2017.08.29 (PTI): The RSS has called the top leadership of the BJP and all its 40 allied organisations for its three-day annual coordination meeting in Mathura from September 1 to take stock of the work done by them, said a senior functionary. The meeting will also hold deliberations on prevalent issues, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionary said.

The killings of RSS cadres in Left-ruled Kerala and the recent violence in Haryana after the arrest of Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim will be among the issues discussed at the three-day conclave, he said.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi, BJP president Amit Shah and VHP’s Pravin Togadia are likely to attend the meeting. This will be the first major meeting of the RSS in Uttar Pradesh since the BJP came to power. Some state BJP leaders are also expected to attend.

When contacted, RSS ‘prachar pramukh’ Manmohan Vaidya termed the meeting a routine affair. It was a platform for all sections of the parivar to share details of the work done by them in their respective fields, he said.

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Agra, 2017.08.31 (Aditya Devi, TNN): Over 18 lakh (1,800,000) vehicles were found speeding on the Yamuna Expressway in the first seven months of this year. However, in comparison to this whopping number of violations, traffic police at three toll plazas (Agra, Mathura and Jewar) on the 165km-long route issued just a little over 12,300 challans (citations), according to a reply to an RTI query.

The magnitude of the problem can be gauged from the fact that of around 5 lakh vehicles which pass through the Jewar toll plaza every month, on an average 1.5 lakh are found to be driving over the prescribed limit, according to a reply to an RTI query.

Speeding and tyre burst have been termed to be the two main causes of fatal accidents on the expressway by the Central Road Research Institute.

According to data provided by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), the Jewar toll plaza recorded speeding by 11.01 lakh vehicles, while the Mathura toll plaza saw 2.16 lakh violations and the Agra toll plaza 4.97 lakh.

The private concessionaire stated that data for speeding is available with it and whenever a vehicle is found speeding, traffic police present at the next plaza issue challans to violators.

However, K C Jain, secretary of Agra Development Foundation (ADF), a city-based social organization, does not agree with the concessionaire on this point.

“Every day around 15,000-20,000 travel through the expressway, and not less than 50% of them violate the speed limits. There is no fear of law as very little action is taken by traffic police of Gautam Budh Nagar, Mathura and Agra. Most vehicles drive at a speed of 150-160 kmph on the expressway, but police as well as YEIDA are not taking any punitive action,” Jain told TOI.

Citing earlier replies to RTI queries, Jain said that in comparison to more than 62.7 lakh vehicles which passed through the Jewar toll plaza in 2015, challans for speeding were issued to just 8,156 vehicles.

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Vrindavan 2017.09.01 (VT): The Braj Foundation’s fourth annual Sanjhi Art Festival will be held at Brahma Kund from September 7th through the 10th, 2017.

Sanjhi is a unique art form native to Braj. In the most common form of Sanjhi seen today, finely detailed stencils are used to create pictures of Shri Radha and Krishna’s lilas on a raised platform of Braj Raj (earth of Vrindavan), using colored powders as a medium. Sanjhi can also be made from flower petals, jewels or cow dung. Some forms of Sanjhi are even made to float on the surface of water.

Sanjhi stencil. Representational Image. Artist Unknown.

Shri Vineet Narain, the President of the Braj Founation says that in the book Mathura: A District Memoir written by British Magistrate F.S. Growse in the early nineteenth century, it has been recorded that the Brajwasis used to organise a Sanjhi festival every year at Bramha Kund during Pitr Paksh. But over a period of time, the tradition was lost and Bramha Kund also deteriorated.

The Braj foundation renovated the Kund in 2009 and revived the Sanjhi festival shortly thereafter with support from the Braj Sanskriti Shodh Sansthan.

During Pitr Paksh, Sanjhi Art continues to be created by traditional artisans as an offering in Vrindavan Temples. Sanjhi art was also in the news recently as the India Habitat Centre in Delhi organized a Sanjhi exhibition in honor of its Golden Jubilee.

Sanjhi at Brahma Kund – image from a previous year (P.C. The Braj Foundation)

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Vrindavan, 2017.08.02 (VT): Residents and lovers of Vrindavan will remember the deadly clashes of 2016, after followers of the Jai Gurudev sect took over a public park in Mathura and began running their own “parallel government.”

Two policemen and at least 22 members of the sect were killed in the resulting violence, and much of the park itself was destroyed by fire.

Now the sect is allegedly encroaching on another piece of government property. This comes in the midst of the Dera Sacha Sauda riots in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab.

The Allahabad High Court has cautioned the UP government to take extra precautions to ensure that the eviction does not turn violent.

The land in question has been allotted to the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) for the development of a park. The next hearing on the matter is set for September 18th.

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Vrindavan, 2107.08.05 (VT): A team from the the National Green Tribunal (NGT) visited Govardhan this week to inspect the progress of development there. The work was analysed according to the seventeen guidelines that the NGT issued in 2015.

