two cities are merged without their consent, there will be an uprising.

Shri Giridhari Brajwasi, Yogendra Brajwasi, Govind Pachauri, Sureshchandra Sharma, Mahesh Bharadwaj, Mohan Lal Sharma, Sureshchandra Shukla, Kanhaiya Thokdar, Krishnamurari Sharma, Kaushal Kishor, Bihari Lal, Govardhan Brajwasi, Deepak Ghaatwala, Shekhar Mukhiya, Pappu Thokdar, and Shyambihari Ji were amongst those present.

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.02 (VT): The world-famous widows of Vrindavan took to the streets on Monday to protest the proposed merger of Mathura and Vrindavan. Other elderly women and sadhvis also joined the demonstration, which paraded through the grand road in front of Shri Rangji Temple.

Bela Devi from Assam said, “Vrindavan is where Krishna played with Radha. But Krishna left Vrindavan and went to Mathura. He never came back, and his family and friends almost died from sadness. How can Vrindavan become a part of Mathura? We can never accept this. It is wrong on every level.”

The widows passionately discussed their objections to merging the two cities. For example: meat and alcohol are legally sold in Mathura, while they are banned in Vrindavan. Even the British banned hunting all around Vrindavan, out of respect for the strong religious sentiments of the local people. But if Mathura and Vrindavan are merged, the centuries-old prohibition will likely be destroyed.

“I did not leave my village in Bengal to live in a concrete jungle where meat and alcohol are sold in the streets,” commented Kanchana Devi. “If that was what I wanted from life, I could have just moved to Calcutta.”

“When I first came here,” she continued, “the forest was so beautiful that people would cry at the sight of it. We used to drink the water of the Yamuna river to sustain our lives. Now even the water pumps have started giving sewage instead of water. When I go for parikrama, I fear for my life. I have to dodge speeding cars and busses all the way. Now they want to make Vrindavan a real city. I would rather die than see that day.”

The people of Vrindavan certainly want development, but with a sane approach. The town is overflowing with historic sites, most of which are lying in a state of disrepair. But instead of being preserved, the wooded areas and ancient landmarks are being destroyed wholesale, and concrete buildings are built on top of them with government permission.

This is not development but destruction, pure and simple. Locals say that the Mathura-Vrindavan merger is yet another case of greedy people in the government looking for new ways to make money; nothing more than that.

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I worship the best of mountains, the mountains of Braj like Govardhan. Their colorful mineral pigments adorn Shri Krishna and his affectionate friends. By the sides of those mountains Krishna herds the cows, and play hide-and-seek with his friends, and in their secret caves he plays with Radha.

VERSE 65:

yeṣāṁ kvāpi ca mādhavo viharate snigdhair vayasyotkarais
tad dhātu-drava puñja citritatarais tais taiḥ svayaṁ citritaḥ
khelābhiḥ kila pālanair api gavāṁ kutrāpi narmotsavaiḥ
śrī rādhā sahito guhāsu ramate tān śaila varyān bhaje

Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā: In this verse Das Goswami praises Braj’s wonderful mountains, like Govardhan. In the previous verse he has praised Mansi Ganga, and as he does so he perceives the service Haridas Varya (the best of Krishna’s servants) Sri Giriraj offers to Sri Krishna, his friends and his beloved.

In this mood, he praises Sri Giriraj and other mountains of Braj. Sri Giriraj is the land where Sri Krishna freely plays with his friends.

paripūrṇatamaḥ sākṣāt śrī kṛṣṇo bhagavān svayam;
asaṅkhya brahmāṇḍa-patir golakeśaḥ parātparaḥ
asmin sthitaḥ sadā krīḍām arbhakaiḥ saha maithila;
karoti tasya māhātmyaṁ vaktuṁ nālaṁ caturmukhaḥ

(Garga Saṁhitā)

Sri Narad said: “O Lord of Mithila! Sri Krishna, who is the original Lord, the maintainer of infinite universes, and the Lord of Golok, resides on this Govardhana hill and always plays different games with the cowherd-boys there. Even the four-faced Lord Brahmā is unable to describe his glories!”

Before Sri Krishna comes to the base of the mountain to herd his cows with his friends, they first decorate their bodies with Giriraj’s colorful mineral pigments.

Srimad Roop Goswami has written: śaśvad viśvālaṅkaraṇālaṅkṛtimedhyaiḥ premṇā dhautair dhātubhir uddīpita-sāno (Stavamālā) “Sri Krishna, the jewel of the world, is himself decorated by the mineral pigments that beautify the slopes of Govardhan Hill and that are sprinkled with love for him.”

