Gokul Dham - Under the Guidance of Bhakti Rasamrita

Swami, and Inspired by Radhanath Swami

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT?

The Founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada desired, among other things, to see ISKCON set up self-sufficient Krishna Conscious farm communities to demonstrate the principle of "Simple Living & High Thinking". He intended such communities to be beacon lights for a society moving rapidly into artificial & destructive lifestyles. Modern civilization, with its thrust on maximizing worldly pleasure, has simply intensified the struggle for existence, leaving very little time, energy & inclination for people to pursue self-realization, which is the goal of human life.

The Vedic Economic Model

The questions of survival & livelihood have become very complex issues in the present day. However, the Vedic civilization of our past followed a very simple & sublime socio-economic model that gave material fulfillment & yet facilitated spiritual growth. A partial hint of that model is mentioned by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita (18.44):
i.e. "Agriculture, cow-protection & trade are the qualities of work for the vaishyas, or the mercantile class".

The Vedic economic model provided for self-sufficiency of varying degrees at various levels from the individual household, through the individual village up to a group of villages. Sometimes there would be trade over larger distances.

The Flaws of the Modern Economic Model

The modern day economic model is progressively eroding the self-sufficiency of social units, making them more & more dependent on external, & hitherto unconnected forces & situations. Indeed, in this age of globalization & so-called 'free trade', individuals & social units are becoming enslaved rather than free. In this complex web of artificial inter-dependency & control, events in one place drastically affect the situations & destinies of people in distant places.

The Merits of the Vedic Model

The Vedic model, by promoting self-sufficiency at the local level, insulates a region from disturbances in other regions. It gives Man an honorable measure of control over his own life & destiny. It nurtures & facilitates the spirit of cooperation, rather than competition; of hard-work, rather than indolence; of sensitivity to one's environment - human & natural, rather than callousness; of sharing & giving, rather than grabbing; of refinement & uplift-ment of the human spirit, rather than its degradation. The benefits are numerous. But above all, it provides the perfect atmosphere & background in which people can practice spiritual life, individually & collectively, free from the pressures, impurities & needless struggles that plague modern life & make self-realization seem such a Utopian & distant possibility.

Role Model Villages Required

With the traditional Vedic village fast disappearing, there is a crying need for self¬sufficient villages that can serve as role models to inspire a faithless population that is much allured & captivated by the razzle-dazzle of modern technology, lifestyles & values.

"Gokul Dham" - A Krishna Centered Village

"Gokul Dham", a proposed project of ISKCON, Belgaum, is envisioned as an ideal community and eco-village living in harmony with nature, on the Vedic principles of "Simple Living, High Thinking", in an area of about 450 acres located about 40 Kilometers outside Belgaum City. The Center of the village will be Lord Krishna. This means that the ultimate goal of all activities there will be to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna & to develop pure love for Him.

Therefore, the residents will follow a strong spiritual program of hearing & chanting the holy names, glories & pastimes of the Supreme Lord, of worship and study, & various other forms of services. Festivals connected with Supreme Lord will be celebrated with fervor & devotion. We hope to create, by the mercy & blessings of Srila Prabhupada, a spiritually surcharged atmosphere where people may experience divine bliss & make advancement in their spiritual life.

The Location of the Project

We have identified a plot of land of about 453 acres in size - nestled in the Sahyadri hills, 40 Km from Belgaum city, 30 Km from the Karnataka- Goa border. It is surrounded by dense forest & has heavy rainfall. It is quite a beautiful spot.

Srila Prabhupada's formula of self sufficiency

The economic needs of the community will be met by following, as an ideal, Srila Prabhupada's simple, & yet profound, articulation of the principle of self sufficiency:

"Use only what you can produce; & produce only what you need".

No Products of Modern Industry in Gokul Dham

Therefore "Gokul-Dham" will avoid the use of electricity, cement, steel, plastic, modern household gadgets like mixers, TV, radio, telephone etc, electrical motors & pumps, motorized vehicles & indeed, any thing that is a product of the modern industrial set-up for which we will have to be dependent on someone or something external to the community. Instead, we will attempt to revive various forms of traditional technologies to meet our simple needs.

Salient Features of the Project

-- Usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is greatly destroying the purity and productivity of soil and crops. Human health is also adversely affected due to the chemical toxins
-- At Gokul Dham, we will use natural farming methods & will strictly avoid chemical fertilizers & pesticides, heavy machinery like tractors, tillers & so on, & factory-manipulated hybrid seeds so that we have rich soil and pure, high quality crops and fruits. Additionally, we will use traditional technologies which will also provide employment to man
-- Farming activities will include agriculture, horticulture (to start with) & floriculture, medicinal herbs, spices etc. as the project develops
-- The Project also aims to provide training to farmers of neighboring villages in implementing many effective indigenous technologies of organic farming for small-power generation, watershed management, compost-making etc.

Watershed Management

In this day of water scarcity, proper watershed management is of utmost importance. Using traditional, simple, eco-friendly and effective methods we will charge the water table, conserve water and distribute it as per need in our area. Our volunteers have gone through training programs and are equipped for this purpose. With experience and development of expertise, we will reach out into the neighboring areas to train the people there in these simple techniques of watershed management.

Activities will include :

-- Ensuring steady all-year-round availability of water by creating tanks, reservoirs, wells, 'nullahs', small (micro) dams & so on
-- Recharging of ground water by afforestation, contour 'bunding' & so on
-- Traditional water-lifting & water-transporting technology (without use of motors & pumps)
-- Rain-water harvesting at the individual dwelling level.

