Worshiping Govardhana Hill
Brajabasi is Worshiping Govardhana Hill with obeisances
Today we celebrate Govardhana-puja with a chapter from Srila Prabhupada’s Krsna Book, entitled “Worshiping Govardhana Hill”
Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter 24
Worshiping Govardhana Hill
While
engaged with the brāhmaṇas who were too involved in the performance of
Vedic sacrifices, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma also saw that the cowherd men were
preparing a similar sacrifice in order to pacify Indra, the King of
heaven, who is responsible for supplying water. As stated in the
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, a devotee of Kṛṣṇa has strong and firm faith in the
understanding that if he is simply engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and
Kṛṣṇa's transcendental loving service, then he is freed from all other
obligations. A pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa doesn't have to perform any of
the ritualistic functions enjoined in the Vedas; nor is he required to
worship any demigods. Being a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, one is understood
to have performed all kinds of Vedic rituals and all kinds of worship to
the demigods. Just by performing the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies or
worshiping the demigods, one does not develop devotional service for
Kṛṣṇa but one who is engaged fully in the service of the Lord has
already finished all Vedic injunctions.
Kṛṣṇa
ordered a stop to all such activities by His devotees, for He wanted to
firmly establish exclusive devotional service during His presence in
Vṛndāvana. Kṛṣṇa knew that the cowherd men were preparing for the Indra
sacrifice beause He is the omniscient Personality of Godhead, but as a
matter of etiquette, He began to inquire with great honor and submission
from elder personalities like Mahārāja Nanda and others.
Kṛṣṇa
asked His father, "My dear father, what is this arrangement going on for
a great sacrifice? What is the result of such sacrifice, and for whom
is it meant? How is it performed? Will you kindly let Me know? I am very
anxious to know this procedure, so please explain to Me the purpose of
this sacrifice." Upon this inquiry, His father, Nanda Mahārāja, remained
silent, thinking that his young boy would not be able to understand the
intricacies of performing the yajña. Kṛṣṇa, however, persisted: "My
dear father, for those who are liberal and saintly, there is no secrecy.
They do not think anyone to be a friend or enemy because they are
always open to everyone. And even for those who are not so liberal,
nothing should be secret for the family members and friends, although
secrecy may be maintained for persons who are inimical. Therefore you
cannot keep any secrets from Me. All persons are engaged in fruitive
activities. Some know what these activities are, and they know the
result, and some execute activities without knowing the purpose or the
result. A person who acts with full knowledge gets the full result; one
who acts without knowledge does not get such a perfect result.
Therefore, please let Me know the purpose of the sacrifice which you are
going to perform. Is it according to Vedic injunction? Or is it simply a
popular ceremony? Kindly let Me know in detail about the sacrifice."
On
hearing this inquiry from Kṛṣṇa, Mahārāja Nanda replied, "My dear boy,
this ceremonial performance is more or less traditional. Because
rainfall is due to the mercy of King Indra and the clouds are his
representatives, and because water is so important for our living, we
must show some gratitude to the controller of this rainfall, Mahārāja
Indra. We are arranging, therefore, to pacify King Indra, because he has
very kindly sent us clouds to pour down sufficient quantity of rain for
successful agricultural activities. Water is very important; without
rainfall we cannot farm or produce grains. We cannot live if there is no
rainfall. It is necessary for successful religious ceremonies, economic
development, and, ultimately, liberation. Therefore we should not give
up the traditional ceremonial function; if one gives it up, being
influenced by lust, or greed or fear, then it does not look very good
for him."
After hearing this, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, in the presence of His father and all the cowherd men of
Vṛndāvana, spoke in such a way as to make heavenly King Indra very
angry. He suggested that they forgo the sacrifice. His reasons for
discouraging the sacrifice performed to please Indra were twofold.
First, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, there is no need to worship the
demigods for any material advancement; all results derived from
worshiping the demigods are simply temporary, and only those who are
less intelligent are interested with temporary results. Secondly,
whatever temporary result one derives from worshiping the demigods is
actually granted by the permission of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. It is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, mayaiva vihitān hi
tān. Whatever benefit is supposed to be derived from the demigods is
actually bestowed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Without the
permission of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot bestow any
benefit upon others. But sometimes the demigods become puffed up by the
influence of material nature; thinking themselves as all in all, they
try to forget the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In
the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is clearly stated that in this instance Kṛṣṇa
wanted to make King Indra angry. Kṛṣṇa's advent was especially meant for
the annihilation of the demons and protection of the devotees. King
Indra was certainly a devotee, not a demon, but because he was puffed
up, Kṛṣṇa wanted to teach him a lesson. He first tried to make Indra
angry by stopping the Indra Pūjā, which was arranged by the cowherd men
in Vṛndāvana.
With this purpose in mind, Kṛṣṇa began to talk as if
He were an atheist supporting the philosophy of karma-mīmāṁsā.
Advocates of this type of philosophy do not accept the supreme authority
of the Personality of Godhead. They put forward the argument that if
anyone works nicely, the result is sure to come. Their opinion is that
even if there is a God who gives man the result of his fruitive
activities, there is no need to worship Him because unless man works He
cannot bestow any good result. They say that instead of worshiping a
demigod or God, people should give attention to their own duties, and
thus the good result will surely come. Lord Kṛṣṇa began to speak to His
father according to these principles of the karma-mīmāṁsā philosophy.
"My dear father," He said, "I don't think you need to worship any
demigod for the successful performance of your agricultural activities.
Every living being is born according to his past karma and leaves this
life simply taking the result of his present karma. Everyone is born in
different types or species of life according to his past activities, and
he gets his next birth according to the activities of this life.
Different grades of material happiness and distress, comforts and
disadvantages of life, are different results of different kinds of
activities, either from the past or present life."
Mahārāja Nanda
and other elderly members argued that without satisfying the
predominating god, one cannot derive any good result simply by material
activities. This is actually the fact. For example, it is sometimes
found that, in spite of first-class medical help and treatment by a
first-class physician, a diseased person dies. It is concluded,
therefore, that first-class medical treatment or the attempts of a
first-class physician are not in themselves the cause for curing a
patient; there must be the hand of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Similarly, a father's and mother's taking care of their children is not
the cause of the children's comfort. Sometimes it is found that in spite
of all care by the parents, the children go bad or succumb to death.
Therefore material causes are not sufficient for results. There must be
the sanction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nanda Mahārāja
therefore advocated that, in order to get good results for agricultural
activities, they must satisfy Indra, the superintending deity of the
rain supply. Lord Kṛṣṇa nullified this argument, saying that the
demigods give results only to persons who have executed their prescribed
duties; therefore demigods are dependent on the execution of duties and
are not absolute in awarding good results to anyone.
"My dear
father, there is no need to worship the demigod Indra," Lord Kṛṣṇa said.
"Everyone has to achieve the result of his own work. We can actually
see that one becomes busy according to the natural tendency of his work;
and according to that natural tendency, all living entities–either
human beings or demigods–achieve their respective results. All living
entities achieve higher or lower bodies and create enemies, friends or
neutral parties only because of their different kinds of work. One
should be careful to discharge duties according to his natural instinct
and not divert attention to the worship of various demigods. The
demigods will be satisfied by proper execution of all duties, so there
is no need to worship them. Let us, rather, perform our prescribed
duties very nicely. Actually one cannot be happy without executing his
proper prescribed duty. One who does not, therefore, properly discharge
his prescribed duties, is compared with an unchaste woman. The proper
prescribed duty of the brāhmaṇas is the study of the Vedas; the proper
duty of the royal order, the kṣatriyas, is engagement in protecting the
citizens; the proper duty of the vaiśya community is agriculture, trade
and protection of the cows; and the proper duty of the śūdras is service
to the higher classes, namely the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas. We
belong to the vaiśya community, and our proper duty is to farm, or to
trade with the agricultural produce, to protect cows, or take to
banking."