When the time for cowherding comes, Sri Krishna and his friends love to wear these colorful pigments, and clothes and ornaments made of leaves and flowers, more than ornaments of jewels and pearls. phala prabāla stavaka sumanaḥ piccha dhātubhiḥ, kāca muktā maṇi svarṇa-bhūṣitā apyabhūṣayan (Bhāg. 10.12.4) “Although the cowherd boys were already decorated by their mothers with ornaments of made of jewels, pearls and gold, they still decorated their bodies with different kinds of fruits, leaves, bunches of flowers, peacock feathers and colorful mineral pigments when they came into the forest.”

In this way, the cowherd boys also decorated Sri Krishna as they liked with sylvan clothing and colorful mineral pigments, let the cows graze in the large meadows on the slopes of Girirāj, and freely played games like hide-and-seek with Sri Krishna.

Although Sri Krishna enjoys playing different games with his friends in this way, his mind remains fixed on Sri Radha. In Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita it is seen: rātri-dina kuñja krīḍā kore rādhā saṅge; kaiśora boyos saphala koilo krīḍā-raṅge “Day and night he sports in the groves with Radha; in this way he made his adolescence a success.”

One may ask here: “If he plays with Sri Radha day and night, then when will he find the time to play in the meadows with his friends and to exchange love with his parents?”

Actually Sri Krishna always thinks of Sri Radha as he performs these other pastimes. Sri Radha, who is endowed with the mahābhāva known as mādana, pervades Sri Krishna’s entire awareness. From the first time he ever saw her in the beginning of pūrva-rāga, Sri Krishna has always been thinking of her.

nayāna putalī rādhā mora; mana mājhe rādhikā ujora
kṣiti-tale dekhi rādhāmaya; gaganeho rādhikā udoy
rādhāmaya bhelo tribhuvana; tabe āmi koribo kemon
kothā sei rādhikā sundarī; nā dekhi’ dhairaja hoite nāri
e yadunandana mane jāge; ki nā kore nava anurāge

(Pada Kalpataru)

“Radha is the apple of my eyes, and Radhika is shining within my mind. The surface of the earth is filled with Radha and in the sky Radhika also rises. The three worlds have become filled with Radha, so what shall I do? Where is that Radhika Sundari? I cannot remain calm if I don’t see her. Thus Yadunandana ponders: ‘What will he not do out of fresh passion?’”

Even though he may be intoxicated by playing with his friends around Govardhan Hill, Shyam is afflicted by the heartache of separation from Sri Radha. meanwhile one of Srimati’s girlfriends or maidservants keeps eager abhisārikā Sri Radhika in some cave of Govardhan Hill and comes to search for Shyam.

Seeing Shyam engaged in playing with his friends, they give him a hint in an unnoticed way that Sri Radha has come to meet him. Shyamsundar then leaves his friends on the pretext of admiring the natural beauty of the mountain and goes along with the sakhis to meet Sri Radha in a solitary cave of Giriraj.

Das Goswami says: “I worship these kings of mountains, like Govardhan, which are the abodes of Shri Radha and Krishna’s pastimes.” In other words, “I worship Sri Sri Giriraj and other mountains so that I can witness such romantic lilas of the Divine Couple there and be blessed by rendering services to the playful pair serving them with scented water and paan, and by fanning them.”

yāra dhātu drava puñje, vicitrita hoiyā aṅge,
snigdha yoto kṛṣṇa sakhā-gaṇe
yāra gairika drava guṇe, nija sama sakhā-gaṇe
sājāyeche madana mohana
vicitrita kalevare, sakhā saṅge khelā kore,
gocāraṇa korite korite
bhaji sei śaila śreṣṭha, yāra guhāya kṛṣṇa preṣṭha
vihariche śrī rādhā sahite

“I worship the best of Braj’s mountains, in whose caves Krishna enjoys with his beloved Radha and whose colorful mineral pigments are used by Krishna’s affectionate friends to decorate their own bodies and with which these friends, who consider themselves on an equal level with him, also decorate Madan Mohan beautifully before they all leave to take the cows to pasture.”

© Translated by Advaita dāsa in 1994
Source: Tarun Govinda Das, Flowing Nectar Stream blog.
(Slightly altered by the editor for Vrindavan Today)

The commentary of Sri Radha Kund Mahant, Pandit Sri Ananta Das Babaji Maharaj, is named Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā (a drop of the nectar of Stavāvalī).

It was published in Gaurābda 503 (1989 A.D.) by Sri Krishna Chaitanya Shastra Mandir, Vrajananda Ghera, PO Radhakunda (district Mathura), U.P., India.

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

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.03 (VT, DJ): Recently we reported about a new six-lane highway to be built from Chhatikara to the Bharatpur Highway via Govardhan. Now another important road of Braj will be re-done. The highway from Kosikalan to Govardhan, which runs via Nandgaon and Barsana, is to be widened into a four-lane highway.

Ten thousand trees are slated to be axed for the road-widening project.

