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By The GBC Strategic Planning Team The GBC Strategic Planning Team (SPT) is pleased to invite you to the Day 3 of our 3 day series celebrating Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day festival reflecting on the role of Srila Prabhupada as our preeminent Siksha Guru with Visakha Devi. Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada-Our Preeminent Siksha Guru with Visakha Devi
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GBC Strategic Planning Team (SPT) is pleased to invite you to the Day 3 of our 3 day series celebrating Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day festival reflecting on the role of Srila Prabhupada as our preeminent Siksha Guru with Suresvar Das
Toronto, Ontario
Meeting the Snow
After a day of chanting, discussion, calls, a class, a nap, a reading and some eating (broccoli stalks), I went out to meet the snow. It was a powdery type, drifting and blowing.
I was not the only one out during that night hour. Others, with their leashed dogs, had also come out, away from the mantelpiece, to perhaps greet winter. It has not become the intense sensation of weather just yet. Most likely the white will disappear in three days.
I was, however, the only one with japa beads as my leash. No dogs for me. Our ashram wouldn’t allow such pets. Nothing against them. They have their place.
This happened to be the eve of our guru’s departure from this world. Srila Prabhupada passed away on Nov. 14th, 1977, in Vrindavana, India—Krishna’s place of birth, and so it is, indeed, a very sacred place.
With these few steps I’ve taken in our neighbourhood I had the time to concentrate mentally on how my life is blessed. I could have been a tragic case had I not taken to this life of bhakti, devotion. I feel so grateful that such a benefactor as Prabhupada has touched my life in a favourable way. Although he never spoke to me, personally, I’ve learned all that I know from him, through his books and through his students. I understand that it is by the way of Krishna’s representatives that we connect with Him.
It was an evening walk of serenity.
May the Source be with you!
3 km
At 7:25 p.m., Srila Prabhupada opened his eyes, which were very clear, more so than in many months. His mouth opened, his tongue moved, and then he became still. The kaviraja took Prabhupada’s pulse and held a cotton swab to his nostril, detecting no movement of air.
Our beloved Srila Prabhupada had departed. Surrounded by his loving disciples, who were chanting the holy name of Krsna; lying very peaceful in his bed in Vrndavana-dhama, the holy land of Krsna’s birth; his head directed toward the Deities of Krsna-Balarama; surrounded by photos of all the Deities and his Guru Maharaja; decorated with candana and a big tulasi leaf on his forehead; and holding tulasi in his right hand, he departed and returned to the lotus feet of Krsna, from whence he came.
The day was Gaura-caturthi-tithi (the fourth day of the light half of the month of Karttika). The time was 7:25 p.m., five minutes after the most auspicious time of that day, amrta-yoga, began.
The Annual MANtra, Men’s Retreat, usually held in New Vrindaban, USA, is going virtual this year and it all happens this weekend beginning Friday evening November 20 (EST), and continues through Sunday, Nov. 22. All men are invited ages 16 and up. This annual men’s sanga will feature interactive sessions with leading devotees of […]
The post MANtra Retreat for Men Goes Virtual This Weekend appeared first on ISKCON News.
Topics include "Vaishnava Masculinity," "Men, Marriage and Myth," "Fatherhood," "Pornography, Pernicious and Prevalent," "Empowerment," "Brahmacari Ashrama—The Spirit Still Matters, and So Does the Form," and more.
New inspiring photos of TOVP and surrounding area made by a drone and kindly presented by Pavana Gopa prabhu from TOVP art team.
[See image gallery at tovp.org]The post Is scientific advancement driven by simple curiosity or by the controlling mentality appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
In 2018, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Kaliya-ghata, where Lord Krsna jumped from a big kadamba tree (which still stands here) into the Yamuna River, which once used to flow here. It was here that Krsna then chastised and danced on the hoods of Kaliya. Check out Maharaja’s full lecture below, along with a few photos, at Kaliya-ghata during Parikrama 2018.
Kaliya was getting tired of being kicked. Not only was Krsna’s dancing on the hoods of Kaliya very elegant and beautiful, but He was also kicking Kaliya on the head at the same time and He was kicking hard. It was during the dancing that Krsna bowed down and invited the gopis, “Come and please dance with Me,” and they had a whole rasa dance on the hoods of Kaliya! Krsna eventually said, “My dear Kaliya, you cannot stay here in the Yamuna because your poison killed all my friends and all the calves and we cannot really have that in Vrndavana, so you will have to go back to your kingdom. But do not worry. My footprints are now on your head and therefore Garuda will not touch you.” So in that way, Kaliya returned to Ramanaka.
When we look at this pastime, we can look at many aspects. One aspect is how kind Krsna is. Krsna is not just a person who has friends and enemies but rather, He is the well-wisher of all. Krsna benedicts even those who act inimical to Him. Ultimately, Krsna is kind; He was kind to Putana and He was kind to Kaliya. Krsna is merciful and even demoniac personalities get His mercy. What to speak of His devotees? With this pastime, we can appreciate Krsna’s merciful nature and the way Krsna deals with everyone – respectfully. Even with a lowly, poisonous, envious creature, Krsna was still respectful. Both by Krsna’s kicks and His association, Kaliya was purified and became a devotee.
In the spiritual world of course, Krsna does not kill any demons. He does that here in the material world. If a demon appears in Goloka Vrndavana, it is because that demon is also a devotee of the Lord, and Krsna and Balarama are playing with them. By being here in Kaliya-daha, we may increase our desire to go back to the spiritual world. We may desire to enter into the pastimes of Krsna. Such a desire will help us greatly in our Krsna consciousness. If our desire to go back to the spiritual world is weak, how can we expect to be fixed in our spiritual life? If we awaken our desire to go back to the spiritual world then we will want to dedicate ourselves to this process. By connecting to such pastime places in Vrndavana we can actually develop that desire.
Kaliya was proud of who he was. He was big, much bigger than others. It is always good when you are bigger than others, of course. A big dog knows he is big, and a big professor knows he is big as well. If we have greatness we naturally become proud. Kaliya was a snake so he was already envious. Add pride to envy then what have you got? The perfect situation to harm others. When we are proud and envious we do not care about others at all. Pride and envy create a mentality that will make us isolated. We withdraw all our feelings from others and do not care about them. Actually, a Vaisnava means para-duhkha-duhkhi. So another thing we can draw from here is that we need to become para-duhkha-duhkhi – concerned with the welfare of others. Let us think about that. How can we benedict others? That is something that Kaliya did not care about. This is our meditation.
The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 19 – Kaliya-ghata " was published on KKSBlog.
This humble devotee moved from her native home of Belarus to New York City in 2016 to study English and by Krishna’s arrangement she had a friend in New York named Zinaida who was a devotee! She started visiting the Radha Govinda mandir in Brooklyn every Sunday and during one Sunday feast program two devotees from NYC Harinam invited her to come and chant in Union square park.
Giriraj Swami begins about forty-three minutes into the program.
https://youtu.be/lIGReUoTTpg
Giriraj Swami begins about an hour and a half into the program.
Late into the night, while the world slept
A light was being lit by a spiritual adept
That light would illuminate humanity for generations
Showing a spiritual pathway to people from many nations.
After just a few hours of sleep, Prabhupada arose and contemplated,
Working tirelessly at an age when most people vegetated
Blessing us with a wisdom that we didn’t know we were missing
Explaining what a world with technology and prosperity was still lacking.
With a dictaphone in hand, pausing, deliberating, recording,
He exposed the meaningless materialism in which we were residing
He spoke of a God whose love could make our empty heart full,
Of a devotion that could make life’s challenges meaningful.
On this sacred day, on a sublime evening of nineteen seventy-seven,
He departed to be with his Lord in the supreme heaven
Leaving as he had been living, in divine absorption,
He showed how we all can pass life’s final examination.
