Nandisvar Mahadeva temple on the way to Dhruva Tila.

Devotees sit under the banyan tree at Vamsi Vat listening to hari katha.  In this place, Sridam sakha (the brother of Srimati Radhika) watched with tears in his eyes as Sri Krsna left Vrndavan on the chariot of Akrura.  Sri Krsna never returned, and Sridam sakha stayed under the tree for thousands of years until Krsna finally met him again as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sridam sakha weeping at Vamsi Vat.

A glimpse into the lush, green nikunja van of Sri Yugal Kishor in Nidhuvan.  Here Srimati Radhika had an extrodinary dream about a golden personality who was singing the names of the Lord with a faltering voice choked with divine love.  In the early morning she awoke and shared this extraordinary dream with her prana ballabha, Sri Krsna.

Crodding the Yamuna river in the morning; Imli Tala in the distance on the far bank.

The entire parikrama party had to cross the final stretch of Yamuna by foot.

No better way for a local girl to spend her school holiday than hearing hari katha and doing Braja Mandal Parikrama!

Sripad Rasananda prabhu leads “Mangala Gitam” In beautiful Barel Van.  Shortly after this photo was taken a swarm of bees attacked and we shifted to the outside forested area.

Local girl begs for 2 rupees; Australian girls beg for Krsna prema.

In the evening we sat with Srila Gurudev.  Kishori Mohan prabhu and Sudevi didi led an ecstatic yugal bandi maha mantra kirtan (in the “Australian tune”).  It was so beautiful and so enlivening to all present.  One of the best kirtans of Karttika so far.

Just a reminder:  wonderful descriprions of our Vraja mandala parikrama have been presented in the parikrama book and is available to read online or download for free at purebhakti.com.

jai sri Radhe

Manjari dasi

Krsna performed many pastimes in the month of karttika, but his Rasa lila pastime is the topmost of all, because it shows how glorious the love of Srimati Radhika is.  In Bael Van, Laxmi devi eternally resides in Braja doing intense tapasya to achieve entrance into sri Krsna’s rasa lila.  If Laxmi devi herself is performing austerities just to attain entrance into the rasa dance, then we can imagine how high the service of radha and krsna is.  So in Bael Van we pray for the blessings of Laxmi devi to perform strong sadhana with no material attachments or desires and to obtain the divine service of sri sri Radha and Krsna in their Rasa lila.

Sri Krsna decorates the hair of Srimati Radhika at Sringar Vat in Seva Kunja, Vrndavan.

Next we visited Sri Madan Mohan temple where the new Madan Mohan deities reside.  In the middle of the temple room devotees  jumped up and down and all round to Rasananda Prabhu’s kirtan.  Meanwhile, a residential fat monkey rested on the temple ledge carefully examining the dance moves of the kirtan party.  He decided it would be fun to try and follow along, and so with each jump the monkey jumped.  He spinned and swirled and bobbled his head back and forth.  There is so much life in Vraja and in kirtan — even the monkeys can’t resist.

After Madan Mohan temple we went to the bhajan Kutir of Sri Sanatan Goswami and the Old Madan Mohan temple.  Just near to there is the place where 12 expansions of the sun god came to warm Krsna  after he danced on the hoods of Kaliya. He glistened and shined brilliantly like 12 suns. It had rained that morning and Vrindavan was left with beautiful green plants.  The hustle and bustle of the pushing Bengalis and sweating crowds was subdued by the incoming flood of beautiful impressions, lively kirtan,  the hearing of Krsna’s pastimes, and of course. . .

that cute monkey!

Vraja Mandala Dham Parikrama ki jai!

Jai Sri Radhe!

~Radhika Dasi

Vaisnavas sit beneath the sprawling kadamba tree at Kaliy-Daha.

The main Trunk of the kadamba tree.

Srila Sanatan Gosvami’s bhajan kutir by the old Madana Mohan temple and Dvadasa-tila.

Sketch: “Naga Patni Praying”, by Manjari dasi

This year, the festival will be inaugurated on October 4th, with the devotees observing sankalpa, or a vow to ensure the success of their parikrama, at Kesi-ghata, Vrindavan.

Parikrama

On October 5th we will begin our 28 day Sri Vraja-mandala Parikrama, a pilgrimage to all the incomparably beautiful places in Vraja. As we wind our way through these transcendental places, by foot, and sometimes by bus, we will chant surcharged and compelling kirtanas that we will cherish forever, reverentially touch our head to the dust of the numerous places related to Sri Sri Radha Krsna’s pastimes, and hear such hari-katha that will change our lives and strengthen our commitment to the path of pure bhakti. Our pilgrimage will be completed on November 2nd.

