Ashram · native forest
In the spirit of “Vrindavan within Vrindavan,” we are planting a forest of the very plants that grew here in the time of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Hosts and guests
We studied the shastras that describe the flora of Vraja, carried out field research and drew up a list of native species. Thirty-six of them now grow in the “green ring” around the Kunj.
Today you will find no more than 10 native species in the countryside around Govardhan.
Everything else was brought in from elsewhere, and some of it is even invasive, yet both the government and private companies plant these species widely. They grow faster, but they upset the balance of the local ecosystem.
This thorny, sprawling shrub takes all the light and water, releases toxins into the soil and crowds out native species. Anyone who has walked the parikrama around Govardhan knows it well: the big thorns that end up in your feet come from this shrub.
An unusual method
We wanted a forest planted by people to look no different from a wild one. So we worked with Afforest and Maruvan, specialists in restoring India’s natural forests.
ResearchWe studied trees in their natural setting: which grow in shade and which in sun, which thrive together and which never grow side by side.
October 20211,630 m², 4,890 plants, 32 species. Srila Bhakti Vijnana Goswami, Srila Sacinandana Swami and other Vaishnavas took part in the planting.
SaplingsMost native species can’t be found in local nurseries. In all of India there are no more than ten nurseries that grow only native plants.
Six months onBirds come to feed and build their nests. The scent of the first forest flowers drew wild bees, and now they pollinate the forest.
TodayWe carefully collect its seeds, especially those of endangered species, so that they can one day be planted all over Vraja.
Plant friendships
Plants form friendships and alliances — and they have their incompatibilities too.
Friendly plants settle together to help one another, and some literally cannot live without their companions. We have often seen pilu, for example, growing among adusa, gangeti and miswak — so now we plant it in just that company.
A community in which every plant has its place is a healthy, self-regulating ecosystem. It is also a home for birds and insects: we don’t drive them away, and we never spray the forest with poisons.
Inside the forest
Inside the “green ring” lies the Kunj: more than 280 species of trees and shrubs, over 80 of them mentioned in the shastras. There are more than 15 varieties of mango alone.
The result is a garden full of “uddipanas” — plants that call to mind the pastimes of Radha and Krishna. It isn’t only tamala and kadamba: many of the trees mentioned in the lilas of Vrindavan are little known. The rare and mysterious mandara, for example, receives special care from our gardeners.
QR codes on the trees lead to Vrajapedia.com, where you can learn each plant’s name and description, see photos of its flowers and fruit, and read what the shastras say about it.
An educational project
Sri Rupa Seva Kunj is an educational project, and that goes for everything we do — even planting trees.
First we did the research, then we learned to put it into practice. Now we are ready to share what we have learned with anyone who wants to restore the forests of Vrindavan.