When desires crowd our heart, may his teachings be our vision
When doubts cloud our head, may his example be our beacon
May remembering his dedication become our driving inspiration
May sharing his message become our unifying aspiration.
The post While the world slept … appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
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Brampton / Yorkville
A Nice Find
Going to the dentist is never the most thrilling of outings but it’s a necessity for devotional upkeep. The very safe and efficiently-run clinic I go to always has me excited. I wish we could run our ashram/temple in the same smooth way.
In any event, two very capable dental masters, working on my dental bridge, didn’t really turn out to be my day’s highlight—although I’m grateful. They did a nice job.
What did become an eye-catcher for me, and a day’s bright moment, was finding a particular photo. I was flipping through the publication, Vyasa Puja, devotional offerings of gratitude written by students of our guru, Srila Prabhupada. It is bedecked with pictures of His Divine Grace. I stumbled upon one which shows him walking along the Taylor Creek Ravine, in Toronto. The year was 1975, on a June morning. Someone snapped the shot of him on a slight descent to a trail. Along with him are Sri Govinda, Brahmananda Swami, Visvakarma, Amshu (I believe) and Jagadisha—all great admirers and students of his. I was quite happy to see this discovery with my eyes; it was also the first time. Perhaps it’s also yours?
No one can deny that His Divine Grace took seriously to a trek for health reasons, and a chance to get closer to his disciples. This was a daily routine.
May the Source be with you!
4 km
In 2018, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Pavana-sarovara, where Lord Krsna would bring his cows while returning from the pastures in the evening. The cows used the cooling waters of Pavana-sarovara to quench their thirst. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtan and lecture below, along with a few photos, at Pavana-sarovara during Parikrama 2018.
Pavana-sarovara got its name from Pavana Gopa, who is the father of Visakha. Visakha is the second most important of the eight principal gopis. Her attributes, activities and resolve are all much like those of her friend, Lalita. Visakha was born exactly at the same moment her dear friend Srimati Radharani appeared in this world. Visakha’s garments are decorated with stars and her complexion is like lightning. Everyone in the spiritual world is related. Everyone is simply part of that village called Vrndavana and their relationships are eternal. When we attain our spiritual body, we will also get a spiritual family. If you thought that you had enough of being in family, then know that there is a family waiting for you in the spiritual world (laughter). However, that is our eternal family.
Pavana-sarovara was a pastime place for Krsna and His associates. It is said that Maharaja Vrsabhanu had a palace here. He built it
for his daughter so that She could be comfortable whenever She desired to come here. The cowherd boys would send their cows into the water to drink and cool down from the summer heat. In this way, Pavana-sarovara was a place for everyone. The gopis
performed pastimes with Krsna. Krsna also performed pastimes with the cowherd boys. Of course, we feel like we are nowhere, in the middle of these fields, but that is not really the case. Pavana-sarovara is a beautiful place. Normally, it is very quiet but someone is expressing his ecstasy with a whistle and he cannot get enough of it. What can we do? It sounds like a bird, an intense bird. We also get into the mood of transcendental enjoyment, playing with the water or sitting there out on the chhatris. Let’s see if those guys will make it back on that slippery, moss-covered platform, partially submerged under water. Get your cameras ready just
in case someone gets a holy dip for extra purification, as it has happened before. This is our transcendental enjoyment. Transcendental enjoyment is really what goes on in the spiritual world.
The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 18 – Pavana-sarovara " was published on KKSBlog.
I am very grateful to Srila Prabhupada for having brought me into your association. You are his sincere followers, and many of you have been serving him for decades, from when you read or heard about him or met him in person.
Once, on his guru maharaja’s disappearance day, Srila Prabhupada said, “On the absolute platform, there is no difference between the appearance and the disappearance of the spiritual master. Both are beautiful, just like the sunrise and the sunset.” So although we feel separation, within that separation our remembrance of Srila Prabhupada is heightened, and thus we experience the beauty of his presence—in separation.
To straightaway speak about Srila Prabhupada’s departure feels abrupt to me, because it is a painful topic, but remembering Srila Prabhupada’s words that the disappearance is also beautiful, I wanted to share with you a lesson I learned from his departure.
A few days before he was to leave us, Srila Prabhupada expressed a desire to travel by bullock cart to different holy places in India. His Holiness Lokanath Swami had been traveling by bullock cart to different places of pilgrimage, and Srila Prabhupada was very enlivened when Lokanath Swami reported to him in Vrindavan. And Prabhupada said that he too would like to go on pilgrimage on a bullock cart. He asked Lokanath Swami to arrange it, and Lokanath Swami was enthusiastic, having been encouraged by Prabhupada in such a direct way. He immediately went to organize the cart and make all the arrangements. Govardhana-puja was to take place in a couple of days, and Prabhupada said that he would begin his pilgrimage by travelling on a bullock cart to Govardhana Hill to celebrate Govardhana-puja with the Vraja-vasis.
At that time, Srila Prabhupada was bedridden and, one could say, emaciated. He was unable to eat, and he was able only to sip a little liquid. He was gaunt and weak, with almost no energy. He would just lie on his bed, and sometimes, with great difficulty, he would speak softly, often so faintly that only those very close to him could hear his words.
There were many devotees in the room when Srila Prabhupada had his exchange with Lokanath Swami. And immediately after the discussion ended and devotees went outside, they began to express two strong, heartfelt opinions about what Srila Prabhupada should do—and, more than that, how we as disciples should relate to him and serve him.
One group, which included Lokanath Swami and other esteemed, senior disciples, such as Hamsaduta Prabhu and Baradraj Prabhu, felt that we should do just what the spiritual master orders. We shouldn’t question his order; we should just execute it. And some of the other disciples, many of whom had been attending to Prabhupada’s personal care, felt that Prabhupada’s health would not sustain his travels on a bullock cart and that, because he was so emaciated (he had practically no flesh on his bones), it would be very painful for him to go. Even if they padded the cart with a mattress, it would still be a basic bullock cart, and the roads in Vraja were very rough, so the movement of the cart would jostle him—and he would feel pain. Some devotees feared that he might even give up his body on the way. They did not want him to be subjected to what they foresaw as certain pain—and perhaps the dire consequence of his death.
But under the circumstances, this second position was difficult to maintain, because Srila Prabhupada was so emphatic. “Let me travel to all the tirtha-sthanas,” he had said—to all the holy places. And whatever objections devotees had raised against the proposal, he had countered. “One-day experiment,” he had pleaded. “Rest assured. I will not die in one day.” When even his kaviraja had predicted that with all the jostling on the bullock cart, Prabhupada would not survive more than two hours, Prabhupada had replied, “But I think I shall be cured.” Still, Tamal Krishna Goswami, Bhakti Charu Swami, Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja, Bhavananda Maharaja, and others felt strongly that this “experiment” would have dire consequences. But how to convince Prabhupada?
So, the controversy continued. When Srila Prabhupada said, “I think I shall be cured,” Hamsaduta and others took it that he was supporting their position. But the other side took it differently: “What does it mean that he is going to be cured? It means that he is going to leave his body and get a spiritual body. That’s how he is going to get cured.” Each party was seeing things in a particular way that supported its particular point of view.
Finally, things came to the stage where the bullock cart was waiting outside the gates of Krishna-Balaram Mandir. Everything was being readied. And for the devotees who were in the mood that Srila Prabhupada should stay, it must have been like when the residents of Vrindavan saw Akrura getting the chariot ready to take Krishna to Mathura.
The evening before his planned departure, Srila Prabhupada was lying on his bed (many of you have seen his bed in his house in Vrindavan). Bhakti Charu Swami was in the room, and Srila Prabhupada’s godbrother Akincana Krishna dasa Babaji Maharaja came to visit. Babaji Maharaja was a very advanced devotee; Srila Prabhupada had said that he was a paramahamsa. He was always engaged in hari-nama—absorbed in hari-nama—and he was always blissful. And he and Prabhupada had an extraordinarily affectionate relationship. So, Bhakti Charu Swami thought, “Let me appeal to Babaji Maharaja. If he asks Prabhupada not to go, then Prabhupada may listen.” So, he brought Babaji Maharaja into another room and spoke with him there.