Gaushala built on Govardhan Parikrama land demolished

Amongst other directives, the court had ordered that all traffic on the parikrama marg should be stopped immediately and an alternate ring road should be built to accomodate automotive traffic. It also stated that all homes are to be connected to the STP via an official sewage system, a solid waste management system should be put in place.

The NGT team was reportedly angered by the lack of progress after inspecting Anyor, Punchari, Mansi Ganga, the sewage treatment facility, and other places. They have also taken samples from the tank used to store milk for offering to Giriraj at Dan Ghati, which will be sent to a lab for testing.

Under pressure due to the NGT’s inspection, the local government demolished several illegal constructions on the parikrama marg. The cleared area will be reforested.

The NGT’s inspection report will be filed in the court.

The next hearing regarding the status of Govardhan Parikrama Marg has been set for September 19th.

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Vrindavan, 2017.08.05 (VT): The other day I stopped to drink an orange juice at a fruit shop, and the shopkeeper said to me, “You have lived here quite a while. Do you like Vrindavan?” I said yes, of course, and he asked me why.

I was just starting to answer when he said, “You know why you like Vrindavan? Because this is Shri Krishna’s own home, and it is full of peace. The greatest place in the world is Bharat, and in Bharat the greatest place is Vrindavan. You can live simply and peacefully here.

You know, I have never even been to Delhi. I only go to Mathura sometimes for business, but I have never left Braj in my life.”

His shop, he said, is about sixty years old, and it was started by his father.

“What did your family do before that?” I asked him.

“Well, my parents were from the place that is now called Pakistan. They were visiting Haridwar when the partition happened. They had to leave everything behind and start a new life, so they chose to do that in Vrindavan. I was born here.

“You know, even thirty or forty years ago, this place was full of trees. The way Tatiya Sthan is – that’s how Vrindavan was not so long ago. It was all forest. There were no monkeys in the marketplace. They all lived in the woods by the side of Yamuna Maharani.

“And the cowherds used to take the cows out to pasture… there was so much pastureland then. In the evening when they would come back, there would be thousands of cows coming in from the pasture around sunset. Thakurji (Krishna) used to bring his cows home at sunset, that’s why the Brajwasis did the same.

“Back then Raman Reti, where ISKCON is now, was all wilderness. Nobody used to go there after 4pm for fear of robbers. At that time there was only one car in town. Everyone traveled by tonga (bullock cart). Even if you wanted to go to Mathura, you had to take a tonga.

“Then rich people came and started building guest houses and apartments. They cut down all the trees and bought up all the pasturelands. Where will the monkeys go? What will the cows eat? I feel sad when I think of all this.

“People have started doing nasty things in Vrindavan, but back then people were afraid of offending the Dham. But you know, I love Vrindavan. I don’t want to go anywhere else. There is so much peace here… (he said as horns blared and monkeys banged on the roof overhead)… so much peace here…”

(From a conversation with Radharaman aka. “Raja”, a fruitseller in Loi Bazar, August 31, 2017)

Vrindavan Parikrama in the mid 1970s near Banke Bihari temple. Copyright John Stratton Hawley. To see more photos like this please visit https://johnstrattonhawley.org/photos/

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Mathura, 2017.09.06 (ANI): Eight people, including six minors, were killed in two separate incidents in Mathura on Sunday.

In the first incident, a 32-year-old woman named Sharda, allegedly strangled three of her children and fed poison to the fourth one before committing suicide in Bironi village under Farah police station. The incident came into light after her neighbour came to visit them in the evening.

It was found out after investigation that Sharda killed her four children and herself because of her poor financial condition.

In a separate incident in the district, a 35-year-old woman, Shashi, and her two sons Jaikishan,15, and Neeraj, 8, were allegedly murdered by her husband Babulal.

Both husband and wife were daily wagers. The husband, Babulal, is reportedly absconding.

The police has reported that the husband murdered the three because of a dispute with his wife. They also said that Babulal is the step-father of Jaikishan and Neeraj.

The incidents took place during Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to Mathura.

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Radha Baba (1913-1992) was a devotee of Mahaprabhu and Radha-Krishna who lived in Gorakhpur. Born in a Vaishnav Brahmin family in Gaya, he first became an Advaitin sannyasi, but later took the path of Braj devotion. Shri Hanuman Prasad Poddar, the founder of Gita Press, was his inseparable spiritual companion. It is said that Radha Baba spent fourteen years performing a very strict maun vrat, during which he kept complete silence, without even using gestures to communicate. During this period he was completely absorbed in Braj Lila. Several beautiful books were written by him, including Keli Kunj, Satsang Sudha and Mahabhaga Brajdeviyan. The following excerpt is taken from his book Easy Steps to Eternal Vrindavan, translated into English by Lakhpat Rai, M.A. It appears to be out of print, but the original Hindi edition, Prem Satsang Sudha Mala, is still available from Gita Press, as are his other works.

