Hare Krsna. Who can fathom the unlimited charm of Krsna playing upon His flute by the Yamuna Bank:

“When Krsna walked on the bank of the Yamuna, He was seen nicely decorated with tilaka on His face. He was garlanded with different kinds of forest flowers, and His body was smeared with the pulp of sandalwood and tulasi leaves. The bumblebees became mad after the fragrance and sweetness of the atmosphere. Being pleased by the humming sound of the bees, Krsna would play His flute, and together the sounds became so sweet to hear that aquatic birds like cranes, swans and ducks were charmed. Instead of swimming or flying, they became stunned. They closed their eyes and entered a trance of meditation in worship of Krsna.”
(from Krsna Book, Chapter 35)

In a lecture in 1973, Srila Prabhupada described the importance of looking away from the shadow–the bustling world, so full of promise–to true substance, Vrindavana:

“So Vrndavana is village life. It is not a town…. it is village. It is village, and they are always taking pleasure on the bank of Yamuna. Yamuna-tira-vana-cari. And there are very nice gardens on the bank of the Yamuna. And whenever there is some danger… Of course, in the original Vrndavana there is no question of danger. It is blissful, transcendental abode…. So when Krsna was present, although He was playing like an ordinary human child or human being, still, when there was need, He manifested His godly power. That is God. When it was needed to protect the inhabitants of Vrndavana, He lifted a big hill, and since then His name is Giri-vara-dhari. Giri-vara-dhari means that hill, and He sustained that hill. He was at that time seven years old from material calculation. But in the original Vrndavana there is no such thing as the wrath of Indra, the king of heaven, and danger or torrents of rain overflood, inundation. There is no such thing. There everything is blissful, transcendental and eternal. Here we have got a little sample, because whatever you have got in this material world, that is simply imitation, a shadow of the original…. You can understand that on the desert sometimes it appears there is a vast ocean of water, mirage. But actually there is no water. Those who are animals, they sometimes are misled. They are thirsty, and they think that there is water in the desert, and they run over, but actually there is no water. The animal runs, and the water also advances. In this way, when he becomes too much fatigued, he dies. This is the exact example of this material world. We are hankering after water, we are thirsty, and we are being misled by so-called water, mirage. Just like while I was coming here, both sides, the manifestation of material civilization, electrical wire pumping station of oil, big, big motorcars light, motel, hotel and so many things… So we are thinking that these things will give us relief; our thirst will be quenched, our hankering for water will be satisfied. But it has failed. …. So this kind of mirage, showing of water—actually there is no water—a shadow of water will not help us. That is a fact. But because there is shadow of water, we can understand that there is real water. It is not that the shadow of water is all in all, finished. There is water. But we have to seek out that water elsewhere, not in the desert. In the desert the shadow of water will not quench your thirst. So that information we are giving. Krsna consciousness movement means that you do not know where that water is to be found, how your great thirst will be satisfied. That you do not know.” (Srila Prabhupada speaking in Laguna Beach, September 30, 1972)

May we follow Srila Rupa Gosvami’s footprints and find the sweetness of shelter beyond illusion—in Vrndavana:

“May Vrndavana, which is fragrant with a gentle breeze that makes the lotuses in the Yamuna rock to and fro, where there are groves of kadamba trees and there are many gopis, their hearts blossoming with happiness by hearing the music of Lord Mukunda’s flute, be my shelter.”

Hare Krsna. A cow bathing in the affection of her calf on the sandy bank of the Yamuna. Here, to the Yamuna, Krsna brings His beloved cows and calves to drink her cool waters. How attractive!

All that Krsna does is attractive, especially to the residents of Vrindaban. He’s so attractive that almost all souls are attracted to him. But why not all?

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to Bhag. 7.5.14: “Just contrary to the affairs of Vrndavana is the material world, where no one is attracted by Krsna and everyone is attracted by Maya. This is the difference between the spiritual and material worlds.”

Due to being embedded within a false ego, Maya attracts me from the all-attractive and fills my heart with unnatural, unfulfillable desires for self-centered happiness.

How selfish. How sad.

On the other hand, Srila Prabhupada in the same purport describes a soul’s natural attraction to Krsna and the full attraction to Krsna possessed by the residents of Vrindaban: “For iron to be attracted by a magnet is natural. Similarly, for all living entities to be attracted toward Krsna is natural, and therefore the Lord’s real name is Krsna, meaning He who attracts everyone and everything. The typical examples of such attraction are found in Vrndavana, where everything and everyone is attracted by Krsna. The elderly persons like Nanda Maharaja and Yasodadevi, the friends like Sridama, Sudama, and the other cowherd boys, the gopis like Srimati Radharani and Her associates, and even the birds, beasts, cows, and calves are attracted. The flowers and fruits in the gardens are attracted, the waves of the Yamuna are attracted, and the land, sky, trees, plants, animals, and all other living beings are attracted by Krsna. This is the natural situation of everything in Vrndavana.”

Isn’t Vrindavana attractive?

Hare Krsna. Two Peacocks in Bandiravana near the end of winter. They have lost their most prominent feathers during the end of the rainy season, around Radhastami, and now many have grown back.