Having heard what had transpired, Babaji Maharaja returned to Srila Prabhupada’s bedside and told him, “I don’t think you should go on this parikrama.” And when he heard this, Srila Prabhupada replied, “If you feel that way, then I won’t.”
Just then, Tamal Krishna Goswami and Bhavananda Maharaja, who had been upstairs in what previously had been Prabhupada’s bedroom, came back down—in a very emotional state. Prabhupada was aware of what they were thinking, and he asked, “So, you request me not to go?”
Tamal Krishna Goswami responded, “Srila Prabhupada, we were getting so upset. Two devotees told me this road is so bad that if you go on this road you’re going to be jolted back and forth. The road is terrible. I just can’t understand, Srila Prabhupada, why it has to be tomorrow that we have to go. If anybody wants you to travel, I do. But why do we have to go when you’re in this condition? I can’t understand it.”
“All right,” said Srila Prabhupada. “I will not go.”
“Thank you, Srila Prabhupada,” said Bhavananda. “I was in too much anxiety.”
“No, no, I cannot put you in anxiety. I shall do what you like. My left hand and my right hand—I cannot refuse.”
“Actually, Srila Prabhupada,” Tamal Krishna said, “we’re so attached to you that you practically drive us to madness sometimes. Tonight we were becoming mad.”
“No, I shall not do that,” Prabhupada assured them. “All right,” he said, agreeing that he would not go.
Srila Prabhupada turned to Babaji Maharaja and said, “Just see how much they love me.”
“Srila Prabhupada,” Tamal Krishna said, “the way you deal with us simply deepens our attachment every moment.” And Prabhupada replied, “It is my duty.”
For the devotees in the room, it was a jubilant occasion that Prabhupada had agreed to wait. As Tamal Krishna Goswami had said, “We will take you on tirtha-yatra, to all the places. Just get a little stronger.” But when the news reached the other group, they were upset: “This is not our duty as disciples, to try to prevail upon our spiritual master. Our duty is to execute his will. He said that he wants to go by bullock cart to Govardhana, and our duty is to arrange for what he wants. Our duty is not to advise him or prevail upon him according to our perception.” The controversy continued until the end—the anniversary of which is today.
Srila Prabhupada spent his last three days with his disciples at Krishna-Balaram Mandir, and the last day he didn’t speak. His only words were in the morning, when the kaviraja asked him to drink some juice and he replied, “Meri kuch iccha nahin”: “I have no desire.” After that, Prabhupada didn’t speak. He was in a completely internal state of consciousness, and the devotees surrounded him with kirtan. For the last few hours, in the afternoon, the leaders opened up the doors to everyone. Young, old, children, men, women—all were allowed to be in the room with him and to reciprocate love with him. Then, at about 7:26 p.m., his tongue and mouth moved—Hare Krishna—and he left.
As for the controversy, it continued; the feelings still ran strong on both sides, even after Prabhupada left. And I still couldn’t determine who was right. There were devotees senior to me on both sides, devotees whom I respected and had served. Personally, I may have been closer to some of the ones engaged in Srila Prabhupada’s personal service, but still I wasn’t sure who was right, and it was on my mind.
It was my habit, or practice, to chant japa in Srila Prabhupada’s rooms when he wasn’t there, and after he departed, I did that. I was in his room chanting japa, and behind his bed was an area with his bookshelves. Somehow I found a little corner there and was chanting japa, when my eyes fell upon the new volume of Srimad-Bhagavatam that had just arrived—the Tenth Canto, Volume Two. It had been delivered into Srila Prabhupada’s hands in his last days. When the devotees had presented the book to Prabhupada and he was looking at the pictures, everyone could see the love in his eyes. Tamal Krishna Goswami had remarked, “How much love for Krishna Prabhupada has,” as evident from the way Prabhupada had been looking at the pictures of Krishna. So, I saw the book. It had gold embossing, especially made for Srila Prabhupada. I opened it up, and it happened to open to Chapter Nine: “Mother Yasoda Binds Krsna.” I read a few verses and purports, and then I came to a verse that, to me, answered the question:
TEXT 19
evam sandarsita hy anga
harina bhrtya-vasyata
sva-vasenapi krsnena
yasyedam sesvaram vase
TRANSLATION
O Maharaja Pariksit, this entire universe, with its great, exalted demigods like Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, and Lord Indra, is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet the Supreme Lord has one transcendental attribute: He comes under the control of His devotees. This was now exhibited by Krsna in this pastime.
COMMENT
The pastime is encapsulated in the previous verse:
TEXT 18
sva-matuh svinna-gatraya
visrasta-kabara-srajah
drstva parisramam krsnah
krpayasit sva-bandhane
TRANSLATION
Because of Mother Yasoda’s hard labor, her whole body became covered with perspiration, and the flowers and comb were falling from her hair. When child Krsna saw His mother thus fatigued, He became merciful to her and agreed to be bound.
COMMENT
When I read these verses, I thought, “This is what happened.” The spiritual master is the transparent medium through which Krishna manifests Himself. Of course, in vraja-bhakti the relationship with Krishna is different. In Vraja, Krishna exhibits nara-lila, humanlike pastimes, in which there is complete intimacy and freedom between the devotees and the Lord. In the relationship between the disciples and spiritual master, there is always an element of awe and reverence—and duty. Still, duty is meant to lead to love. And Srila Prabhupada did say to Babaji Maharaja, “Just see how much they love me.”
One month earlier, there had been another incident—Srila Prabhupada had stopped drinking. Previously, he had said that when his father had wanted to leave his body, he had stopped drinking, and that this was a bona fide way to give up one’s body when the time came. Prabhupada didn’t make any announcement or anything. He just stopped drinking.
Upendra dasa, a very sweet devotee who was serving as Srila Prabhupada’s personal assistant, innocently said to him, “Prabhupada, you have to drink. If you don’t drink, you will become dehydrated.” And Prabhupada said, “Oh, you want me to drink? Call the GBC.” That decision—whether Prabhupada should drink or not—was no small matter.
So, Abhirama informed the GBC, and the GBC and senior devotees came into the room. Prabhupada said, “If I want to survive, of course I’ll have to take something. But my survival means so many inconveniences. Therefore I have decided to die peacefully.”
“Everything is in the hands of Krishna,” said Tamal Krishna. And that had been the mood, coming from Srila Prabhupada: Everything depends on Krishna. Many times Prabhupada had said that he would accept whatever Krishna desired. If Krishna allowed him to stay, he would stay. And if Krishna wanted him to go, he would go. Previously, a disciple had asked him, “You said that your guru maharaja left early because he was disgusted. Is that the case with you?” And Srila Prabhupada had replied, “No. If Krishna allows me to stay in your association, I will be most happy to stay in your association.”
Now, however, Srila Prabhupada opened his eyes and said, “Krishna wants me to do as I like. The choice is mine. He has given me full freedom.” This was a different mood—a completely different answer. And it gave—and gives—us a glimpse into the intimate reciprocation between Krishna and Prabhupada.
We all went out into the anteroom and discussed. Kirtanananda Swami’s point was most clear and lucid and intelligent. “If Krishna has given Prabhupada the choice,” he said, “and if Prabhupada is giving us the choice, then we should ask Prabhupada to stay.” Everyone agreed: “Yes, we should ask him to stay.” Then a devotee said, “But all the GBC men aren’t here.” And Brahmananda retorted, “Come on. What GBC is going to say that they don’t want Prabhupada to stay?” So, it was decided, unanimously. We would go back into Srila Prabhupada’s room and tell him that we wanted him to stay; Kirtanananda Swami would be the spokesman.
When we went back in the room, Prabhupada was lying quietly on his bed. As soon as we finished offering obeisances, Kirtanananda broke down and started sobbing. He couldn’t speak. Brahmananda, sitting behind him, rubbed his back to soothe him. Then Kirtanananda managed, “Srila Prabhupada, if Krishna has given you the choice, then don’t go! We need you!” Srila Prabhupada asked, “Is this your joint opinion? Have you discussed?” “Yes, we have all met together. We want you to remain and lead the movement and finish the Srimad-Bhagavatam.”
Prabhupada was silent for what seemed like an eternity. Then he yawned and said, “All right.” Just like that. He agreed to stay in such a nonchalant way. All the devotees were jubilant. Within ourselves, we were rejoicing: “Prabhupada is going to stay! Prabhupada’s going to stay! He is not going to leave us. He is going to finish Srimad-Bhagavatam. He is going to lead the movement.”
And Prabhupada said, “This is real affection.”
So, when I read this verse from the Tenth Canto, I thought of these two incidents and put them together. In both cases, when the disciples had expressed themselves—“We want you to stay,” “We want you to get healthy”—Prabhupada had said, “This is real love,” “Just see how much they love me.” All the disciples in the controversy about the parikrama were acting on the basis of their realization of their devotion for Srila Prabhupada, but I believe that what Prabhupada really was doing was drawing out our loving sentiments—beyond us just following the order. Following the order is a given; there is no question. We have to follow the order of the spiritual master. To disobey the order of the spiritual master is an offense against the holy name. It is a basic principle of spiritual life. So we are not talking about disobeying the order of the spiritual master; we are talking about developing loving feelings for the spiritual master and expressing them to him. When Srila Prabhupada brought us to that stage in those two incidents, he commented, “This is real love,” “Just see how much they love me.”
Relating the verse from the Tenth Canto to what Srila Prabhupada did with us, there’s also a parallel between the damodara-lila and that principle of spontaneous love. Every night during the month of Damodara, we recite the Damodarastaka, including verse three:
itidrk sva-lilabhir ananda-kunde
sva-ghosam nimajjantam akhyapayantam
tadiyesita-jnesu bhaktair jitatvam
punah prematas tam satavrtti vande
“By such pastimes He is drowning the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy and revealing to those devotees who are absorbed in knowledge of His supreme majesty and opulence that He is only conquered by devotees whose pure love is imbued with intimacy and is free from all conceptions of awe and reverence. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound not with ropes but with His devotee’s pure love, I offer my humble obeisances.”
The damodara-lila shows pure, spontaneous love’s special power to conquer the Lord. The Lord comes under the control of such pure love. In the same way, Srila Prabhupada—not exactly that he came under the control of our love, but I would say that he brought that love out from deep within the recesses of our hearts, and then he reciprocated with us by coming under our control, or agreeing to our requests.
So, this is a very deep pastime of Srila Prabhupada’s. Among the disciples who were around him at the end, it was understood that he was the perfect acharya—he had taught us by his own example how to live in Krishna consciousness, and now he was teaching us how to die in Krishna consciousness. That was the general idea in those months and weeks, that he was showing us how to retire to a holy place and how to be absorbed in hearing the holy names of the Lord, and how up until the end, even in his delicate condition, he was trying to push forward the mission and was translating and dictating purports to Srimad-Bhagavatam—up until the very end. In that way he was showing us how to die in Krishna consciousness. But within that final lesson he also brought us to this more intimate level of exchange where we could express to him our hearts’ deepest desires even in spite of the barriers that I would say he deliberately put up. He deliberately put up the barriers, but then he inspired us to break through them to reach out to him and express our love for him and ask him to stay with us.
Even though Srila Prabhupada has now left that body, we still have that choice. We always have that choice: Do we want him to stay with us or not? And I remember that at that time, although we had been going along in the mood that whatever Krishna wanted was all right, when we understood what really should have been in our hearts—that we wanted him to stay—we thought, “Maybe we want to be the controllers, to be the enjoyers.” So there is always that question: Do we want the kingdom of God without God, without God’s representative, or do we want the kingdom of God with God, with His representative, as their humble servants? And so I pray to Srila Prabhupada that I will always remember this lesson and always pray and act in such a way that he will be pleased to stay with each of us individually and all of us collectively, and bind us to his lotus feet eternally.
Hare Krishna.
[A talk by Giriraj Swami 0n Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day—“Srila Prabhupada’s Departure—Drawing Out Love”—November 14, 2007, Mayapur]
In 2018, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to the Radha-Govinda Mandir in Kamyavana, where we find Vrndadevi, Deities of Radha-Govinda and a hypnotic Lord Jagannatha accompanied by Gaura-Nitai. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtan and lecture below, along with a few photos, at Radha-Govinda Mandir in Kamyavana during Parikrama 2018.
On this altar, we find Vrndadevi and we also find the Deities of Radha and Govinda. They are pratibhu Deities or replicas of the original. When the original Radha-Govinda Deities were leaving Vrndavana, it was such a momentous occasion. The Radha-Govinda Deities were in the centre of worship of the Gosvamis and at the heart of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement. When They are leaving Vrndavana, the devotees experienced intense separation and as They passed through Radha-kunda, expansions of the original Deities were made. These are called pratibhu Deities. In that way, they continued to worship Radha-Govinda in Vraja. Kamyavana is at the edge of the dhama, the beginning of Rajasthan, and another set of pratibhu Deities were made here.
The original Radha-Govinda are now in Jaipur and the devotees worship Them there. Vrndavana is manifesting there. How many times have we went there for darsana and witnessed the transcendental worship of Radha-Govinda? There are thousands of devotees who very enthusiastically worship Them, and give everything to the Deities. They give the Lord everything. Nothing is lacking in Their comfort. In Jaipur, they are afraid that if they neglect the Deities, then the Deities will return to Vrndavana. And in Vrndavana, well we are just waiting for Them to return! (laughter)
We are at home here. Srila Prabhupada would say, “Vrndavana is my home, Mayapur is my place of worship and Bombay is my office.” This is the home of Krsna. This is the home of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is non-different from Krsna. He brings the transcendental ecstasy of Vrndavana with great force to the entire world. Before Him, all of Vrndavana was covered. This is why we come to such holy places – to penetrate a little deeper. Of course, we come here as servants of Srila Prabhupada and he connects us to all these eternal associates. When we try to go directly to the eternal associates, we will find that we have no adhikara. We will find that, sooner or later, we will be blocked. But Prabhupada is our connection. He is at home in Vrndavana. In this way, we are also very much at home in Vrndavana. We are at home because this is Krsna’s home. In many other places, Krsna is far away. So we are very fortunate to come to such places where Krsna has lived.
The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 17 – Radha-Govinda Mandir, Kamyavana " was published on KKSBlog.
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243 Ave. Rd., Toronto
Not Inclined
I was not inclined to do any walking outside today for lack of favourable weather. Branches were flying. Winds were high. Pedestrians were low. I took to indoor walking via the inner balcony of our building. It is shaped like a horse-shoe, and from its view your eye can catch a piece of the outside through the western window. Quite stormy, but just a fraction of what Florida receives during hurricane season.
“By now every last leaf must be gone,” said Vallabha, from Croatia, in describing the power of the autumn wind. Vallabha is one of our crew.
Vallabha is a most animated person, off the set, and he has many things to say, however, they are helpful contributions to make before the camera rolls for our filming another scene from “Rolling the Dice.” The leafless trees had little to do with our indoor shooting. I always appreciate the reminder of nature’s presence, even when inside. Indeed, as I composed this very blog I could hear the wind howling like anything, outside another window from the eastern side of the building.
It certainly makes us appear insignificant when nature comes on strong and imposing. That is a good message, for sure. The reality is that we are puny in contrast to the world. Nature keeps us educated.