Beautiful Gardens

-- By planting and nourishing many flowering and fruit bearing trees all over, we will provide strength to the top soil and provide a pleasant sight for citizens from all around to behold. To counter the rapid tree felling in the rural areas, we will attempt to motivate villagers in similar afforestation programs
-- We will have beautiful flowering gardens and lawns over several acres in the campus. People from far and wide may come here and find great mental peace and serenity in such natural beauty
-- The trees and gardens will also be the base for several agro-cottage industries
-- This will consist of widespread, labor-intensive means of production of utility items like Khadi cloth, ahimsa silk, incense, food processing products, pottery items and many such items.

Cottage industries will be required for three purposes:

-- To supply the needs of the community & thus help in achieving self-sufficiency
-- To serve as a source of livelihood for resident householders, &
-- To generate some income for the project, if possible, especially in the first few years when we will be struggling to establish ourselves.

A partial list of proposed cottage industries, to be implemented step by step over the years on a modest scale is as follows:

Honey
Agarbatti & 'dhup' manufacturing
Cow products
Carpentry & blacksmith
Pottery (for all our vessels, lamps etc)
Jaggery production
Oil-ghani
Ahimsa silk production (yarn)
Products of Straw, grass, cane & bamboo
Products of some important useful trees like coconut, palm, banana etc
Hand-made paper
Khadi cloth - growing cotton, spinning, weaving, dyeing with natural dyes on traditional hand looms.

The orientation of these cottage industries will not be towards mass production as in other industries, but rather to fulfill the three purposes mentioned above.

-- The KVIC and Department of Forestry and Agriculture, Govt. of Karnataka and other organizations have very kindly and readily offered their training facilities and guidance for our volunteers.

Use of Alternative Energy Sources

-- In this time of acute national power shortage, we will aspire to be self-sufficient in power requirement by the simple method of avoiding electricity altogether, and using instead, alternative and simpler methods like animal draught power, utilization of agricultural and bio-waste and so on
-- Scarcity of cement and construction materials is another great national problem. At Gokul Dham, all our structures, spread out over the entire campus, will be made entirely of natural materials like mud, stone, bamboo, straw, cow-dung, etc. using indigenous skills and technologies
-- Only traditional designs & patterns for individual dwellings & for the overall village lay-out will be employed
-- In an age when cows are being mercilessly slaughtered, Gokul Dham will be a happy home for cows. Here cows and bulls will be looked after with great love and care according to standards mentioned in the Vedic Scriptures
-- People have forgotten that the cow & bull have great value for Man. In fact, even their waste matter is valuable. For example, cow dung is the best fertilizer for the soil; it is an excellent fuel; it can be used as a protective layer against bacteria and pests within the home. These are just some of the applications.

At Gokul Dham, the milk, dung and urine of these animals will be used for making food products, fertilizers, insecticides, soap, incense, medicine & a host of other products & the working energy of bullocks will be gainfully engaged in plowing, & other activities like making of jaggery from sugarcane, oil from oilseeds, mortar from lime etc., & in transportation. We will also be training people in neighboring villages in proper techniques of animal husbandry.

Devotional Arts and Culture Centre

-- This centre will promote cultural activities like devotional music, dramas, and so on to combat the onslaught of materialistic culture through T. V, Cinema etc., and to rejuvenate traditional Vedic Culture
-- This centre will provide moral and spiritual education to children and teenagers. This is very important in an age where morals, character and human values are rapidly deteriorating. We see this as a very important service for society
-- We will also be establishing Gurukul type education for children that will give them all-round development: spiritually, morally, physically and academically. The children will then appear for the SSLC/CBSE examination at the proper time.

Institute of Vedic Studies

-- This Institute will promote research and study into traditional Indian books of wisdom in all areas like Ayurveda, Sthapatya (architecture), spiritual science, culture, music, languages etc., The Institute will also propagate this wisdom through seminars, classes, correspondence courses and publications
-- One of the important objectives of the Gokul Dham project is to provide free food (prasadam) to one and all. We will also have correspondingly large food preparation and distribution facilities.

Eco-friendly hygiene and sanitation systems

-- Apart from cattle, we may at a later date, keep deer, peacock, swans etc. Additionally, because of the beautiful green spaces, colorful flowers and forests, Gokul Dham will become a bird sanctuary with varieties of beautiful birds taking shelter there
-- We will revive traditionally known (but neglected) principles and systems of public hygiene and sanitation that are eco-friendly, health-friendly, simple, practical and inexpensive. Today, in the modern world, the treatment and disposal of waste is a big problem. But at Gokul Dham, our simple systems will organically treat and transform all kind of waste-matter into end products that will be useful for the community. We will also attempt to educate the residents of the neighboring villages in these matters and help them to design and implement such hygiene and sanitation systems.

Natural Health Department

To help in preserving traditional knowledge systems of health-care by:

-- Their practice and propagation (Yoga, Ayurveda, herbal and kitchen remedies)
-- Publishing literature for the general public
-- Growing medicinal plants that are very essential but are rare or becoming extinct.

To practice and propagate the principles of natural and simple living and high thinking, avoiding all vices. We will be traveling into villages encouraging people to give up harmful ways of living and to adopt healthy and godly ways of life.

-- This will provide religious and spiritual nourishment, motivation and inspiration for the residents of the community
-- In addition, the Community will have housing colonies for guests, resident families, brahmachari (student) ashram, & so on.

Village Outreach Programs

As the years go by & the community develops expertise in various fields, we will reach out into villages in the region to attempt a holistic, total transformation - economic, social, educational, cultural & spiritual.