The Public Works Department has yet to receive permission from the Forest Department for cutting the trees, nor has it obtained an NOC (Non-Objection Certificate) from the Ministry of Environment. However, once these permissions are in place, the work will begin and the trees will be killed.

The PWD will be expected to plant one and a half times the amount of trees cut, once the road is complete.

However, the people of Braj have their doubts. Similar projects have been done in the past, but the trees planted by the PWD have not grown well. An estimated thirty percent of them died, while others are struggling without proper watering, fertilizer, pesticide and so forth.

Many farmers also object to the planting of new trees on their land, saying they have already lost too much to the road-widening project.

The deadline for completing the project is set for December 19, 2017.

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Mathura, 2017.05.03 (VT): On Wednesday, the village of Madora in Mathura District decided to ban girls from using mobile phones outside of their homes.

By tightening control over girls, the village panchayat hopes to lessen eve-teasing incidents as well as stop women and men from falling in love and having relationships in a society where arranged marriage is the norm.

Girls who violate the new rule will be fined. Initial reports said that the fine is 2,100 rupees – a lot of money for a young village girl. However, later news stories claim the fine is 21,000 rupees.

There will be no fines for single men who use phones outside the home, however.

In the same meeting, the overwhelmingly Muslim community also pledged support for CM Yogi Adityanath’s campaign against cow slaughter, and promsied to turn violators into the police in addition to socially ostracizing them and fining them 2.5 lakhs.

Many outsiders are placing the two decisions in the same basket of “stone age thinking”, yet the people of the Mathura district are likely to appreciate the panchayat’s ruling on cow slaughter. Mathura is the district where Lord Krishna spent his youth, and the entire area is considered a holy land for Hindus.

The phone ban, however, is unique to Madora and will likely be perceived as extreme in other parts of Mathura.

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.03 (VT): Siddha Gauranga Das Babaji Maharaj had a special relationship with the trees of Vrindavan. He talked to them and read to them from scriptures like Radha Ras Sudha Nidhi and Vrindavan Mahimamrit.

When he first came to Vrindavan, Baba lived amongst the trees and creepers deep in the forest. His only posessions were the clothes on his back, a water pot and jap mala. To keep himself alive, he accepted alms from the Brajwasis.

Sri Gauranga Das Babaji Maharaj

One evening Baba returned late from madhukari (gathering alms), so he could not read to the trees like he usually did. As Baba lay down to sleep under one very large tree, he heard the tree speaking.

“Baba! Won’t you read to us today?”

Baba replied sorrowfully, “Maharaj! I have nothing. I don’t even have a lamp. How can I read to you in the dark?”

Softly and lovingly the tree said, “Just look inside my heart and take my gift for you.”

Baba saw a hole in the tree and peered inside. There he found a big candle and a box of matches. When Baba sat down to read, the big tree and all his neighbors were very happy.

(Unfortunately, that very tree was thoughtlessly cut down in 2009 and an ATM was built in its place. Judging by its rings and the width of its trunk, the tree was more than 200 years old. Baba’s disciples and grand-disciples were heartbroken by its loss).

Later in life, Baba lived in an ashram called Radharaman Nivas, in the Raman Reti neighborhood of Vrindavan. Even today the ashram is filled with beautiful neem trees.

The tree tied by Manohar Das

Baba never allowed anyone to pick the trees’ leaves and twigs, because he knew they were conscious beings. In fact, they are saints in the form of trees.

Once Baba asked his disciple Manohar Das to tie up a low-hanging branch of a big neem tree. The branch blocked the devotees’ view during Baba’s daily pravachan (spiritual discource). But when Manohar Das began to tie up the branch, Baba experienced severe chest pains as if he was having a heart attack. Only when the branch was cut free, the pain subsided.

The next day, a young Brajwasi boy came to Baba looking very sad. His body seemed to radiate a divine energy. Baba felt the boy looked familiar. Suddenly the boy started crying.

The boy said said, ¨O Baba! How could you tie me up? You have not come here to bind souls, but to set them free.” Baba then realised the boy was the tree personified. He bowed and begged forgiveness for his actions.

In his book The Saints of Bengal, Baba’s disciple Dr. OBL Kapoor writes,

Gesturing towards the neem trees of his ashram, Baba said, ‘If there is anything that afflicts you, do not worry. Go and tell your tale to a kalpataru (wish-giving tree) over there. Every tree in Vrindavan is a kalpataru. If you embrace them and speak your heart to them, they listen and help. There is nothing the trees of Vrindavan cannot help you with. They can even grant you the most cherished treasures your heart – Radha and Krishna – if you so desire.’

