What Are You Doing in Vṛndāvana?

Question: Recently, I watched a video of your Guru Mahārāja, Swami B.G. Narasingha, speaking about Vṛndāvana where he says that Vṛndāvana is an environmental nightmare, a philosophical minefield due to so many outside influences, and it is actually not a place for devotees to live fulltime. So, my question is, if your Guru Mahārāja felt so strongly about Vṛndāvana, why do you have an āśrama there?

Answer: Context is everything. Throughout his preaching, our Guru Mahārāja spoke on many occasions about Śrī Vṛndāvana, the positive, internal nature of the dhāma and the negative outer layer which we perceive as pollution of the environment and for the soul. The class you’re referring to in 2016 was given shortly after he had returned from Vṛndāvana, deeply saddened by the condition of the environment. He had never seen the dhāma in such a bad state even having had such extensive experience there for 40 years. So, upon his return to his āśrama in South India, his mood was understandably jaded. It left a deep impression on him, and what he shared in that class reflected both his pain and his enduring concern for the sanctity of the dhāma.

His first visit to Vṛndāvana was in 1976, during the time of Śrīla Prabhupāda. And, as most disciples of Prabhupāda can attest, much has changed since then – and not for the better. He used to speak of how he would bathe in the Yamunā every day, go on Vṛndāvana parikramā and feel the vraja-raja – the sacred dust of Vṛndāvana—beneath his feet, and sleep at night with only the distant sounds of kīrtana or the occasional call of a peacock.

Now? With the Delhi area alone contributing literally millions of liters of badly polluted water into The Yamuna, your skin might peel if you dare to bathe in her. If you attempt parikramā, you risk being run over by a constant stream of vehicles. The vraja-raja has been replaced by tarmac, construction rubble, and cement dust. And the night now echoes with Bollywood music and the relentless honking of horns as cars pour into town.

Whatever our Guru Mahārāja expressed in that class about the environment in Vṛndāvana still holds true today, perhaps even more so. Vṛndāvana continues to face serious environmental challenges: relentless traffic in a town never meant for such congestion, escalating mounds of garbage, inadequate sanitation, and the overall degradation of the sacred atmosphere.

It is also a fact that many devotees who have stayed in Vṛndāvana for long periods have become bewildered or deviated from the line of our Guardians due to outside influences.

In 1990, our Guru Mahārāja established the Rūpānuga Bhajana Āśrama in Vṛndāvana, which served as his base for preaching until 1996. During that period, under his careful guidance and protection, no one residing at the āśrama deviated from the siddhānta. The only exception was one of his long-time sannyāsī godbrothers, who became temporarily bewildered during a month-long absence of our Guru Mahārāja. In that vulnerable moment, he accompanied another devotee to the bābājī section in search of siddha-praṇālī. However, upon returning, our Guru Mahārāja promptly brought him back to his senses, restoring his clarity.

Later, in the early 2000s, a service opportunity arose at the Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Dāmodara Temple. Our Guru Mahārāja had long been friends with Śrī Nirmal Chandra Goswami, the head sevait of the temple, and was requested to assist in the renovation of the samādhi and bhajana-kuṭīra of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. He was given a room within the temple complex and also helped construct accommodations for the other goswāmīs. During that period, our Guru Mahārāja rendered much heartfelt service at Rādhā-Dāmodara and felt that this was a direct blessing from Śrīla Prabhupāda. However, following the departure of Śrī Nirmal Chandra Goswami, by the will of the Lord, circumstances shifted, and things moved in a different direction.

In 2013, our Guru Mahārāja had established a relationship with one of his godbrothers, Prema Kiśora Prabhu (later Śrīpāda B.K. Araṇya Mahārāja) – a disciple of both Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja – who was residing in Vṛndāvana and maintaining an āśrama on the parikramā-mārga. As their friendship deepened, our Guru Mahārāja began making plans to spend more time with him, to preach from his āśrama, and to initiate preaching programs in places like Rishikesh and Jaipur.

In July 2016, he told Prema Kiśora Prabhu:

How could we pursue some sharing style of preaching with you at your place, on the mārga, preaching and giving out Śrīla Guru Mahārāja’s (Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja) books. So one idea I had was in the informal category, not in the formal temple room ‘Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya’ style before every class, something on a more informal basis down at your place. Could be in front of the garden, with people who wanted to hear from Śrīdhara Mahārāja’s books, who have already read them and preferably might even have some questions.

In May 2019, while in the United States, our Guru Mahārāja told some of his disciples, “There are only two devotees I know of that have stayed in Vṛndāvana long term who did not become bewildered – that’s myself and Prema Kiśora.”
In that same month, he told one of his leading sannyāsī disciples the following:

I think with ____ becoming more involved with Rādhā-Dāmodara Temple, our service there is probably reaching the end of the road. I had told Nirmal Chandra that after seventy, I plan to stay longer in Vṛndāvana and, talking to Prema Kiśora, I figured that I would probably stay at his place. It’s quieter than Rādhā-Dāmodara Temple, you’re not dealing with the crowds and all that. I’d probably stay for about 9 months a year. You could stay with me for about 6, and we could work on articles and books together. That would be good, eh?

In preparation for our Guru Mahārāja’s stay at his āśrama, Prema Kiśora Prabhu enthusiastically began constructing rooms for him. However, it was not to be. Ultimately, by the divine arrangement of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, our Guru Mahārāja departed from this world to continue his service in the eternal Vṛndāvana.