Kṛṣṇa identified Himself with the vaiśya community
because Nanda Mahārāja was protecting many cows, and Kṛṣṇa was taking
care of them. He enumerated four kinds of business engagements for the
vaiśya community, namely agriculture, trade, protection of cows and
banking. Although the vaiśyas can take to any of these occupations, the
men of Vṛndāvana were engaged primarily in the protection of cows.
Kṛṣṇa
further explained to His father: "This cosmic manifestation is going on
under the influence of three modes of material nature–goodness,
passion, and ignorance. These three modes are the causes of creation,
maintenance and destruction. The cloud is caused by the action of the
mode of passion; therefore it is the mode of passion which causes the
rainfall. And after the rainfall, the living entities derive the
result–success in agricultural work. What, then, has Indra to do in this
affair? Even if you do not please Indra, what can he do? We do not
derive any special benefit from Indra. Even if he is there, he pours
water on the ocean also, where there is no need of water. So he is
pouring water on the ocean or on the land; it does not depend on our
worshiping him. As far as we are concerned, we do not need to go to
another city or village or foreign country. There are palatial buildings
in the cities, but we are satisfied living in this forest of Vṛndāvana.
Our specific relationship is with Govardhana Hill and Vṛndāvana forest
and nothing more. I therefore request you, My dear father, to begin a
sacrifice which will satisfy the local brāhmaṇas and Govardhana Hill,
and let us have nothing to do with Indra."
After hearing this
statement by Kṛṣṇa, Nanda Mahārāja replied, "My dear boy, since You are
asking, I shall arrange for a separate sacrifice for the local brāhmaṇas
and Govardhana Hill. But for the present let me execute this sacrifice
known as Indra-yajña."
But Kṛṣṇa replied, "My dear father, don't
delay. The sacrifice you propose for Govardhana and the local brāhmaṇas
will take much time. Better take the arrangement and paraphernalia you
have already made for sacrificing Indra-yajña and immediately engage it
to satisfy Govardhana Hill and the local brāhmaṇas."
Mahārāja
Nanda finally relented. The cowherd men then inquired from Kṛṣṇa how He
wanted the yajña performed, and Kṛṣṇa gave them the following
directions. "Prepare very nice foodstuffs of all descriptions from the
grains and ghee collected for the yajña. Prepare rice, dhal, then
halavā, pakorā, purī and all kinds of milk preparations like sweet rice,
sweetballs, sandeśa, rasagullā and laḍḍu and invite the learned
brāhmaṇas who can chant the Vedic hymns and offer oblations to the fire.
The brāhmaṇas should be given all kinds of grains in charity. Then
decorate all the cows and feed them well. After performing this, give
money in charity to the brāhmaṇas. As far as the lower animals are
concerned, such as the dogs, and the lower grades of people, such as the
caṇḍālas, or the fifth class of men who are considered untouchable,
they also may be given sumptuous prasādam. After giving nice grasses to
the cows, the sacrifice known as Govardhana-pūjā may immediately begin.
This sacrifice will very much satisfy Me."
In this statement, Lord
Kṛṣṇa practically described the whole economy of the vaiśya community.
In all communities of human society, and in the animal kingdom, among
the cows, dogs, goats, etc., everyone has his part to play. Each is to
work in cooperation for the total benefit of all society, which includes
not only animate objects but also inanimate objects like hills and
land. The vaiśya community is specifically responsible for the economic
improvement of the society by producing grains, by giving protection to
the cows, by transporting food when needed, and by banking and finance.
From
this statement we learn also that the cats and dogs, although not so
important, are not to be neglected. Cow protection is actually more
important than protection of cats and dogs. Another hint we get from
this statement is that the caṇḍālas or the untouchables are also not to
be neglected by the higher classes. Everyone is important, but some are
directly responsible for the advancement of human society, and some are
only indirectly responsible. However, when Kṛṣṇa consciousness is there,
then everyone's total benefit is taken care of.
