Vrindavan Visit

        I have just returned from one of my long aspired place VRINDAVAN.

       Actually, my last boss in office was 'Krishna bhakt' and he used to describe the glory of Vrindavan so well, that I was desperate to go there. This weekend I felt an intense desire to go to Vrindavan. 

     On Friday (November 27), afternoon at office, I decided to visit Vrindavan with my Mom, though, I had not consulted with Mom about it yet. She had come to Delhi to attend a relative's marriage in Ghaziabad and was busy in it. After deciding to visit Vrindavan, I tried to contact her but as she was attending the marriage, her phone was going switched off. I was really very excited to ask her to accompany me to Vrindavan. Many times in the past, I had postponed  my plans to go to Vrindavan alone, just because I wanted to go there with my Mom. She is a staunch devotee of Lord Krishna and had earlier shown interest in visiting Vrindavan with me. 

     So.....it was November 27, I returned from office with an urge to persuade Mom to go with me, but on coming back home, I found that Mom had not returned home from marriage. As soon as she reached home (at about 8:30 pm), I asked her to come to Vrindavan with me next day. She showed reluctance at the moment, and said that she was very tired at that time. But I had already decided to go there with her. 

        Next morning, I got up at 5:45 am with an intention to convince Mom to come with me. I woke her up at 7 am offering her lukewarm water holding in my hand. I observed that she was still reluctant. "Shruti, I am feeling pain in my feet" she said. I asked her if she had put on sandles with high heels to attend marriage. When she nodded, I suggested her to put on flat slippers to go to Vrindavan. After some more requests, finally, she agreed to go to Vrindavan. 

   We took an auto for 'Sarai Kale khan', as I had already inquired from my office colleagues about the way and procedure to go to Vrindavan. After reaching 'Sarai Kale Khan', we saw a Delhi-Agra bus of Haryana Roadways. I asked my bus driver if the bus passes through 'Chatikaran Road', as my boss had suggested me to get down at Chattiraran Road instead of Mathura to go to Vrindavan. The bus driver nodded and we boarded the same bus which was about to start at 10:30 am. Also, one of my colleague had done his B.Tech. from GLA University of Mathura, so I asked him on whatsapp if there were any good hotels or dharamshalas in Vrindavan to stay. He told me that there were many hotels and suggested me to book hotels online. I asked him to book a good hotel for me as the internet speed of my mobile was not so fast to check and book hotels online. He booked a very good hotel and I paid him the booking-amount online. After that, I realized that we had not brought mobile charger or clothes with us for staying there, as we had thought of coming back on the same day. 

    We reached Chatikaran Road at about 2 pm. We got down from bus and took an auto for Vrindavan. On my way to Vrindavan, I had the same pious feeling which I used to feel in Haridwar. Old ladies, while asking for auto, were saying 'Radhe-Radhe'. Actually, at all the holy places, there is always a holy atmosphere or the auspicious waves that make me feel very joyous.Whenever I had visited Haridwar in the past, I used to think that the 'Holy Ganga' river was what made me so joyful. But here, at Vrindavan? No Ganga water, but the waves of pious feelings......!! 

    First we decided to buy some clothes for us so that we could pass 2 days there. So we asked some people about the way to market and we also enquired about the distance of our hotel from there. I was glad to see that everything was nearby. People suggested us to remove our spectacles and keep them in purse as monkeys could snatch them from us. My colleague had told me that milk, dahi, ghee etc dairy products of Mathura-Vrindavan were good, so first of all I decided to drink lassi from a shop. He gave us lassi with thick white 'malai' and pink Ruh-Afza poured over it in a 'Kullhad'. The lassi was really tasty. Then we moved towards market. We purchased our desired clothes from the market. People told us that 'Banke Bihari temple' was not very far from there but the gate of the temple was closed at that time, which used to open after 4:30 pm.

     We took rickshaw to go to Banke Bihari temple. All the rickshaw pullers utter 'Radhe-Radhe' in Vrindavan instead of ringing bell, when anybody comes in their way. Many cows and calves were roaming around in streets here and there. I asked Mom to notice all the cattle there and then told her that the dairy products were made from original milk as Mom does not rely on the dairy products very easily. She even doesn't drink the Amul Milk in Delhi. Any ways, we reached Banke Bihari temple at about 5 pm. 