After his disappearance, due to unforeseen circumstances, some of our Guru Mahārāja’s senior disciples felt the need to re-establish the Rūpānuga Bhajana Āśrama once again in Vṛndāvana. With the invitation and encouragement of Prema Kiśora Prabhu, they have since endeavoured – albeit vicariously – to fulfil the desire of Narasiṅgha Mahārāja by continuing to share his teachings and those of our ācāryas from the holy abode of Śrī Vṛndāvana-dhāma.

It is, in truth, a fact that we are most unqualified to reside in Vṛndāvana. Yet, it is equally clear to us that – by some divine arrangement – our Guru Mahārāja has made provision for us through his dear godbrother, Śrīpāda Bhakti Kiśora Araṇya Mahārāja, allowing us the opportunity to render some humble service here.

Just as the devotees were protected by our Guru Mahārāja during the first manifestation of the Rūpānuga Bhajana Āśrama, we now feel doubly sheltered during its second manifestation – both by his unlimited grace and through the merciful association of Śrīpāda Araṇya Mahārāja.

Despite the unfortunate changes that have occurred in the dhāma, it is still the dhāma. As our Guru Mahārāja said in the 2016 class – “If there wasn’t another dimension to the dhāma, I personally wouldn’t even wanna go there anymore.”

As Vaiṣṇavas, we have to strive to look past the prauḍamāyā that covers the dhāma, and see Vṛndāvana for what it is. At different times, our Guru Mahārāja also made these statements:

Recently, I heard ____ say, “I don’t like Vṛndāvana!” His excuse was that it’s too noisy, too dirty, too many people, all these things. Yeah, those things drive me crazy as well, and you’ve heard me complain over the years a ton of times about how things have deteriorated in Vṛndāvana. I spent many years living in the Vraja and yes, it has changed and not for the better. But Vṛndāvana is Vṛndāvana and we are all connected to Vṛndāvana. We have a heart-connection to Vṛndāvana, which is why it pains us to see so many crazy things going on there. But did you ever hear me say, “I don’t like Vṛndāvana”? Sure, you’ve heard me say, “I don’t like what’s going on in Vṛndāvana” Anyone with half a brain or a heart will say the same thing. But, “I don’t like Vṛndāvana??” That’s like a devotee saying, “I don’t like Kṛṣṇa!”

So when I hear a devotee say that, “I don’t like Vṛndāvana” or they avoid coming to Vṛndāvana because of this or that…that’s not a healthy sign. That means they don’t really understand the holy dhāma and they see it as just a mundane place in North India! It’s true that Vṛndāvana is a state of mind and wherever we are, we can make our home or temple into Vṛndāvana – but that’s no excuse to avoid coming to the dhāma.

We must try to give some attention as to what is actually Vṛndāvana, What is the nature of this place? What should be the feeling in Vṛndāvana? How should we try to live in Vṛndāvana? What is vṛndāvana-bhajana? How should we do vṛndāvana-bhajana? Who are the residents of Vṛndāvana? What are these things from a substantial point of view? You have to jump off and swim deeper if you actually want to understand what is Vṛndāvana. If we give too much attention to the rickshaw-wallahs, the pigs in the street, the monkeys and all these things, we will not actually be able to understand what is Vṛndāvana. We will be distracted by māyā. 

If we think that Vṛndāvana is “just another place in North India” or we simply go there to eat nice sweets and fill our bellies, or if we just go there to buy saris and dhotis, or we go there to make money and do business – this is all dhāma-aparādha. We cannot make any tangible advancement when we see Vṛndāvana-dhāma in such mundane terms.

Personally, I don’t trust anybody, especially sannyāsīs, who avoid Vṛndāvana because of this problem or that problem. I have my doubts about those sannyāsīs. Yes, they are preaching, but so was Śrīla Prabhupāda, so was Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. So many great personalities were preaching and they all came either to Vṛndāvana, Navadvīpa-Māyāpura, or sometimes Jagannātha Purī.

Who can match Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s sentiments about Vṛndāvana? Who can match his attachment to the holy dhāma? He even threatens to kill someone if they try to take him out of Vṛndāvana! But we’re always looking for a train ticket out of here! After a few months we want to go somewhere else…

It doesn’t matter who is here in Vṛndāvana, it’s still Vṛndāvana. In our āśrama in South India, if we packed everything up. took the Deities and moved out, it would just become rice fields again. But you can’t change Vṛndāvana and make it not Vṛndāvana. You can make a mess of it, but underneath it’s still Vṛndāvana.

We do not recommend Vṛndāvana as a place to live – it is a place to serve! So, you may come to live here, but in which way will you live here? Full service attitude is necessary. Full service attitude!

According to those who are expert in logic, when there is confusion between previous and later statements, the later statement is always considered stronger. (niradhāri pūrva-parayor nyāya-vidagdhaiḥ paro vidhir balavān). Therefore, considering that at the end of his sojourn in this world, our Guru Mahārāja still desired to spend most of his time in Vṛndāvana, we may take it that anything negative that he stated in relation to Vṛndāvana that we perceive with these physical eyes, is a relative statement, and not absolute.

Thus, remembering this, by his mercy, and with the guidance of Śrīpāda Araṇya Mahārāja, the members of the Rūpānuga Bhajana Āśrama feel safe and encouraged to serve in the holy dhāma, always mindful of the eternal Vṛndāvana that lies beyond material perception.

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