Peacocks of course figure prominently in Krsna’s pastimes. When Krsna plays His divine flute in a valley and becomes surrounded by peacocks. Krsna’s playing makes them dance in ecstasy and stuns the animals who sit atop the hills to watch. This scene is described in Bhag. 10.21.10:

A Vraja Gopi says, “O friend, Vrndavana is spreading the glory of the earth, having obtained the treasure of the lotus feet of Krsna, the son of Devaki. The peacocks dance madly when they hear Govinda’s flute, and when other creatures see them from the hilltops, they all become stunned.”

Sweet comments from our acaryas are noted in our BBT’s Bhagavatam.

“Srila Sridhara Svami explains that because activities such as those described in this verse do not occur in any other world, the earth is unique. In fact, the earth’s glories are being spread by wonderful Vrndavana because it is the place of Krsna’s pastimes.”

“Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains Krsna-Lila as follows: “In Vrndavana, the peacocks request Krsna, ‘Govinda, please make us dance.’ Thus Krsna plays His flute, and they surround Him in a circle and dance in time with the rhythm of His melody. And while standing in the midst of their dancing, He also sings and dances. Then those peacocks, who are fully satisfied with His musical performance, out of gratitude offer for His pleasure their own divine feathers. In the usual manner of musical performers, Krsna gladly accepts these presentations and places a feather upon the turban atop His head. Gentle animals such as deer and doves greatly relish the transcendental entertainment presented by Krsna, and to get a good view they flock to the peaks of hills. Then, as they watch the breathtaking program, they become stunned in ecstasy.”

“Srila Sanatana Gosvami comments that because in Vrndavana Krsna goes barefoot and can thus directly mark the earth with the symbols of His lotus feet, that transcendental land is even more glorious than Vaikuntha, where Visnu wears slippers.”

Hare Krsna. In his own special mood and with his pure spiritual vision, Srila Prabhodananda Sarasvati glorifies Sri Vrindaban dharma and the Yamuna River:

“How can a person who has never seen Vrndavana’s Yamuna river, which is filled with eternally blooming indivara, kamala, kahlara, kumuda, and other lotus flowers, all filled with the sweet humming sounds of bumblebees, and which displays the places where Sri Sri Radha-Muralidhara and Their friends enjoyed transcendental pastimes, remain alive?”

“I bow before Vrndavana’s Yamuna river, which is eternally splendid with a lotus of many jewels, which flows from an ocean of bliss, which is delightful with many other colorful splendid flowers, which cannot be approached by the crowns of the three Vedas and which is filled with the sounds of maddened bees and birds.”

“Meditate on Vrndavana’s Yamuna river, which is dear to Lord Hari, which flows with a great flood of transcendental bliss, which has shores studded with jewels, waves chanting the Sama Veda, and swans, cranes, karandavas, datyuhas, and other birds chanting the Rg Veda.”

“May the Yamuna, where waters sweet as grape-sugar milk nectar are filled with golden lotus buds and other flowers, where the shores are made of many jewels, where the water is wonderful with the splashing of playful, splendid jewel fish, where there is a wonder of glistening jewel staircases, where the shores are very beautiful with groves of many kinds of wonderful flower-filled trees and vines and fragrant with camphor and splendid Bakula trees, where along the shores are frightened does with wide-open eyes, where there is the sweet fragrance of many splendid forests of kadamba and campaka trees are everywhere, where there is an abundance of pollen, flying birds, pleasant breezes, and a sweet splendor everywhere, where forests groves are reflected in the deep waters, and where Sri Sri Radha-Krsna’s bliss increases, also increase the happiness of you all.”

Hare Krsna. Sitting by the shore of the Yamuna, praying for mercy, reading of the exalted longings of Srila Narrottama dasa Thakura:

“O Lord Hari, Lord Hari, when will I become a resident of Vrndavana? When with my own eyes, will I see the great beauty of the Divine Couple. When will I renounce very comfortable sleeping arrangements and instead take rest on the ground of Vraja? When will I renounce materially palatable foodstuffs, and simply eat whatever I can obtain by begging in the land of Vraja? When will I circumambulate the land of Vraja, wandering from forest to forest? When becoming fatigued, will I stop to rest on the shore of the Yamuna? When will I find relief from the heat of midday by resting in the cooling shade of Vamsivata? When will I associate with the Vaisnavas in the groves of Vrndavana? Narottama dasa renounces the materialistic way of life and says: “When will I attain this perfection of the spiritual life?” (Prarthana 29)

“When will I renounce everything and go to Vrndavana? When will this be? When in great ecstasy will I roll about on the ground where Lord Krsna performed the rasa-dance? When will I see Govardhana Hill, my eyes filling with tears? When by bathing in Syama-Kunda and Radha-Kunda will I attain the stage of dedicating my entire life and soul to the service of the Divine Couple? When will I become pure at heart by bathing in the waters of the Yamuna River? Narottama dasa hopes that he will be able to reside in Vrndavana in the association of saintly devotees.” (Prarthana 30)