Baby swans are called cygnets, and on May 13, four cygnets emerged from their eggs on the shore of New Vrindaban’s lake. “I brought the parents to New Vrindaban from Ohio four years,” said Malati devi dasi. “They have been laying eggs every year since then.”

The proud parents took their babies onto the water the very next day after their hatching. The cygnets swam alongside the adults like experts.

‘These swans are not ordinary birds,” said Malati with excitement. “Srila Prabhupada told us many times that the residents of Vrindaban in India are advanced souls. Otherwise, how could they have taken birth in the Holy Dhama of Lord Krishna’s pastimes? New Vrindaban is non-different from Vrindaban, so any soul who takes birth here is special!”

In Sanskrit, a swan is called a hamsa. The ancient Vedic scriptures describe that if a hamsa is offered a bowl of milk mixed with water, the hamsa will separate the two substances and drink only the nutritious milk. Similarly, a paramahamsa is a self-realized spiritualist who appears on this planet Earth, but separates spirit from matter and associates only with spirit.

“Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of New Vrindaban, is recognized world-wide as a paramahamsa,” explained Malati. “He created New Vrindaban so that others could follow in his footsteps and also become paramahamsas.”

For more information about New Vrindaban Community visit www.NewVrindaban.com or call (1) 304-843-1600.