Looking Backwards and Forwards For Inspiration

I like this picture. It is on a building at Bahulaban, a part of New Vrindaban that was the heart of the community for many years, but now has been abandoned. The sticker starting to curl on a door that someone once thought was important enough to keep locked, now open to anyone. The graffiti the only sign of life.

This is taken from a website based on the results of a study done by a group of college students who came to NV for a visit as some part of their studies. It has a nice slide show of pictures of NV. The study itself is a cross sectional one, largely consisting of interviews. To my sense of things, it gives a bit of a skewed impression, as it seems the interviewees were mainly whoever was available at the time, but that is minor. Overall it is fairly interesting and an in depth look at NV from the perspective of impartial observers. Anyone truly interested in NV should read it. It can be found at:

http://www.pluralism.org/affiliates/emery/research.php

All contents copyright © 2006
President and Fellows of Harvard College and Diana Eck. All rights reserved.

Speaking of NV, now that Gaura Paurnima is past, the next festival of interest to devotees will be the Festival of Inspiration 12,13 and 14th of May 2006. This is a festival aimed at devotees and hundreds of guests from all over attend. Lots of seminars and discussion groups, for specific details check out:

http://www.festivalofinspiration.com/