After our extremely weak excursion to Agra, we were all happy to escape to the much more dignified and extremely holy city of Vrindavan. Vrindavan is the city where Lord Krishna (one of the avataras of Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation) is said to have spent his childhood days. Krishna is one of the most widely worshiped gods in the Hindu pantheon and is the central figure of divinity in the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic. In fact, the Bhagavad Gita, the most well known Hindu text in the world, is merely a short excerpt from the massive Mahabharata, the longest epic poem of all time - ten times the length of The Illiad and Odyssey combined. Krishna's own life story is very interesting and has had an immense impact on the lives of average Indians throughout history.
The story goes that a prophecy fortold the death of the king of Mathura (a neighboring city of Vrindavan) by the hands of the king's sister's child. The king, fearing death, systematically killed each one of his sister's children immediately after they were born. Six children were killed in this manner, but the eighth child, Krishna, was saved. It's interesting to note that the seventh child, Krishna's brother Balarama, was also saved - through a womb transfer. Yep - we won't get into the divine logistics of that for now.
Anyways, Krishna was taken across the river to the city of Vrindavan, where he was raised by foster parents. He lived in a family of cowherds, and grew up just like any other child in rural India during the time. Krishna's childhood antics are very personable - he was friendly, mischievous, and, believe it or not, very flirtatious with all the village gopis. As an adult, Krishna reveals his divinity (and the divinity of all things) in the Bhagavad Gita. His life is said to be an example for all to follow.
While in Vrindavan we stayed in the ISKCON mandir. ISKCON stands for International Society of Krishna Conciousness, and is a very interesting and unique Hindu movement which was actually founded in New York City in 1966 by Swami Prabhupada. ISKCON emphasizes the path of Bhakti Yoga, which revolves around devotion. The central mantra of the ISKCON movement is the Maha Mantra - which is a very simple mantra offering praise to Krishna/God/the Universe - however you want to look at it. One of the most famous ISKCON devotees is the great George Harrison - another idol of my brother and I. We even saw a Grateful Dead concert poster from the 70's within the mandir walls which had an image of Swami Prabhupada levitating on it. Psychedelic.
The mandir was a very beautiful place, and for the first time in my life I saw Hindus of all nationalities in one place. Never before had I seen so many Caucasian Hindus, and I even saw an African Hindu - it was pretty cool. ISCKON is also known for its love of music and dance, and devotees were singing, dancing, and playing music in the main mandir hall throughout the day.
It was all a welcome relief from the materialism of Agra, and we were happy to spend the night at the ISKCON mandir.
A final note: it is said that there is a room in Vrindavan where the spirit of Krishna remains. Nobody is allowed to enter this room, for it is said that anybody who enters will go mad from the overwhelming power of Krishna's spirit. Every night there is prasad offered to Krishna which is placed inside the room, and every morning it is said that the food is gone.
Hare Krishna indeed!
avatara - avatar (this is where the word originated)
gopis - Krishna's girlfriends
prasad - divine offering
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