Vrindavan: God’s Own Stage

If we ever had raasleela, it was here!! The astute denies but the soul never fails to endorse. Kerala truly is God’s own country! But god owns a city too- Vrindavan.

There is something extraordinary at vrindavan that strongly invokes the spiritual in me, beyond the temple dotted labyrinth and unfailing smell of rabri, peda, ladoos and kulhar ki chai, and Iskcon. As soon as the board displaying Vrindavan comes into sight a sense of calm precipitates sifting away the worldly clamor.

For a while the spiritual takes rest in me. The immediate scene of street strewn with garland sellers and cacophony of shared autos take me by force to mull over how Vrindavan would have been in the time of Krishna?  Before I could take myself further on the thought, the throngs of devotees and reverberation of “hare Krishna, hare hare” beautifully punctuates it. Yes, there is no other place in the world that equals Vrindavan in giving my soul a soothing effect.

Everything is so joyous about the city, right from temples, big and small, to loud pravachans to motels, hotels to talebearer guides who narrate Krishna’s history in just one breath. Amidst all ongoing in my mind, my heart never loses its purpose of spiritual satiation and to catch a glimpse of Krishna’s prime abode in Vrindavan--Shri Bankey Bihari. Even though God chose the whole of Vrindavan as his stage for raasleela – the divine play – it is believed that the Bankey Bihari Temple records divine  interventions of his supreme power in the form of live examples. But before we set foot in the temple premises there is more to unfurl on the canvas of divinity. A rickshaw ride past vrindavan’s market and its narrow street is an introduction to the city’s culture. While on rickshaw, watch the sweet (peda, rabri), shops, kiosks selling beautiful deities of krishna, precious gems, beads, and all accessories used to ornate god. Meanwhile pretty ladies under veils and heavy ornaments, and other city dwellers greet the newcomers with “radhe, radhe, Krishna Krishna” .

Like Lord’s flute the pilgrimage city is entwined with melodious enticements all along. And why not, the greenish waters of Jamuna Ji as well Goverdhan hills have stood witness through quondam years. It was on banks of Jamuna river that Lord Krishna constituted his play of consciousness—the rasa. Not long before one gets drawn to the shallow waters here there are old edifices lying incongruously to attract your attention. Refurbished these may have been in the recent years but basic structure has not been tampered. One can take a sneak-peak into history of what it would have been in the times of Krishna. Well, not to wander far off it is must be reminded that the heart of Vrindavan lies in the NidhiVan, yet another leela stage of god.

Nidhivan is better reached on foot so as to not miss the charms of the pilgrimage. All the while you have bunch of monkeys as companions by your side to add to your city escapades. And there lies Nidhivan –something like an oasis in the desert –greeting you with open arms and grove of short dense trees with branches interlocked into each other. Per se Bhagwat Purana these trees are said to be the gopis who performed the miraculous rasa with the supreme Lord.

Here at vrindavan there is more than the eyes can meet. A temple amidst the maze and Radha Kund take you by force. Samadhi of Haridasa, The Radha Rani Temple, the place where Lord Bankey Bihari appeared and costume   place of Lord Krishna and his consort Radha Rani.
 

… at the dusk on rickshaw the mind is frothy with that dust I had on my forehead. The Brajdham. The streets smells fresh of monkey poop but its’ gibber is lost in the darkness of the night; the same night that sets in for yet another dawn of cosmic play- the rasa. There is more to be excavated but I m invigorated by losing my heart in the van.. Vrindavan, Madhuban or Nidhivan…