Is the Vrindavan of today the same as when Lord Krishna was present?
Absolutely not.
The truth must be stated and accepted.
Consciousness of People in Vrindavan
There is no difference in the consciousness of people living in Vrindavan and those outside it. Consciousness is manifested in the behavior of the people. Cheaters, liars, drunkards, and dirty people are everywhere. There is degradation in Vrindavan and outside it.
“Previously, when Lord Rāmacandra left this world, He took with Him all the living entities of Ayodhyā. Then He filled Ayodhyā again with other living entities.” (Caitanya caritamrta antya 3.81)
The above means the Ayodhya when Lord Ram was present was completely different from that of today, because the whole consciousness of the living beings has changed. This is also true for Vrindavan. When Lord Krishna left around 5,000 years ago, He took with Him all the living entities of Vrindavan and then He filled it with new living entities.
“Formerly, when Lord Kṛṣṇa descended in Vṛndāvana, He freed all living entities in the universe from material existence in the same way.” (Caitanya caritamrta antya 3.83)
Lord Krishna freed all the living entities in the universe from material existence, but then filled it with new living entities.
Appearance of Todays Vrindavan
Vrindavan means jungle of tulsi plants but it has become jungle of cement.
“Pointing out the neighboring gardens, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “All these gardens exactly resemble Vṛndāvana; therefore Lord Jagannātha is very eager to see them again.” (Caitanya caritamrta madhya 14.119)
Today there are almost no gardens with fruit, flowers, neem, and tulsi plants in Vrindavan, it’s full of cement gardens (buildings).
“The city of Dvārakāpurī was filled with the opulences of all seasons. There were hermitages, orchards, flower gardens, parks and reservoirs of water breeding lotus flowers all over.” (Shrimad-Bhagavatam 1.11.12)
“The devotee should more fully establish My Deity by solidly constructing a temple, along with beautiful gardens. These gardens should be set aside to provide flowers for the regular daily worship, special Deity processions and holiday observances.” (Shrimad-Bhagavatam 11.27.50)
There are new temples being built all the time, but very rare to find a temple with a garden full of trees and flower bearing plants. Temples only have gardens of cement, because people have material consciousness and not spiritual consciousness.
| In Vrindavan | Outside Vrindavan | |
| Cheating | Yes | Yes |
| Lying | Yes | Yes |
| Dirty | Yes | Yes |
| Alcohol consumption | Yes | Yes |
| Meat consumption | Yes | Yes |
| Sex outside marriage | Yes | Yes |
| Murders | Yes | Yes |
| Rapes | Yes | Yes |
| People died of Covid | Yes | Yes |
| Cows eating plastic | Yes | Yes |
| Cows dying of lumpy disease | Yes | Yes |
| Police presence | Yes | Yes |
| Pollution | Yes | Yes |
| Bogus gurus presence | Yes | Yes |
| Degradation | Yes | Yes |
| Destruction of trees | Yes | Yes |
| Suffering | Yes | Yes |
| Excessive heat due to global warming | Yes | Yes |
For a place to be called spiritually advanced, there must be some symptoms of purity in the consciousness of the residents which will be manifested in the behavior of people and the appearance of the place.
- People will speak the truth, and will not mislead or cheat
- People will be time disciplined.
- People will not drink alcohol, chew or smoke tobacco, nor eat flesh.
- People will not have relationships outside marriage.
- People will be compassionate to all living beings.
- People will be personally clean and keep their homes, streets, public places, and rives clean
- People will not be self centered, they will consider the well being and safety of all living beings. The homes and streets will be built with consideration for others. Narrow streets are due to homes being built leaving very little space for others. This is a clear indication of self centered and corrupt consciousness. The reason why monkeys steal glasses in places like Vrindavan is because people have destroyed the homes and food supply of monkeys (trees) and thus they will take revenge on the people.
- People will have the consciousness to realize that nature is important and thus will have beautiful gardens with many trees, grass, and flower bearing plants.
Nobody is free from karma, whether one lives in Vrindavan or outside it, everyone is subjected to the law of karma. Living in Vrindavan, does not guarantee liberation. If one is living a sinful life in Vrindavan, he/she will go to hell. If one is living a pious life in or outside Vrindavan, they will get liberation.
It’s what we do that matters and not where we live. Ninety nine percent of people who go to Vrindavan are doing no benefit to Vrindavan. They are actually taking part in the destruction of Vrindavan by making it more commercialized and polluting it. Thus people go to Vrindavan to simply pass stool and destroy. Doing parikrama is good but if the place is becoming polluted and visitors do nothing to keep the place clean, then doing parikrama is useless.
What are the Offences and how to avoid them?
By committing any of the below offences in Vrindavan Dham, the punishment will be very severe.
- To pollute any place is an offence. One should never throw trash and help to keep clean by removing trash.
- To lie is a great offence. One should always speak the truth, never cheat or break vows, and never betray anyone.
- To destroy trees is an offence. One should save and plant trees.
- To profit from Dham is an offence.
- To say that knowledge is not needed or act against the scriptural injunctions is a great offence. One must follow and promote the teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita, Shrimad-Bhagavatam, and other Vedic scriptures.
- To insult genuine gurus (those who are truthful and are not preaching for money) is a great offence.
- To declare oneself or address anyone as a Sakhi or Gopi is an offence.
- To think of anyone as God (Radha Rani or Lord Krishna) is a very great offence. If anyone declares themselves as God, ask them to prove it by showing the universe in their mouth.
“One should not be misled by mental concoctions, supposing his material body to be perfect and deeming oneself a sakhī. This is something like ahaṅgrahopāsanā, that is, a Māyāvādī’s worship of his own body as the Supreme. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has cautioned mundaners to abstain from such conceptions. He also warns that thinking oneself one of the associates of the Supreme without following in the footsteps of the gopīs is as offensive as thinking oneself the Supreme. Such thinking is an aparādha. One has to practice living in Vṛndāvana by hearing about the talks of the gopīs with Kṛṣṇa. However, one should not consider himself a gopī, for this is offensive.’ (Purport, caitanya caritamrta, madhya 8.204-205)
“I shall kick on the face of this rascal, and if he is God, let him punish me.” (Swami Srila Prabhupada)
Conclusion
By doing the following, one will please Radha Rani and Lord Krishna, thousands of times more than doing parikrama, visiting temples, and living in Vrindavan.
- Cleaning of Vrindavan.
- Planting trees and saving existing ones.
- Feeding cows.
- Saving raw land for trees, monkeys, cows, peacocks, and people. Thus make beautiful gardens for all to enjoy.
- Following and promoting the first 3 pillars of Sanatan-Dharma; Truthfulness, Compassion, and Cleanliness.
EternalReligion.org has setup a Vedic Knowledge Museum in Vrindavan with the aim of saving Vrindavan dham by promoting human values: Truthfulness, saving trees, serving cows, and developing a service to all nature. Posters have also been placed in Vrindavan and surrounding areas.
Vedic Knowledge Expo at Braj Culture Museum, Raman Reti Road, Vrindavan. Opposite Heritage Public School.