New Vrindavan

The community was founded in 1968 by Kirtanananda Swami and Hayagrivoy Dasa - disciples of the founder of ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada . The community was created under the motto "simple life - sublime thinking." ^[1] New Vrindavan had to demonstrate to the world a return to the Vedic standard of simple village life, fully dependent on the products derived from the cultivation of the land, from the cows and from Krishna .

New Vrindavan developed under the attentive and charismatic , but at the same time very polemical leadership of Kirtanananda Swami (who since 1979 was better known as Srila Bhaktipada). By the mid -1970s, the community ’s population already consisted of more than 100 Hare Krishnas who successfully cultivated the land and carried out a program to protect cows.

Since its founding, New Vrindavan has always been a strictly vegetarian community, since vegetarianism, according to the Hare Krishnas, is one of the most important elements providing spiritual progress. In Hinduism, it is believed that eating meat creates negative karma . One of the main goals of the Hare Krishnas was also to give an example of self-sufficiency both to other similar communities and to people in general.

Since the mid -1970s, community members have focused on building the “ Golden Palace of Prabhupada ,” an elaborately decorated and decorated temple that combined the architectural elements of East and West. It was originally built as a residence for Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, but after his death in 1977, it became a memorial architectural complex dedicated to his memory. By the early 1980s , when the construction of the Golden Palace was completed, it became a popular attraction, which was visited by about 300,000 tourists annually.

A census in October 1986 showed that 377 adult Hare Krishnas resided in the community. By this time, new plots of land were acquired and the total area of ​​agricultural land was 1600 hectares . At the same time, the leader of the Kirtanananda Swami community has strongly departed from the moral and philosophical standards of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness . He had an ambitious plan for the construction of an even more ambitious temple complex - the “Divine City”, in which the majestic “Temple of Understanding” was to be the central object. According to this project, New Vrindavan was to be transformed into a grand inter-religious complex of temples, ashrams and parks. Kirtananda Swami even wanted to open an airport in the community to receive visitors.

The ISKCON leadership took Kirtanananda Swami as a dissenter and, in 1987, made a formal decision to expel him from the ISKCON ranks. The community of New Vrindavan was expelled from ISKCON a year later. The plans for the “Divine City” were never realized, and in 1990 Kirtanananda Swami was arrested on charges of racketeering and conspiracy to kill two of his students who threatened his control of the community. The US federal government also accused him of having received an illegal income of $ 10.5 million over a period of four years. Kirtananada was also accused of sexual abuse of minors.

In 1991, Bhaktipada was convicted on 9 of the 11 charges against him. Later, the appeals court declared the jury’s decision void on the grounds that the jury’s opinion was biased because of the accusation of sexual abuse of children, which was not later proved.

Justified Kirtananada returned to New Vrindavan, but in 1993 he was forced to leave the community because of suspicions of illegal and depraved acts. In 1996, he again appeared before the court, where he pleaded guilty on charges of racketeering. The court sentenced him to 20 years in prison. In June 2004, Kirtanananda was released early for health reasons. In 2008, Kirtanananda went to India , where he spent the rest of his days.

New Vrindavan was adopted back to ISKCON in 1998, and is currently one of the most famous and visited ISKCON temples in North America . The life of the community is governed by a senior council of senior Hare Krishnas. The center of the community is the Golden Palace , built in memory of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada .

Krishna-members of the community live in a three-story temple - an ashram where they practice spiritual practices, devoting themselves to serving the main murti of the temple - Sri Sri Radha Vrindavan Chandra, which were established in New Vrindavan on August 13, 1971 on the day of the appearance of Krishna - Krishna Janmashtami . The Krishnas devote their time to such spiritual practices as kirtan (the joint chanting of the holy names of God), cooking prasadam - sanctified vegetarian food. In the temple, a puja is held several times a day, during which pujaris dress and decorate temple deities , offer them food and incense. Members of the community participate in spiritual education programs, preaching to visitors, maintaining the temple, and cultivating the surrounding land. On the vast lands of New Vrindavan, a number of agricultural projects are being carried out that provide the community with pure organic products - vegetables, fruits and medicinal herbs. More than 80 cows who live in natural, natural conditions are under protection. There is also a large hotel on the territory of New Vrindavan, designed for more than 100 people.

New Vrindavan Krishnas regularly provide courses at nearby universities for vegetarian / vegan cuisine, seminars on Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Vedic culture. A group of Hare Krishnas from New Vrindavan also travels regularly throughout the United States , distributing the books of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and other Vaishnava literature.

• Golden Palace Prabhupada
• Bhaktivedanta manor
• Gita nagari
• Nueva Vrajamandala
• Radhadesh

• A Safe Place for Cows 22/6/2009 - The Wall Street Journal

• Official site of New Vrindavan (English)
• The official page of New Vrindavan on the social network Facebook
• Official site of the Golden Palace of Prabhupada (eng.)
• New Vrindaban Bloggers
• Brijabasi Spirit (New Vrindaban's blog)
• The Conversion Experience at the Global Leadership Center at Ohio University-The Pluralism Project
• The Instant Karma of New Vrindaban (article)
• New Vrindaban: The Black Sheep of ISKCON - Henry Doktorski website dedicated to the history of New Vrindavan.