New Vrindaban

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"In '69 and '70 we built cottages and gradually expanded to include a dozen people. Then in the winter of '70, we began making Spiritual Sky incense and distributing it through the city temples. This proved to be a real gold mine. By the spring of '71 sufficient money came in to enable us to buy the other two farms, and as soon as we did people started pouring in. Right now we're over capacity with about 30 individuals on this farm and another 35 at the other two locations . . . that's 65 in all. Many more want to join us but, for sanitation reasons, we can't take on more than we can house."

"In terms of members, do you find you have a big turnover, or do many people stay with you for long periods?"

"People are always coming and going, but we've formed our basic core now, so there's some permanence in the flux. It's extremely important to have sincere, committed people who know how to do things. Lack of manpower can be as serious as lack of finances. Now we're very fortunate in having some good managers who know how to organize and execute projects. It takes a few years of trial and error to arrive at this point, however."

It was becoming increasingly evident to me that the people at New Vrindaban had both dreamed great dreams and gone a long way toward turning those dreams into reality. I wanted to know more about the community's organization and methods of handling the practical day-to-day management of their settlement.

"Who technically owns the land?"

"We formed a board which includes trustees who are members of the community. We were very careful to stipulate in our charter that the land could not be sold, leased or divided in any way without the unanimous agreement of those trustees, who presently number twelve. In this way we've cemented security of the land for ourselves and the generations that to come."

"How long can a person remain a trustee?"

"Trusteeship extends throughout the entire life of trustee, and at his death the board may vote to replace him. Actually additional trustees can be added at any time by majority of the board. The more trustees there are, the most difficult it becomes to sell the land."

"Do these trustees form the government or the decision-making body here?"

"The president—who is elected by the members—and two members of the board handle the day-to-day running of New Vrindaban, take care of finances and decide the community basic policies."

"And that basic policy includes an overall plan for the development of the community."

"Yes, although New Vrindaban is called a community, our conception is that of a small village where Krishna is the center of all activities. We're working toward forming a number of communal centers about a solid base of adjacent properties encompassing at least two square miles, or 1,280 acres. We already have 365 of those acres and can buy the rest as we get the money."

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