(Srila Prabhupada visiting his old rooms at the Radha-Damodara courtyard, Vrindavan, India, 1972)
"Govinda resides eternally in Vrndavana. In the spiritual world of Vrndavana the buildings are made of touchstone, the cows are known as surabhi cows, givers of abundant milk, and the trees are known as wish-fulfilling trees, for they yield whatever one desires. In Vrndavana Krsna herds the surabhi cows, and He is worshiped by hundreds and thousands of Gopis, cowherd girls, who are all goddesses of fortune. When Krsna descends to the material world, this same Vrndavana descends just as an entourage accompanies an important personage. Because when Krsna comes, His land also comes, Vrndavana is not considered to exist in the material world. Therefore devotees take shelter of the Vrndavana in India, for it is considered to be a replica of the original Vrndavana. Although one may complain that no kalpa-vrksa, wish-fulfilling trees, exist there, when the Gosvamis were there, the kalpa-vrksa were present. It is not that one can simply go to such a tree and make demands; one must first become a devotee. The Gosvamis would live under a tree for one night only, and the trees would satisfy all their desires. For the common man this may all seem very wonderful, but as one makes progress in devotional service, all this can be realized.
"Vrndavana is actually experienced as it is by persons who have stopped trying to derive pleasure from material enjoyment. 'When will my mind become cleansed of all hankering for material enjoyment so I will be able to see Vrndavana?' one great devotee asks. The more Krsna conscious we become and the more we advance, the more everything is revealed as spiritual. Thus Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami considered Vrndavana in India to be as good as the Vrndavana in the spiritual sky, and in Caitanya-caritamrta he describes Radharani and Krsna as seated beneath a wish-fulfilling tree in Vrndavana on a throne decorated with valuable jewels. There Krsna's dear friends, the cowherd boys and the gopis, serve Radha and Krsna by singing, dancing, offering betel nuts and refreshments and decorating Their Lordships with flowers."
(Srila Prabhupada lecture, New York, April, 1967)
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