Baba continued: ‘Listen and I will give you an example. A young boy, aspiring for the darshan of Krishna, renounced the world and came to Vrindavan. Although he was from a high-class family and was brought up in the lap of luxury, he became a Babaji and lived in utter seclusion in the forests and practised bhajan thoughout the day. Only once in the evening he would go out into a nearby village for madhukari. He roamed half-naked, wearing only a loin cloth made of gunny.

‘One winter morning when the weather was drizzly, he began to shiver with cold. Since there was no other shelter in the forest, he sat inside the hollow of an old tree and began to meditate on Krishna, shedding tears in his remembrance.

‘After some time passed, he heard a voice coming from another tree in front of him.

‘That tree said to the tree in which Baba was hiding, “Look, a mahatma has taken shelter of you. Grant him your mercy.”

‘Why don’t you grant him your mercy?’ replied the other tree.

‘Then from the tree in front, a peacock flew down and stood before Baba with its tail unfurled. Then another peacock flew down, and another, till a semi-circle of peacocks was formed around Baba. And the next moment he saw standing before him, in the midst of all the peacocks, Sri Krishna Himself, with a peacock feather in his crown, smiling a bewitching smile, his lips kissing his beloved flute.’

Gauraṅga Das Babaji did not name the young Baba who was thus blessed with the vision of Sri Krishna by the mercy of the trees of Vrindavan. But as I came to know later, the story was about himself.

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.04 (VT, DJ):  Last week fifty school-age girls from Vrindavan had their photos secretly taken from inappropriate angles and uploaded on Facebook with lewd captions by an unidentified person.

The victims filed a complaint with police with the help of Dr. Lakshmi Gautam, president of the Kanakdhara foundation, after the matter was discovered.

Finding the police’s reponse insufficient, the girls protested at the police station. The demonstration was covered by the media, who helped broadast their demand of quick and firm action.

Soon after, the surveillance branch of the police department contacted Facebook’s headquarters asking for assistance. Within two hours, they had the information they needed to locate the suspect.

The suspect has not yet been named, but he has been apprehended and is currently undergoing questioning.

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Mathura, 2017.05.03 (DailyO): In the last few years, there has been a significant difference in the way Indians see homosexuality. With activists speaking out more openly against the draconian Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code — which criminalises “unnatural” sex — and progressive filmmakers, writers, journalists and students educating people on Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) rights and issues, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people who are opening up about their sexuality.

Just a week ago, the photographs of a lesbian wedding, the first of its kind in Punjab, went viral on the internet. The wedding of 44-year-old Manjit Sandhu from Jalandhar and her 27-year-old partner was a positive step in the fight to legitimise the rights of the LGBTQI.

In such a milieu, the case of Uttar Pradesh couple Reena Singh and Soniya is tragic and deeply disturbing. The two women were harassed by their family members and reportedly went missing because they dared to engage in a same-sex relationship.

According to a report in Newslaundry, 25-year-old Reena Singh and 22-year old Soniya — who wanted to marry each other — went missing on February 17, the day they filed a complaint against their parents at Mathura’s Raya police station.

The couple was caught in a “compromising position” and allegedly thrashed by Reena’s father. They claimed they were beaten up for being lesbians, and for indulging in an “unholy union”.

The police allegedly did not lodge an FIR following the couple’s complaint, with investigating officer Anil Kumar dubbing it a “family matter”. According to the police, the women may not have gone missing, but could have been sent to a relative’s house by their parents to keep the couple apart.

Since a missing person’s complaint hasn’t been filed by the families, the police reportedly said nothing could be done, terming it a “sensitive matter”.

Whilst they filed the complaint, Reena also spoke to 101reporters.com: “I love Soniya. I want to marry her. We will live together or we will die together. My father Laxman Singh beats me. He wants me to dump Soniya.”

According to Reena’s father Laxman Singh, “She [Soniya] is not a good woman. She will sell my daughter to sex traffickers. Reena has been brainwashed.”

On the other hand, Soniya’s brother Sanjay Singh Jatav said: “My sister got married in 2007. She never went to her husband’s home. She has filed for divorce. She should know such a relationship is not acceptable in our society. We really don’t know what to do.”

The attitude of the family members and the police, while reprehensible, only highlights the prejudices associated with homosexuality in India. The prevalence of same-sex couples is largely a trend gaining acceptance in metropolitan cities. In smaller towns and rural areas of the country, homosexuality is still considered a taboo. In fact, many think it is a disease that can be cured.

Gay relationships, besides not finding social sanctity in India, are hampered by Section 377 of the IPC, which criminalises homosexual acts. What is worse is that two months have passed since the women have gone missing. There’s no public outrage. No protests. No media outcry. No gay rights activists hitting the streets. It’s as if the two women never existed. Had it been Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai or Bangalore, it most probably would have been “Breaking News”. But this is Mathura, so the couple will not be missed – either by their families or by the media. – Saurabh Sharma

Close to home, self-styled yoga guru and FMCG evangelist Baba Ramdev famously — and entirely removed from science — said, “I guarantee to cure them of homosexuality… I invite the gay community to my yoga ashram and I guarantee to cure them of homosexuality.”