When I gave a class by phone to Cameron I could hear, not howls, but blasts of wind—gutsy and ghastly. We were looking at chapter 18 from The Gita, and dwelt on the five factors behind any action—the place, the performer, the senses, the endeavour and finally the Supersoul.
Lessons from nature and lessons from the book.
May the Source be with you!
Casa Loma, Toronto
Lights
For those who do not know, today is Diwali, the festival of lights. The commemoration has much to do with Rama’s triumph. There is a video circulating out there where Prince Charles is offering his best wishes to all followers of Rama. After all, those who follow Krishna also follow Rama. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Celebrations took place in the city that I live in and also in the temple where I live, where congregants and curious soul searchers were allowed to come, in a limited way, to honour Rama, view our deities and have a take-away meal of Krishna prasadam, sacred food.
The way I gave my services to Rama on this day was by completing the filming of “Rolling the Dice.” In the final and most compelling scene of the drama, the very wise Vidura attempts to give counsel to his older, aging and blind brother.
Our remarkable crew made its way to the castle known as Casa Loma, to capture the palatial building for background effects. We capitalized on the greenery, or what’s left of it (it’s fall), to add a touch of nature. In this scene Vidura attempts to encourage his stubborn brother, Dhritarastra, to downscale his luxurious lifestyle for that of a simple mendicant. He advised him to go to the north, to the cleaner air where sages reside, giving their last attention to what lights up the world—God.
May the Source be with you!
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With deep sorrow, we would like to communicate to the global devotee community the departure of His Holiness Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Goswami Maharaja at around 6.00 AM on the 14th of November, 2020 due to a second cardiac arrest and complications arising out his surgery for cervical spondylitis and a cardiac arrest. He had been […]
The post Early Prabhupada Disciple Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Goswami Passes Away appeared first on ISKCON News.
Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Goswami was was one of Srila Prabhupada’s original 100 disciples, and was initiated by His Divine Grace as Makhanlal Das in October 1968.
In 2018 and 2019, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Vrnda-kunda, where we offer our obeisances to Vrndadevi, who while arranging the pastimes of Radha, Krsna and Their associates, is also churning rasa. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtans and lectures below, along with a few photos, at Vrnda-kunda during Parikrama 2018 and Parikrama 2019.
It is Vrndadevi, who is the stage manager, always creating situations to provide joy to Radha and Krsna, to Krsna and His cowherd boyfriends, and also with Nanda and Yasoda. It is Vrndadevi who provides the taste, with different mellows. We know that churning yogurt into butter is a pastime of Vrndavana. Mother Yasoda is expert at churning. Radharani chants while She churns butter and Vrndadevi churns rasa. She does not churn butter but she churns rasa. In the material world, we also try to enjoy rasa, some sort of taste or experience, but time is more powerful here than any rasa. Time is the overpowering force in the material world. Everything comes into being, then grows, flourishes for a while, produces some by-products, dwindles and then ceases to exist. That is the nature of the material energy. In the spiritual world, we have heard many times that there is no time, there is only the present!
The demigods also come as birds. When Krsna, Balarama and the cowherd boys are picnicking and taking prasadam, some crumbs fall to the ground. The birds that pick up the crumbs are actually great demigods like Lord Siva and Lord Brahma, who all come for the remnants. So Krsna performs His transcendental pastimes and Vrndadevi arranges everything. Exactly when the crumbs are needed, preparations that easily break into crumbs are brought in. As soon as Krsna takes a bite, the crumbs fall everywhere because Vrndadevi is just, in a very intricate way, increasing the rasa. She has her messengers in the form of the green parrots of Vrndavana which she sends here and there. These parrots have many discussions. A famous one took place between the male and female parrot when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to Vrndavana. The male parrot proclaimed that Krsna was the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the female parrot pointed out that actually Krsna was completely controlled by Srimati Radharani. So these parrots competed and they were intelligent. How can we understand the spiritual world?!
The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 16 – Vrnda-kunda " was published on KKSBlog.
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Transcription :
Transcriber: Suresh Gupta
Editor: Raji Nachiappan
Question: How can we distribute our time between hearing and chanting?
Answer: The essence of bhakti is neither hearing nor chanting. Rather, it is remembering Krishna.
smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur vismartavyo na jātucit
sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ
(CC Madya Lila 22.113)
Krishna is the origin of Lord Vishu. He should always be remembered and never forgotten at any time. All the rules and prohibitions mentioned in the shastras should be the servants of these two principles.
Therefore, the purpose of all those rules and regulations is to always to remember Krishna and never forget Krishna. Hence, both hearing and chanting are meant to help us remember Krishna. Chanting is the yuga dharma, and we definitely have a prescribed number of rounds to chant. At the same time, chanting can very easily become mechanical if there is not adequate intellectual conviction for chanting. Intellectual conviction or spiritual inspiration for chanting comes largely by hearing.
Bhakti is a whole culture and there are so many activities which are done for Krishna. Chanting is important but we do not have to reduce all of bhakti to chanting alone. There is room for individuality in bhakti. There may be some devotees who may decide that every festival they will chant sixty-four rounds. While that is very good, there is no need for that to be universalised. We all have a prescribed number of rounds to chant and we do that. Beyond that, each of us has to take up individual responsibility, to find out, how best we can connect with Krishna and do that. Some devotees may find chanting very inspiring, while some others find hearing or deity worship or book distribution more inspiring, and devotees can engage in these activities as per their inspiration. Hence, there is prescribed minimum that we do, but just because some devotees practice one limb of bhakti more, that does not mean everybody has to do the same.
Once, Srila Prabhupada was in London which was at that time the European headquarters. Devotees from various parts of Europe like Germany and France came there and were reporting to Srila Prabhupada on how the outreach was progressing in their respective places. There was one devotee, Ishan Prabhu, who felt that everybody had something to do for Srila Prabhupada but that he did not have anything to do. Then, he went to Srila Prabhupada and asked Prabhupada what he could do for him. Prabhupada asked “What do you want to do?”. Ishan prabhu replied that he will do whatever Prabhupada tells him to do. Prabhupada insisted and asked him what he wanted to do for Krishna. Ishan prabhu thought Prabhupada was testing him, and he again replied that he will do whatever Prabhupada tells him to do. Prabhupada then told him to understand our philosophy and our philosophy entails that we find out what we want to do and then do it for Krishna.
Ishan prabhu thought about it. Next day he came to Prabhupada and said, “We have these mridangas that we bring from India and often they fall and break. Getting new mridangas from India are very difficult. Hence, I was thinking that we can make mridangas here in the west itself, using other materials which will be steadier and hence will not break”. Prabhupada was very happy. Prabhupad said, “Very good. Your western godbrothers are very passionate. So, make the mridangas so strong that even if they throw them down, they will not break.”
Therefore, the point is that at one level, we have to follow the instructions of spiritual master. That is true, however one instruction of spiritual master is to always remember Krishna. Hence, we have to find out how we can always remember Krishna. In general, there are many limbs of bhakti and we cannot connect with Krishna, with equal intensity through all the limbs. However, the important thing is to connect with Krishna. Yena kena prakarena manah kṛishne niveshayet – One should fix his mind on Krishna by any means. Hence, if we can find one limb of bhakti by which we can intensely connect with Krishna, then through that our purification will happen rapidly. As a result, when we experience Krishna more and more, we will be able to connect to Krishna through the other limbs of bhakti also.
Hearing specifically gives us two things, intellectual conviction and spiritual inspiration for chanting. Before chanting, even if we just take a few minutes, to read relevant scriptural verses about chanting or if we read a holy name meditation, then we find that our chanting becomes much better. Therefore, we should not reduce bhakti down to some externals, whether it is hearing or chanting or something else. Bhakti essentially is remembrance of Krishna and hearing, chanting, deity worship etc. are all meant to help us remember Krishna.
