The Journey

The Journey

Being in the country side and having appreciation for the simple but principled life style from the core of the heart, wanted to be a part of this glorious culture. But the changing environment let down this instinct. By the grace of the Lord we came to know about the Vedic village project called "Gokuladhama" in the Sahyadri foothills.

This startup by ISKCON Belagavi in 2003 was a mirror to our innermost desire and it was our privilege to have such an opportunity. Many young, well educated friends joined in and had taken Shri Chaitanya's words, "Bhārata bhūmite janma hoyiloyāra, janma sārthaka kari kara para upakāra," to their heart. We had a chance to study and research the culture, spirituality, traditional technology and agriculture practices of India! For the next ten years we had the opportunity to lead the lifestyle filled with simplicity and austerity without use of any electricity and modern amenities.

As Srila Prabhupada once said, "India has the potential to rise up again and again despite all the oppression and plunder, mainly because of the self-sufficient villages of India." With these inspiring words of Srila Prabhupada in mind, we came to the village, Dadibavi-Salapura, Tq.: Ramadurga, Dist.: Belagavi, with a plan to have awareness programs in surrounding villages about our culture and where the modern society is heading. In addition, we studied the Indian education system and visited various gurukulas as well as many other endeavors with similar alternative education system.

Team Building

During our village awareness programs at different villages we met five village leaders who shared same thoughts as ours. We started having meetings regularly and thought of a Trust Formation. Also we were looking for a proper land for running a Trust and starting a Vidyalaya.

Start of Vidyalaya

The elders of Kamakeri village of Ramdurg taluk, Belagavi district welcomed, encouraged and blessed us to start this education endeavor. With their leaves, flowers and fruits to offer in the service of the Lord, the little kids began to grow at Vrindaranyam Vidyalaya on Gurupurnima day, July 2016. First year, the school had fifteen students. Initial two years, school was run at a rented place in Lokapur. While new eco-friendly buildings were being built at Kamakeri. Within 10 months, three simple structures were completed to start with. These buildings were named as Kala-kshetra(art & craft), Paka-shale (the kitchen) and Vyasa-shale (the school& residence).

Trust Formation

With the five leaders of five villages the Trust, Vrindaranya Grama Punarutthana Mandali was registered on 16-02-2017 and started its activities.

New Campus

In June 2018, the new campus was inaugurated. After vacations, students were welcomed into their new campus. The place was still under construction. Students got involved enthusiastically in completing the remaining work. First year 600 saplings were planted with the help Forest Department. This continued with many more plantations year after year. Once a barren hill is slowly turning into lush green. We hope to have a thick forest in the near future. Many more eco-friendly buildings are coming up as per the requirement. Agastya Kuteer for the guests, Vishwakarma Shale for the gross motor skills and Go Shale for cows are the new ones. New batch of eight students were admitted in 2019-20. Regularly many guests have been visiting the campus. Thus, Vrindaranyam is moving ahead with its little steps.