Should Spiritual Places be Protected?

suchandra · July 23, 2007

The ideal example of the Tompkins duo who accumulated over 800,000 acres of land bisecting southern Chile from the border with Argentina to the Pacific is unique. They bought huge parts of Chile and turned it into a national park.

Douglas Tompkins: "We noticed that the native people of Chile do nothing but destroy their own country. They cannot understand how to treat nature."

http://www.undueinfluence.com/tompkins.htm

The same we see in the Holy Place of Vrindavan - when finding out that this spot of land is rich of sapphires and rubies they turn Vrindavan into a mine, putting each stone into a shredder, turning Shilas into dust - with support of the government.

Sadly

BY: RALPH JAHEWANGI

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Jul 22, AUSTRALIA (SUN) —

My name is Ralph Jahewangi from Australia. I am doing M.A to become an Environmentalist. I had a 2 week break this June and decided to come to Vrndavan. I have heard that the Sampradaya Sun is a good place to express matters.

There was some shock upon arriving in a different culture, but I become much more upset to find not a

forest

at Vrndavan, which I had expected. Everywhere cars and buildings - what are these people thinking?!

Some relief came when staying at Govardhan. There was somewhat protected forest of mainly thorn trees but it felt more like it should. It was scorching during the day and all the pilgrims did parikrama at night.

My second day, on the parikrama as I was approaching the town of Govardhan, I heard some thunder like sound, though oddly it happened in quick short bursts and there were no clouds in the sky? When I reached town I heard it again and asked an older local gentleman who seemed to know English what the sound was. He replied uncomfortably -‘dynamite’!!!!!!!

Dynamite in the holy land of Vrndavan!!!! He added that there were hills less than 10 kilometers away and that they also were used by Krsna to play. No forests and now dynamite --- why am I learning environmentalism!?

I hired a 3-wheeled Indian vehicle and told him to drive to the “boom”. We drove to the left on this road, which was the worst I have experienced in my life. There were 2 feet deep pits and dust too thick in the air to see. Trucks were plying full of granite stone in uncountable numbers. After a ½ hour of poor driving some small hills clouded with dust were seen. The drivers wouldn’t enter the track leading to them so I got out and walked over.

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The picture I am posting tells what I met with. Upon getting back to the vehicle a skinny ascetic came walking by. He got my attention and kept saying “Krsn” and pointing at his feet and then the hill. He started walking and indicated I follow him. Before coming to the dynamite machines he turned left and followed a path up the hill. Half way up he pointed out some footprints in the stone and said “Krsn”. I had never expected to see footprints of Krsna Himself!! The saint wept angrily and pointed to the mining and beat his head and left up the hill.

Is my visit to India a pilgrimage or a dynamite on my faith!!! Arriving horror struck in Vrndavan I approached the temple office and met an American senior-type devotee. I said that I have been a devotee for 2 years and being an environmentalist, I was aghast at the situation of Vrndavan. It felt like nothing less than hell on earth.

His reply was the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. He said “ There is no problem. When the hills are gone then it will be nice and flat. You should just hear about and remember Krsna’s pastimes in your mind.”

That was it, my faith was shattered. If all that one needs to do is ‘hear about and imagine Vraja in your mind’ then why am I coming to the Dham at all! And where else in this universe is the environment meant to be kept nature balanced.

I decided to go back to Delhi and coming out of the gate I noticed a sign saying ‘ The Braj Foundation - protect the heritage of Braj’ or something. There office was a bit inside and I met a practical and dedicated English devotee named Ravi Das. I outpoured my dismay and asked how this was happening and what was the solution. He explained that their group ‘The Braj Foundation” was fighting against this mining of the sacred hills in Braj. The Six Gosvamis lived under trees, but now many people from Delhi and abroad have taken fashion to building houses in Vrndavan and around Braj - thus the stone is being mined.

The mood here was soothing - that these devotes are trying to actually do something rather than making some philosophical excuse of why they are not.

I went back to Govardhan for the remainder of days and then back home. My faith in Vrndavan and Krsna is very depressed now. How is it that such is going on at the sacred sites of Krsna?? Why is Krsna allowing it or is He just letting the (ass) souls use their independence? If so, I am sure that such so-called devotees who are building and living in Vrndavan dham for their own sense gratification will never obtain Krsna consciousness.

I pray that Krsna or God and his genuine devotees please forgive this soul and relieve my doubts. If anybody who reads this can give some explanation to this godlessness in Vrndavan - please write to me and/or post it on this site for everyone's benefit.

Ralph Jahewangi

rj16108@

theist · July 23, 2007

Is my visit to India a pilgrimage or a dynamite on my faith!!! Arriving horror struck in Vrndavan I approached the temple office and met an American senior-type devotee. I said that I have been a devotee for 2 years and being an environmentalist, I was aghast at the situation of Vrndavan. It felt like nothing less than hell on earth.
His reply was the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. He said “ There is no problem. When the hills are gone then it will be nice and flat. You should just hear about and remember Krsna’s pastimes in your mind.”

I understand the pigrams dismay at this statement which must seem callous and perhaps that particular devotee was callous when uttering it. However there is truth in his statement as well. The external land of Vrndavan is indeed sacred and should be preserved. No argument there. But the reality is that is not happening nor is the tide going to reverse itself as long as they are finding sapphires and rubies in the hills.

Everybody is seeking wealth. The devotees see wealth in Krsna lila and the materialist sees wealth in shiny rare stones. If a devotee there finds one of these stones he will take and use it in the service of Krsna but he won't destroy sacred land to obtain it. The materialists will use the stone in the mad pursuit of material sense gratification and won't stop until every rare stone has been extracted.

To me it looks like a hopless situation since the materialists outnumber the devotees a million to one. These leaves the devotee with one option only if he wants to preserve Vrndavan. He must internally realize Krsna lila in Vraja and keep it living in sound for the benefit of others.

We must preserve Vrndavan safely within ourselves where moths can't corrupt and miners can't demolish.

Kali yuga favors the profane.