Vrindavan- the once land of Krishna Raas Leela, reverberating with the music of his flute, is now a small town dominated by Krishna temples of all sizes reverberating with the honking of Rickshaws and Autos!
Vrindavan nowadays is flooded with people mainly from UP, Haryana and Delhi. The crowd on Christmas Eve was maddening. Aahana got nearly crushed and panicked… The narrow lanes and bylanes are cute but broken and difficult to walk through… Too many plots under construction, Dim street lights with frequent load-sheddings, swarm of blinkered bhakts and narrow lanes make honking unavoidable!
Didn’t Visit ISKCON coz I knew it would be a crazy crazy scene… Every one out of five buildings probably would be having a mandir of its own… We had our own too!
We saw “bhakts” going ga ga over one drop of Prasad or one flower that they got in the main Baankey Bihari temple… Pundits leave no stone unturned to make you feel blessed and in demand and in return they charge a hefty “Dakshina” from the “Seths and Sethanis”… Over the years they have constructed multi-storied buildings for themselves leading a Life full of stale gyan, lazy money and super duper food…
People think God resides in Murtis in temples and that’s the irony!
Food is the name of the game here… Lassi, Chaat, Rabdi, Chilla, Milk, Pedas are what you see everywhere and wherever you go… Monkeys know the fine art… They will snatch away your glasses or phones and will return them only when you buy them food in clear negotiation… Therefore, in this business of Godliness, the monkeys come out as clear winners coz they aren’t fake and know how to earn their breads!
While the people seek Materials from God, the Pundits seek materials from people by faking all the blessings on behalf of God, forming a never-ending circle…
It was cold but much warmer than last year… Soaked in the Sun and the energy… Had fun for a good 10 days with family at the Ashram!
Cuppa tea and me 