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What is Braj?
Braj, though never a clearly defined political region in India but is very well
demarcated region culturally, is considered to be the land of Krishna and is derived
from the Sanskrit word vraja. Contrary to the popular belief that Braj is Matura,
Vrindavan and Goverdhan alone, this region comprises Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh,
Kaman Tehsil of Bharatpur district of Rajasthan and Hodal Tehsil of Faridabad district
of Haryana and it spans across 1300 villages and 5000 km² in area.
 If Bhagwat Geeta can be summarized in one word as
"Nishkaam Karmayoga", Braj can be summarized in one word as "Simplification of Divine".
The Divine in the form of Krishna got so simplified over here that he stole milk,
curd and butter from the brajvasis homes, grazed cows as a shepherd and shared the
same plate of food with His friends, got absued from them, played with them, danced
with them and did all those activities that a common man do, forgetting all about
his divinity. It is because of this simplification of divine that the element of
spiritualism is ingrained in the anatomy of the locales, that the pinnacle of bliss
and satisfaction is found only here, that the hospitality of every Brajwasi can
make the best hospitality professionals run for their money.
 Krishna performed his numerous pastimes popularly
called his leelas in the 137 sacred forests, at the 1000 Kunds, on the numerous
holy hills and on the banks of river Yamuna. In Srimad Bhagwat Geeta, he himself
says to his foster father, Nandbaba that Braj is a culture of forests and hills
and not of city. Through his Leelas, Krishna has emerged as the first environmentalist
of the world. Nowhere in the history of mankind, one can find such an emphasis on
the harmony of human life with the environment. By eating mud and showing the Universe
in his mouth to mother Yashoda, he symbolically purified the earth element. By shunning
the Kalia serpent, he emphasised on the purification of the water element. By sucking
the Forest fire in Braj, he purified the fire element and by killing Trinavrat and
Vyomasur he symbolically purified the air and space elements respectively. Brajbhasa
is the language of Braj (often considered a dialect of Hindi), and it was the language
of choice of the Bhakti movement, or the neo-Vaishnavite religions, the central
deity of which was Krishna. Therefore, most of the literature in this language pertains
to Krishna composed in medieval times.
 Unfortunately the vast heritage associated with Krishna
is getting destroyed very very rapidly. Out of the 1000 kunds which used to be the
source of fresh and potable drinking water source and rain water harvesting, 90%
of them have dried and silted up, encroached upon and reduced to sludge tanks. Out
of the 137 forests, only 3 are left and rest have been cut down. Out of the 27 pictursque
ghats on the banks of river Yamuna, only one remains and rest have been encroached
upon and smuggled out. Due to the wide scale illegal mining of Braj hills, the heritage
spots associated with Krishna are being lost. There is an overall desruction of
the most culturally vibrant and heritage region of Vaishnavas, Hindus, Indians and
mankind on the whole.
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