You are just there where your mind is: keep this in your memory firmly all the time. Sitting here if you are thinking of your shop in Calcutta, you are then, really speaking, in Calcutta itself. Similarly, if your physical body is here, whereas the mind, leaving the body, is engaged in the sports of the divine realm of Vrindavan, you are then in Vrindavan alone. When the destiny is worked out, the physical body will perish and you will be included in those very pastimes forever. Everything depends upon your desire. Progress can be achieved only by remaining engaged in this Sadhana based on the above infallible principle.

Shri Radha Baba (P.C. Gitapress Gorakhpur)

I have no idea as to the condition of your mind, nor what is therein. But it is my belief that the day you really begin to wish that your mind should get engrossed in the pastimes of Braj, that very day, nay, that very instant you will automatically begin to discover newer and newer ways to control your mind and to engross it, and so on. The main reason why this does not happen is the weakness of the desire alone. I guess that the mind perhaps lacks the very agony. Now and again the mind yearns like the emphemeral effervescence of soda-water, but it abates later.

Here you see a watch, but it is absolutely true that Shri Krishna exists exactly where this watch is. Now how can you see Shri Krishna until you stop seeing the watch, because the mind is a single entity and can do only one thing at a time – it can either see the watch or Shri Krishna. If you see Shri Krishna the watch will remain invisible, and if you see the watch, Shri Krishna will remain invisible. In the same way, the mind will think either of this world or of Shri Krishna. Whatever your mind thinks of at any time, that very object is the creation of his own maya; nay, it is one of his pastimes.

[…]

There is a method for keenness, for perseverance. It is this: as soon as you wake up in the morning, pray to the Divine Couple from the bottom of your heart that henceforth your life is in their hands, and then do one thing – keep a handkerchief with you all the time and tie a knot in it. While tying up the knot, keep on singing the following verse:

नंदलाल सौं मेरो मन मान्यौ, कहा करैगो कोय री
हौं तो चरन कमल लपटानी, होनी होय सो होय री
गृहपति मात पिता मोहि त्रासत, हँसत बटाऊ लोग री
अब तो जिय ऐसी बनि आई, बिघाना रच्यो है संजोग री
जो मेरौ यह लोक जायगौ, अरु परलोक नसाय री
नंदनँदन कौं तऊ न छाँडौं, मिलूँगी निसान बजाय री
यह तनु फिर बहुरौ नहिं पैये बल्लभ बेष मुरार री
परमानँद स्वामी के ऊपर सरबस डारौं वार री

nandlaal so mero man maanyo, kaha karego koy, ri
ho to charan kamal lapatani, honi hoy so hoy, ri
grihapati maat pitaa mohi traasat, hansat batau log, ri
ab to jiya esi bani aayi, bighna rachyo hai sanjog, ri
jo mero yah lok jaaygo, aru parlok nasaay, ri
nand-nandan ko tou na chado milungi nisaan bajaay, ri
yah tanu phir bahuro nahi peye ballabh besh muraar, ri
paramanand swami ke upar sarbas daro vaar, ri

A fancy I have taken for Shri Nanda’s Son
What harm or slander bring to me can anyone?
Yea, with his lotus feet I have my soul entwined,
The consequences now at all I do not mind.
The master of the house and parents do me chide;
Not only that, wayfarers also me deride
I think that Fate herself has forged this union sweet.
Now let my life upon this earth ruination meet
Or let me lose rewards that after death me wait
I shall forsake not Nanda’s Son at any rate.
Him I shall join proclaiming it by beat of drum,
So long as I am in this frame no chance will come
To meet again the lovesome Lord, I dedicate
Paramananda says, to him my fortune all, my fate

After reading the verse, tie up the knot. Go where you will or sit where you will, but keep the handkerchief before you all the time, and go on making a firm mental determination repeatedly that you have to do this very thing. Let the whole world go up in flames, let it be destroyed, but you have to do this one thing only. Keep that knot before you throughout the day. The next morning when you get up, untie it. After untying it, tie it up again, singing the same verse. This helps a great deal. Nobody can know why the knot is there. People will just think it is a mere handkerchief, and the knot may have been tied in it for some work, or it may contain something. It should, however, remain in your hand before you all the time. Wherever you go, remain seated keeping it in your hand. This will make you one with the Lord – the most Beloved.

जब मैं था, तब हरि नहीं, अब हरि हैं, मैं नाहिं
प्रेम गली अति साँकरी, तामें द्वै न समाहिं
प्रेम न बाड़ी नीपजै, प्रेम न हाट बिकाय
राजा परजा जेहि रुचै सीस देय ले जाय

jab mai tha, tab hari nahi, ab hari hai, mai nahi
prem gali ati saakri, taame dwe na samay
prem na baadi neepaje, prem na haat bikaay
raja parja jehi ruche, sees dey le jaay

When I existed God was not;
When God is there, I am nowhere.
The lane of Love is narrow much,
Together two cannot be there

Love not in marketplace is sold
It grows not in a garden bed
A commoner or a king who wants
Can only have it for his head

But the object is achieved only by practicing these things in one’s life, and not by mere idle talk.

