If you ask a Hindu from any region of India about what place you should definitely visit, you can always hear, one of the first in a long list, the city of Vrindavan. In India guidebooks, photos of Vrindavan can be found very often. The sacred place is popular not only among locals, but also among tourists.
For some, this city seems boring or even dangerous, others, staying in it, are in complete oblivion with tears in their eyes from awe, others eagerly explore every corner and take a huge number of photos. Yes, this city is clearly not for trips of a purely entertaining nature. Vrindavan in India is a very specific settlement with many temples and holy places. Representatives of various religious denominations of Hinduism, mainly Vaishnavas (devoted to the god Krishna), spend time here. To understand what kind of city this is, you need to plunge into the history of terms, names and names.
Vrindavan Concept
Vaishnavism (or Vishnuism) is one of the main religious movements of Hinduism, it originates many centuries ago. Vaishnavas worship Lord Vishnu and his avatars, mainly Rama and Krishna. Also overimplies compliance with a set of certain mandatory rules. For example, you should not expose your body to intoxication, you should not eat meat, fish and eggs, every day it is desirable to repeat the names of the Lord in the form of a sacred mantra: "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare". The mantra is repeated on a wooden rosary, where there are 107 beads, one repetition of it is one bead. Advanced Vaishnavas chant the mantra for at least 16 rounds on the rosary. For believers, this process takes about 2.5 hours. It is auspicious to chant the mantra very early in the morning before sunrise. The rosaries are kept in special cloth bags, as they are made from the sacred tulasi tree. It grows in India and is very common among Vaishnavas.
Srila Prabhupada is the main person
The main figure in the Vaishnava world is Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, also known as Srila Prabhupada. The main goal of this man was to disseminate information about Krishna throughout the world, he wanted to introduce a pious lifestyle, transfer his knowledge and experience through books and sermons. He managed to do a great job in this field and left behind a lot of followers, books, records. He was a tireless traveler and never backed down from his idea. There is a temple in Vrindavan where Prabhupada's ashes and memorial are kept. This is a very beautiful place, the building is made entirely of white marble. In hot weather, it is very pleasant to be in a cool marble room, presenting an imagethis extraordinary person.
Main attractions of Vrindavan in India
Vrindavan is famous for having a very large number of temples. There are 5,000 of them in total. However, according to local residents, there are many more temples. They pray and worship deities every morning. The deities are presented in the form of statues, stones and dolls in colorful clothes. If you see an oval-shaped stone with stripes - this is Shivalingam, worship of it looks very interesting. It is doused several times with liquid (milk, water), then smeared with melted butter, and then crowned with fresh flowers. If you walk the streets of the city of Vrindavan in India, you will notice a huge number of men and women selling fragrant wreaths and bouquets. You would think that local women are surrounded by numerous admirers buying flowers. But no, all flowers and all the best are for temples and deities.
Here is the sacred river Yamuna. Various rituals are performed in it: ablution, cremation, pujas and so on. The Yamuna (Jamna) is the most abundant and longest tributary of the Ganges, in the city area it is quite heavily polluted. Despite this, many locals bathe in it. In shallow water, cows and buffaloes ford the Yamuna after a day out grazing.
Locals live off trade and animal husbandry. Their life is very simple and modest. Luxury can only be found in hotels and temples.
Vrindavan contingent
The number of permanent residents of the city is about57 thousand people. But between October and November, the number of people per square kilometer increases dramatically. All Vaisnavas and interested pilgrims try to visit Vrindavan. Of course, there is a very good reason for this. The holy month of Kartika runs from October 6 to November 4. It is believed that the benefit received from the service in this month is several times greater than the benefit received from the service the rest of the time. Therefore, it is very difficult to book hotels in Vrindavan during this period. If there is a desire to visit the city at this particular time, then it is better to take care of booking accommodation in advance. Some book hotels and rooms a year in advance. Hotels in Vrindavan in India have a different price category and star rating. The infrastructure is gradually developing in the city, the choice of housing for tourists is increasing.
Kartika - the holy month
So, if you are still lucky enough to get to Vrindavan during the Kartika period, you can see very beautiful Vaishnava rites, hear the performance of songs pouring straight from the heart. In Kartik, a huge number of lamps are lit in honor of Krishna and his mother Yashoda, they are floated on the water along with flowers and other attributes of worship.
