If you've never been to Krishna’s Island you should consider doing so. I decided to give it a go, especially as it was the 25th anniversary of the installation of Sri Sri Radha Govinda. The island is also known as Inishrath or Govindadvipa. The following entries are meant to be a short travel diary. I hope you will enjoy them.

 

I have been to Krishna’s Island before, but that dates back some 15 years. At that time a group of devotees from Leicester went there for a Bhakti Vriksa seminar, an innovative approach of cell group preaching.

 

Now 15 years later the place has been transformed into a replica of Vrindavan with beautiful pastime places such as Vrinda Kunda, Nandagram, Ter Kadamba and many others. The temple is on an island and can only be reached by boat. In fact, the whole island is the temple along with its extensive grounds.

 

 

Govindadvipa is in Northern Ireland, not far from the border to the South, the Republic of Ireland. To travel from the UK, in my case from Leicester, is a straight forward affair, namely by National Express coach to Birmingham airport and from there to Dublin with Ryanair. The flight was only £30 with one cabin bag of luggage. I took the bus number 30 from Dublin airport to Belturbet, where I was picked up by devotees. The entire journey took about 10 hours.

 

Nothing can match the beauty of Krishna consciousness or the hospitality of the devotees of Govindadvipa. I actually had a fair comparison for this. When entering the departure launch of the Birmingham airport I was greeted with a sparkle and splendour I had never seen before, comparable only to Dubai perhaps. All the corporate world and brands were assembled there and attractive women tried to persuade those forced to enter this area on the way to the departure gates to purchase their products. It appeared to be the Vaikuntha of this material world, the perfect dream of so called material perfection and happiness, achieved only through buying power. It was the perfect flooring, lighting, music and display, applied psychology at it’s best.

 

 

Of course material perfection doesn’t exist. Everything comes with a heavy price tag like depletion of the planet’s resources, environmental damage, our own poisoning etc. what to speak of the actual price of these products on display, like a pair of sunglasses between £50 and £200 for example. No thanks, the Vaikuntha of the spiritual world is a million times more attractive and it is everlasting, while this material dreamland is latest gone with the end of this body. It is actually not Vaikuntha but a place full of anxiety and frustration.

 

Devotees at Govindadvipa were very kind and let me settle down in one of their guest rooms, which are bright and clean and are equipped with everything one could possibly need. They had even arranged for two plates of prasadam for me, one from lunch and one from the evening offering. I had to oblige as I soon realised that a strict diet was not possible here. That I can do once I am back in Leicester again.

 

 

The next day started with the morning programme at 4:30 AM. It was blissful and inspiring and Deena Bandhu Prabhu gave a talk on Guru Purnima, Sanatan Goswami’s disappearance day. After breakfast we went on Vrindavan Parikrama with Deena Bandhu and Prithu Prabhus, during which we listened carefully to the churning of Krishna’s nectarian pastime stories. Throughout the day more and more guests arrived at the island.

 

Yesterday was a day full of events. The deities were beautifully dressed. They looked ever so gorgeous with Sri Sri Radha Govindaji in a boat, Krishna holding a rowing paddle. They were flanked by two gopis sitting in the boat. The scene did depict Krishna’s boatman pastime, taking the gopis over Manasi Ganga. For a full description of this pastime please see our Kartik Diary.

 

In the afternoon devotees took the small Radha Govindaji deities outside into Vrindadevi’s garden. As the weather had turned from very hot and dry to rather cold and showery Radha Govindaji were dressed in a beautiful brown cape to keep them warm.

 

 

After some kirtan and a short talk They were placed on a swing and everyone had the opportunity to swing Them. What a wonderful and intimate service for Sri Sri Radha Govindaji on an island right in the middle of a large lake with peacocks everywhere. Prasadam is very opulent and supremely delicious by the grace of Radha Govindaji.

 

Devotees at Govindadvipa grow their own vegetables and flowers, keep a number of colonies of bees and bake their own sour dough bread. They also collect the rain water from the roof to water the gardens. It is self-sufficiency in the making.

 

I was stunned at the size of their tomato plants and other vegetables when I entered one of the large greenhouses. I felt like being instantly transferred into satya yuga, where all plants grew much larger in size compared to today. I can only attribute the literally gigantic growth of their vegetables to Radha Govindaji’s mercy and the devotees abundant bhakti for Them. All vegetables are grown organically to provide the very best offerings for the Divine Couple.

 

 

The highlight of the festival was the abhisheka bathing ceremony of Radha Govindaji. Devotees had made a beautiful bathing platform and prepared many dried fruit garlands for the Divine Couple. It was deeply touching to see the various bathing ingredients such as yogurt, honey and milk running down Their divine forms amidst the loud chanting of Krishna’s Holy Name.

 

Later in the day Prithu Prabhu spoke about the miraculous appearance of Sri Sri Radha Govinda and the extraordinary acquisition of the island. Devotees also witnessed several dramas on Krishna’s Vrindavan pastimes, which were performed by children and adults.

 

Moreover, there was a ceremony during which devotees and guests gave gifts to the deities, which ranged from financial contributions to colourful pictures drawn by children, poems, heartfelt prayers of gratitude and even a microwave oven for Their Lordships. Later on there was a boat ride with Their Lordships and Their devotees around the entire island, during which another abhisheka ceremony took place.

 

There was much appreciation too for the head pujari, Maha Mantra Mataji, who has been steadfast serving the deities for the past 25 years. Another outstanding devotee is the temple’s president Gopal Acharya Prabhu who is leading the community of devotees by his kind hearted hands-on approach and his first class example. Despite these two outstanding devotees there is an ocean of equally inspiring Vaishnavas, both men and women, who have dedicated their life to the service of Radha Govinda in such an exemplary manner we could all take an example of. They are the true glories of such a glorious place as Govindadvipa.

 

Today is Monday and Radha Govinda’s 25th appearance anniversary is over. It is sad to see all these wonderful Vaishnavas leaving and Krishna’s Island returning to its day to day routine of dedicated service to the Divine Couple. It is sad to see them all going. I always felt this sadness when leaving Mayapur after the Gaura Purnima festival. Therefore I promised myself to also leave quickly after such an ecstatic festival in the association of so many wonderful Vaishnavas, however, my flight schedule does not allow me to do so quickly.

 

My prayers are with the community of devotees at Krishna’s Island so that they will be able to clear the mortgage for a second time on Sri Sri Radha Govindaji’s temple, which has unfortunately been re-mortgaged against their will, even though the property had been debt-free due to the tireless efforts of so many hard working Vaishnavas who have dedicated so much of their time and energy to clear the mortgage on the house of their beloved Lords in the first place.

 

Good bye Govindadvipa and good bye my young friend Akincana Krishna Das. Sri Sri Radha Govindaji Ki Jaya! Gaura Bhakta Vrinda Ki Jaya!