Reveal the Beauty of Vraja

May 2015 Photos and Updates

By the Radhakunda Seva Team

We are now feeding 67 widows in Radha Kunda daily! Sadly, our Sakhi Kunda prasadam distribution had to be discontinued this month because of some difficulties with the owners of the home we were serving prasadam out of. Having our own kitchen on our own land will resolve these types of issues. Only time is separating us from realizing the building of this kitchen.

More and more, we see prasadam distribution, and devotee care as our primary focus. Cleaning, we view also as a part of devotee care both in terms of employing residents of the Dhama and keeping their places of residence and worship clean. And we expect that expanding the prasadam distribution will facilitate an expansion of our cleaning mission also. We still hope to eventually place “cleaning patrols” around the entire periphery of Govardhan and Radha Kunda …along with feeding every hungry resident and pilgrim there.

The residents of the Dhama are Srimati Radharani’s people, and the Dhama itself is Her pastime place. And it is with Her pleasure in mind that we are attempting to serve the devotees of the Dhama. We realize that this is your hope as well and we are so very grateful that you all have joined us in our endeavors.

Please browse our latest photos and join our efforts by visiting www.radharani.com. Your servants, Mayapurcandra dasa, Campakalata Devi dasi, and Padma Gopi Devi dasi.

Click below to see the complete gallery

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My Journey To Govardhana

In 2005, as I packed in a frenzy of excitement to go to Govardhana, anticipation pulsed like electricity through my racing heart. Of all the holy places in Vraja-bhumi, Govardhana is counted as the highest. And I was going to get to stay there! It was with wonder and awe that I set out for this magical land.

A majestically sprawling mountain, Govardhana, crowned at the head by Radha Kunda and famed as Krishna’s favorite pastime place, draws pilgrims with its unique mix of beauty and antiquity. The presence of Krishna is palpable in Govardhana. There are reminders of him everywhere – in Govardhana’s stone-studded, looming landscape, in the gnarled trees, the ancient temples, the sparkling kundas (lakes), the roaming cows, the frisky monkeys, the prancing peacocks, the gobar (cowdung) coated homes, the ever-friendly, welcoming residents, the sadhus who tell Krishna’s stories, and the resounding songs that sing his glories.

Digging a Little Deeper

The exultation of being at Govardhana filled me with joy as I absorbed the beauty of this land. But then we got a little closer, explored a little deeper, and we felt sobered. Sobered by the poverty. Sobered by the scattered and piled trash. Sobered by pollution streaming into the sacred waters. It was with sadness that we discovered the troubles beneath the beauty. All the stories we’d heard of Govardhana, the mental imagery that drew us to move to this ancient land, became like jeweled sparkling pictures in broken and moldy frames. In helplessness, we sat at Radha Kunda. And we prayed. How could we, insignificant and overwhelmed, make a difference? How could we reveal the beauty of this famed and sacred land, so that in time, for future pilgrims and long term residents, there’d be no troubles to discover?

Hope and Help

As we finished our prayers, we saw a man organizing the sweeping of the steps of Radha Kunda. And hope swelled, a little, in our hearts. With this man’s enthusiastic encouragement, we started www.radharani.com. Immediately we got one monthly donation to clean one area daily. Then another, and another. We found ourselves part of an increasing family-like group of donors, helpers, and well-wishers. Soon there were gardens in place of rubbish heaps. Old temples got new facing, painting, benches, rails, and murals. Trees grew. Water that had been filled with detergent foam and trash now sparkled. People who had been beggars now were cleaning, getting enough money to live a healthy life. Widows were getting a meal daily, and one housebound very elderly widow got full maintenance.

The Need

Our site, www.radharani.com, details the journey from our prayers in helpless sadness, to our expansive wonder and awe at the beauty of this holy place, as it springs forth from the hearts of so many people around the world. Presently, with the help of many committed monthly donors, we are maintaining daily cleaning around Radha Kunda and feeding 45 widows every day. And yet, so many more widows are asking for food and so many more places are begging to be cleaned and restored.

Our Dream

We have a dream to expand the cleaning around the entire periphery of Govardhan Hill. We have a dream to expand our food distribution to serve every hungry widow and child in the Govardhana and Radha Kunda area.

What You Can Do

Amazingly, we are just one kitchen away from reaching our food distribution goal and one office away from moving forward with our cleaning goal. We got a gift of land, lush and with sweet water. We just need to build a kitchen and an office there. Now, we are feeding 45 widows out of a tiny rented room. To feed more, we need a real kitchen. We have the land. We just need the kitchen.

And… we are cleaning and restoring many places around Radha Kunda and Govardhana. But to expand the cleaning, we need an established, official base, and office. And that’s where we need you. Please help manifest a kitchen and office on this land. Please help us reveal the beauty of Krishna’s holy land. Donate here: