Radha Kund, 20.11.2018

Radha Kund’s beauty is astounding and, beyond our sight, it is yet million times more beautiful. However, from a worldly perspective, the sad reality is that it is highly polluted with sewage seeping in from the leaking sewage systems of the houses and ashrams surrounding the kund. You can view a university report & more info here: https://radha.webs.com/

On Bahulashtami, we joined the thousands of pilgrims gathered at Radha kund. As we approached, my friend asked me where that sewage smell is coming from. It pained me to tell him the truth. It was only because I had a very strong inspiration, that I took snan (bath).

Many devotees still sip the water here for the purpose of performing acamana and the water is still used for worship all over the world. But, when we started asking around, we discovered, that, unfortunately, the locals react to any suggestion of proper sewage management with aggression because they fear it is just a ruse to drive them away from land that has a questionable title. Since the locals are in the majority and include prominent people, it is a tough issue for the government. But, as they say, ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’ and…. it is a good thing that some people like a challenge.

Often devotees feel ashamed and disgusted and feel that our lack of attention to material cleanliness is disrespectful to the area with the highest concentration of prema in the whole of Braj.

Several groups have tried to gather support for a filter to clean the water, but, to date, none have been successful in implementing such a project. In any case, it seems that filtering dirty water after it has entered the kund can only ever be part of the solution. More important is to fix the leakages and ensure that every house has a proper septic tank that is emptied regularly.

It wouldn’t take rocket science to keep sewerage out of Radha Kund and the failure to do this says something about the level of consciousness of those who claim to love Radha Kund. True spiritual activities have effect in both the material and spiritual world. In truth, it is a test by Radha Rani to see if we are ready to make some extra efforts for Her.