“Jay Sri Radhe”!, men shouted as we came out of the car when we arrived in Vrindavan.
With another “Jay Sri Radhe” shout, the men wanting to pass by with the rickshaw signalled to us to move aside.
It was Ekadasi when we arrived. On top of that in the month of Kartik, which meant that all roads in Vrindavan had been blocked to facilitate pilgrims to perform “parikrama” – the circumambulation of Vrindavan. The car dropped us half a mile away from our accommodation. With the luggage, we started walking towards our rooms.
Monkeys jumping, sadhus begging, pilgrims singing various songs and traffic sounding with the car and rickshaw horns. Combined with the mixed fragrance of fresh cow dung, fried spices, open sewage and traffic smoke, the whole atmosphere was typical for Vrindavan.
“Finally we arrived”, I thought to myself as we walked.
After more than 15 hours of travel, we reached the topmost place in the whole creation.
Vrindavan Dham is the king of all holy places, it is a place like no other. It is the highest, the sweetest, sacred and the most mysterious of all. I was more than ready to absorb myself in sadhana, parikrama and association with the sadhus.
Three weeks in the Dham passed in no time. Although wanting to stay longer, services to Radha Gokulananda in the west are pulling me back.
As I’m packing my luggage and preparing to leave Vrindavan, I meditate on quiet morning parikramas around Vrindavan, special darshans and pujas to the local Deities, observing local sadhus offering their devotion to Krishna in unique ways. There are so many moments that I will forever carry in my heart.
Until I return, I will meditate on Vrindavan and try to share the glories of Vraja with others.
As one sadhu nicely said; “we are owned by the Sankirtana movement. We should do everything possible to help spread the mission of Lord Caitanya and bring many more people to Vrindavan. Everything in Vrindavan is simply meant for Krishna’s satisfaction. When our consciousness is in the mood of Seva then we are never separated from Vrindavan.”
Ananta Gopal Das
29.11.2022
Bhakti Wisdom 