History and Goals of GITA NAGARI project

In 1974, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) purchased 300 acres in central Pennsylvania and started Gita-nagari, “the village where the Bhagavad-gita is sung and lived.” Rooted in Srila Prabhupada’s translations of India’s ancient Vedic literature, the village set out to demonstrate the natural sweet relationship between the land, the animals, humanity, and God. In 1985, the village residents started Adopt A Cow, to bring the message of a cruelty-free society to others. Our goals are:

1. To show a living example of simplicity, as described in the Vedas, by having the cow provide milk and the ox plow the fields for grain. With the deities as a center of all these activities our important goal is to attract kind mercy of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Damodara
2. To enable others to participate in ISKCON movement by providing plans of development. Participants can get involved by giving donations to ensure a devotee care or volunteer for various different services.
3. To educate others about Krishna consciousness, cow protection and vegetarianism through travel, lectures and newsletters.

Gita Nagari is a spiritual farm community of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The farm is located in rural Port Royal, Pennsylvania on 300 acres of serene woodlands. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupada, the founder acharya of ISKCON, gave the name "Gita Nagari" to the farm which means "the place where the Bhagavad Gita is sung and lived". Gita Nagari is quickly becoming known as the "Hospital for the Heart" because of the loving relationships amongst the residents and the extension of that love to all who visit here.
Srila Prabhupada wrote in his "Conception of Gita Nagari", "The Gita Nagari will therefore be the main preaching center for the Supreme Authority of Sri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead... If any treatment has to be done for the diseases of the human being, it has to be done from the very inception, namely the internal potency... there is practically no treatment for the treatment of the internal potency, and Gita Nagari must be very much alive to that point of view." Gita Nagari often hosts seminars designed for introspection and personal growth, and the conferences on Vedic studies have attracted spiritual leaders from around the world.