Mayapur Clean & Green, led by Murari Mohini Devi Dasi, along with ISKCON Mayapur Land Office Central and the Mayapur Environmental Protection Team, came together on July 7, 2024, to clean Sri Mayapur Dham and welcome Lord Jagannath on the first day of the Rathayatra. The cleaning was sponsored by the Land Office and some volunteers lead by Anadi Krishna Das.

The cleaning started in the morning of the Rathayatra day, from the precinct at the beginning of the ISKCON Mayapur campus all the way to Yogapitha, along the road that the Lord traveled later that afternoon.

Tapan Misra Das, one of the Co-Directors of Mayapur, inaugurated the event. He glorified the holy land of Mayapur and said, “We have excellent flora and fauna. This Dham is described in the scriptures as the most auspicious, most glorified Dham. And it’s our duty to ensure that the Dham remains absolutely illuminating, clean, and cared for. In the Chaitanya Charitamrita, it is described that the Lord himself, along with his devotees, conducted Gundica Marjana. The land of Mahaprabhu is a temple by itself. And what our devotees are doing today is to conduct that Gundica Marjana throughout the paths that Lord Jagannath will travel this afternoon.” You can hear his full remarks about the effort here.

Murari Mohini Devi Dasi said, “We had hundreds of bags for cleaning. Our volunteers started by cleaning the different parts of the road. We prepared the way for Lord Jagannath’s coming. We took six rickshaws and two tractors, and the roads are looking cleaner for the Lord to come.”

Tapan Mishra Das spoke about the establishment of the Mayapur Environmental Protection Team, a joint effort by the devotees. He said, “We have now established for Mayapur, a Mayapur Environment Protection Team, a joint effort by many devotees and under the overall supervision of the Land Division team, which is going to work on ensuring that in Mayapur we can do everything that we need to do in order to protect the Holy Dham. This team is going to ensure that waste is properly managed and trees are planted, as well as ensure that we are able to take care of our Dham.”

Regarding their future plans, Murari Mohini revealed, “As Tapan Mishra prabhu announced that this was the official start of the Mayapur Environmental Protection Team, we are preparing a tree planting for this season in several areas of Mayapur and are in need of more volunteers because we need to address education for the community and for children. We also need to address the matter of sanitation on the campus.”

She continued, “We also want to help with Ganga cleaning and Jalangi river cleaning. There is a lot to do on waste management. The Land Office Department succeeded in getting a connection with the government for some projects, such as getting several important items for the campus, which include 20 more bins, six electric rickshaws, the construction of new toilets, and a recycling facility for plastic. These projects are in the final stage of approval, after which we will also need the help of civil engineers and other experts in the environmental field.”

Murari Mohini Devi Dasi said, “I was extremely happy and grateful. I’ve been waiting for this day for the last six years when we can all cooperate, just like a big family of Srila Prabhupada. I pray for the leaders of our society to continue getting inspiration from Lord Jagannath to protect this holy land because He is the original proprietor, and everything belongs to him; we are here to serve, take care, and be an instrument of service of this beautiful spiritual kingdom that we have here. This is the spiritual kingdom, this is the spiritual world, and I’m extremely happy that we are cooperating.”

She continued, “A few months ago, my Guru Maharaj took us in front of Lord Jagannath, and he told us to ask him for the impossible, to make a deal with Lord Jagannath, something that can be really impossible. He can make it happen, but you also need to offer something in return. So, I made a deal with Lord Jagannath, and this is part of the deal I made with him, and it’s manifesting like it was before.”

Tapan Mishra Das expressed his gratitude to all the devotees who came together, including ISKCON Mayapur Management and the team of Mayapur Clean and Green, and encouraged people to support. He said, “This effort is a joint effort where many devotees have come together. I wholeheartedly request everybody to kindly support this initiative. It will require your prayers and physical support. We would also require some financial support as the time goes along.”

Murari Mohini Devi Dasi also felt grateful and said, “We had 18 volunteers. We are grateful for it because service is transcendental; it doesn’t matter if you do a little bit or you do a lot, or you are so many. It only matters that you do it well and with love, and He likes it. I’m grateful for Tapan Mishra Prabhu, who asked us what else we needed, and then he offered prasadam for us. We were able to buy more tools like rakes and gloves that we needed. It’s a very new and blissful beginning.” Here’s a short video thanking many of the volunteers.

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