Smaranam is a limb of bhakti and it is also the essence of bhakti. One particular activity within bhakti is that we just absorb ourselves in remembrance. However, that activity of remembrance can be done through various other forms also and that is the essence. Only when we are hearing, our chanting will have quality and we will be able to connect with Krishna. Otherwise, our chanting basically becomes a counting game. We start wondering whether our mala has 108 beads or 1008 beads. Therefore, if we start feeling that chanting has become a boredom or a burden, that means that our hearing has gone down. Investing a little time in hearing will give us a lot more substance to bring spiritual experience in our chanting.
If we chant regularly, either because we have taken vows during our initiation ceremony or even otherwise, we are going to spend some time for the activity of chanting. Therefore, why let ourselves underuse that time by not being attentive? For example, if someone wants to build muscles, then he or she may lift weights. By lifting weights, the person will be able to build their muscles. However, if the person goes to the gymnasium and thinks that the lifting of weights is very painful, and hence, they decide to just move their hands up and down without the weights. By moving the hands up and down and the person may move them for a long time, no muscles are going to be built. Therefore, the whole purpose of bhakti is to expand our consciousness to become Krishna conscious. We want to lift Krishna in our consciousness through chanting. However, if while we are uttering the holy name, we are not remembering Krishna, then it is just like lifting the hand up and down without any weights. There will be some benefit because at least the sound of the holy name is being uttered but it is minimal benefit. Therefore, when we hear, then we remember Krishna and we get reasons for remembering Krishna. Then our chanting becomes more inspired and more convincing that way. The specific balance between hearing and chanting will vary from individual to individual.
We find what inspires us the most and do that. Through that inspiration, we bring spiritual strength in our chanting. Important is how we connect with Krishna and not which specific form of bhakti we use to connect. Since, hearing gives us the rationale to connect with Krishna, that is why it is the foundation. Srila Prabhupada also writes that, the essence of spiritual life, begins with hearing. Therefore, only when we hear we will get the inspiration and conviction to chant nicely.
End of transcription.
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Govardhana Puja Celebration 2020 Carpinteria, CA
Posted by Giriraj Swami on Sunday, November 15, 2020
The devotees at New Gokula invited me to come for their two day festival of Diwali and Govardhana puja. The events were outdoors and the weather was glorious so everyone was happy enjoying the transcendental atmosphere.
Around two or three hundred guests came for the first day and three or four hundred for the second. All the Covid conditions like social distancing were observed and everything went smoothly. The main day was Go-puja and Govardhana-puja.
When Indra heard that his sacrifice had been stopped and a festival for Govardhan Hill performed in its place, he became furious. Unleashing the samvartaka clouds used at the time of cosmic destruction, Indra sent them to destroy Vraja.
Wishing to save themselves, the gopas and their families, with the children in front, ran to Nanda’s palace. Terrified, the people of Vraja bowed down before the two Supreme Lords, Krishna and Balarama, surrendered to Them, and took shelter of Them.
Sri Krishna said: Don’t be afraid. With your dependents go to Govardhan Hill. He accepted our worship. He will protect us. After speaking these words, Lord Krishna went, with His own people, to Govardhan Hill. Lifting the hill, Krishna playfully held it aloft with one hand. As a child effortlessly holds a mushroom, or as an elephant holds a lotus in its tongue, so Sri Krishna, the prince of Vraja, the kind Supreme Personality of Godhead, held Govardhan Hill.
I think of Giri Govardhana as being similar to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, because Giri Govardhana is Krishna Himself. But although he is Krishna Himself, according to the acharyas, he is in the mood of a devotee. And many devotees worship Giri Govardhana in that mood—that he is a devotee of Krishna and of the devotees of Krishna. There is a famous verse in Srimad-Bhagavatam in which the gopis, specifically Srimati Radharani, praise Govardhana Hill as the best servant of Lord Hari.
hantayam adrir abala hari-dasa-varyo
yad rama-krsna-carana-sparasa-pramodah
manam tanoti saha-go-ganayos tayor yat
paniya-suyavasa-kandara-kandamulaih
“Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O my friends, this hill supplies Krsna and Balarama, along with Their calves, cows and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities-water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respects to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus feet of Krsna and Balarama, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.21.18) They describe his service to the Lord, and his service includes service to the Lord’s devotees, go-ganayoh, the cows and the people associated with the cows—namely the cowherd men and women, the cowherd boys, and the younger gopis. Srila Prabhupada comments in the Krsna book that Govardhana Hill knew how to please the Lord by pleasing the Lord’s beloved associates. So we also learn from Govardhana Hill how to serve the devotees. And we pray to Govardhana Hill that he may enliven us and enlighten us in the service of the devotees.
So, I think of Govardhana Hill in relation to Lord Chaitanya, because just as Govardhana Hill is Krishna Himself in the mood of a devotee, Lord Chaitanya also is Krishna in the mood of a devotee. Specifically, Lord Chaitanya is in the mood of Srimati Radharani, who is the best, or greatest, devotee. Yet according to Srila Sanatana Gosvami, the verse spoken by the gopis in praise of Govardhana Hill was spoken specifically by Srimati Radharani, although the Bhagavatam simply says that “the gopis” sang the Venu-gita. But Sanatana Gosvami specifically states that Srimati Radharani proclaimed that Govardhana Hill is the best servant of Lord Hari.
We can also understand the mood of devotees by the reciprocation between Srimati Radharani and Govardhana Hill. Srimati Radharani is very humble. She considers that Govardhana Hill is the best servant of Lord Krishna. And Govardhana Hill feels that he is the most humble servant of all of the devotees, who are fit to walk on him with their feet, and not only just the devotees in human forms, but even the devotees in the form of cows and other animals who flock to Govardhana Hill to serve Sri Krishna and His associates in their pastimes.
In Mayapur, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura established a replica of Vrindavan with Syama-kunda, Radha-kunda, and Govardhana Hill. The Govardhana Hill is about the size of this room and is composed of Govardhana silas. In principle, one is not supposed to take Govardhana silas from Vraja, and if one does, one is supposed to leave the equivalent amount of gold. So, only Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had the potency to bring so many Govardhana silas, and he created a mountain with them. And at that “Govardhana Hill” is a plaque with a verse, perhaps from the Padma Purana. The verse is very nice, and I thought we could recite it responsively. First I shall translate the words, so that you can understand what they mean as you repeat them.
Namaste girirajaya—I offer my obeisance to the king of mountains; govardhana namine—who is named Govardhana; asesa klesa nasaya—he destroys unlimited afflictions; paramananda dayine—and bestow the highest bliss.
Please repeat:
namaste girirajaya govardhana namine
asesa klesa nasayaparamananda dayine
[Devotees repeat three times.]
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto the king of mountains whose name is Govardhana. He destroys unlimited miseries and bestows the highest bliss.”
We pray to Govardhana Hill, not just for ourselves individually but for all of us, that he will free us from the miseries of material existence and bestow upon us the supreme bliss of Krishna consciousness.
