Last week, I joined the temple president of ISKCON Mangalore, Sri Rama Dasa in visiting the region of Udupi in southern Karnataka which is also known as Dakshina Vrindavan. Lush tropical forests, rolling hills of the Western Ghats, and pristine beaches alongside the Arabian Sea richly adorn this countryside, which is dotted with countless coconut trees. This place is also for the Sri Krishna Temple and the Sringeri Matha, which make it a hub of spiritual activity for the Madhva Sampradaya.
We spent part of the day at Sringeri Matha, marveling at the architecture and strong spiritual vibrations of the place that made us feel immediately transported to the rich past of Indian temple worship. Sri Rama Dasa and I then visited the Sahyadri Sri Krishna Balaram Kshetra (SSKBK), a budding farm project located at Hebri, near Udupi, being developed by the ISKCON Daiva Varnasrama Ministry with the prime leadership of His Holiness RP Bhakti Raghava Swami Maharaja. Devotees at SSKBK are pursuing one of Srila Prabhupada final and vital instructions for ISKCON, which is to develop self-sufficient communities focused on simple living and the cultivation of Krishna consciousness.
In the first step of their three-pronged approach to serving Srila Prabhupada's instructions, they have ploughed land using bulls, which is auspicious and natural. Ploughing helps clear the cultivable land of rocks and weeds,and enables movement of water and minerals to the soil surface for plants to use better. The movement of bulls’ hooves over the land enriches the soil.
Devotees there have also made a wooden oil expeller (ghani) that is run by bull power. Edible oils extracted using ghanis are more nutritious than oils expressed forcibly using heat and solvents. Food cultivated on such rich soil and processed in such natural ways makes its way to Lord Krishna plate as a special personal offering, devoid of chemicals and sinful reactions.
At SSKBK, they are also developing a natural means for constructing living spaces using mud bricks and lime. Preserving traditional technologies, devotees there have manufactured a lime ghani, which crushes naturally collected limestone for use in construction. Since the bulls power these “natural” machines, they are automatically protecting both, Mother Cow and Mother Earth. Moving away from cement, which
significantly harms the environment, and to natural limestone is a practical At Sringeri Matha step in asserting our dependence on the natural gifts offered by Lord Krishna. The third and most interesting aspect that I heard at SSKBK is that a team of devotees is organizing the revival of traditional cloth making in India. They identify and protect native heirloom seeds of fiber crops such as cotton through cultivation. Using non-polluting traditional technologies such as the charka and ginning strings, they are making organic and natural cotton thread from native heirloom cotton. Engaging weavers and cloth-makers, they have begun to re-weave the lost art of hand-made clothing in India. Even the dyes and mordants used in their manufacturing process are derived from plant extracts and cow urine. Going ahead, they will train interested devotees in the entire process.
Seeing these exceptional developments happening in a spiritual hub of India gives me much hope for the future of ISKCON, in that we shall surely please Srila Prabhupada by establishing farm communities and the Daiva Varnasrama System for assertive cultivation of Krishna consciousness, independent of the demoniac civilization that is heading to hell at highway speeds. I look forward to my next visit to the SSKBK farm project and openly invite you all to visit and support their excellent work.
Comments