Journey to the Holiest of Holy Lands- Vrindavan Dham Yatra Diary: Part 1

 Oct 29: The Yatra Begins

Hare Krishna dear friends. Today I am starting a journey to visit the holiest ot Holy Lands. The place where Lord God himself incarnated and engaged us his devotees in his divine pastimes.

Yes I am setting out for Vrindavan Dham. The place where our Lord spent his childhood. Today also is a day of significance in my life so I am happy I am starting this trip today.

I am at Bangalore International Airport right now for the first leg of my journey. Come along and take the trip with me.

Hari bol!

Day 1 and Day 2 (Oct 29/30), Vrindavan Dham: The Magical Land

The discerning notice that Vrindavan exists inside a bubble. Normally speaking Vrindavan appears to be another UP town, dusty, not well kept, with a bunch of crowded temples. But if you are able to see through the eyes of the devotee, the moment you step inside the Braj area the feel, the vibration changes. Every aspect seems to be connected to Krishna. Everyone seems to belong to Krishna, Every leaf, every stone seems to be waiting for Krishna to return from his trip to Mathura. The baited breath with which one waits for a loved one ...

The first two days of my trip has been, well Krishnamay, meaning filled with Krishna. Seeing the places associated with Krishna Leela and hearing about Him does give a amazing feeling of connectedness with Krishna. A unique feeling for me whenever I come to Vrindavan is to remember anew how much the Goswamees of the yore have served Lord here and what amazing examples of devotion and service they have left behind. During today's Vrindavan Dham Parikrama we visited many of the temples established by the Goswamee saints. At one place all the devotees sang a song honoring them.

Well more to come.

Radhe Radhe.

Nitai Gaur Premanande Hari Hari bol.

Jai Sri Krishna

Day 3: Oct 31: Soaking into the Spirit of Vrindavan

The Magic of Vrindavan is so strong and eternal because one can't think of Vrindavan without thinking about Radha and Krishna. Krishna is the Supreme Lord, the all attractive one, but one feels that at Vrindavan, Radharani's love for Krishna is the most potent feeling one gets.

The day started magically at Vrinda Kund, which is breathtakingly beautiful. The yatris (the cohort of devotees who travelling together) were also blessed to hear from a very senior Krishna Devotee, Rajshehekar Prabhu. His knowledge was so deep and demeanor so serene that it transported everyone to a magical land.

Later in the day we visited Barasna (Radharani's home) and Nandagoan (Krishna's childhood home). Nandagaon sits atop a hill and from there one of the pujaris pointed out a number of places that are associated with Sri Krishna's divine leelas.

In the evening a few of us visited Prem Mandir. It is really pretty.

Day 4: Nov 1: Prayers and Reflections

Today I broke ranks from my group and set out to explore Vrindavan myself. Firstly I simply had to go to Banke Bihari and Radha Ballav temples which weren't part of the group itinerary for the day, Second much as I love the community visits and Kirtans, you don't get the feel of a place until you venture out alone. Reflection is not a group activity.

For my adventures Lord Banke Bihari graced me with His darsan. Radha Ballab temple was closed but I spent good time at the mysterious Nidhiban where the Ras Leela is still believed to occur every night.

But I saw lot else as well.

One thing that you will immediately notice are the number of beggars, urchins and poor widows that line up the streets. Always poking and pulling, asking for help. Though for a moment one feels overwhelmed and irritated at the near constant pestering, one does realize that perhaps it is Vrindavan and places like this where such people rejected by society still are able to live out their lives and burn up their Prarabdha Karma. But it is true that seeing such squalor and poverty is makes one sad I bought the gaggle of children following me at Banke Bihari Poori and Dhokla. But the feeling of helplessness at not being able to do much hangs like a cloud. Respect for what organizations like Akshay Patra foundation and Ramakrishna Mission are doing to support such people increases many fold.

It is Karma, It is Krishna's Leela, It is apparent reality and not the real reality Brahman, it is random chance and there's no logic to suffering, the nature of life is Dukkha.. many theories crowd the mind. The enlightened sages perhaps have answers but we only have questions ...

Of course conmen abound too. In two occasions today I felt I was helping people in genuine need but got conned out of some money. The amount is not significant but does go on to show that Holy Land doesn't purify unless one puts their own effort. Or maybe it eventually will. Who knows?

All I can say is there's a lot to ponder on and by Sri Krishna's will ponder I will...

I ended the day as always praying to Sri Krishna and Srimati Radharani at Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir.

Jai Kanhiya Lal Ki.

Jai Sri Radhe Krishna.

To be continued …