The Hunt for Paradise: Journey to the Holiest of Holy Lands- Vrindavan Dham Yatra Diary: Part 2: The Conclusion

Day 5: Vrindavan: Surrendering to Krishna

Read Part 1 Here.

There are two Vrindavan Dhams. One that you see as soon as you step in, the other you don’t immediately see.

The first Vrindavan is this piece of magical land where Sir Krishna, the Supreme Lord God, Svayam Bhagavan, Himself spent his childhood during his incarnation on Earth. A land of piety, beauty and deliverance for us his devotees. But at the same time also a place where you can witness poverty, squalor, con artists, sometimes even roadside brawls and fights. This Vrindavan is, the world of duality, the representation of Samsara, the Jagat. This is the physical plain where the drama of life as we understand it plays out in its stark vividness. Experiences that entangle us either by attracting us or repelling us, the Raga and Dwesha of the conditioned mind, (the mind that knows not the other Vrindavan) are all to be found here. This Vrindavan is also verily the place which allows you to raise yourself and find the Other.

What is this other Vrindavan, you ask! Well, this other Vrindavan can’t really be Objectified and described in words. However, it can be lived in. Curiouser and Curiouser! Like Alice, let us explore.

First of all, the other Vrindavan I am talking of isn’t some faraway exotic place, it actually shares the Space and Time dimensions with the Physical Vrindavan! Meaning that Vrindavan is available to you here and now. It isn’t something you need to go somewhere to reach nor something that will be available to you at a different time like after death in case you have lived a pious life. No, it is available immediately for you to find and reside in it.

However, there is just one precondition. You need to be able to discern it as it appears in your consciousness through the infinity variety of in which creation manifests itself. In other words, you need to be able recognize this Vrindavan underlying reality of the physical Vrindavan, nay the creation itself.

So, what is this Real Vrindavan?

This real Vrindavan that many also call Brahman, is the very Existence itself from which everything that we see as physically existing borrows existence for a little while. It is the One universal Consciousness that shines forth through every apparently conscious mind, infinite in every sense for there is nothing else. Ever pure, ever unattached it is the real Self behind every single self that exists.

Satyam, Jnanam, Anantham.

You can tune into that Vrindavan, as you withdraw from the Physical aspects of Holy Vrindavan. The first impression that you perceive of this is as inexplicable feeling of bliss or Ananda that envelops you and literally threatens to overwhelm you. If you have read my previous posts you will remember how from the very moment that I had stepped inside Braj, I had confessed to the feeling of entering a bubble of happiness, feeling all Krishnamay and everything? In hindsight I feel it was just that in His infinite mercy Sri Krishna had given this most fallen and unworthy soul, a glimpse of the Real Vrindavan. A taste of what lay in wait if I could find the pathway to get to the real Vrindavan.

Why should we even want to find this pathway?

Simple, because we desire, above everything else, Happiness. But every single worldly happiness we pursue in this physical plain either comes to an end or turns into a source of utter unhappiness. It is an unending cycle.

Vrindavan however provides the solution. Upon attaining that Vrindavan, it is said one experiences complete cessation of sorrow (atyantika-dukha-nivritti) and attainment of supreme happiness (paramānanda-prāpti). One who has reached this Vrindavan never has to return to the physical plain of existence ever again. Once the state of knowing the Ultimate Truth about oneself is achieved, it is permanent, unending state of infinite bliss.

I would strongly recommend the talk by Swami Sarvapriyananda where he describes the Ultimate Truth.

How does one get about go about reaching this real Vrindavan?

No one can enter the real Vrindavan without Sri Krishna’s grace. Inviting thing this grace needs you to have the treasure of Krishna Bhakti which only Srimati Radharani can bestow upon you. Radhe, Radhe, Shyam Dila De, the heart of the devotee cries out. Lord Krishna also has unambiguously declared the supremacy of Bhakti.

But parabhakti is hard, as the devotee tries to focus his/her adoration toward Lord Krishna, the physical world of Maya tries to ensnare the devotee with its many traps and enchantments. Sri Krishna has shown the paths of Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga and Karma Yoga in Bhagavad Gita as ways to purify one’s mind, understand who He is, who we are and what our relationship with him. And what he said are not empty sermons, but a vivid blueprint of creation that the seeker can practically use to navigate one’s path.

Still not clear. Too complex.

Unless there is a genuine will the pathway to real Vrindavan is not possible to be found. One who is not able to muster that required will, perhaps, need a few hundred additional births to get to the point where the futility of the physical world becomes unbearable.

However, if the will is genuine, Krishna gives a royal shortcut… Just take it and forget all else…

sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayishyami ma shuchah (BG 18.66)

Place the complete trust of Sri Krishna and don’t fall prey to the traps of the mind.

Places like Vrindavan Dham and here I mean the physical Vrindavan Dham are special. Due to their association with Sri Krishna’s childhood events, they have the capability to direct the mind constantly to Him and his Leelas. And that itself purifies the mind and sets you on your way to the Spiritual Vrindavan.

Back to My Yatra

On the third day of the Yatra, we had gotten the opportunity to meet someone who has been staying in Vrindavan for over 25 years and, it seemed to me had, found the real Vrindavan. Rajshekar Prabhu is a senior devotee of ISKCON who was originally from UK, but has now become a Brajvasi. A researcher, he has used scientific methods coupled with faith in Krishna to find places associated with Sri Krishna’s life and has published books on that as well. Initiated by Srila Prabhupada himself, he was every bit the ideal yogi. His eyes light up so much when he recountes the story of discovery of Radha Kunda or his interactions with Prabhupada. Felt blessed to get the association of such a true devotee of Krishna.

And seeing him, and many like him during my trip there convinced me that they way to reach the real Vrindavan is only surrender. Yoga, Dhyana, Jnana are amazing paths and I have no doubts there are those great souls who would be able to reach enlightenment through these, but Bhakti that invites His grace triumph’s all else. Chanting is a powerful way to connect to Krishna and find the real Vrindavan. In my humble way I have found combining exploration of Jnana while trying to move forward in the path of Bhakti has helped me in my progress towards Krishna.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Returning from Vrindvan proved harder than I thought it would be. Most of us in the yatra had become so attached to those Lanes, the Kunj Galiyans, where Srimati Radharani, Sri Krishna and their friends her conducted their divine pastimes that the thought of leaving this all behind was distressing. However, our Dharma that He had assigned to us for this life needed us to return. And did we not carry a tiny bit of the Vrindavan, the physical and the spiritual, in our minds as well?

With a silent prayer to Srimati Radharani to grant all her devotees, including my loved ones and myself, permission to visit Vrindavan again and again, I boarded the bus to Delhi…