New Vrindaban…of West Virginia?
WARNING – This post contains non-Christian educational material. The author neither supports, nor condemns, any said educational material.
OK, with that appropriate warning to my extreme right wing readers, allow me to offer up the basics of ISKCON. That is, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness…or Hare Krishna for most of us. Hare Krishna is a Hindu derived religion founded in New York City in 1966 by a man named A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (i.e. The answer to the Pre-Post Teaser). The movement believes that there is only one God, Krishna, but he can take many names and forms. Furthermore, your soul is eternal. Therefore, it goes from body to body (i.e. reincarnation) in the ultimate pursuit of getting back to Krisha. While the basics of Hare Krishna may be familiar to some, did you know you can visit their compounds? As evidence, I give you my visit to New Vrindaban…of West Virginia?
New Vrindaban Temple
For the record, in attendance with me at my Hare Krishna exploration day were my lovely wife, my 9th Grade English teacher and his wife, the Quilt Lady. Also, it should be noted that our hosts were very friendly, very open, and welcomed us to visit all areas of their community. So, we decided to start our adventure at the center of their religious practices, the New Vrindaban Temple.
The Temple worked pretty much like most places of worship. There were scheduled times for daily services. However, we opted to not attend services and chose to wander the Temple on our own. The Temple was beautiful and filled with opulent tributes to Krishna. The main altar was centered in the back-center of the Temple (see picture above left). Then, along the sides of the Temple were various depictions of Krishna and his various forms, as well as other aspects of their religion. A few pictures tell a better story….
The Palace of Gold
Beyond the Temple, the other major attraction of this community is the Palace of Gold. During the building of New Vrindaban (late 1960s to early 1970s), the devotees wanted to build a home for the founder, Swami Prabhupada. Regretably, Swami Prabhupada passed away soon after the completion of this home. So, he never really got settled in to make this his forever home. But, the place was so grand and opulent, the ISKCON leaders deemed it the Palace of Gold and charged tourists to tour its magnificence.
The Palace of Gold is not your average WV homestead. The devotees spared no expense to create this home and work of art. The place is loaded with the usual high end home materials, such as gold plated accents, hand carved everything, stained glass windows, and intricate marble floors. Sadly, they forbad me from taking pictures of the interior of the palace. So, my collection of pictures is quick and sneaky…
There is no doubt this place is worth seeing. It is absolutely amazing. However, putting the value aside, I wouldn’t live here. Those tiles floors would make for a cold West Virginia winter. Also, there was not a comfortable looking chair in the whole place. You would think a Swami of his magnitude would rate a good La-Z-Boy chair. Furthermore, there was no TV, no hot tub, and no king size bed. So, while I acknowledge the amazing craftmanship demonstrated by his devotees in building this home…a few more homey touches would have been nice.
Krishna Likes His Animals
If the New Vrindaban temple and Palace of Gold are not enough for you, be sure to visit the animals. As many of you may already know, the cow is a sacred animal. Obviously, all of the followers are vegetarian. However, it is OK to consume dairy products. The New Vrindaban community maintains a “Goshala” where the cows are cared for and milked. Furthermore, among other things, they have a ghee factory where they process butter into ghee…whatever that is. There is no slaughtering of cows. The cows get V.I.P. treatment even after they can no longer give milk. There are scheduled milking times every day that you are welcome to attend.
Beyond Krishna’s love of the cow, he was also pictured with peacocks and peacock feathers in many of the depictions. Reportedly, there were 24 peacocks roaming around the New Vrindaban community. We could not find anywhere near 24. But, we did find a half dozen or so as we walked about this beautiful property.
Wrap It Up
Bottom line…New Vrindaban, WV, was an amazing place to visit. The entire community was extremely pleasant and welcoming to visitors. You can observe everything from their services and meditation…to their cow milking. Furthermore, any devotee is happy to answer your questions. Naturally, Carol got the most attention. That is, if they were going to convert one of us…she looked like the weakest antelope. The place even has a restaurant that is open to the public, Govinda’s. Govinda’s is said to be the best vegetarian restaurant in that area of West Virginia (very low bar). You can also join the devotees for lunch in the cafeteria if you want. We passed on that offer. The Palace of Gold costs $8 to tour, but everything else is free. The community even has a lodge…so you can make it an escape weekend. This place is a true tourism hidden gem. Have a wonderful day. PT.
I hope you have enjoyed “New Vrindaban…of West Virginia?” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.
Here’s another post that I did on a special cow… https://travelingwithpt.com/the-story-of-emily-the-cow/
If you want to plan your visit to New Vrindaban, here you go https://www.newvrindaban.com/