Colonial as it is, even Section 377 does not talk about homosexual marriage. It states that “whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine”.

Even so, the draconian law offers the orthodox, illiterate and the narrow-minded a tool to legitimise their worldview.

The generally dominant view in is that same sex marriage is wrong, unnatural and unacceptable to Indian culture.

What is most saddening is, thanks to social stigma, a story like this is more often than not swept under the carpet.

It is because of such entrenched stigma that a couple — who merely sought to give their relationship a name — has been missing for more than two months, and their disappearance hasn’t received any mainstream media attention.

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.05 (DJ, VT): The Central Urban Ministry on Thursday issued a list ranking the sanitation levels of 434 Indian cities. Mathura came in 352nd on that list.

It is a matter of great shame for the residents of Mathura that despite very public cleanliness drives over the past few years, not much seems to have changed.

On behalf of the Municipality, Manisha Gupta said, “Our city has a population of 6.5 lakh (650,000), but we only have 350 cleaning workers on staff. They cannot possibly keep such a large area clean. We have tried hiring cleaners on contract, but these people do not work.

“We will have to hire many more permanent sanitation workers in order to keep our city clean.”

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.06 (VT): A massive deity of Shri Sankarshan Bhagwan (a form of Dauji Maharaj) is being installed today at Sankarshan Kund in Govardhan.

The beautiful black deity was sculpted in Tirupati, in South India. A team of 22 artisans worked for over a year, sculpting the deity from a single block of black stone. It is 28 feet long and weighs 25 tons.

The deity of Sankarshan Bhagwan has made a highly-publicized eight-day journey by land from Tirupati to Govardhan via Hyderabad, Adilabad, Nagpur, Bhopal, Guna, Shivpuri, Gwalior, Agra and Mathura. Saints of Braj and Senior Officials of the UP Government are welcoming him at Sankarshan Kund today, where he will be installed in the kund atop a 12-foot high podium made in Jaipur.

Sankarshan Kund is one of the most important kunds (holy lakes) in the Govardhan area. It is named after Sankarshan, a form of Lord Krishna’s elder brother Balram, and the kund is named after him.

For the last fifty years, the kund was in a state of complete disrepair and was being used as a garbage dump for the local municipality. But recently, the Kund was rennovated by the Braj Foundation. The installation of Sankarshan Bhagwan is part of this project.

Sankarshan Kund is of special importance to the Sri Sampradaya. Many Sri Vaishnava saints of Braj did their spiritual practice here. The inauguration of the Sankarshan Kund rennovation project was presided over by the honorable Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami of the Sri Sampradaya, and 350 devotees came with Maharaj from Hyderabad to attend the function.

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.06 (VT): All the major community groups of Vrindavan have found a common platform in protest of the Mathura-Vrindavan merger.

The Vrindavan community has started an indefinite relay fast against the UP Government’s proposal of merging the civic bodies of Mathura and Vrindavan to form a combined Municipal Corporation, which is to be named ‘Mathura-Vrindavan Nagar Nigam’.

The relay fast will continue indefinitely, until the demands of protestors are met

The hunger strike began at 10 a.m on Thursday following a rally of 200 people, which protested through the streets of Vrindavan starting at Sheelwali Kunj in the Brahma Kund area. The protest reached the clock-gate of the Municipality where they began a sit-in. A relay fast will continue until their demands are met.

The demonstration is being organized under the banner of ‘Sarvadaliya Anishchitkalin Kramik Anshan Samiti’. Various groups are taking turns to participate in the fast. A motorcycle rally was also taken through the town, in which hundreds of youths participated. The protest is growing stronger with each passing day.

Community leaders explained to the masses why the proposed merger would bring an end to the glorious past of Shri Dham Vrindavan. Prominent members of the community spoke at the event and explained their reasons for rejecting the government’s plan to merge Vrindavan and Mathura as a single municipal corporation.

“The merger has nothing to do with development. Perhaps Vrindavan alone has received more funds in the last five years than what a Municipal Corporation would get,” said Shri Mridul Kant Shastri, a prominent Bhagvatacharya. He added, “Since the time of Lord Krishna, the culture of Mathura and that of Vrindavan are totally different. They are also incompatible. When Shri Krishna went to Mathura, the gopis followed him only up to Akrur Ghat. They would not leave Vrindavan. There is a profound sweetness of love in Vrindavan that cannot be found in Mathura, or in any other holy place. For this reason, the two cities cannot be joined from a religious standpoint.”

