Peacocks, Feathers and Fans

An adult male peacock erects his “train” (tail feathers) to attract peahens and intimidate rival males.

Peacocks are important birds to Vaishnavas as their gaudy tail feathers are used to decorate the deity of Lord Krishna on the temple altar by placing feathers in his crown. In addition, fans are made from peacock tail feathers. These are waved near the deity or the spiritual master to create a breeze which helps keep them cool on hot days. Once a year, the peacock sheds its feathers, and they can be collected. Unfortunately, these old feathers are often damaged due to wear and tear over the past year. Fresh peacock feathers are much more beautiful, but how can one get these feathers? At New Vrindaban, where peacocks and peahens are allowed to roam freely, some were run over by motor vehicles on the road. These dead birds were collected, boiled in a pot, and their feathers were removed to make peacock feather fans as an aid in deity worship. My godbrother Janmastami dasa tells us about the time in the 1970s when one of his services was to collect dead peacocks and remove their tail feathers. He concludes by admonishing us to read the books of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and engage in Krishna seva (service to Krishna). Janmastami writes:

Once upon a time, I used to boil peacocks, in return for this seva, my payment was PLATES of MAHA [vegetarian food—usually extremely fancy and cooked with ghee—offered to the deity of Krishna on the altar in the temple]. Please remember, “you cannot find fault with the RESIDENTS of VRINDABAN!,” and bear that in mind. Also, it is for “MAHA PRASADAM,” so that carries its own parameters. When we lived at BAHULABAN, there were peacocks that were free range in the area at the time. Of late there are some who take to the glorification of the locals, indigenous to McCREARY’S RIDGE, later named HARE KRSNA RIDGE when NVC (NEW VRINDABAN COMMUNITY) became an unincorporated village of the state of WEST VIRGINIA.

So be it, but there were clearly “Us vs. Them” TIMES, that not everyone may have experienced with an equal understanding. The “WILLIAMS BOYS,” like “BILLY ASTIN,” have their own special HISTORY that brought them to their RASA with “RADHA VRINDABAN CHANDRA” of NVC. That being said, these events occur during an “Us vs. Them” TIME, and discussed from the perspective of “Us” as the DEVOTEE COMMUNITY, and not from the perspective of the pickup truck drivers with their pistols and rifles in their trucks. “THEY,” the pick up truck drivers, always used to speed up and try to hit the birds as they drove past BAHULABAN. When ever they were successful, there was a corpse full of feathers, available for THE DEITIES’ PLEASURE, as soon as they were rendered into a usable state: that is, free from the dead bird’s carcass. I did that service, but “for a price,” which initially started out as one MAHA plate, but went up to two, and finally three plates per bird, owing to all the work involved in the process.

A pot and fire site were required, firewood, usually a scarcity in the household section of the community, and enough free time to get away with this. We did this SEVA about 4 or 5 times when I lived at NVC, and the quills do just pluck right out when the flesh is boiled. Former carnivore city boy did not know that much. In VRINDABAN [INDIA], the small children are assigned two morning tasks, collecting the cow dung left overnight by the passing beings and turned into “a cash crop” by the locals, and picking up peacock feathers left overnight by these winged residents.

Also [something else] currently goes on in VRINDABAN, is the cultivation of acres and acres of TULSI, meant to be harvested, a “FORCED TRANSMIGRATION OF A PURE DEVOTEE OF LORD KRSNA, in VRINDABAN,” hardly a task many would volunteer for given the choice, but once upon a time, these choices were made. Hence, the need for a more detailed explanation then the current myopic views being offered by some with multiple agendas seeking to be satisfied. Having said all that, “THE PERFECT SCHEME” that brought all these events into “the PRESENT,” and then into “the PAST STATE,” has “A DIVINE PLANNER,” whether we are aware of that or not.

Fact is, we are all “AWARE OF THAT?,” but we have “FORGOTTEN?” (like dust on an old dirty mirror from some attic), and the cleansing of the dust off these many millions of living beings as are now being transformed (know it or not, like it or not, doesn't matter; everyone receives the same result, EXACTLY what we desired!), is as a direct result of “THE PREACHING OF HIS DIVINE GRACE A. C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI MAHARAJ” (https://www.prabhupada.de/Books/sp-books.html), and we all owe everything we mistakenly identify as “OURS?,” to HIM, in whatever form we can make our assets available to such SEVA. If you don’t know what SEVA is, look it up; don’t just take my opinion of it. “EXPERIENCE IT!,” however you can, and give “ALL GLORY TO GOD, and HIS DUTIFUL SERVANTS!,” to the best of your ability, as often as we can remember that is OUR SOLE PURPOSE HERE!!!

Janmastami dasa (John Sinkowski)
Former disciple of Kirtanananda Swami
Former resident of New Vrindaban
Everett, Washington
March 13, 2025

The presiding deities of New Vrindaban: Radha-Vrindaban Chandra, on their altar at Bahulaban (c. early 1980s). Krishna has several peacock feathers in his turban.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada offers a peacock fan to the newly-installed white marble Radha Gokulananda deities at Bhaktivedanta Manor, London (August 21, 1973)

Disciples of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada offer guru puja to their spiritual master at New Vrindaban (September 1972). Image from Brijabasi Spirit Online (August 31, 2014).

Disciples of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada offer guru puja to their spiritual master at New Vrindaban (September 1972). One disciple plays the mrdanga drum, another fans his master with a peacock fan. A third disciple appears to adjust the aroti tray. A fourth disciple, the pujari, rings a bell in his left hand and offers an unidentified article (perhaps a flower, incense or water). Prabhupada's servant, Nanda Kumar, appears at the far left. Image from Back To Godhead (April 1974).

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