The story and vision of New Madhuvan
A Krishna conscious farm community rooted in the vision of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda — simple living, high thinking, and heartfelt devotion to Krishna.
New Madhuvan — literally, "the new honey-grove" — is inspired by Madhuvana, one of the twelve sacred forests of Vraja, the eternal land of Krishna's youthful pastimes. The community unfolds across 60 decares of land — a single, continuous sanctuary that holds the temple, the goshala, the gardens and the Vrajaloka eco-village. It lies deep in the Bulgarian countryside, surrounded by open fields and forest, far from the noise of the city and modern civilization — cows, gardens, temple bells, and the holy names of Krishna in the air from dawn to dusk.
The community was founded by disciples and followers of Śrīla Prabhupāda, drawn together by a shared conviction: that the modern world needs, more than anything, living examples of a life organized around God, cows, land and honest work — not around consumption.
I offer my respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has become the well-wisher of the cows and the brāhmaṇas as well as of the entire human society and world.
What we are building
Devotional community
Cow protection
Sacred agriculture
Spiritual education
In the disciplic line
The community follows the Brahma-Madhva-Gauḍīya sampradāya, the disciplic succession coming down from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu through the Six Gosvāmīs, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, and — in our own time — Śrīla Prabhupāda, founder-ācārya of ISKCON.
New Madhuvan is inspired by and connected to ISKCON's worldwide family of temples, farms and communities.
Words you will meet on this site
The vocabulary of bhakti-yoga is old and precise. Here are some of the terms that appear across these pages, with short working definitions.
- Bhakti-yoga
- The yoga of loving devotion — the practice of remembering, serving and offering everything to God (Krishna).
- Sādhana
- Regulated daily spiritual practice: rising early, chanting, worship, study and service.
- Sevā
- Devotional service — any action offered with love to God, the spiritual teacher, cows, land or community.
- Kīrtan
- Congregational singing of the holy names of God, usually accompanied by mṛdaṅga drums and karatāla cymbals.
- Japa
- Personal, quiet chanting of the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra on a strand of 108 tulasī beads.
- Maṅgala-ārati
- The auspicious first offering of the day, held about ninety minutes before sunrise, with lamps, incense and kīrtan.
- Ārati
- A short ceremony of offering — lamps, water, cloth, flowers and a fan — accompanied by song.
- Prasādam
- Literally 'mercy' — vegetarian food first offered to Krishna on the altar and then honored by the community.
- Goshala
- The cow shelter — the physical and spiritual heart of a Vedic community.
- Go-seva
- The service and lifelong protection of cows, bulls and calves.
- Vraja / Vṛndāvana
- The land of Krishna's youthful pastimes in India — the eternal spiritual atmosphere our community tries to remember and honor.
- Sampradāya
- A disciplic line of teachers and students, preserving a spiritual teaching across generations.
- Śrīla Prabhupāda
- His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda (1896–1977), founder-ācārya of ISKCON and our principal teacher.
- ISKCON
- International Society for Krishna Consciousness — the worldwide Vaiṣṇava movement founded by Śrīla Prabhupāda in 1966.