Shri Krishna Saras said, “If a merger of Vrindavan into Mathura occurs, Vrindavan will become a mere colony of Mathura and the unique identity of this holy dham will be destroyed. Even the name of the town will change from Vrindavan to ‘Mathura-Vrindavan’. The Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority has already done substantial damage to Vrindavan. They have allowed uncontrolled development without proper planning. The MVDA has approved and allowed mass deforestation, construction on the Yamuna floodplain, as well as huge unsightly buildings that mar Vrindavan’s skyline and obscure the temple spires.”

Shri Sumit Gautam from the Vrindavan Swambhiman Manch said, “The merger would cause a hundred times the damage we have seen so far. It will become impossible to stop the sale of meat, eggs, fish and alcohol in Vrindavan after a merger with Mathura. As of now, Vrindavan is a dry city. Just a few years ago, a license to sell liquor was given by the Excise Department to a shop in Vrindavan’s Chaitanya Vihar, after which local residents torched the shop. The people of Vrindavan do not want these negative influences in our town. Yet, if Vrindavan merges with Mathura, these types of shops will definitely start operating with full permission of the government.”

Vrindavan’s youths joined the motorcycle rally against the Mathura Merger en masse

Swami Maheshanand Saraswati said, “There will be a sudden increase in taxes on property, water and so forth. Those who live in Vrindavan as renounced Babajis and Matajis will have trouble surviving the way they do now, living and worshiping in small and simple huts, just as they have for the last five hundred years. In addition, the entirety of Vrindavan will be re-zoned as a city.”

Pandit Shivam Gautam and Shri Raghav Bharadwaj added, “New gaushalas will not be allowed, and Brajwasis will no longer be allowed to keep cows at home.”

“Vrindavan has received a lot of funding from the government over the years toward its development. The wealth will be dispersed and much of it will go to Mathura, if Vrindavan and Mathura are merged,” said Shri Virendra Sharma.

Dr. Devendra Chaitanya Brahmachari, representing Braj Vrindavan Heritage Alliance said, “Even the Mughal Emperor Akbar, presiding over his empire from Lahore, desired to give respect to Vrindavan after hearing its glories. He ordered Abu Faizal to draw up a boundary joining the recognized villages of Dhaulera, Dusayaj and Rajpur Mauja, thereby establishing Vrindavan as a legally recognized city of the Mughal Empire. And again, in 1866, the then-British government also recognized the municipality of Vrindavan as separate from Mathura.

“The irony is that exactly 150 years have passed since then. To remove Vrindavan’s separate identity this year, on the anniversary of its legal establishment, would be tragic indeed.”

Some speakers provided alternatives to the merger of the civic bodies.

Shri Yogesh Dwivedi from the Bahujan Samaj Party said, “If the boundary of Vrindavan is extended by just ten kilometers, it can be upgraded to a Grade A municipality. This would be a much more appropriate approach to development here.”

Jagannath Poddar from Friends of Vrindavan suggested, “The old city, i.e the area within the panch kosi parikrama should be given heritage city status and preserved accordingly. New construction should follow certain guidelines to ensure the preservation of Vrindavan’s mood, and the cutting of old trees should be strictly forbidden. A shrine board could also be formed on behalf of Vrindavan, Govardhan, Gokul, Barsana and so forth. These would help run the holy towns in addition to the municipalities and Nagar Panchayats.”

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Mathura, 2017.05.05 (PTI): The body of an unidentified person, who had been found dead, was allegedly sold to a private medical college in Mathura by policemen, prompting the authorities to order a departmental inquiry.

“It is a serious matter and needs a thorough probe. If found guilty, action would be taken against a constable posted in Kosi Kalan police station who was tasked with carrying out the last rites,” Superintendent of Police (Rural) Arun Kumar Singh said today.

He said efforts were on to unearth a racket involved in illegal sale of bodies.

Mathura Chief Medical Officer R K Nayyar denied issuing any order to hand over the body to the private medical college.

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.07 (AU, VT): UP Power Minister and MLA from Mathura Shrikant Sharma peformed an inspection of Mathura’s sanitary system on Saturday.

The inspection was in response to the recent survey by the Ministry of Urban Develoment, in which Mathura ranked as one of India’s 100 dirtiest cities. Sharma also inspected the sewage treatment plant (STP), and instructed Mathura’s DM, Shri Arvind Malappa Bangari, to make sure the STP runs smoothly.

At the end of the inspection, Sharma promised that Mathura would be completely clean by October 2, 2018. (October 2nd is Gandhi Jayanti, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.) Cleaning Mathura, he said, is a priority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and there will be no shortage of funds to make this happen.

Over the years, there has been constant talk about cleaning Mathura and Vrindavan, but very little action to follow it up. Sharma expressed anger and frustration at the situation, saying that when thousands of devotees are coming to Mathura from all over India and abroad, every single day, there is no excuse. The land of Lord Krishna should be number one in the nation in matters of cleanliness.

