Volunteer opportunities in India. Stay in unique Bhakti yoga ashram at hindu holy place of Vrindavan, sacred home of Hinduizm. Explore spiritual India.

Your spiritual home: volunteer opportunities in India

A treasure awaits you in Vrindavan that may change your life. Answers to all of life’s big questions will soon be in your hands. Come and dive into the ocean of spirituality. We are ready to serve you at the enchanting Vrinda Kunja Ashram situated in the very hearth of Hinduism, Shri Vrindavan Dham, the homeland of Krishna. Volunteer opportunities in India are welcoming you. We are looking forward to meet you in our ashrams eithr in Vrindavan or in West Bengal. Come for a visit and support our social activities as a volunteer!

Volunteering in Vrindavan

Our mission in Vrindavan is to receive volunteers and visitors from all over the world and to encourage them to develop bhakti, or devotion by serving and visiting holy places. Experiencing Vrindavan means studying the holy books and preserving the holy land of Braj Vrindavan, Yamuna river, ancient buildings, as well as serving the the local people, the Brijvasis or spiritual inhabitants of Braj themselves. Inspiration to serve has always been our mission.

We invite you to stay with us in heart of Indian culture

If you have ever imagined staying in India for some time to experience the glory and spiritual energy of a holy place, Vrindavan is sure to make that dream come true. Indian culture itself has emanated from Vrindavan, since it is the homeland of Krishna. These volunteer opportunities will make you think about mistery of life. As a volunteer you can experience monastic life in a traditional Hindu ashram in authentic environment, in spiritual India. Vrindavan is located only 150 km from New Delhi, the capital of India, on the way to Agra, on the bank of historical Yamuna river.

The History of Manipuri-Rani Kunja in Vrindavan

There was once a Vaishnava kingdom in northeast India called Manipur. There lived a queen two hundred years ago who betrothed the king of the neighbouring state of Tripura. That king had a temple in Vrindavan called Tripura Kunja. That temple was situated right behind the sanctuary of Gopeshwar Mahadev, the guardian of Vrindavan.
The queen requested a special place for herself and her Manipuri friends to reside in the holy place of Vrindavan, so they acquired the neighboring property and called it Manipuri-Rani Kunja. It was a large property with beautiful, exotic, native trees. They constructed a temple and established the deities of Sri Sri Radha Vraja Mohan, honoring the beloved deities of Srila Narottam Das Thakur who was the founder of the Vaishnava movenment in Manipur in the 16th century. A platform was established there to conduct the Rasa Lila performances in Manipuri classical dance style for special occasions since Indian traditional art had been always a part of Hindu temple worship. Here it should be noted that the traditional way of performing Rama Lila (the essential artistic expression of the Ramayana) is recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Vrindavan, and especially Vrinda Kunja Ashram, was and still remains a part of this.

The queen herself lived in her Manipuri-Rani Kunja for many years, and there she performed her spiritual service.

Manipuri Kunja in decline prior to becoming Vrinda Kunja Ashram

When the influence of the royal families declined, many temples in Vrindavan lost their support. The Manipuri Queen abandoned her Kunja for many years and worship of the deities ended. The Deities of Radha and Krishna were removed after a short time, and many thieves started to come in the hope of plundering hidden treasures.

Restoration of Vrinda Kunja Ashram

In 1989 Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami was looking for a place for South American and European devotees to stay while they visited Vrindavan. He discovered the abandoned Manipuri temple with the help of Chandravan, who was the intermediary between him and the Queen’s family.
Restoration began immediately after the acquisition, by Swami B.V. Paramahamsa who arrived from Colombia especially for that purpose. They wished to preserve the original beauty of the place and not expand construction, but rather to maintain the wonderful gardens and the serene atmosphere. It is said that it is 1,000 times more beneficial to restore an old building rather than construct a new one.
Paramadvaiti Swami eventually named the place Vrinda Kunja in honour of Vrinda Devi, the holy personality after whom Vrindavan is named. Vrinda is also a name of the holy basil plant, Tulasi, which is cultivated and worshipped lovingly in every Hindu household and temple. The visitors of Vrinda Kunja Ashram enjoy the company of many Tulasi plants in the temple garden along with some rare trees. The verdant gardens make Vrinda Kunja Ashram a real spiritual oasis in the holy place of Vrindavan.

In 1989 Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami was looking for a place for South American and European devotees to stay while they visit Vrindavan, so he found that ashram with the help of Chandravan, who was the intermediate between the Queen family and him.

Lineage – who we are?

We are followers of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan and Srila Narottam Das Thakur, and we are inspired by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur and his disciple who went to the West to propagate Vaishnava philosophy, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

All attractive Krishna as worshiped in Vrinda Kunja Ashram in Vrindavan

It is quite natural to worship our beloved ones. There are over 5000 Hindu temples in Vrindavan. All of them worship the Supreme Personality Shri Krishna as do we at the Vrinda Kunja Ashram.

When the temple was reconstructed, a deity of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was also installed on the altar. To the great surprise and joy of all, one day a sadhu who had heard about Vrinda Kunja Ashram came to our temple with very old Radha Krishna deities originally from Shantipura in West Bengal.

The mystical sadhu had only one condition upon offering the deities for Their worship in Vrinda Kunja Ashram: the devotees should offer Them one liter of milk daily. It was agreed upon, and there followed a beautiful festival to receive the Lordships. The Lords took possession of Their temple by Their own will. This event was sublimely beautiful and sweet.
Our Chaitanya Mahaprabhu deity was made from a piece of Imlitala tree by an expert carver from Mayapur who offered the deity as a gift. That deity, or Thakurji as they are called in India, was also worshipped in the holy places of Srivas Angan in West Bengal and at the Imlitala temple in Vrindavan. Afterwards, the beautiful Mahaprabhu deity came to the Vrinda Kunja Ashram and assumed His seat right next to Sri Sri Radha Vraja Mohan.

Hereis the short history of our dear Vrinda Kunja Ashram and our volunteer program. If you want to know more about India and Hinduism, kindly check our blog. Don’t miss these unique volunteer opportunities. We wish to meet you here, in the sweetest of all sacred places of India, Sri Vrindavan Dham, enchanting land of most attractive Sri Krishna.

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