There is an infallible rule – the mind can do only one thing – either think of Shri Krishna or the objects of the senses. How can anyone make you believe? But if you have faith in the scriptures, you will find that they are replete with the principle that God exists everywhere. For the sake of Prahlad he came forth from a pillar. Even so, God can come out today from a pillar in the form of Shri Krishna for the sake of a real and faithful devotee. Shri Krishna exists in each post of your house, but as long as you continue to keep your mind engrossed in the post of your house, there is no reason for Krishna to appear. He only comes to a person who longs for him. You or someone else may say, “O God! I should not lose my house, I should not lose my wealth, my wealth and children should continue to exist, nay, they should prosper.” Shri Krishna then responds, “This man does not want me in the form of Shri Krishna. He only wants my illusory (temporary) form in the shape of wealth, children and property. Why should I then appear before him in my real form?”

In short, it is not necessary to go anywhere in search of Shri Krishna. What is needed is to engross the mind in him, throwing out everything else from the mind. Then the real substance will surely appear before you. Shri Krishna and Shri Krishna alone exists, no other thing exists at all – you will become blessed by visualising this. Such was the vision of the blessed Gopis; to them Shri Krishna used to be visible wherever they happened to look.

© Translated by Lakhpat Rai, M.A.
(With light editing by Vrindavan Today)
From the book Easy Steps to Eternal Vrindavan
Published in 1981 by Sahitya Sansthan
Part of Gita Vatika, Gorakhpur

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Vrindavan, 2017.09.07 (VT): Rising water levels in the Yamuna are causing anxiety to those living in residential areas along the river banks in Vrindavan. Water is lapping against the entryways of many houses and goshalas, causing their residents to look for safe places for themselves and their cattle.

People living along the Parikrama Marg and in the colonies on the Yamuna floodplain are expecting floods.

On Wednesday, the Yamuna took on a dangerous-looking aspect. Water started entering half a dozen residential colonies at Hurdang Nagar, Durgapuram, Shreeji Batika, as well as in the Jagannath Ghat and Sudama Kuti areas.

From Chamunda Colony to Barah Ghat, nearly five thousand homes are in danger. Many families in the Panighat area have already left their dwellings and started taking shelter with friends and relatives on higher ground.

The water level has been continuously increasing for the last three days.

Those living in illegal colonies on the flood plain are not holding their breath, but making preparations for evacuation.

Operation of boats in the Yamuna has been completely banned due to the strong current. A dozen steps have been submerged at Keshighat. The Parikrama Marg has thus been completely closed off.

However, Vivek Singh allayed fears from the Mathura flood control room, saying that there is no danger of flood in the city. The rise in levels comes as a result of water being discharged from the Okhla Barrage three days ago. Water has also been released in large quantity from the Harnaul escape. The effects are now being felt downstream. To minimize the impact, 25,000 cusecs of water has been released from the bGokul Barrage.

Nevertheless, if the water levels rise any further, dozens of families may have to vacate their homes.

(Dainik Jagran)

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Vrindavan, 2017.09.07 (VT): JCB backhoes will once again be roaring in illegal colonies in the Yamuna floodplain on Thursday. The district administration and the MVDA are taking action to demolish illegal constructions with the help of the police.

The Associate District Magistrate (ADM) for Finance and Revenue issued warnings to those living in the Kalidaha area. The MVDA has specifically identified 87 houses for demolition.

In compliance with the July 23 order of the High Court, the District Magistrate has ordered the demolition of the illegal houses built in Yamuna flood plain. The district administration had been ordered to take action on 15 homes to be demolished over 15 days, but did not do so.

Since there will be a hearing in the High Court again this month and the district administration will have to present a report on their compliance with the order, it has once again taken up the task of clearing the flood-prone areas.

So for the past two days, notice has been given to those living in these illegal colonies to vacate their homes.

All in all 21 residential colonies in the flood plain have been marked for demolition.

On Wednesday, Ravindra Kumar (ADM Finance and Revenue), SPCC Shravan Kumar, CO Sadar Vijayashankar Mishra and MVDA officials gave official warning to those in the Kaliyadaha and Madan Mohan temple areas. On receiving them, a meeting was immediately held in the Shreeji Bhatika under the leadership of Shyam Nishad, the head of the Vrindavan Bangar Gram Panchayat. In the meeting blame was placed on the different departments that allowed such construction to take place.

They unanimously denounced the administration’s actions. Pradhan Shyam Nishad said that the District Administration made the new Gram Panchayat of Vrindavan Bangar with government permission in 2015. It was chosen. The Revenue Department declared this land to be residential and the Office of the Registrar has been taking registration fees on the land.

Furthermore, the MVDA has not only not stopped construction at any time in the last two decades, but electricity, water, roads and sewer lines have been built in the area without any objection. 81 toilets were even constructed here under the Clean India Mission of the Central Government.

Despite all this, action is being taken to demolish the houses of these areas. Among those who expressed their indignation were Totaram, Shyam Bihari, Devakinandan, Atal Bihari Goswami, Mahesh Jadoun, Pappu, Ravi Shankar, Kamal, Kanhaiya etc. were present.