After Lord Krishna performed the Govardhana-puja with the paraphernalia that the cowherd men had gathered for the Indra-puja, Indra, the king of heaven and lord of rains and thunderbolts, became angry because he felt he was being deprived of his sacrifice. So he sent torrents of rain to inundate Vrindavan. He wanted to take revenge. His mood was just the opposite, in one sense, of Govardhana’s. Indra’s mood was to take revenge on Krishna by causing distress to the residents of Vrindavan, whereas Govardhana’s mood was to give pleasure to Krishna by giving service to the residents of Vrindavan. Lord Krishna at first thought, “Well, let Me just kill Indra.” But then He reconsidered and decided, “No, I will just deal with him in such a way that he becomes humble, that he becomes freed from his false prestige in being the king of heaven.” And so Lord Krishna, to smash the false pride of King Indra, lifted Govardhana Hill with the little finger of His left hand and held it as an umbrella over the residents of Vrindavan, thus demonstrating that He could defeat the pride of Indra with the tip of His little finger.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has raised the question, “How could Govardhana Hill, which is just a medium-sized hill, provide shelter to a large cowherd community with thousands of cows, calves, bulls, and other paraphernalia?” And he gives the answer that Govardhana Hill was in so much ecstasy, being touched by the lotus hand of his worshipable lord and beloved master, that he expanded in size (and increased in potency). There are different symptoms of ecstatic love described in the scriptures, and one is elongation of the body. We read, for instance, about the symptoms of Lord Chaitanya’s ecstasy. Sometimes His body would become elongated and expand in size; sometimes it would contract. There are so many different symptoms of ecstasy, and Govardhana Hill manifested many of them. In fact, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that the grasses on Govardhana Hill are the hairs on his body standing up in ecstasy. And the waterfalls are the tears from his eyes pouring forth in his ecstasy. And the moisture—sometimes moisture oozes out from stones, from between the stones—is his ecstatic perspiration in love of Krishna and Krishna’s devotees. But specifically, it was the ecstatic symptom of elongation of the body that allowed Govardhana Hill to expand in size so that all the residents of Vrindavan could take shelter under him. And he offered his shelter to everyone. (Here, too, he reminds me of Srila Prabhupada, who extended his shelter to everyone.) So even dogs and other animals, and of course the cows and calves and cowherd men and women, all took shelter under Govardhana Hill. And all of the devotees—those in the mood of servants in dasya-rasa, those in the mood of friends in sakhya-rasa, those in the mood of parents in vatsalya-rasa, and even the gopis who were in the mood of madhurya-rasa got to be with Lord Krishna continuously for seven days.
Generally, in the regular cycle of Krishna’s daily activities, Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja would be with Krishna in the morning when He woke up had breakfast, but they would be separated from Him during the day when He would go out with the cowherd boys and calves. And then they would be reunited with Him in the evening when He came back. The cowherd boys would get to be with Krishna during the day, but then they would again be separated from Him in the evening. And they had to bear the separation until the next morning. All the residents of Vrindavan always wanted to be with Krishna all the time, but because of the regular cycle of the days’ activities, they would sometimes be separated from Him.
During the Govardhana lila, however, they all got to be with Krishna continuously day and night for seven days, and they could have their hearts’ desires fulfilled. But the most special opportunity was afforded to the young gopis who were in madhurya-rasa, because they always had to conceal their feelings for Krishna and could only furtively glance at Him from their windows or the rooftops of their houses. (At that time they had not yet begun to sneak out at night; it was only the next year that Krishna inaugurated the rasa dance.) Under the shelter of Govardhana Hill they got to be with Krishna continuously for seven days. And that was a wonderful thing for them. One incident is mentioned in The Nectar of Devotion: While all the gopis were observing Krishna’s wonderful achievement, Krishna was also smiling at the gopis. When Krishna’s eyes happened to glance over the bodies of the gopis, He became so affected that His hand began to tremble. Upon seeing His hand shake, the cowherd men became disturbed. They thought the mountain might fall upon them. There was a tumultuous roar, and they all began to pray to Krishna for safety. Then Lord Balarama began to smile, seeing how the cowherd men had become frightened by the shaking of Govardhana Hill. But Krishna, seeing Balarama smile, imagined that Balarama had understood His mind in observing the bodies of the gopis, and He immediately became bashful.
In any case, Govardhana Hill extended his shelter to everyone, in all forms of life and all moods of service. And so Govardhana Hill also reminds me of Srila Prabhupada.
Devotee: I heard a rumor that Govardhana Hill is shrinking. If so, why is that?
Giriraj Swami: According to one account, Pulatsya Muni was carrying Govardhana to Kasi—on the condition that Govardhana would remain wherever he first put him down. The powerful sage carried Govardhana in his right hand, passing over land, mountains, and oceans, eventually reaching Bharata-varsa and the land of Vrindavan. Govardhana immediately recognized his eternal residence and the home of Lord Krishna. Not willing to go further, he made himself very heavy and, bewildering the mind of the sage, caused him to rest for some time. Pulastya Muni thus placed Govardhana in Vrindavan and attended to the call of nature. Thereafter, the sage was unable to lift the mountain again. Try as he might, he could not budge Govardhana. Angry and indignant, Pulastya said, “Come! O great mountain, why do you make yourself so heavy and hesitate to continue our journey?”
Govardhana replied, “O sage, there is no fault on my part. I promised to stay where you first put me down; now I will never move from this place.” Abandoning his attempt to move Govardhana, seething with anger, the sage cursed the best of mountains, saying, “O arrogant mountain! You dare thwart my desire! By the measure of a mustard seed your size will decrease every day until you are no more!”
Also. according to our acharyas, Govardhana Hill is shrinking—the size of one mustard seed every day—because of separation from Krishna. One devotee in ISKCON calculated the size of a mustard seed multiplied by 365 days per year for 5,000 years and how much Govardhana Hill would have shrunk, and considering how much of Govardhana Hill is left now, how long it will take for the whole hill to be disappear. (But I don’t really want to think about that.) At the Bhaktivedanta Ashram, when the devotees were trying to dig a well to get water at the front of the land, they very soon came to rock. And then, when they dug at the back of the land, they could dig deeper before they came to the rock, suggesting that the slope of the Hill was under the level of the ground. But we want to celebrate the presence of Govardhana. But that’s what they say—separation.
We will read a poem written by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, and I hope that you will be able to at least join in the last line of each verse, which repeats. One of Govardhana’s names is sarva-abhista-padata, which means “he who fulfills all desires.” And of course, specifically, the best devotees desire only pure devotional service to Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. So implicit in all of the prayers here, all of the verses here, is the desire to serve Sri Sri Radha and Krishna and Their servants. Therefore Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura concludes each stanza with govardhano me disatam abhistam: “May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”
This is the Sri Govardhana-astakam, eight verses glorifying Govardhana Hill, by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura:
krisna-prasadena samasta-saila-
samrajyam apnoti ca vairino ’pi
sakrasya yah prapa balim sa saksad
govardhano me disatam abhistam
“May Govardhana Hill, which by Krishna’s mercy became the king of all mountains and received the respectful tribute of its arch-enemy Indra, fulfill my desire.”
sva-prestha-hastambuja-saukumarya-
sukhanubhuter ati-bhumi-vrtteh
mahendra-vajrahatim apy ajanam
govardhano me disatam abhistam
“As it was held above the earth it became so filled with happiness by experiencing the softness of its beloved Krishna’s lotus hand it did not even know it was being struck by Indra’s thunderbolt. May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”
yatraiva krsno vrsabhanu-putrya
danam grhitum kalaham vitene
sruteh sprha yatra mahaty atah sri-
govardhano me disatam abhistam
“Trying to collect a toll, Krishna quarreled there with King Vrsabhanu’s daughter. The personified Vedas yearn to listen to that quarrel. May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”
Here the reference is to the dana-keli-lila, which was performed at Dana-ghati, which is very near to the Bhaktivedanta Ashram. In fact, the general area there is called Dana-ghati. The idea is that Srimati Radharani and her gopi girlfriends wanted to pass to the other side of Govardhana Hill with their yogurt and butter and other dairy products, because there was a sacrifice being performed on the other side of the hill. And there was just one path in the middle of the Govardhana Hill at what is now called Dana-ghati. So when Srimati Radharani, Lalita and Visakha, and the other young girls came with pots of yogurt on their heads, Krishna and His friends blocked the way and demanded that the gopis pay a toll to go through the passage. Lord Krishna went so far as to say that He had been appointed by King Kamsa to collect the toll from all the citizens who wanted to pass. So, many joking words were exchanged between Srimati Radharani and Sri Krishna, with many amorous innuendos and double meanings.
