Sri Govind Gau Gram

Prachar Yatra(IDVM-India Pledge to Visit 108 Villages)

Author : Srimati Vrindavanlila d.d. (Dr. Vrinda Baxi)

E-Mail : vrindavanlila.brs@gmail.com

Date Produced : February, 2016

Editor : Sriman Rasamandal das

Serial No. : 14 of 54

By Vrndavanlila Devi Dasi (Dr. Vrinda Baxi)

THE REAL India lies in the 7,00,000 villages. If Indian civilization is to make its full contribution to the building up of a stable world order, it is this vast mass of humanity that has….to be made to live again.

***I would say that if the village perishes India will perish too. India will be no more India. Her own mission in the world will get lost. The revival of the village is possible only when it is no more exploited. Industrialization on a mass scale will necessarily lead to passive or active exploitation of the villagers as the problems of competition and marketing come in. Therefore we have to concentrate on the village being self-contained, manufacturing mainly for use.

***The future of India lies in its villages.

- M.K. Gandhi (Father of the Nation)

The simple living and high thinking which revolved around land, cows and Krsna is slowly disappearing.• Village life is exemplified by the Supreme Lord Himself.• The simple village life of a devotee is exemplified by His most exalted devotees – the cowherd girls of Vrindavan or gopis. Those simple gopis give the highest philosophy of Krsna Consciousness. They are epitome of perfection in bhakti.

Unfortunately that model is slowly disappearing…

• Faulty notion of economic progress • Loss of traditional occupations• Loss of indigenous breed of cows• Farming hit by usage of fertilizers, of mechanisation, of GM

/ HYV Seeds, of pesticides, green revolution, misplaced objectives of farming (mono-cropping and cash cropping)

• Discouragement to village technologies• Urbanisation of villages in the name of progress• Infiltration of cash money in the village fabric

• Disappearance of cows (backbone of any human society), especially the desi cows

• Depletion of soil fertility (Exploitation of Mother Earth)

• Recession of water level

• Sowing the seeds of greed, consumerism, spiritual hollowness in the farmers through t.v, internet etc

• Breakdown of local governance

• Reduced the farmers or the suppliers of food to the world to a mere labourer, dependent on the mercy doled out by others

• Rising incidents of suicide in the farmers • Divested of both go-dhan and bhumi-dhan• Loss of spiritual prosperity… and many more nightmarish consequences have ultimately

led to mass exodus of villgers to cities and thus,GRADUAL DEATH OF VILLAGES IN INDIA

No wonder, Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON desired to focus on villages, the REAL India. Prabhupada: ... I want to preach little in the village. For that purpose in the big bus like that, we shall go with our tents, and we camp in a place where there is water, and begin our preaching. And Hindi book we are getting. In this way let me try in India, in the village, not in the city.…Hamsaduta: For us there is no problem Prabhupäda, but it may be difficult for your Divine Grace.Prabhupada: No, what is difficult? (laughter) But I want to do something for India in the village. ..

[Room Conversation, October 31, 1976, Vrndavana Dhama]

Indian villages which:• Are viewed as blots on the face of modern industrialized India• Are in state of utter neglect & exposed to urban distortions• Are exploited to cater to the needs of Urban India

envisions tooffer holistic care to all by addressing thematerial, emotional, social, and spiritual needs ofvillagers through its multi-pronged approach.

IDVM-India’s Sri Govind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra is an attempt to restore the glory of cows and villages by:

Reviving their cow protection culture

Reviving their dying fields by encouraging them to follow the traditional methods of farming, village technology, simple lifestyle …

Instilling new confidence & encouraging them to be localized

Reversing the trend of migration from the villages to cities

SAVE OUR COWS – SAVE OUR VILLAGES

- Conviction & determination to fulfill acarya’s desire

- Surrender to the Lotus feet of Sri Guru & Gauranga

- Detachment to comforts & luxuries

- Unassuming, readiness to face any kind of difficulty

- Adaptability to new place, people, situation…

- Willingness to take austerities

- Good sadhna

- No place to retire at night or day time (many times under the shade of tree in chilly nights…)

- No water, bathroom or toilet facility

- One devotee bitten by scorpion in the wee hours and no medical assistance was available

- Breakdown of vehicle at a deserted place

- And many many more…

“Yatra works at the grassroot level of cow protection. No cow protection can take place in goshala,cities or general masses. The most effective one is that which targets the person who actuallydeals with the cows – the farmers, the villagers. We are targetting them. Further, we are nottalking about spirituality in vacuum. We take care of their material needs too. We try to curethe problem from its roots. What our Yatra is offering is a complete package. That is its beautyand unique point.”

- HG Jananivas Das

This Yatra is unique as we simply don’t talk about the villagers’ problems but also offer themsolutions; spiritual solutions to their practical day to day material or any kind ofproblems. It is a very personalised approach. It is just not about go-raksha it is also aboutthe raksha of their lives, their farms, food, culture, traditional technologies… as everythingis inter-related.