ADM speaking to Shyam Nishad (Dainik Jagran)

<b>Land being allotted for widows on the flood plain</b>

In a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, the district administration has allotted land for the rehabilitation of destitute widows in the Yamuna flood plain. A team from the Revenue Department reached Jagannath Ghat on Wednesday to designate to mark the allotted land for the construction of the building for the rehabilitation of destitute women and widowed mothers.

According to Ashok Chahar Kanungo and Patwari OP Patel, 17 years ago the Director of Women Welfare Department appealed to the District Administration for land to be earmarked for this purpose. The district administration passed the proposal by selecting two acres at plot 137 at Jagannath Ghat. This was signed over to the Women’s Welfare Dep’t on Oct. 11, 2002 for the purpose of building an ashram for these women.

Since then, the WWD continued to correspond with the Department of Revenue to get the land registered. However, now ADM Finance and Revenue Ravindra Kumar is saying that if any land has been allocated for construction in the khadar zone, it will have to be verified in accordance with the new guidelines.

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Vrindavan, 2017.09.07 (AU) : The municipal corporation has announced a campaign to round up stray animals and hand them over to goshalas. This campaign will run from Thursday to September 15th.

In the city, stray animals roaming around the streets become the cause of most vehicle accidents. The problems are particularly felt in crowded areas, where pedestrians have to face a lot of trouble from their presence.

Having received many complaints, the State Government has given instructions to the municipal corporation to catch stray animals in the city.

Upper town commissioner Dr Brajesh Kumar said that the cows and bulls caught in the campaign would be sent to Ramesh Baba’s Goshala and two Gaushalas in Vrindavan.

On the other hand, a problem that will be faced is that most of the animals roaming the streets are bulls, which most Goshalas do not keep. Only stray cows are kept in the goshalas. The municipal corporation will have difficulties in finding a place for the bulls.

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Vrindavan, 2017.09.06, (VT): The city commissioner is keeping an eye out for people littering on Vrindavan’s main roads of Vrindavan. In compliance with NGT orders, steps are being taken to keep Vrindavan clean and tidy.

In a joint meeting with all employees of the Vrindavan zone, Dr. Ujjwal Kumar, the Vrindavan city commissioner, spoke in the zone office of the Mathura-Vrindavan municipal corporation, stressing the harmonization of various aspects of the new combined city. He gave employees guidelines regarding the issue of drinking water supply, street repairs, cleaning work, the complete ban on polythene, etc. He also encouraged them to do their work assiduously.

The Commissioner said that in compliance with the NGT, action will be taken against those who are defiling public places and roads. The corporation has identified those public areas in Vrindavan where most of the littering is done. Fines anywhere from five to fifty thousand rupees will be levied. Those not capable of paying will be sent to jail.

Commissioner Dr. Ujjwal Kumar said that he has himself inspected Vrindavan several times. The hot spots for garbage are Mathura Marg, Vidyapeeth Chaurah, Banke Bihari temple and the Parikrama Marg. He promised that strict action will be taken by the corporation shortly.

NGT says to impose Rs 10,000 fine on people littering public places.

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Vrindavan, 2017.09.08 (VT): Although the pillars of the “half moon bridge” at Keshi Ghat have been dismantled, the litigation filed to stop the bridge’s construction still continues in the Allahabad High Court. The petition, which has been pending before the court since 2010, also challenged the illegal construction on the Yamuna floodplain between the ghats and the river, as well as the drains that dump raw sewage into Yamuna.

On August 23rd, the Court passed a very strong order to demolish the illegal structures on the Yamuna floodplain.

Demolitions have already begun on the Yamuna’s floodplain stretching from Kaliyadaha all the way to Cheer Ghat. A total of 87 structures, ranging from small residences to large ashrams, have been marked for destruction. The demolitions are being carried out by the Mathura District Administration and the Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authoridy (MVDA) in direct compliance with the High Court’s order.

Police and para-military forces have been deployed in large numbers to ensure that the demolitions are executed peacefully.

Although construction on the Yamuna floodplain is against the law, for over a decade the District Administration has turned a blind eye.

A strongly-worded order issued by the Honorable Justices Arun Tandon and Ritu Raj Awasthi states that 192 individuals received official warning notices for illegal construction work. These notices were issued between the years of 2009 and 2010. However, the government did not follow up on these notices, and construction continued unabated.

Local residents allege that those serving the notices demanded bribes in exchange for allowing these buildings to be constructed.

The latest order states, “We find that these notices were issued in the year 2009-10. More than 7 years have lapsed; we fail to understand that what is the purpose of issuing notices under Section 27 (1) of the [Urban Planning] Act [of] 1973, if the authorities are not to enforce the provisions.”

“We afford one last opportunity to the District Magistrate, Mathura […] to ensure that the proceedings under Section 27 (1) are brought to their logical end at the earliest.”

The order goes on to state that fifteen of the pending demolitions must be completed within the next fifteen days, starting from the date the affidaivit was issued and beginning with the oldest notice served. Afterwards the district government must file a an affidaivit of compliance with the Allahabad high court, which is to be submitted personally by the Nagar Ayukt of Mathura.

