Pilgrimage

The specialty of Vrndavana-dham Parikrama

The specialty of Vrndavana-dham Parikrama

Everywhere in Srimad-Bhagavatam the mahajanas, the great devotees of the Lord are glorifying the land and the inhabitants of Vrndavana. Sri Uddhava is praying to become a blade of grass in Vrndavana in order to receive the dust of the lotus feet of the gopis on his head (SB 10.47.61). When these cowherd women speak about Krsna their talks will purify the three worlds (SB 10.47.63).

Lord Brahma, the super intelligent creator has no words when he gets an inside of what happens in the divine realm of Vrndavana.

jānanta eva jānantu
kim bahūktyā na me prabho
manaso vapuso vāco
vaibhavam tava go-carah

There are people who say, “I know everything about Krsna.” Let them think that way. As far as I am concerned, I do not wish to speak very much about this matter. O my Lord, let me say this much: As far as Your opulences are concerned, they are all beyond the reach of my mind, body and words. (SB 10.14.38)

Yamuna devi in Vrndavan

Lord Siva performed austerities to become Nandisvara-parvat the hill in Nandagaon to obtain the foot dust of the Vrajabasis on his head.

After Sri Krsna left from the rasa-lila and even abandoned Srimati Radharani all the gopis assembled in great distress and sang the gopi-gita. They remembered how Krsna was posing for them in order to show his beauty and sang:

Sri Sri Radha Vinod Bihari and Mahaprabhu

dina-pariksaye nīla-kuntalair
vanaruhānanam bibhrad āvrtam
dhana-rajasvalm darśayan muhur
manasi nah smaram vīra yacchasi

In the evening when you return from the forest, then we see your beautiful lotus face covered with dark curly locks and covered with dust. Our beloved, by again and again showing us your beauty, the desire for your love starts in our hearts. (SB 10.31.12)

When Krsna comes home in the evening after grazing the cows He looks so attractive, why? From the hooves of the cows dust has risen and His lotus face is covered with this dust. Srila Gurudeva explained how much uddhipana this is to the gopis. He gave the example of a baker. When a girl, which is also from the baker cast, gets attracted to a baker boy he will look much more attractive to that girl when he wears his baker hut. In the same way the gopis, being of the gopa cast they feel so attracted to Sri Krsna when He has the sign of gopa on his face. And what is this sign? It is the dust of Vrndavana. Krsna takes shelter of the dust of Vrndavana in order to attract the gopis hearts. This dust of Vrndavana is Sri Krsnas cosmetic and He looks so attractive being covered by this dust, vanaruhānanam bibhrad āvrtam...

Why do we go on Vraja-mandala Parikrama? We want to follow the path of the maha-janas, who again and again pray to these highest devotees of the Lord, begging to obtain their foot dust on their head. With a humble heart we want to go to Vrndavana and bow down to this dust.

“Roll in the dust of Vrndavana! This dust can speak hari-katha to you!” (Sri Prem Prayojan Prabhu during Vraja-mandala parikrama).

Kirtan on Radha Kund with Sri Prem Prayojan Prabhu

When Sri Krsna had sent Sri Uddhava to Vrndavan in order to ease the separation of the Vraja-basis specially the gopis, Uddhava spent several months in Vrndavan. Together with the Vraja-gopis he visited all the places, where Krsna performed pastimes with them. Like this he was trying to ease their separation from Sri Krsna. Srila Gurudeva explained, that Sri Uddhava was the first person to perform Vraja-mandal Parikrama.

Similarly when we go on Vraja-mandala parikrama under the guidance of our Srila Gurudeva we try to become at ease from lifetimes of separation in forgetfulness of Sri Krsna.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had a strong desire to travel to Vrndavan in order to become perfect. He was doing Vraja-mandal parikrama. The saints in our Gaudiya-tradition chose Sri Vrndavana-dham as a place for their bhajan because the trees, the blades of grass, the dust, the peacocks, the birds, the bumble bees, the Yamuna river, the cooling breez-es, Sri Giriraja Govardhan and Srimati Vrnda-devi they all are very much uddhipana (stimulating) the remembrance of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna’s sweet pastimes.

Sri Prem Prayojan Prabhu in Vrindavan

“One day you will realize, oh, Gurudeva took me to the spiritual world, but I did not understand.” (Sri Prem Prayojan Prabhu about parikrama).