Shrikant Sharma performing an inspection in Mathura (P.C. Amar Ujala)

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Agra, 2017.05.05 (Anuja Jaiswal, TNN): After Ascetics, BJP activists in Vrindavan are opposing their own government’s move to merge the municipalities of Mathura and Vrindavan and rechristen it as Mathura-Vrindavan Municipal Corporation.

The BJP activists have launched a protest and have threatened to continue it till the decision is reversed.

Talking to TOI, BJP city president, Rajesh Pundit said that they were all committed for development but not at the cost of Vrindavan, which would lose its identity with the proposed merger.

He said the temple town has maintained its unique identity by making it free from meat and liquor sales, which would be at threat after the merger of the municipalities. He said they would oppose the merger tooth and nail.

Former city chief of BJP, Srikrishna Saras said with the merger Vrindavan would hold its special identity and we expect the government to decide on the issue after considering the sentiments of the residents of this town. “If residents of Vrindavan don’t want to merge their municipality with Mathura then why is the government forcing them to do,” said Saras. He said, it’s unfortunate that the government is not listening to public’s voice.

Deepak Goyal, vice president of Sarvdaliya Sangharsh Samiti, which too has joined the protest, said the government would have to pay dearly for ignoring public opinion. “They should not forget that they have got this massive mandate because of public sentiments and ignoring them would be counter productive”, he said.

The post Now BJP opposes merger of Vrindavan and Mathura municipalities appeared first on Vrindavan Today.

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.08 (VT) The Appearance Day of Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu, the founder of the Radhavallabh Sampraday, was celebrated on Saturday.

Shri Hit Harivansh’s family was from Deoband in Northeast Uttar Pradesh. His father, Shri Vyas Mishra, was a Gaur Brahmin who, according to the Tarikh-i-Deoband, was employed by the Mughal Emperor Humayun.

One summer, as he was travelling West with the royal caravan from Agra, they crossed the land of Braj. It was ekadashi when Shri Vyas Mishra’s wife gave birth in Braj’s Baad village, and thus Shri Hit Harivansh appeared in this world. The year of his birth is disputed, but it is somewhere around the year 1500 A.D.

Despite having been born a Brajwasi, Shri Hit Harivansh ji spent his childhood with his family in Deoband. It was there that, according to Shri Radhavallabh Sampraday, he received mantra from Shri Radha in a dream, thus becoming Her disciple. In another story, the Gaudiya Sampraday says that Shri Gopal Bhatt Goswami gave initiation to Shri Hit Harivansh on his way to Nepal, although the Radhavallabh Sampraday does not accept this account.

In the year 1534, Shri Hit Harivansh returned home to Braj. Thereafter, he lived in Vrindavan permanently. There he established the Shri Radhavallabh Temple and promoted the worship of Shri Radharani as the Supreme Power. His beautiful songs, full of love for the Divine Couple Shri Radha and Krishna, still resound through the narrow pathways of Vrindavan.

Shri Hit Harivansh’s Appearance Day was celebrated with great joy at the Shri Radhavallabh Temple in Vrindavan and related ashrams. Devotees offered worship to Shri Hit Harivansh at the Bade Raasmandal. On Saturday morning, abhishek was offered to Radhavallabhji amidst the singing of Shri Harivansh’s divine pads. After that, the Shri Radhavallabh Lal gave His darshan sitting in a flower-palace.

Devotees sang kirtan in procession through the streets of Vrindavan, finally reaching the Bade Raasmandal. There Samaj Gayan (a type of traditional singing) was was offered to Shri Radharani. Some rasik saints put on sakhi vesh and danced with great feeling, inspiring all the devotees. Soon they all began to dance. The blissful festival lasted late into the night.

Shri Radhavallabh Lal

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.08 (VT): Four hundred and seventy five years ago, Shri Radharaman manifested from a shaligram shila by the love and prayers of the great saint Shri Gopal Bhatt Goswami. This most special occasion will be marked by a grand festival at the Shri Radharaman Temple.

May 10th is the main day of the festival. A grand bathing ritual or maha-abhishek will be offered to Shri Radharaman Lal. The abhishek and related ceremonies will start around 8am and last till after noon. Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s wooden seat and prasadi cloth will also be brought out for darshan on this day.

Devotees of Radharamanji from all over India and around the world will fill the temple to witness the divine event. But those who cannot come to Vrindavan are still looking forward to enjoying the festival remotely; Radharamanji has a vast social media following, with well over half a million people following his darshans on Facebook alone.

Celebrations began on May 6th and will last till the 17th. The special festivities include a daily flower-palace (phool bangla) and chappan bhog, congratulatory hymns (badhaai-gaan), 64-mahantas bhog aradhana (13th May), and a boat festival or nauka vihar (15 May).