The same cycle is to be repeated every 15 days until all of the illegal constructions on the floodplain are destroyed.

The order further states that should the court’s order remain unfulfilled, the District Magistrate of Mathura, Mr. Aravind Malappa Bangari, will be required to appear in court personally and provide an explanation.

The next court date is set for September 13th, 2017.

The High Court’s order also stated that the Mathura-Vrindavan Nagar Nigam (MVDA) has no permanent Vice-Chairman or Secretary, and till now the ADM has been doing the Secretary’s work, while the District Magistrate himself has been fulfilling the responsibility of the Vice Chairman.

Despite the court’s order to demolish the older buildings first, it has been observed by Vrindavan Today staff that the local government appears to be demolishing smaller buildings first, as they were unable to destroy large ashrams with the equipment available (small earth-movers).

To demolish these large buildings, it appears that cranes with wrecking balls, explosives, or other more sophisticated techniques and equipment will be required. At the time of publication, the owners of several large ashrams have reportedly been asked to demolish their property themselves.

We will bring you more news on the Yamuna floodplain demolitions as it arises.

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Vrindavan, 2017.09.09 (VT): Sadhvi Ritambhara’s Vatsalya Gram ashram in Vrindavan is best known for its unique concept of offering shelter to women and children. The program reinvents the concepts of an orphanage, women’s shelter and old age home, combining them to create a special community where women, unrelated by blood, can live together in family units.

But the ashram also has a school for children with special needs, which is known as Vaishishtyam.

Speech therapy lab

Vaisistyam provides specialised learning for children with Autism, Down’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, hearing impairments, speech disabilities, mental retardation, learning disabilities and other issues. In addition to academic subjects, the school offers sign language, speech therapy, physiotherapy and pre-vocational training. It also provides recreational classes such as vocal music, art, rollerskating and handball.

Speaking to Vrindavan Today, the Principal of Vaishishtyam Ms. Meenaxi Agrawal said, “The children love learning, and they are also great at sports. Two of our children, Gautam Sonkar and Akash Gaur, recently qualified for the national championships in rollerskating and handball. They are in Lucknow at the moment for the competition.”

Transportation to and from home is provided. But of the approximately 114 children studying at Vaishishtyam, some of them have no home to go to. They were abandoned by their parents in Vatsalya Gram’s “palna” (cradle) – a bed with a window that allows parents in dire straits to abandon their children with complete anonymity. These children live at Vatsalya Gram and are taken care of in every way by the ashram.

Vrindavan resident Jennifer Michael said, “My son is on the Autism spectrum. I don’t know what we would have done without Vaishishtyam. It amazes me that there are facilities in Vrindavan that support families with special children, and many such children come to live in Vrindavan through their hostel facility. I also volunteer with the children of Vaishishtyam teaching them music.

“It’s a real joy to be in their presence. There is something really special about these kids. I learn a lot from them.”

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I take shelter of the place where Sri Nanda Maharaj offered the Annakūṭa-feast to Govardhana hill, and where Sri Krishna deceived Sri Radha by offering her a boon, assuming a very huge body.

To bestow faith on the cowherds Sri Krishna assumed another huge body, proclaimed “I am Govardhana hill!”, and then ate the huge feast offered by the cowherds. (Bhāg. 10.24.35)

In his Gopāla-campū (Pūrva, 18th Pūraṇa) Śrīmad Jiva Goswamipāda describes how Sri Krishna assumed this large form to eat the Annakūṭa offering:

This giant took handfuls of rice and vegetables from each of the huge piles of food and began to eat it, and in between he attracted small ponds, lakes and rivers to have something to drink. In this way, all the pools and ponds were all dried up. Wherever Sri Krishna, who had attained the form of Govardhana hill, stuck out his hand to take some food, there all the Vrajavasis came running, just like chataka birds.

The Govardhana giant placed all the vegetables in the piles of rice and began to take big morsels with his right hand, while sticking up his left thumb and index finger as if deriding Indra. To take more food he began to extend and retract his hand so fast that he covered all four directions. When the Vrajavasis saw that with their own eyes they became greatly astonished, because there was not even one grain of rice left over at the place where the mountain had eaten. He had become fattened and nourished exactly to the extent he had eaten. In this way Girirāja finished his meal in no time.

Seeing the most amazing way in which Sri Girirāja was eating, the children became afraid, the youngsters laughed and the elders became astonished. Jubilant Girirāja was very pleased with anyone who had become qualified for devotional service. Then he got himself water from afar, repeatedly washed his mouth with it and repeatedly spat the water out again. This water caused high grass to grow. Then Girirāja took some large bamboo-rods and brushed his teeth with them. By revealing this peerless transcendental form Girirāja fulfilled everyone’s desires. Then he took millions of betel leaves and began to chew them. Blossoming of pride, he made his face look even more beautiful than the morning sun.

