Vrindavan - the name is derived from Vrinda (meaning basil) and van (meaning grove)

Vrindavan is considered as the holiest place of India where the celestial abode of Lord Krishna and goddess Radha resides. It's a 4 hour drive by car from Delhi and we started finishing our breakfast from New Delhi ( Continuation from this post) and directly checked into the Hotel Royal Sarovar, as all the temples are closed during lunch time. As we entered the city, these gates reflected the religious culture that the city follows - a full vegan city where no one eats non-veg and even non-veg is not served anywhere, even in star hotels.

Royal Sarovar was a much better hotel compared to our previous one and boasts religious ambience with a nice vegan restaurant Tripti ( meaning pleasure).

Bhagavad Gita, the most epic Hindu scriptures near the entry showcases the hotel's commitment to the cultural heritage of the place.

And then this little visual guide inside the lift gives clue to all the religious places that one can explore. Taking an hour of rest, we started our tour at 3 p.m., heading directly to the Keshi ghat, the most worshiping place built in 17th century where traditional rituals are performed. The vehicle is not allowed inside and we had to leave it at the parking place and go by an battery operated auto, unfortunately, there is no standard rate or governance, so you will have to bargain. On our way, we saw some people doing the Parikrama of all the temples, some even doing "Dandavat Parikrama" (prostrations on the ground - fall like a stick , pranam or Dandavat and get up and repeat). This is the first time I saw "Dandavat Parikrama" and the young auto driver explained like a guide. The entire Parikrama of all the temples is 21 kms long and most complete it walking barefoot (and even fasting), but those who cannot, can do it by rickshaw’s as well. What I did not like is the very bad condition of roads, on which people were doing "Dandavat Parikrama".

Keshi ghat on the banks of river Yamuna seems to had many ancient temples which are mostly broken now. One can take the boat ride and go to the centre of the river to witness the sunset and evening Aarti, but we didn't have plan for that.

You have to go through this very narrow road on the bank to reach Nidhivan, if you are coming from this way.

Beware of monkeys, they are waiting to snatch from you, so do hold your bags carefully.

His Mobile mania caught my attention.

Many foreigners come and stay in Vrindavan adopting to our culture abandoning their worldly life - realizing the eternal pleasure from the holy abode.

Walking through these narrow (and bad) roads we finally reached the Radha Ramanji temple.

Nidhivan, is close to this temple, where the idol of Shri Banke Bihariji (commonly called as Bihariji ) appeared.

The one way entry to Nidhivan and you have to take off your shoes and keep them at stands operated by local vendors and they protect them only from monkeys.

Even though there are barricades, it does not stop monkeys and they are in constant search of snatching your belongings, so don't hold your phone, or even wear spectacles.

Nidhivan is a mysterious place with these short heightened bending hollow Tulasi plants ( a different kind) standing in pairs, twisted downwards and it is believed they become alive at night, turning into Gopis and doing Raas Leela with Lord Krishna - something charmingly unbelievable for some, but true for the believers. That's is the reason its shut after 7 PM. And this is the place where Shri Banke Bihariji idol appeared. Swami Haridas continuously meditated at this place and pleased with his sheer devotion, one day Lord Krishna and Radha appeared in front of him. Swamiji wanted to have these heavenly beauty forever, and requested both of them to to take a single form and that is how they formed an idol known as Banke Bihari, a perfect metaphor to the combined beauty of dark Lord Krishna and the fair Radhaji. You can read more about this in this official site from the temple administration. The story definitely brings goosebumps, if you feel it by heart. The deity was initially being worshiped in a temple close to Nidhivan, but later was moved to the current temple constructed in 1862 AD.And it's believed that if you stare into the eyes of Shri Banke Bihariji idol for long, then you will lose self consciousness, hence the darshan is broken by drawing a curtain in front of him regularly.

This is the place where idol of Banke Bihariji appeared for Swami Haridas inside Nidhivan.

Getting out of Nidhivan, we took a rickshaw to go to the Banke Bihari temple. There are battery autos, but they were asking for unreasonable amount of fair and there is no administration at all. The roads are pretty narrow to accommodate the heavy crowd and you have to arrange everything on your own and be cautious at the same time. I hired a local guide who promised us to take inside easily, charging 500 rupees. This was very helpful for Mom as he protected and took us straight to the front of the deity with much difficulty. But if you are strong then you can go on your own.

The narrow roads to the temple is occupied by sweet shops and could have been managed much better.

The rush inside is very severe, and it's pretty difficult to reach the front. And you can go with your mobile, no checking of anything on your way.

I saw the priest taking the photo of Banke Bihariji in one mobile, may be for someone, but there are volunteers who shout at you if they see you taking photos. This is not good administration, if you have to ban, you have to ban even the priest.

Mom was initially not happy with me taking the guide, but after the visit, she realized, it was worth. Even though Vrindavan is not any of the Char Dhams, it's one of the holiest temple of Lord Krishna in the World, and she felt her religious journey to be complete after this - I have already taken her to all the Char Dhams. In the mean time enjoy this video of Banke Bihariji temple - you will be mesmerized with the devotion of people - the black lord has the magic to take all your pain and sufferings.

The exit from the temple - a very narrow pass-way through which only one person can go at one time.

And when many try, you can imagine the situation. The guide hold her and made some space to exit, but she was still hurt in the leg as others stepped on her. This was the worst experience - people should exit quickly de-congesting the inside. Coming back on our way, I captured some niche moments.

I requested them to pose for a photo and look at the smile on their face - happiness is from within.

The next best place to visit in Vrindavan is Prem Mandir.

But the security at the gate did not allow us to go inside with the camera. There are road side vendors, where you can keep them, but I did not feel they are safe. So we gave up coming there, and planned to come back next morning. I will keep it for another post, but we were able to go inside with the camera - wait for some interesting twist.

Given the religious importance of Vrindavan and large number of crowd, the Banke Bihari Corridor project will definitely make it a better place, hopefully, we will be able to see it again in few years, with more blissful experience. If you are strong and plan to visit Vrindavan, then plan it during Holi to get an unique experience of lifetime. The Banke Bihari temple celebrates the Holi festival with flowers. There will be crazy crowd, but if you be with them, you will enjoy it to the fullest.

This post will be part of my Google review of all these places - a little hive marketing. It takes immense amount of time to provide all the context and take you through a pictorial journey of these places, so that you get a feel of our places, culture.

#bankebihari #bankebiharivrindavan #vrindavan #krishna #bankebiharikijai #radhekrishna

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