When it comes to what we get, I personally find it very purifying, spiritually invigoratingwhich also makes a person very detached and spiritually focused. - HG Gour Gopal das

“Earlier we were in the comfort zone of house, but in this yatra we were all the timedependent on the Lord. We were travelling to unknown villages. Because of thechanges in the style of farming, famers are frustrated and have taken to bad thingsand their responses were varied. At one place we got an ovating welcome, while inother they were indifferent. However, the Yatra devotees were doing their dutyvery sincerely. ”

- HG Rasamandal Das

With the blessings of Vaishnavas, under the aegis ofHH Bhakti Raghava Swami, Minister, IDVM-India, SriGovind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra was launched onOctober 25, 2015 at ISKCON Hyderabad.

HG Basu Ghosh prabhu, HG Vedanta Caitanyaprabhu, HG Anandmaya prabhu and SrimanSanskritananda Acarya were a few of the dignitariespresent to flag off the Yatra bus.

Initially, the Yatra was planned to intensively traverse the two states of Andhra and Telangana as the core Yatra team belongs to this part of India.

• The first phase planned to cover Andhra belt.• Second phase comprised villages in the Nalagonda district.• Third phase was relatively nearer to Hyderabad in TelanganaThen winter break, but the divine plan took them beyond &

more• Fourth phase of coastal Andhra got added.• Fifth phase of Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh also happened.

• Generally includes gram-sankirtan with/ without Lord Jagannath’s chariot

• Repeated announcements of the evening program along with its highlights

• Invitation to assemble at the specified venue for the evening program

Note: Complete program is conducted in the local language of the area

• Beginning the program with go-puja

• Invoking the blessings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who wanted the Holy Name to reach every town and village and also bringing in the right humble attitude in the Yatra devotees, by reciting Shikshashtakam

• Lecture, video on the importance of chanting the Holy Name and question-answer session

• Lecture, video on the evils of modern farming and its alternatives & question-answer session

• Lecture and video on cow-protection and go-seva & question-answer session

Villagers hearing & watching the documentary movie with great interest

Lecture and video on the importance of chanting the Holy Name, on the evils of modern farming and its alternatives, and on cow-protection/go-seva

Villagers taking vow to protect cows and adopt sustainable farming methods

Note: Lecture and video are in the local language of the area

Free distribution of the:• Holy Name• Prasadam• Methods of sustainable

living with Bhu-devi & Gomata

• Dignity to villages • Transcendental literature

Sowing the seeds of bhakti, dignity and conviction in the hearts of villagers

Follow-up program through:

* Samskara Patra

* Nama Hatta Sangha

* Krsi-Go Raksha Sangha

Concluding to begin afresh at a new village…

1st villager : Since 40 yrs many people have come to our village in the name of religion and expected so many things in return of their activities. But it is only you people who have come to us to GIVE us something very precious, directly related to farmers, soil, cows and food without asking anything in return.

2nd Villager: Your Yatra has given hope to depressed farmers.

3rd Villager: Now we can see some bright future for agriculture.

… and many more

Post the program, without exception, every village

expressed the desire of having a permanent connect

with the Yatra devotees and more such programs.

This was facilitated through registering their villages:

Nama Hatta Sanga: It would allow them to receive

basic spiritual training- chanting & following the four

rules and regulations.

Krsi Gau Raksha Sanga: It is registration under the

IDVM-India. It’s wider in scope and allows both the

varnasrama and spiritual training.

In a period of just about 60 days,

* Took ISKCON to remote villages

* Covered 67 villages

* Reached out to 13,000+ villagers

* More than 13,000 villagers pledged to go-

raksha and take spiritual training

* Distributed prasadam to 15,000+ villagers

* Distributed 3,000+ books

* Distributed Harinam to countless souls… Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

“IDVM-India is making real history throughthis most crucial grassroot village programand setting the stage for colossal changesand innovations as we enter ISKCON’sGOLDEN JUBILEE Era, an Era of continuedbold initiatives and highly effectiveoutreach touching the hearts and lives ofthousands of crying souls.”

- HH RP Bhakti Raghava Swami, Minister, IDVM-India

For further information: Please visit www.iskconvarnasrama.com

& www.srisurabhi.org

Srimati Vrindavanlila d.d. (Dr. Vrinda Baxi)

About the Author• Name in full Srimati Vrindavanlila d.d. (Dr. Vrinda Baxi)

• Age and Gender 44, Female

• Country/State of Origin India, Uttar Pradesh (Ayodhya)

• Highest Degree and Year Ph.D in English 1998

• Educational Institution Panjab University

• Professional Work Writer/Editor (16+ years of industrial experience)

• Affiliation with ISKCON Since 2000

• Present Service Sr. Editor in Varnasrama Book Trust (VBT)

Member of Sustainable Vaisnava Communities (SVC)

“Om Surabhyai namah”

Thank you

and

All the best