Vaishnavas have a distinctive feature - these are small ponytails of hair on their heads. They all wear rag bags with a rosary and yellow clay in the form of a horseshoe is applied to their foreheads. Vaishnavas can be found all over the world - they are people in spacious multi-colored clothes with drums, dancing and singing about their Lord Krishna, they also often sell booksabout Krishna in busy streets. Moreover, the Vaishnavas are not only Hindus, among them there are a huge number of people of other nationalities. Thanks to Srila Prabhupada, Vaishnavism spread far to the west. There are a lot of admirers of this religious direction among our compatriots.
Vrindavan - the city of Krishna's childhood
Why do Vaishnavas gather in India in Vrindavan? The answer is very simple. This city is considered to be the place where Krishna spent his childhood and youth. Vrindavan is a "city of 5000 temples", each of its streets serves as a reminder of the life of Krishna. Also nearby is the city where he was born - Mathura. Every corner of Vrindavan is considered sacred, including animals, trees, and even dust on the road. People who were born in Vrindavan are considered lucky because, according to the Vaishnavas, they live their last life in an imperfect world. Their next birth will be on the higher planets, or the cycle of birth and death will be completely interrupted, and they will fall into Nirvana - the eternal bliss of nothingness.
Indian yoga
Here you can also often meet yogis, some of them very thin. They can be seen with matted hair, smeared with a white or yellow mixture, their body is only covered with pieces of cloth, and sometimes there is only an iron cap in the groin area. They live on the street in makeshift tents, eat very modestly, wash in the rivers. These people have completely devoted their lives to meditation and reflection, they are not interested in material goods.
Here you can rarely meet a tourist dressed in the latest fashion with an expensive camera in his hands, they are not interested here. This city has completely different standards of beauty and fashion. Women here wear floor-length saris, while men wear dhoti - sheets tied in a special way at the hips.
Flora and fauna
Green parrots, peacocks, buffaloes, dogs, cows, piglets - they all live on the streets of Vrindavan in India. And, of course, the main thieves of the city are monkeys. You can write a separate article about them. They feed on whatever they find during the day. Smart and cunning animals often take off glasses from tourists, take away cameras, fruits, food bags. They also visit open windows and doors. But there is another group of monkeys - Hanuman's langurs. They behave nobly and with dignity, the Hindus consider them sacred animals and revere them. They look unusual, you can recognize them by their white tuft. Almost every temple has its own langurs.
Lots of cows and buffaloes roaming the streets and roads freely is a common sight in India. A cow is considered a mother-breadwinner, animal meat is not eaten, only milk and dairy products are eaten.
The flora of Vrindavan is represented by bright and impressive plants. Huge age-old banyans, small knotty trees, spreading shrubs - everything pleases the eye. In many nearby protected areas, nature is not touched at all, where you can feel like an ancientman at the origins of civilization.
How to get to Vrindavan in India?
The city of Vrindavan is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, in the northern part of India, 185 kilometers from New Delhi. Upon arrival in the capital of India, you can order a taxi to Vrindavan or go there by bus. Usually the journey takes 5-6 hours. The fare for a taxi varies from 2.5 to 7 thousand Indian rupees, it all depends on how you know how to negotiate.
The climate is very humid, as Vrindavan is located in the subtropical zone. When the monsoon winds begin to blow, a lot of precipitation falls - about 85% of the annual norm. The average temperature in winter is +13+17°C. In spring the temperature reaches +32°C. The weather of Vrindavan in India is typical for this state. It is still recommended to take warm clothes with you, as the nights in the winter months are very cold, and there are no heating elements anywhere. Warm blankets and scarves can be purchased at marketplaces throughout India, and quality woolen items are very cheap. Many tourists take sleeping bags with them, as this is a very practical thing. Firstly, they are comfortable and warm, and secondly, bed linen in some cheap hotels is very rarely fresh and clean. In India, be prepared to compromise your cleanliness standards.
Often impressions and reviews of tourists about Vrindavan and India as a whole are contradictory. Some admire the temples and lifestyle of the Hindus, others are shocked. One thing is clear: this country does not leave anyone indifferent. Try to love her by closing your eyes to the material world andcompletely immersed in the spirituality that reigns in her.