Śrīla Dāsa Goswamipāda says: “Sri Krishna assumed this gigantic form when he had the mount worshiped so that he could find a pretext to deceive Sri Radha by granting her a boon.” Out of bashfulness Sri Radha and Krishna cannot freely look at each other in front of their superiors. This desire, cherished within the heart for so long, had become so strong that Sri Krishna revealed this gigantic mountain-form in which he could eat. Now Sri Radharani could freely gaze at her beloved in front of her elders and swim in an ocean of bliss by accepting this blessing at the  same time that everyone else was also accepting blessings from him. Śrīla Jiva Goswamipāda has written:

In this pastime Sri Krishna did not only reveal the sacrifice to Girirāja; he also relished the increase of beauty of the moon-like faces of Sri Radhika and the Vrajasundarīs.

Raghunath Das Goswami says: “I take shelter of the place at the base of Girirāja where Sri Krishna’s Annakūṭa-pastime took place.”

I take shelter of the place where Sri Vrajendra Nanda patiently listened to Sri Krishna’s advice to offer a mountain of food to Girirāja Govardhana with all the cowherd men and women, and where Sri Govinda assumed a gigantic form in an unseen way, so that he could eat the food mountain and deceive Sri Radha on the pretext of offering her a boon.

Commentary of Sri Radha Kund Mahant, Pandit Sri Ananta Das Babaji Maharaj is named Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā (a drop of the nectar of Stavāvalī), and was published in Gaurābda 503 (1989 A.D.) from Sri Krishna Chaitanya Shastra Mandir, Vrajananda Ghera, PO Radhakunda (district Mathura), U.P., India.

Devotional songs in Bengali that follow each commentary were composed by Dr. Haripada Sheel.

© Translated by Advaita dāsa in 1994

More of Ananta Das Pandit’s writings in English translation can be found at Tarun Govinda’s blog, Amrita Tarangini.

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Vrindavan, 2017.09.10 (DJ): “The Braj Culture Museum of the Vrindavan Research Institute is not only valuable for local or national researchers, but will be of interest to people from around the globe. Its collections — the art objects and manuscripts inspired by Braj culture, which are preserved and on display here, will highlight Braj to the entire world.” So said National Museum Director General, Dr. Buddha Rashmi Mani, who visited the VRI on Saturday with his wife.

(Dainik Jagran)

While inspecting the Braj Culture Museum on Saturday, the Director General of the National Museum, Dr B.R. Mani, noted that the contents on display there are not only of interest to students and scholars, but to pilgrims as well as tourists who visit Vrindavan.

He particularly appreciated the new “Fourth Gallery” which is focused on folk culture.

Dr. Mani was an archeaologist and a former ADG of the Archaeological Survey of India. He attained national prominence when given the assignment of investigating the claims surrounding the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 2003. He became embroiled in controversy for his findings, as he claimed to have found the remnants of a tenth century temple on the site of the mosque. He was named director of the National Museum in 2016.

He gave numerous suggestions for the development of the Institute and its museum.

VRI director Satish Chandra Dikshit said that the concept of the museum is to showcase all aspects of Braj culture to the common person.

One of the art works in the VRI, that of Chaitanya in his six armed form with Nityananda and Gadadhar Pandit.

Present during his visit, Institute Director Satish Chandra Dikshit, member of Governing Council Dr. Meena Gautam, Vishnu Gautam, former curator of Allahabad Museum and Vithika consultant Dr. Ranjan Shukla, Dr. Brij Bhushan Chaturvedi, Dr. Rajesh Sharma, Mamta Kumari, Trekharani, Umashankar Purohit , Jaydev De, Sukumar Goswami, Rajat Shukla, Rajkumar Shukla, Mahendra Singh, Vinod Jha, Ashok Dikshit, etc., were also present.

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Vrindavan, 2017.08.10 (VT): The sixth All-India Magic Convention, ‘Magic Karishma 2017’ brought 400 magicians from all over India to Vrindavan. The convention was organized by Goa’s All-India Magic Academy to develop and expand the art of magic.

Madhugandha Indrajit, a female magician from Maharashtra, said that Vrindavan was chosen as the host city for the conference because Kanha is the greatest magician.

Magician O.P. Sharma

Indrajit had a gleam in her eye when she described Krishna’s magical flute that could make the gopis dance.

Magician DK Gupta of Haryana said, “magic is an art which has ancient history but it is currently on the brink of extinction”. Describing the need for the conference, he said, “we need to encourage the art of magic so that people understand magic as an art form and the young people of our generation take up this art”.

The magic convention began on Saturday in Fogla Ashram and was attended by some of the biggest names in the magic industry.

The famous magician of Telangana BNS Kumar and magician OP Sharma spoke about the challenges that face emergin

g magicians. They spoke about the need for government support to attract today’s youth to this profession and keep the ancient tradition alive.

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Mumbai, 2017.08.10 (Rizwan Mithawala, TNN): Four years ago, when young Laxmi was rescued from begging outside temples in Mulund, the 18-year-old could not walk properly and a crane had to lift her on to a truck for her journey to a new life. For, the elephant had been feeding on sugary prasad from temples and 200 vada pavs a day, and had become obese— at 5000 kgs, she was overweight by 1800 kgs. Laxmi’s companion elephant, suffering from similar health issues due to severe neglect, had collapsed and died in front of her eyes.

