Of some interest is the visit to Vrindavan of the disputed Tantrik Chandra Swami, who came to national prominence when Narasingha Rao was Prime Minister. He was known as a "black magician," able to cast spells for the superstitious politicians who thought he could help them defeat their enemies and so on. He was the one for whom "Godman" became an everyday word in the Indian press. He eventually became implicated in numerous court cases, many of which are still pending, but despite losing his good standing seems nevertheless to have retained some of his "star power."At any rate, he came to Vrindavan yesterday and got some coverage in the Amar Ujala. He stayed at the house of Pandit Udayan Sharma at the Tarash Mandir.
Chandra Swami said that before he came to national prominence, he had spent time in Vrindavan and received the blessings of Banke Bihariji, in whom he still has great faith. In fact, he is hoping that Banke Bihari will help him with his court cases!!
Chandra Swami's visit is worth mentioning in that he also said what more and more people are saying: that Vrindavan is being turned into a concrete jungle and that something must be done. "The state government is pouring millions of rupees into Vrindavan, but if it destroys the culture, then its religious greatness is in danger. The money is coming, but there seem to be no proper plans. A trust must be formed for the protection of Vrindavan heritage," he said.
It is becoming apparent that many outsiders are coming to Vrindavan and remarking on the atrocious development being foisted on this sacred town. It is good that the newspapers are reporting these stories. Nevertheless, it is all too easy for these visitors to come and go. There is a lot of talk going on, but concerted action by the residents and Braja stakeholders is very much needed.
The Mayawati Government is cleverly ramming this development project through and we will soon be left with a terrible fait accompli. And once that is in place, life here will follow the new rhythm that this infrastructure creates. Once that new normal is accepted as the way things have "always been," it will become harder and harder to return to the kind of atmosphere that is essential for a sane spirituality. The overlay of rajo-guna and tamo-guna will become thicker and thicker until the the true, pure spiritual quality of the Dham will become almost entirely impossible for us conditioned souls to perceive.
Anyway, it is certainly most welcome that he got this press coverage, stating what is becoming more and more obvious to everyone.
Work on the Parikrama Results in a chatri by Shringar Bat collapsing.
As the bulldozers busily work building a large drain along the Parikrama Marg—signalling the determination of the development authorities to carry through the road project that includes the so-called half-moon bridge—the inevitable destruction of heritage buildings is taking place.
Yesterday, a 300-year-old chatri (or burji) in one of the old ghats in front of Shringar Bat collapsed due to careless work by a bulldozer operator, resulting in great anger by local perople. Apparently more than one such chatri was damaged, in both Shringar Bat and Ranapat Ghat.
Shringar Bat sevayat Anup Goswami said he had complained to the Archaeological Survey of India and to the District Magistrate. Millions of rupees are being spent on this development work, but the contractors are acting carelessly and destroying the ancient heritage. Despite the complaints, however, work goes on as mindlessly as ever.
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