Parikrama Festivals

On certain days throughout Kartika month, we will celebrate the divine appearance and disappearance days of our acarya’s. On Sunday October 18th we will celebrate Govardhan puja – (worship of Govardhan Hill) and go-puja – (worship of our mother cow) – in a very delightful and festive way. In the evening we will observe the Dipavali festival, or festival of lights, at Manasi Ganga. On such occasions there will be kirtana and hari-katha, given in both Hindi and English, and delicious maha-prasadam will be served.

Parikrama Locations

From October 3rd till the morning of October 16th, all hari-katha, kirtanas and maha-prasadam will be held in Gopinath Bhavan, Vrindavan, which is located on the parikrama marga (path) on the bank of Yamuna, next to Imli-tala, Seva Kunja. From October 16th till November 2nd we will stay at Govardhan, at Sri Giridhari Gaudiya Math, which is near the bus stand on the road to Radha-kunda.

Cost

A minimum contribution per person of Indian Rs. 7,500, US $160, or Euro 110 is requested in order to cover the most basic expenses of the festival. This payment covers your prasadam and your accommodation in the dharmasala; as well as electricity and water; the sound system; a generator; the payment of various workers; cleaning costs and so forth.

We humbly request you to consider that this fee is a meager expression of appreciation for the inconceivable benefit received by hearing the hari-katha of a spotlessly pure Vaisnava and performing parikrama under his guidance. By your financial contribution, you are facilitating his mission to guide us all through the land of Krsna’s pastimes, a kindness that we will not be able to repay him for in countless of life times.

Registration

You can register and give your contribution upon arrival to Tilaka-raja dasa. In Vrindavan, you will find him at the registration table in the courtyard of Gopinath Bhavan and in Govardhan, at Sri Giridhari Gaudiya Math, he will be at the registration table in front of the temple building.

Included within the festival fees:

We have arranged dharmasalas (simple lodgings for pilgrims) near Gopinath Bhavan and Sri Giridhari Gaudiya Math where you can set up your sleeping mat and mosquito net in a room with other devotees. At the Math at Govardhan there is also facility for tents.

For an extra cost:

There are hotel rooms at varying distances from the Math in both Vrindavan and Govardhan, that you can rent directly from their hotel managers.

Simple rooms are also available for rent in other dharmasalas and in the houses of the local residents. The average charge is between 150 and 250 rupees per room per day, depending on the facility offered. For more details regarding rooms in Vrindavan, you can contact Mani-mati dasi.

Arrival

After you have registered a devotee will take you to your accommodation either inside or outside the temple complex. The facilities we are arranging for you during parikrama will be available from October 3rd onwards. If you arrive in Vrindavan-dhama before this date, you will need to make your own arrangements for accommodation and prasadam. We trust that all of you will cooperate with the festival seva team in this regard.

Please inform us by e-mail about the details of your participation, especially if you are coming in a group. In this way we can arrange suitable accommodation.

Please visit the Sri Vraja-mandala Parikrama 2009 web page at purebhakti.com/parikrama. Here you will find more details about traveling to the Dhama, how to maintain good health, how to observe proper behaviour and etiquette while in the Dhama, and many other practicalities.

For further information contact:

Brajanath das:  brajanath@gmail.com

Vrinda devi dasi: vrindadidi@gmail.com

Tilak-raj das: tilakrajdas@gmx.de

Mani-mati devi dasi:  manimati@gmail.com

“Day and night I glorify Vrndavana, which is filled with the wonder of Sri Sri Radha and Krsna’s pastimes, the wonder of the greatest sweetness, the ultimate nectar of Lord Hari, the sweetest, most beautiful auspiciousness and a flood of virtues Ananta-Sesa, Siva, and a host of others cannot cross.”

“Whose heart would not be enchanted by Vrndavana where Sri Radhika-Madana-mohana enjoy many pastimes, where there are many trees and flowering vines, where the ground is paved with jewels, and where the birds, deer and other animals are all maddened with transcendental bliss?”

“You may experience either happiness or distress. You may know fame or infamy. The lowest persons may insult you, or the saintly devotees praise you. You may know poverty or great wealth. You may obtain all valuable things, or you may not obtain anything. Whatever position your past pious or impious deeds may place you in, just make Vrndavana your life and soul.”

(Srila Prabhodhananda Sarasvati’s Sri Vrndavana-mahimamrita, Sataka 1, Text 4, 10, 30)

Please check this article for updates.

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For Taxi service and accommodations upon arrival please see the following links:

Taxi Service from Delhi to Vrindavan/Govardhan – updated 8/20

Hotels and Guest Houses in New Delhi, Vrindavan, and Govardhan updated 8/21

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You can help with prasad seva. Please read this article.

Download: 2009 Kartik Schedule - 52kb, plain text (as seen below) for printing

Download: 2009 Karitk Schedule – 238 kb, with low resolution graphics for printing flyers

Download: 2009 Kartik Schedule – 3.7MB, with high resolution graphics for printing posters