The sacrifice
known as Govardhana-pūjā is observed in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness
movement. Lord Caitanya has recommended that since Kṛṣṇa is worshipable,
so His land, Vṛndāvana and Govardhana Hill, are also worshipable. To
confirm this statement, Lord Kṛṣṇa said that Govardhana Pūjā is as good
as worship of Him. From that day, the Govardhana Pūjā has been still
going on and is known as Annakūṭa. In all the temples of Vṛndāvana or
outside of Vṛndāvana, huge quantities of food are prepared in this
ceremony and are very sumptuously distributed to the general population.
Sometimes the food is thrown to the crowds, and they enjoy collecting
it off the ground. From these instances, we can understand that prasādam
offered to Kṛṣṇa never becomes polluted or contaminated, even if it is
thrown on the ground. The people, therefore, collect it and eat with
great satisfaction.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, therefore advised the
cowherd men to stop the Indra-yajña and begin the Govardhana Pūjā in
order to chastise Indra who was very much puffed up at being the supreme
controller of the heavenly planets. The honest and simple cowherd men
headed by Nanda Mahārāja accepted Kṛṣṇa's proposal and executed in
detail everything He advised. They performed Govardhana worship and
circumambulation of the hill. (Following the inauguration of Govardhana
Pūjā, people in Vṛndāvana still dress nicely and assemble near
Govardhana Hill to offer worship and circumambulate the hill, leading
their cows all around.) According to the instruction of Lord Kṛṣṇa,
Nanda Mahārāja and the cowherd men called in learned brāhmaṇas and began
to worship Govardhana Hill by chanting Vedic hymns and offering
prasādam. The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana assembled together, decorated
their cows and gave them grass. Keeping the cows in front, they began to
circumambulate Govardhana Hill. The gopīs also dressed themselves very
luxuriantly and sat in bull-driven carts, chanting the glories of
Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Assembled there to act as priests for Govardhana Pūjā,
the brāhmaṇas offered their blessings to the cowherd men and their
wives, the gopīs.
When everything was complete, Kṛṣṇa assumed a
great transcendental form and declared to the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana
that He was Himself Govardhana Hill in order to convince the devotees
that Govardhana Hill and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical. Then Kṛṣṇa began
to eat all the food offered there. The identity of Kṛṣṇa and Govardhana
Hill is still honored, and great devotees take rocks from Govardhana
Hill and worship them exactly as they worship the Deity of Kṛṣṇa in the
temples. Devotees therefore collect small rocks or pebbles from
Govardhana Hill and worship them at home, because this worship is as
good as Deity worship. The form of Kṛṣṇa who began to eat the offerings
was separately constituted, and Kṛṣṇa Himself along with other
inhabitants of Vṛndāvana began to offer obeisances to the Deity as well
as Govardhana Hill. In offering obeisances to the huge form of Kṛṣṇa
Himself and Govardhana Hill, Kṛṣṇa declared, "Just see how Govardhana
Hill has assumed this huge form and is favoring us by accepting all the
offerings." Kṛṣṇa also declared at that meeting, "One who neglects the
worship of Govardhana Pūjā, as I am personally conducting it, will not
be happy. There are many snakes on Govardhana Hill, and persons
neglecting the prescribed duty of Govardhana Pūjā will be bitten by
these snakes and killed. In order to assure the good fortune of the cows
and themselves, all people of Vṛndāvana near Govardhana must worship
the hill, as prescribed by Me."
Thus performing the Govardhana
Pūjā sacrifice, all the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana followed the
instructions of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva, and afterwards they returned
to their respective homes.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Twenty-fourth Chapter of Kṛṣṇa, "Worshiping Govardhana Hill."
With
the vision of "No child in India shall be deprived of education because
of hunger", Akshaya Patra set foot towards implementation of the
mid-day meal programme in June 2000.
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