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Vrindavan, 2017.05.08 (VT): Preparations for Narsingh Jayanti (The Appearance Day of Narsingh Dev) are in full swing in all the Narsingh temples in Vrindavan.

Masks of the Holy Face of Lord Narsingh Dev are being prepared, along with costumes and props for the performance of Narsingh lila. A traditional bathing ritual or abhishek is being organized in all the temples. Devotees are giving their all in prepartion for the festival.

Central to the tradition is the ancient Narsingh Mandir located in the Athkhambha area of the town. Temple sevayat Shri Dinesh Chandra Sharma said that their festival tradition is centuries old. In addition to lila performance and abhishek, the celebration will include chappan bhog and devotional songs.

Maha abhishek will be held at about 12:30 in the afternoon. In the evening, the lila of Narsingh Dev will be enacted at Athkhambha Chauraha. The event will also feature an exhibition organized by the Braj Culture Research Institute on the Narsingh Lila tradition, which will be held on Wednesday, the day after Narsingh Jayanti.

Brajwasis will be seen performing Narsingh Lila through the streets of Vrindavan in masks and full costumes on the evening of chaturdashi and throughout the following day (Vaishakh Purnima).

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I always worship all the rivers and lakes of Vraja, in whose waters Krishna plays with his charming friends in the summertime, eager to defeat these friends, that also all desire victory, and with whom he was blissfully herding the cows, by lovingly splashing them with water.

VERSE 66:

“Krishna freely plays in Vrindavan with his equal friends, with whom he enjoys herding the cows. When they hear his flutesong, the mobile and immobile beings shed streams of tears, shiver and get goosepimples of ecstasy.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhye 21.108)

Although it is eternally spring in Sri Krishna’s playground Vrindavan, where there is no influence of material time, still the seasons like summer and the monsoon appear to nourish the humors of his divine pastimes. In the hot season Krishna herds the cows, taking them to drink the water of the many rivers and lakes in Braj, and freely playing himself in these water bodies with his friends.

Krishna gathered his cows, that were wandering here and there, with the sound of his flute and brought them to the Mānasa Gaṅgā-lake with the cowherdboys to make them drink. Then he made all the cows and cowherdboys drink nice cool and clear water. He himself also drank and spent a lot of time bathing and playing in the water.” (Govinda-līlāmṛta 6.36-37)

In his Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Sripad Sanatan Goswami gives a delightful description of how Śrī Krishna and his cowherd boyfriends desire to defeat each other during their watersports in the Yamuna:

As Krishna and his friends were splashing each other with water Krishna sometimes defeated his friends and sometimes the boys defeated Vinoda-kovida, Krishna, who is expert in having fun, by splashing him with water to his delight.

Sometimes Śrī Krishna and his friends played sweet music on the water, sometimes they swam along with the stream of the Yamuna and sometimes they swam against the stream. Sometimes Krishna played a joke on the boys by concealing his Śyāma-body in the blue Yamuna water and hiding his face in a cluster of blue lotus flowers, so that nobody could distinguish him anymore.

The boys then began to search for him whose darshan is their very lives, and when they could not find him they began to weep loudly in great anguish. Hearing their weeping, Śrī Krishna, the Joker, laughed and came out of the lotus cluster. Seeing him back, the dearmost friends began to run and jump around in front of him.

After this Śrī Krishna enjoyed different water games with them. He strung wonderful garlands of lotuses on strings of lotus stems and decorated his friends with them, and his friends reciprocated by decorating him likewise. Finally they all came out of the water onto the shore. (Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta 2.7.46-51)

Śrī Hari plays such competitive watersports with his friends in Radhakuṇḍa, Śyāmakuṇḍa, Pāvana Sarovara, Kusuma Sarovara and other large lakes. In this way Śrīpāda Dāsa Goswami reveals these endlessly sweet transcendental pastimes, calling Śrī Krishna gopendra divyātmaja, the divine son of the cowherd king. Das Goswami says: “I always worship all these lakes and rivers!”

“The divine son of the cowherdking, who is Cupid in very own person, always sports in the waters of Radhakuṇḍa and Yamuna when he herds his cows there in the summer.”

“Govinda eternally plays in the water with his dearmost friends, intoxicated by the flavours of loving games he plays with them. Desiring victory in these sports, Govinda sprinkles them with water.”

“His friends, who also desire victory, constantly splash him with water. I will worship these lakes and rivers and will become their follower; this desire has awoken in my heart.”

AFP/Getty Images

800080;”>Devotional songs in Bengali that follow each commentary were composed by Dr. Haripada Sheel.

800080;”>More of Ananta Das Pandit’s writings in English translation can be found at Tarun Govinda’s blog, Vraja-vilasa : The rivers and lakes in the hot season appeared first on Vrindavan Today.