Dear friends, brothers, temple caretakers, merchants and business owners, concerned

housewives, teachers, town administration and young people in whose hands the future of

Vrindavan lies,

AN OLD PROBLEM WITH A SIMPLE ANSWER: YOU.

My fellow Brijbasis, please accept my most humble respects to all of you. This is a special

invitation for you to personally join us in DOING SOMETHING to bring cleanliness, health

and dignity back to Vrindavan. The action you take may be small or large; you may practice

proper waste segregation, share information, help with cleaning activities, or contribute money.

The important part is that you at least DO SOMETHING.

By now, most of us are aware of the ways in which plastics and other pollutants are harming

the health and reputation of our beloved Vrindavan. Organizations have been created, laws have

been passed, and special projects have been undertaken to help the situation, but still it gets

worse. Families with deep love for Vrindavan have begun to avoid it on account of filth and the

dangers posed by garbage obstructing pathways and poisoning the water. Many of these efforts

are not fully effective because they operate without YOUR participation, support and oversight.

It is for this reason that we are not criticizing anyone who has already made an effort toward

a cleaner Vrindavan; most of the town’s waste problems are caused by resident and pilgrim

populations that are either unaware of the dangers of pollutants or are unsure how to participate

in and encourage proper waste management.

YOU have the ability to help change this situation. Responsible leaders from religious and

business communities and local citizens can share information and handle their waste more

responsibly. For instance, it is everyone’s household duty to make sure that organic waste is not

mixed with plastic waste. Organic waste should reach hungry animals directly from your kitchen

or be composted to produce valuable fertilizers. When inorganic and organic wastes are mixed in

together, animals consume the mixed waste, causing them great harm. Many of Vrindavan’s

beautiful cows have experienced slow, painful deaths after consuming several pounds of plastic

that was mixed in with other roadside waste. Just as organic waste has a proper re-use, so does

most inorganic waste, which can be re-used, recycled or safely converted to energy.

Since nearly all waste can be managed in this way, which is both safe and economically

beneficial to humans and animals alike, it is nothing more than public neglect that is polluting

such beautiful places of Braj as Radha Kund and Govardhan, which have no public waste

facilities.

HOW YOU CAN MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR POWER AS A GUARDIAN OF

VRINDAVAN’S FUTURE:

We invite you to come to a meeting of the “Help the cleaning of Vrindavan” committee,

which was established by the Braj Vrindavan Heritage Alliance (BVHA), a group of concerned

citizens for the progress of Sri Braj Mandala. At our regular meetings, we distribute

responsibilities to all who want to help make Vrindavan clean, healthy, holy and prosperous.

Please read the questions that follow, as I have written them to help you understand the

importance of YOUR personal participation in “Help the cleaning of Vrindavan”:

• - Would you like to see your neighborhood and the entire parikrama path without plastic cups

and plates thrown everywhere?

• - Would you like to see a beautiful Yamuna without solid waste from Vrindavan's households

placed into Her?

• - Are you concerned that animals such as cows are eating plastic and dying as a result?

• - Are you worried about the ways in which poisonous fumes from burning plastic damages the

lungs of humans and animals and also contributes to poisonous groundwater and rains?

• - Do you believe that Vrindavan could become the most progressive and cleanest of holy

pilgrimage cities?

• - Would you like the ground water of Vrindavan to be fit for consumption and not contain our

own black waters from households, ashrams and hotels?

• - Do you want to have a clean Yamuna flowing in front of Vrindavan as our ancestors enjoyed?

• - Would you like to see the household garbage of Vrindavan out of the streets by helping to

establish and maintain collection points for individuals to take their garbage, from which point

it will be transported?

• - Would you like to see our children learn to be part of the solution for Vrindavan's problems?

• - Would you like to see plastic cups, bags and plates banned from the markets of Vrindavan?

• - Do you agree that all those who produce garbage are responsible and that it should not

become a health hazard to others?

• - Would you like to see monkey menace managed by helping to install monkey-proof cages at

temple compounds that are helping to collect and properly manage waste?

• - Would you like to see temples take responsibility for the waste that accumulates in their

vicinities due to visitor traffic and not care only for the cleanliness inside their compounds?

• - Do you agree that Vrindavan would be a much more attractive and famous place if we could

tackle the garbage problem and take it out of the public view?

• - Do you consider the opinion of, “it is your right to throw the rubbish anywhere so low caste

(sweepers) can have the privilege to pick it up” a wrong attitude that is counterproductive?

• - Do you agree that Vrindavan is one of the most important holy places for India and indeed for

the whole world?

• - Does Vrindavan deserve to be widely recognized for cleanliness like Chandigarh, Punjab is

recognized today?

• - Even if you cannot help to clean up the rubbish of Vrindavan, do you agree that waste from

houses should go directly to recycling or to nominated garbage collection points?

• - Do you agree that flower garlands should be disposed of properly instead of put into plastic

bags and thrown into the Yamuna, which offends Yamuna Devi and creates an environmental

disaster?

• - Would you like to see the turtles and fish living happily in the Yamuna instead of being

suffocated and poisoned by pollution as they are today?

There are many more questions like these I can pose to you which I hope will appeal to your

identification with the problems. These are big problems, but to solve them we must start small,

by including every person that we possibly can and getting him or her to act. The Braj Vrindavan

Heritage Alliance will meet on the:...... In order to make this meeting effective, we need to see

and hear what your contribution will be to help solve these problems.

IN CLOSING

The time has come for YOU to take serious action; words are no longer enough. It is time to

distribute service to all of those who want to help in whatever way they can. The cleaners of the

municipality and members of organizations interested in cleaning (such as Food for Life, Friends

of Vrindavan and others) will surely appreciate your change of consciousness towards activism

in favor of Srimati Radharani, the Queen of Vrindavan.

If you cannot attend the meeting, you can still actively participate by calling Partha Sarathi

Dasa, who is coordinating the “Help the cleaning of Vrindavan” committee as part of his service

to the BVHA. He can be reached at: (+91) 7895002917. Partha Sarathi Dasa can also speak to

you on the phone or visit your place of residence or temple to give advice on how to tackle the

waste management problems of your home and neighborhood.

However, we would very much like to see you at our next meeting, no matter who you are.

We will share material that you can display at your school, temple, ashram or home which will

teach various actions that can be taken by those wishing to do their part to enhance the health and

beauty of Vrindavan.

Any donations to this cause are also welcome. You can sponsor any activity you would like

to see taking place in your neighborhood and the ways in which all monies are spent will be

transparently reported. As an example, a monthly cost of 3000 rupees will allow us to hire one

cleaner which we can then make responsible for a specific area of your choosing. Also, if you

wish, local organizations can help monitor the amount and quality of work performed.

Thank you for your time in reading this invitation which is intended only for those who are

interested to see a more beautiful and clean Vrindavan arise within a very short period of time. I

look forward to seeing you at our meeting on ____!

Yours from my heart,

Swami BA Paramadvaiti Member of the Cleaning Committee of the Braj Vrindavan Heritage Alliance.