Look at the size and beauty of those trees. Even the tank waters are fairly clean. The perimeter wall has been breached, which means that this protected area has lost its protection.
Two samadhis which seem fairly recent. I don't know anything about the ashram and there seemed to be no one about. It was after lunch, so I will have to go back at a more social hour to find out a little about the ashram's history.
From the tilak, I would guess Vishnuswami Sampradaya.
Going a little into the inner part of the ashram, we come to a goshalla surrounded by kutirs. A very nice and sattvika atmosphere.
Back towards the outer part of the grounds, almost all forested, are many more magnificent trees.
In a pessimistic mood, one is almost impelled to cry out, "How long?" This area is a jewel and should be preserved before some greedy person starts seeing dollar signs and hearing the jingling of cash.
Look at these magnificent, venerable trees. praninam upakaraya... For the shade alone...
Someone asked me about the statement that Kaladhari ashram was "in need of protection." In fact, I do not know of any imminent danger to this jewel in the middle of Vrindavan. Perhaps the ashram is already well-protected legally.
ReplyDeleteI have just heard too many horror stories, and in fact seen a number of them myself, there is no such thing as a "safe" site any more.
Unscrupulous people only see the immediate benefit and would rather have a twelve-storey hotel with one or two trees for mere decorative purposes than an ancient hermitage-type setting like this one.
There are so few such places left in Vrindavan--Tatti Sthan comes to mind, and up in this part of town, Bhagavata Nivas, Radha Raman Nivas are two places in which the hermitage setting is under severe attack, in great part simply through ignorance and neglect.
Babajis mostly want to do bhajan. Yet, fighting in the courts tooth and nail for survival is part of the abbot's job description these days.
Don't be surprised if Bhagavata Nivas is not turned into some kind of development in the next twenty years and all the bhajanandi Vaishnavas, a dying breed in any case, thrown into the streets.
Satya Narayan said to me that the breach in the wall on this side of the ashram is already a sign that the protections are falling away.
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