Today, she not only walks gleefully, but also plays in a pool and wallows in the mud as she has shed 700 kgs during her stay at Mathura’s Elephant Conservation and Care Center (ECCC) run by wildlife conservation charity Wildlife SOS. She was put on a calibrated diet of green fodder and nutritious vegetables. The abscesses in her feet have now healed and Vitamin D3 supplements keep her arthritis in check.

“For a young elephant of 18 years, being 1,800-kg overweight could have severely impacted her ability to live,” said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of the conservation charity. Elephants life for 40 to 65 years.

“She had those mental scars (the companion’s death),” said Satyanarayan. “She was severely traumatised and frightened of other elephants too.” After four years of love and medical care, she has transformed into a gregarious and playful elephant. She is particularly fond of the bulls, and squeals with excitement whenever she smells or sights one of them while out on her walks. “She is the only one who squeals in this typical happy tone,” says Satyanarayan. She enjoys two walks every day with her friends-Bijli and Chanchal.

Laxmi the elephant. P.C. Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation Center, Mathura

But Satyanarayan and Laxmi cannot rest easy yet. “We are still caught in a court battle to retain her custody as her previous ‘illegal’ owner and abuser still claims ownership and keeps filing cases in different courts,” he said. “The legal battle is taking up a lot of our resources but we are committed to Laxmi and will not let her down.” Laxmi was poached as a calf from her wild herd and initially trained to work at a circus. Later, the female elephant was used for begging outside temples in Mulund.

Wildlife SOS is providing critical medical treatment and care to 24 elephants rescued from circuses, street begging and manual labour. While 21 of them enjoy the comforts of the care centre in Mathura, three are housed at a similar facility in Haryana. “Every elephant you see in captivity is stolen from its mother at a very young age; once in captivity, it is tied up and beaten for months to break its spirit. Later, sophisticated pain inflicting tools are used to make it submissive and obedient,” he said while speaking at an awareness event about the plight of elephants in the country hosted by the Royal Western Indian Turf Club (RWITC) at the Mahalaxmi racecourse on Friday.

The club along with the horse owners’ association presented a cheque of Rs5 lakh for the care of these elephants. “We are all animal lovers. We are supporting a good cause by raising awareness and helping protect elephants,” said Vivek Jain, chairman of RWITC.

Click here to learn more or to donate towards Laxmi’s care at Wildlife SOS Mathura.

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Vrindavan, 2017.08.10 (VT): A meeting of the Garib Ekta Dal (“The United Poor People’s Party”) was held at Bhakti Niketan on Saturday for those who have been made homeless by the administration’s current demolition campaign on the Yamuna floodplain, to express anger and to make their concerns known.

Those who have suddenly had their homes destroyed not only expressed their grief at the situation, but also demanded that the the state government replace the lost residences.

Sudhir Shukla said that the administration may be following the High Court order, but there had been no one to represent the interests of those who will suffer the most from the administration’s actions.

Swami Swatantratananda, the spiritual patron of the party, and Baba Madan Bihari Das said that it was wrong for the administration and the MVDA to permit construction between the Yamuna and the ghats, i.e., the Parikrama Marg. Land sales were registered, and millions of rupees were spent to have sewer lines installed, roads built and drinking water connections placed for the new colonies. After giving all these facilities it is certainly immoral to deprive these people of homes they had been duped into believing were legal, he said.

“The moral action on the part of the government is now to replace the homes that these people have lost so they can have the security of sleeping under a roof at night,” said Swami Swatantratananda.

Party president Vivek Mahajan and many other local activists including Abhay Vashishta, Praveen Agarwal and Devmurari Bapu, were present at the meeting.

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Vrindavan, 2017.09.10. (VT): DM Arvind Malappa Bangari has turned over the investigation of the case of financial irregularities against Mukesh Gautam, the former chairman of the Vrindavan Municipality, to a three-member probe committee headed by ADM (judicial) Aditya Prakash.

Complaints were filed with the state ombudsman (Lokayukta) against Mr. Gautam by Vrindavan resident and social activist Madhu Mangal Shukla. The ombudsman in turn asked the DM to investigate the matter and give a report.

The former chairman is accused of scamming Rs 80 crore in his work done during his five-year tenure.

In Shri Shukla’s complaint letter, about 15 kinds of administrative and financial irregularity were mentioned including money skimmed off on pipeline for the drinking water supply in Vrindavan, the paving of roads with interlocking brick, staff deployment, road construction, and so forth.

Taking cognizance of these complaints, the Lokayukta ordered the DM to investigate. In the investigation team, instructions were given to include ADM, one Exectuve Officer (EO) and one other administration official. On the order of the Lokayukta, DM formed a three-member inquiry committee consisting of ADM (judicial) Aditya Prakash, EO Nandgaon, and the Chief Treasurer.

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