English
06 November 2020
Hare Krishna
Devotees from 811 locations are chanting with us today. In each location more than one devotee is chanting from baces, temples and you all grhastha ashrami / householder devotees are chanting within the homes with the family members. You are all welcome. Hari Hari!
Mostly we are talking about the parikrama, it has become the talk of the town, talk of the world. From all around the world, devotees are discussing about the parikrama. And we too are discussing about parikrama in our japa talk. We talk about the pastimes related to parikrama of the same day or of the day before.
Yesterday night's destination of the Vraj Mandala Parikrama was Radha-Kund, did you all spent yesterday on Radha-kund ? Your soul must mesmerize in the pastimes of radha-kund and keep yourself immersed in vrindavan pastimes. So today Govardhan parikrama will take place, Giriraj Govardhan ki Jai! The glories of Govardhan are unfathomable to which the gopis have beautifully described the glories in an song called Venu Geet. …………….
hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa-varyo yad
rāma-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa-sparaśa-pramodaḥ
mānaṁ tanoti saha-go-gaṇayos tayor yat
pānīya-sūyavasa-kandara-kandamūlaiḥ
Translation
Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O my friends, this hill supplies Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, 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 Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant.
[S.B. 10.21.18]
hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa-varyo
yadnñí O powerless woman! it sounded that all the gopis are together addressing each other and singing together this venu geet. We are abala, powerless woman adri hari-dāsa-varyo but look at this adri, adri means mountain, this mountain Govardhan is haridasa varyaha he is haridasa and we too are dasi maidservants, but we are insignificant comparing to Govardhan the gopis thought and called themselves powerless. The Govardhan is very powerful but we are powerless, this is haridasa varyaha, meaning to be excellent or best among all the devotees.rāma-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa-sparaśa-pramodaḥ Further the gopis are describing the pastimes of Krishna and Balaram, the time when they climb on the mountain Govardhan by the divine touch of the feet of the Lord, Govardhan feels jubilant and joyful.
The gopis thus feeling the pain of separation from the Lord & thus sings the venu geet and exclaims how fortunate is this mountain Govardhan. We are not touched by the lotus feet of Krishna but this Giriraj is having the touch as both the Lord's plays and walks on the Govardhan. By the touch of Krishna and Balaram, the Govardhan feels extreme ecstasy and see, how the trees are behaving, it seems like hair standing erect. Further the gopis says, the mānaṁ tanoti saha-go-gaṇayos tayor yat Govardhan enhances the honour. Whose honour…? Go cows go ganayo ho the caretakers of the cows, Krishna Balaram and their friends, Govardhan revere them all a lot. Govardhan welcomes them with great reverence by offering garlands, he blooms the flowers on the plants and trees to offer it so as to beautify Krishna Balaram and their friends.
Additionally the Govardhan too makes the cows, Krishna Balaram and their friends healthy, by making available drinkable water in the reservoirs. aayemadrabala haridasa varayaha There are many waterfalls and resorviors for the Lord for their water sports pastimes. The cows drink cool water and chew on fragrant, juicy grass, kandara kandamulai , the caves are air conditioned for the Lord and their friends to have rest when there is hot temperature outside along with juicy fruits and roots to eat. They all do bring their lunch from homes but in addition they also enjoy the eatables grown on Govardhan. Giriraj Govardhan ki Jai!
Thus the gopis glorified the Govardhan in beautiful ways.
Devotees of vraj mandala parikrama will perform Govardhan parikrama today. The time when Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu arrived in Vrindavan, he too performed the parikrama. Whenever Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrindavan, the first thing he did was Govardhan parikrama and then went to Vrindavan. There are many beautiful pastimes of Mahaprabhu. He is the one who discovered Radha kund.
Five hundred years ago at the time of battle when the Muslims attacked India and destroyed the temples, the deities. The wicked, vicious, godless, miscreant Muslims terrorism was at peak, the disturbed Vrajavasis left Vrindavan and thus Vrindavan had become unhabited, desloate, remote place. Visitors didn't visit Vrindavan, the parikramas were stopped and so Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sent the six Goswami's to Vrindavan and later himself went to Vrindavan to revive the glories of Vrindavan.
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtāmdharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge
Translation:
To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.(BG 4.8)
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu therefore came to Vrindavan in his manifest form to revive the Gaudiya culture and instructed the six goswami's to carry out the responsibilities henceforth. Initially, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sent Lokanath Goswami and Bhugarbha Goswami to Vrindavan, gradually one by one the six goswami's were asked to go and lastly Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself went to vrindavan. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself searched and discovered the lost pastime places of Lord.
The merit discovering Radha kund especially goes to Chaitanya. Mahaprabhu himself. After that, Mahaprabhu performed Govardhan parikrama and the song sung by the gopis not the 'gopi geet' but the venu geet', was recited by the Lord frequently pānīya-sūyavasa-kandara-kandamūlaiḥ during the whole govardhan parikrama. The darshan, the touch of the mountain Govardhan, the pastimes of Govardhan and singing venu geet all these made Mahaprabhu to drown in ecstasy, Mahaprabhu rolled himself in the dust of Vraja, barely stood on his feet He walked for some distance and again fell on the ground. Some devotees do Dandvat parikrama and some do abhishek of Govardhan with milk carrying a pot with them while walking.
Some smart and busy people do parikrama sitting in their motor cars and from{ outside the car window they carry the milk pot with hole on the bottom to bathe the govardhan path. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did Govardhan parikrama but he didn't bought milk or water to bathe the Govardhan, anandale man preme pazarati lochaî. blissful tears were flowing from Chaitanya mahaprabhu's eyes and it wasn't the tear drops but tear waves flowed, and from this tear waves Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Mahaprabhu bathed/abhishek the Govardhan parikrama path and the dust of Vraja! got wet. Thus in this way the love of godhead displayed when Chaitanya mahaprabhu did the Govardhan parikrama. Hari Hari!
Govardhan is dear to Radha Krishna and the gopis. The cow grazing pastimes is completed on the foothills of govardhan and the rasa lila of Krishna is too thrived on the govardhan. And many other pastimes are successfully completed on the foothills of govardhan. It's an favourite picnic spot for Krishna Balaram and their friends, govardhan is considered to be beauty mine and therefore govardhan is scenic spot ramaniya sthal. For all of us, govardhan is worshipable place. Lord Krishna inaugurated the govardhan puja, He stooped the karmic indra puja and commenced the govardhan puja and govardhan parikrama which is still carried out till today.
The first govardhan festival was celebrated by the Lord Himself along with all the vraja vasis like Nanda Maharaj and Mother Yashoda, the cowherd friends and gopis with great festival, an exclusive festival, an unforgettable festival was this govardhan festival. And the same evening the ever first govardhan parikrama was performed, while govardhan worship was being performed by Krishna and Balaram, the mountain govardhan uttered shailosmi shailosmi what does that mean? Govardhan said shail-e-asmi I am this shila, the whole govardhan shila is me. Krishna gave the darshan in the form of govardhan with the giant face and started honouring the palatable offerings by His mouth. Then Krishna Balaram asked the vrajavasis, you were performing indra puja did he came here? But as you commenced the govardhan puja, He immediately appeared. All the vrajavasis did govardhan parikrama thereafter.
Read the pastimes of govardhan complied by Srila Prabhupada and other acharyas like Raghunath Das Goswami's ashtakam. There is lot of literature available on Lord Govardhan, read it, contemplate on it, do kirtan and share the glories of govardhan with your friends and family.
Giriraj Govardhan ki Jai!
