Vrindavan Land of Krishna -- Visit Vrindavan over 40 years ago!

Vrindavan Land of Krishna is a brilliant documentary on Vrindavan, the small village in India where Krishna appeared on this earth around 5,000 years ago.
Vrindavan Land of Krishna was produced in the 1970s so it provides us with a snapshot of Vrindavan, very different from the way Vrindvan appears today.
When Vrindvan Land of Krishna was produced Vrindavan was a small remote village only inhabited by devotees of Krishna and only visited by pilgrims wanting to worship and serve Krishna.
So we can see Vrindavan when the Paraikram path, for example, the path that circumambulates the Vrindvan area, was soft sand and there were only pilgrims walking on it in bare feet. There were not cars, trucks or even rickshaws on the Parikrama path at all, only the pilgrims walking in bare feet on the holy sand of Vrindvan.
Today that holy sand is covered by asphalt and the parikram path is now a busy road crowded with all sorts of vehicles and distractions.
So Vrindavan, Land of Krishna, is a beautiful film, presenting a snapshot of Vrindavan that is very different from at least the external impression one gets from visiting Vrindavan today.
It is produced by Yadubara Prabhu of ISKCON Cinema.
From the ancient histories of India which date back more than 5,000 years we learn of Kṛṣṇa the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Kṛṣṇa exhibited His transcendental pastimes in the holy city of Vṛndāvana
At the time the ruthless tyrant Kaṁsa was desirous of conquering the world.
When the malicious king heard that his sister's son would kill him he was ready to behead her. But her husband Vāsudeva managed to pacify the sinful king and save her life
Devakī and her husband Vāsudeva both great devotees of the Lord wanted the Lord to be their son. To fulfill their pure desire Kṛṣṇa the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared before them in His majestic four-armed form. Then at His parents' request the Lord appeared as an ordinary child
To protect His transcendental son Kṛṣṇa from Kaṁsa's wrath Vāsudeva carried the Lord across the river Yamunā to the home of Nanda Mahārāja in the village of Vṛndāvana
Overjoyed at Kṛṣṇa's presence the village people held a great celebration. They never thought
to themselves Kṛṣṇa is actually the Supreme Lord. He was their beautiful child and all of them loved Him without reservation.
As Kṛṣṇa grew up Vṛndāvana saw many of His most extraordinary pastimes. Once Kaṁsa sent a mystic whirlwind yogi to kidnap Him but Kṛṣṇa choked the yogi and caused his death
Though He looked just like an ordinary child the Supreme Lord could do anything.
The cowherd boys knew nothing but Kṛṣṇa. Each day all of them would go to the forest with the cows and enjoy one another's company.
Everyone in Vṛndāvana was pleased just by Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma's presence there. And to this day the land of Vṛndāvana is Kṛṣṇa's transcendental home
Pilgrims bathe in the sanctified waters of the Yamuna River which borders Vṛndāvana on three sides. This branch of the Ganges is considered the holiest of all holy rivers because it once washed Kṛṣṇa's transcendental body.
Vṛndāvana consists of 64 square miles of flat fertile land dotted with small villages. This is the area that Kṛṣṇa and His cows and friends traverse daily. Through the ages millions of Kṛṣṇa's devotees have worshipped this sacred land.
Vṛndāvana's oldest temple Madana Mohana was built in the 16th century, it overlooks the six-mile path that encompasses the town.
Vṛndāvana is located 90 miles southeast of Delhi and all its 30,000 residents are devotees of Kṛṣṇa
In the bustling markets merchants sell their goods: farm-fresh produce, milk and grain sweets including hot jalebis made on the spot, costly silks saris and shawls and everything necessary to worship Krishna.
Kṛṣṇa's devotees feel His presence in Vṛndāvana and for them there is no place more sacred. Kṛṣṇa is especially remembered in His temples and no less than 5,000 temples in Vrindavan.
Within many of the temples great artists have memorialized Krishna's pastimes through marble carvings and paintings
One new temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness attracts people from both India and abroad. Gradually Vṛndāvana is becoming world famous and this center welcomes people of all nationalities Here one can learn the science of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. Modern accommodations are provided in the International Guest House.
In the classic tradition devotees worship Kṛṣṇa and His elder brother Balarāma
By his personal example Krishna taught that the ideal life is a simple one and in much of Vrindavan life goes on this way. The people fulfill their needs not with complex technology but with the land's natural gifts
By using the bull to produce grains and the cow to deliver milk the people of Vrindavan live a natural and healthy life absorbing their minds in the pastimes Krishna performed here fifty centuries ago.
Each day the cows wander to one of Vrindavan's twelve forests Years ago Krishna and his cowherd boyfriends would bring their cows to these same forests for peaceful grazing. Who would think that God spends His time in such a simple way?
Krishna's activities five thousand years ago were almost lost to memory until Lord Krishna himself
returned to Vrindavan only five hundred years ago this time disguised as a great devotee Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
Absorbed in ecstatic love Lord Caitanya wandered through Vrindavan's forests and recalled Krishna's pastimes. Everywhere he looked he remembered Krishna.
Lord Caitanya spotted the Yamuna River. Many years before Vasudeva had carried Krishna across this river to the home
of Nanda Maharaj in Nandagram and it was here that Krishna grew up.
Lord Caitanya also saw Gokula where mother Yashoda bound child Krishna to a grinding mortar after the Lord had stolen butter. And he saw Govardhan the hill that supplied Krishna's cows with fresh water and soft grass.
After taking his bath at Govinda Kund Lord Caitanya danced ecstatically before the Krishna deity.