    It was a very nice temple, built of white marbles and was surrounded by the shops of 'pedas' (I recalled of Mathura ka famous peda). Mom bought peda for prashad and we also bought 'Tulsi leaves mala' to offer to Banke Bihari in the temple. I was fortunate that there was not much crowd  at that time and I could easily do darshan of 'Banke Bihari'. I was so mesmerized by the beauty and magnetism of 'banke bihari' that I wanted to do darshan again and again. After offering parasad and tulsi mala, we took a seat far from main idol but the darshan of the idol was clear from there. We sat there till evening aarti of banke bihari. There is a feeling of being loved by 'Sri Krishna' in the temple. Sri Krishna is the epitome of the divine feeling called 'love'. So it was not strange to feel the same sentiments in his temples. We did our jap and after that we came out of the temple. It was dark outside now but we still had time to go to ISKCON temple. First, I ate some street food (Kanji-Vada) as I was feeling hungry. It was tasty. We, then took rickshaw  for ISKCON temple.

    Iskcon Temple is also very beautiful temple. In front of main idols of Radha-Krishna, many foreigners were singing Kirtan and many people were having fun by singing and dancing with them. We also enjoyed singing and clapping while reciting "Hare Krishna-Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna-Hare Hare, Hare Rama-Hare Rama, Rama Rama-Hare Hare". After half an hour or so we came out of the temple, but a strong feeling of having home at such place was taking shape in my mind. I was thinking of doing morning pooja at Banke Bihari temple, doing sewa of Gau-mata at many gaushalas situated in Vrindavan and in the evening doing kirtan at the Iskon Temple before sleeping. Wow! what an imagination!! It was about 9:30 pm and we took rickshaw for our hotel room. Hotel was very comfortable and I think it was one of the best hotels of that place. We ordered our dinner at hotel room after which we fall asleep.

    We also watched TV but only spiritual channels. I was surprised to see that now-a-days there are so many channels on spirituality also. At one channel, Ramdev Baba could be seen doing Yoga, at another channel Sri Sri Ravishankar answering questions of his devotees, at some other channel Brahmakumaris' peace talks and many more channels. In the morning, we took bath and did our morning Jap at the room. At about 10 am we checked out of the hotel. 

    While doing formalities of checking out of the hotel, I heard a couple asking the hotel-manager about 'Nidhivan'. the manager told him that Nidhivan was just 2 kilometres away from the hotel. I looked at Mom asking her to go to Nidhivan. I remembered that earlier, Mom had expressed her wish to go to Nidhivan, where Rasleela of Sri Krishna, Radha Rani and the Gopis still happens every night. We took an E-rickshaw for Nidhivan. It was very cold outside. I bought a red stole for myself on the way to cover my head and ears.

     The way for Nidhivan was not that clean but the Nidhivan itself was clean. There were many Kadamb-trees. A guide nearby was telling tourists that each tree becomes a Gopi at night in the Rasleela. Mom heard this and felt very blessed by touching and hugging those trees. I also felt very nice at Nidhivan. Actually the holy and pious feelings are beyond words. Those can be felt but can't be explained. At one temple in Nidhivan some people were singing and dancing on Radha-Krishna Bhajans. We came out of Nidhivan after such a nice experience.

    Then, there was a temple or historical place near Nidhivan called 'Sewa Bhawan'. It was also good. There was prasad of Plain butter+Misri+Tulsi in one earthen pot. It was very delicious. Now we took an E-rickshaw for Mathura Road, from where we took an auto for Janmabhoomi Temple, Mathura. Reaching Mathura, the first thing I noticed was cattle and cow-dung on roads, and the second thing I noticed was again the milk, dahi and lassi shops. I looked at Mom again to ask her for drinking lassi. We drank 1-1 Kulhad lassi, which was delicious. 

     After it we straight-away went to 'Janmabhumi temple' Mathura. But alas! 4 of the total 5 temples were closed at that time. They were to open after 4 or 5 pm but as we had to board the bus for Delhi we could not wait till 4 pm, so we decided to take darshan of the only temple which was opened at that time. It was 'Kaaragrih', where lord Krishna took birth long long back. The temple was half broken as it was converted to mosque by Mughal Ruler Aurangzeb. The Temple premises was very huge and there were shops of lassi and Rabadi too. On my request (to mummy), we both ate rabadi. We then took prasaad as our lunch there and then came out of temple, thinking that the next time we would come with Papa as the trip was half done without watching all the temples of Krishna Janmabhumi, Mathura. 

    I asked a Policeman outside the temple as to where we could get empty buses for Delhi. He suggested us to go to 'Govardhan Chauraha' by auto. Finally we got a half filled bus for Delhi at Govardhan Chauraha. Mom bought a packet of Aloo bhujiya namkeen and we left for Delhi at about 1:30 pm thinking about the memories that were captured in our minds and I was eager to write a blog on the visit.