Located at a dramatic bend in the River Yamuna, a hundred miles from the center of Delhi, Vrindavan is the spot where the god Krishna is believed to have spent his childhood and youth. For Hindus it has always stood for youth writ large. Now, though, the world is gobbling up Vrindavan. Half the town is a vast real-estate development—and the waters of the Yamuna are too polluted to drink or even bathe in. Temples now style themselves as theme parks, and the world’s tallest religious building is under construction in Krishna’s pastoral paradise.

Like our age as a whole, Vrindavan throbs with feisty energy, but is it the religious canary in our collective coal mine?

Description

This is a book about a deeply beloved place—many call it the spiritual capital of India. Located at a dramatic bend in the River Yamuna, a hundred miles from the center of Delhi, Vrindavan is the spot where the god Krishna is believed to have spent his childhood and youth. For Hindus it has always stood for youth writ large—a realm of love and beauty that enables one to retreat from the weight and harshness of the world. Now, though, the world is gobbling up Vrindavan. Delhi’s megalopolitan sprawl inches closer day by day—half the town is a vast real-estate development—and the waters of the Yamuna are too polluted to drink or even bathe in. Temples now style themselves as theme parks, and the world’s tallest religious building is under construction in Krishna’s pastoral paradise.

What happens when the Anthropocene Age makes everything virtual? What happens when heaven gets plowed under? Like our age as a whole, Vrindavan throbs with feisty energy, but is it the religious canary in our collective coal mine?

About the Author

John Stratton Hawley is Claire Tow Professor of Religion at Barnard College, Columbia University.

Table of contents

Acknowledgments xi

Note on the Text xv

Map of Vrindavan xx

1. Paradise—Lost? 1
2. The Battle of Keshi Ghat 22
3. Mall of Vrindavan 62
4. The Skyscraper Temple 118
5. A Diff erent Refuge for Women 178
6. Being Shrivatsa 218
7. The Sign of Our Times 266

Notes 298

Bibliography 333

Index 351

About the Author 360