Blog

A visit to Gokul Dhama, Belgaum

By Sri Chaitanya Chandra Das

I visited Belgaum recently for Ratha Yatra. Belgaum is a town situated on the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka. After Ratha Yatra I had the good fortune of visiting Gokul Dhama, a 415 acre farm community situated 30 KM from Belgaum conducted under HH Bhakti Rasamrita Maharaj. Late afternoon, after an hour ride we reached there by car. I was visiting the farm first time hence there was lot of anticipation. One of my friend Vrajeshvar Prabhu resides there. We both joined Pune temple together. Later he shifted to Gokul Dhama. When I called and informed him about my visit he was pleasantly surprised. Although the farm is famous for unexpected guests my visit was exception as Vrajeshavar Prabhu & me share close friendship.

I reached there by 6 PM. Around 12 devotees reside there. After some chatting, chanting and Prasadam we all slept early. I had lost the habit of sleeping so early hence thoughts gushed through my mind. In metropolises due to mercy of electricity people do not sleep (or cannot sleep) early but here electricity is conspicuous by its absence so you have to sleep early (and get up early also!). Lying in the bed I was thinking of my cumulative fascination for staying close to nature. I could realize that the roots of this attraction lie in my childhood when I used to visit our native village during school vacations where my grandparents resided. There we stayed quiet close to nature and natural people. We had a vast place in the outskirts of village with natural surroundings. Almost 40 relatives used to congregate in Diwali and summer vacations to relax. Sadhus used to visit the house daily, there were Katha & kirtans in the evenings. Life was centered around God. People were God fearing in the village. We as mischievous children used follow the daily chore of swimming in the river, tending the cows in the forest, smearing floor with cow dung, milking the cows, playing with other village children, visiting temple, fetching water from river, etc. But due to influence of urbanization everything gradually vanished behind the curtain of time. Only memories precipitated. The Village is no longer a village now. But it deeply sowed the seed of simple living in my heart which was later nourished by philosophy of ISKCON. Before in the village life I was following “Simple living but hardly thinking”. Later in the city I was following “Simply living and hardly thinking”. By grace of Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON now trying to follow “Simple living and high thinking”. It’s gradual progression. So now here I am in the middle of a reserved forest in Karnataka sleeping under a grass roof and surrounded by mud walls in dead of the night! Although the thought was scary but simultaneously soothing. So many years in the city has abridged my dependence on nature & God. Thinking thus I dozed off…

We all got up early at 3 AM. After our morning duties we gathered for morning program at 4 AM. The weather was chilling outside but inside the mud house it was warm & cozy. This is the blessing of mud house. In winter it keeps you warm and in summer it will keeps you cool. What an amazing technology! And so cheap! In city you will need AC in summer and room heater in winter with innumerable side effects at colossal cost. Then we had a candlelight Mangal Arati, Narsimha Arati and Tulasi Arati. It was an experience in itself. Gaur Nitai deities were shinning and smiling in the dim lamp light. We chanted together in the morning fresh air. We could see the beautiful sunrise on the horizon. It reminded me of the sun of Krishna prema rising in one’s heart when one chants with love.

After morning program Vrajeshvar Prabhu took me on the tour of the farm. This 14 acre farm is a part of another 400 acre land which is a bit inside the forest. This 14 acre land is surrounded by two feet high stone wall and a two feet trench. Stone wall is for protection from bears and the trench is for protection from elephants. Elephant is a huge and powerful animal but the poor creature cannot get up by himself once he falls down in trench. Hence he always thinks thrice before crossing a pit or a trench even though it may be quiet small. I was apprehensive to hear about wild animals but Vrajeshvar Prabhu consoled till date there is no incidence of any animal attacking the devotees here. Animals are also afraid of humans (sophisticated animals, probably more dangerous also!). I could feel the acute silence in the place which I was unaccustomed to.

For bathing they use natural alternative for soap i.e. Shikakai. And for clothes they use Ritha which cleanses the clothes thoroughly. He showed me different kinds of herbs used for treating various diseases like kidney stone, severe bleeding, diabetes, weakness,etc. They have a unique system of filtering the bore well water. The water is passed through layers of sand, limestone and charcoal and at the end water becomes as or more pure than the RO water people drink in cities. Some of the houses are built with the laterite stone and a special filler (mixture of lime, jaggery and Harda). The amazing quality of this mixture is that it gains strength as time passes! (I thought time weakens everything but this mixture is exception) So for decades and centuries these walls will not fall. The forts and old structures during bygone ages were built with this special mixture hence they are still standing unlike cement houses which needs to be renovated every 60 years. Devotees there are cultivating some part of the land for leafy vegetables, tomatoes, papaya, etc. The taste of the natural produce is completely different. Also nice goshala is there with 15 cows and some bulls. This place is so much remote that even the mobile range doesn’t reach here hence many varieties of birds are found in abundance. Most of the food is locally grown and naturally prepared on hearth. In rainy season they do roof water harvesting i.e. the water from the rains on the roof is drained and collected in drums. This water initially may be muddy but after some time pure rain water flows and is used for various purposes including drinking. I remembered the chataka bird who drinks direct rain water only. (Devotees here have almost achieved the standard close to that of Chataka bird of drinking pure rain water!). 4 months during rainy season there is heavy rain. This place stands for 2nd highest rainfall in India with 10,000 mm rains after Cherapunji in Assam with 14,000 mm rains.

While Vrajeshvar Prabhu was cooking on the hearth with cow dung cakes as fuel I could see through my spects thick smoke bellowing out. Tears welled in my eyes not due to love for Lord but due to the smoke. Vrajeshvar Prabhu told me,“This smoke has the potency to eliminate your spects completely.” My situation was like a person who is drinking hot sugarcane juice. He neither can drink easily nor give it up completely. Krishna Consciousness also appears like hot sugarcane juice for a neophyte.

I told Vrajeshvar Prabhu ,“You are great renunciate that you left the comforts of city and came here. He replied wittingly that “You are greater renunciate as you left comforts of natural living for living in the city.”

It made me ponder deeply over my predicament. Here mind is so peaceful. The natural environment imbues within the mode of goodness which is very conducive for devotional service.

Growth of technology is like growth of cancer cells. These cells destroy the body on which they themselves are feeding, leading to their own destruction ultimately. Technology is growing, trying to exploit and destroy mother earth but that would ultimately lead to destruction of the technology users themselves. Technology can be utilized but as moderately as possible. Prabhupada says that just like the human body temperature is 98 degree Fahrenheit normally. If it shoots too high or too low it may be fatal. It should be maintained moderately.

HH Bhakti Rasamrita Maharaj’s vision is “Just stay close to nature and chant Hare Krishna. It is greatest preaching. We can show to the world that we can live completely dependent on nature. The only reason most of us are staying in cities is for preaching. Otherwise we have no business in cities.”

Currently the project may not be completely self-sufficient but it is heading towards complete self-sufficiency trying to fulfill the dream of Srila Prabhupada.

“Your only business is to find out Brahman. That is your business. Nature has given you sufficient means to live very comfortably everywhere. If you get a piece of land and one cow, your whole economic question is solved. You haven’t got to go fifty miles for working. There is no necessity. Wherever you are living, take little land and keep one cow. Your economic question is solved. So nature has given you all facilities. Hence chant Hare Krishna and be happy.”

Prabhupada lecture on NOV 9 1968, Los Angeles