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that the personified Vedas yearn to hear the quarrel, the jokes between Krishna and the gopis, implying that the exchanges between Krishna and the gopis are more exalted than even the hymns of the Vedas. Srila Rupa Gosvami wrote a drama called Lalita-madhava, which is filled with separation from Krishna, and in particular the separation of Srimati Radharani from Krishna after Krishna left Vrindavan and went to Dvaraka. After Raghunatha dasa Gosvami read the play, he was so afflicted with separation that he cried and cried and cried and cried, and nothing could console him. He was just crying and crying, day after day, and nobody knew what to do. So, then Rupa Gosvami wrote another drama called Dana-keli-kaumudi, about the joking exchanges between Krishna and the gopis at Dana-ghati. And when Raghunatha dasa Gosvami read Dana-keli-kaumudi he felt pacified that Radha and Krishna were together, enjoying pastimes.
snatva sarah svasu samira-hasti
yatraiva nipadi-paraga-dhulih
alolayan khetali caru sa sri-
govardhano me disatam abhistam
“Bathing in the nearby lake, the elephant of a pleasant breeze, covered with the pollen of kadamba and other flowers, gracefully plays there. May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”
kasturikabhih sayitam kim atrety
uham prabhoh svasya muhur vitanvan
naisargika-sviya-sila-sugandhair
govardhano me disatam abhistam
“How is it that the sweet fragrance of the musk deer and the various natural scents there make the Lord so calm and relaxed? May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”
vamsa-pratidhvany-anusara-vartma
didrksavo yatra harim harinyah
yantyo labhante nahi vismitah sa
govardhano me disatam abhistam
“Searching there for Lord Hari on the path of His flute music, the astonished deer do not find Him. May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”
yatraiva gangam anu navi radham
arohya madhye tu nimagna-naukah
krsno hi radhanugalo babhau sa
govardhano me disatam abhistam
“As the divine couple traveled on the Ganges there, the boat began to sink in the middle. Krishna was splendidly handsome as Radha clung to His neck. May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”
Here the pastime relates to Manasi-ganga, which is near Dana-ghati. Again, the only way to get to the other side of Govardhana Hill was either by walking through the passage at Dana-ghati or by taking a boat across Manasi-ganga. So, once, Srimati Radharani and Her close friends came to Manasi-ganga and wanted to cross to the other side by boat. Srimati Radharani saw one boatman and said to him, “Boatman, we want you to take us across the lake.” Guess who the boatman was? It was Lord Krishna! And in the guise of a boatman, He agreed to take Srimati Radharani and the others across. But as the boat was moving out into the water, clouds began to gather in the sky and pour down rain, and the boat began to fill with water. Srimati Radharani and the other gopis became very much afraid, but the boatman didn’t do anything about it; much to the horror of the gopis, he just stopped the boat in the middle of the lake and was watching it fill up. The gopis were becoming more and more fearful, and they thought the boat was going to sink at any moment. And because krsna-lila is nara-lila, humanlike pastimes in which the gopis all think that they are ordinary human beings and all have the sentiments of ordinary human beings, the gopis thought that they could drown and die. So they panicked and appealed to the boatman, “Boatman, please help us. Please do something.” But Krishna never does anything for free; He always takes a price. And the price that He wanted for bringing the girls to safety was an embrace from Srimati Radharani. And because She was so desperate that although She was a very chaste girl, She felt that She had no choice. So She threw Her arms around the boatman and asked for His mercy to take them across. Then Krishna very neatly put His toe into the hole that He had unplugged to allow the water to come in, and He rowed the girls to safety on the other side. So, Visvanatha Cakravarti summarizes the whole pastime very beautifully and succinctly: “As the divine couple traveled around the Ganges, the boat began to sink in the middle. Krishna was splendidly handsome as Radha clung to his neck. May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”
vina bhavet kim hari-dasa-varya
padasrayam bhaktir atah srayami
yam eva supreme ni jesayoh sri-
govardhano me disatam abhistam
“Without taking shelter of the feet of the hill that is the best of the Lord Hari’s servants and full of love for divine King and Queen, how it is possible to attain pure devotional service? May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”
Then at the end of the astaka, as is common, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura composes a ninth verse that contains a benediction:
etat pathet yo hari-dasa-varya-
mahanubhavastakam ardra-cetah
sri-radhika-madhavayoh padabja
dasyam sa vinded acirena saksat
“May the reader of these eight verses glorifying Lord Hari’s greatest servant, his heart melting with pure love, quickly attain direct service to the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha- Madhava.”
Sri Sri Giri Govardhana ki jaya! Sri Govardhanastaka ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
So, after Lord Krishna held Govardhana Hill for seven days and the hill gave shelter to all of the residents of Vrindavan, Indra came to his senses, realized his mistake, and humbly withdrew the rains. (Ultimately he came to beg forgiveness and offer prayers to Lord Krishna.) When the rains subsided, Lord Krishna placed Govardhana Hill back in its place. Then He walked around the hill to see what damage King Indra’s thunderbolts had caused to His beloved Govardhana.
Indra was very much afraid because of the offenses he had committed to Lord Krishna and the residents of Vrindavan. So he went to Lord Brahma for advice, and Lord Brahma advised, “If you try to approach Krishna directly, He may be very angry with you. But Lord Krishna is very favorably disposed to the cows, so if you approach Surabhi and she approaches Him first, His mood may change, and then you may approach Him and offer your prayers.”
So, King Indra approached Surabhi, the heavenly cow. And Surabhi came to Vraja, followed by King Indra on his elephant. And together they coronated Krishna, Govinda, as the king of the cows, at a place called Govinda-kunda. All these places are marked here on our mountain: Govinda-kunda, Surabhi-kunda. Surabhi-kunda is where Surabhi offered her prayers to Krishna and gave her milk for the abhiseka of Lord Krishna.
So, krsna-lila is nara-lila. The devotees consider themselves to be human beings, and they consider Krishna also to be another human being. But they have intense, spontaneous, pure love for Him—not because He is God, but because they just love Him. But when He held Govardhana Hill over His head for seven days on the tip of the little finger of His left hand, the Vraja-vasis realized that Krishna could not be an ordinary human being. So, after the Govardhana lila, all the cowherd men assembled and addressed Nanda Maharaja. “Your son is not an ordinary child,” they said. “He is not an ordinary human being. He must be some demigod, or maybe the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. You must not chastise Him, you should not frighten Him, you should not punish Him. He is not an ordinary child.” And they gave all the evidence—all of the feats Krishna had performed, especially the latest one of holding Govardhana Hill.
The cowherd men all had parental affection for Krishna, but Nanda Maharaja’s parental affection for Krishna was the strongest of all. So he listened to what they said, but when he started to think of his pastimes with Krishna, his interactions with Krishna, his experience of Krishna, he said, “No. Even ordinary yogis can control the urges of their senses. But my son Krishna has no control at all. If mother Yasoda is feeding Him and she sets Him down for a minute to attend to some other business, He becomes so angry that He starts breaking butter pots and eating butter. Even ordinary yogis are fearless. But as soon as Krishna hears thunder and sees lightning, He becomes afraid. And if we don’ take Him in our arms and pacify Him, He remains fearful.”
In this way Nanda Maharaja remembered all of his parental pastimes with Krishna, and he was merged into the ocean of vatsalya-bhava. He could not consider for a moment that Krishna was anything other than his own beloved son, in need of his nourishment, care, and protection. And all the other cowherd men also merged into the ocean of vatsalya-bhava, and they also again thought of Krishna as just a beautiful little child, the son of Nanda and Yasoda. And thus they remained merged in the ocean of transcendental nectar of pure spontaneous love for Krishna without any consideration of His opulence and without any impediment to their pure love for Him and their intimate mood of service.
Hare Krishna.
[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Govardhana-puja, November 17, 2001, Carpinteria, California]