By Vrsabhanu dasa
Since the very beginning of ISKCON Srila Prabhupada encouraged the devotees to set up farm communities and become self-sufficient, depending on the land. Two of his disciples responded to an ad about a rural ashram in West Virginia and subsequently purchased an old farmhouse there. This was the start of New Vrindaban. It was meant to be a replica of Vrindavan in India.
The community has gone through many different phases and at present the temple is a very busy place with lots of activities, especially during the summer months. Two hundred devotees now live within ten minutes of the temple.
Each year 30 – 40.000 people come to New Vrindaban. There are about thirty major festivals and over one million plates of sanctified food are served.
The cow protection programme has been running since 1967. It plays a very important part in Srila Prabhupada’s vision of ‘simple living and high thinking’.
New Vrindaban is this year celebrating its 50th anniversary. Millions of dollars have been invested in the infrastructure to create facilities for hundreds of guests.
This programme is the first in a series of films about the community.