Guest guest Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 Hare Krishna, PAMHO, AGTSP Once again we reached the festival of Dewali and more important is the Goverdhana Puja (Appearance of Goverdhana Hill). We wish all of you a very HAPPY DEWALI AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR. Kindly Glorify Sri Sri Giriraja Govardhana on 2nd Nov. the auspicious appearance day and celebrate the Govardhana Puja. Please note that we don't have any qualifications to glorify Sir Sir Giriraja Goverdhana and we wish that all of you would give us your mercy so that we will endeavour more and more to serve the lotus feet of Sri Sri GauraNitai and glorify the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. NITAI GAURA HARIBOL!! Your servant in the mission of Srila Prabhupada Nanda Gopal Dasa Mohan Priya Devi Dasi Bhaktas Balarama & Krishna THE APPEARANCE OF GOVERDHANA HILL Lord Krishna's father Nanda Maharaja once inquired from His brother Upananda how Goverdhana Hill appeared in the sacred land of Vrandavana. Upananda replied that King Pandu, father of the Pandavas, had asked this question to Grandfather Bhisma, who had narrated the following story from the Garga Samhita. One day in Goloka Vrandavana Lord Krishna informed Srimati Radharani that She should now appear on earth as it was time for Them to perform Their transcendental pastimes within the material world. Radharani replied that unless Vraja Dhama, the Yamuna and Goverdhana Hill were present there, She would not be very happy. Krishna then told Radharani that She need not worry, as Vraja Dhama, along with the Yamuna and Goverdhana Hill had already appeared on earth. Many years before this incident, in the land of Salmali dvipa, the wife of the great mountain Dronacal gave birth to a son named Goverdhana. At the time of Goverdhana's birth all the demigods appeared in the sky and showered flowers upon Him. The great mountain, led by the Himalayas and Sumeru, came there to offer their respects. They then performed parikrama of Goverdhana and accepted Him as their king. They offered very nice prayers praising Goverdhana for having descended from Goloka Vrandavana, describing him as the "crown jewel of Vraja." Some years later, at the beginning of Satay-yuga, the great sage Pulastya Muni paid a visit to Salmali dvipa. Upon seeing the beautiful Goverdhana Hill covered with many lovely creepers, flowers, rivers, caves and chirping birds, the sage felt that this Hill was capable of giving liberation. He then went to meet Dronacal, who immediately offered his respects and inquired from the sage what service he could render. Pulastya Muni informed Dronacal that he was from Kasi (Banares) and was on pilgrimage to all the holy places. And he said that even though the sacred river Ganges flows through Kasi, there is no beautiful hill. He then asked Dronacal to give Goverdhana to him so that he could perform his austerities sitting on top of the hill. On hearing the sage's request, Dronacal, who was not willing to part his son, started to shed tears in thought of separation from his beloved Goverdhana. Not wanting to see Pulastya Muni become angry and curse his father, Goverdhana asked the sage how he would carry him all the way to Kasi. The sage replied that he would carry him in his right hand. Goverdhana then agreed to go with the sage on one condition - that if the sage put him down anywhere during the course of the journey, he would not be able lift him again. Pulastya Muni agreed. Carrying Goverdhana in his right hand he left for Kasi. By the will of providence Pulastya Muni passed through Vraja, on his way to Kasi. On arriving in Vraja, Goverdhana thought that now he was here, he should remain in the holy dhama. By his mystic power he was able to influence Pulastya Muni to attend to the call of nature. Unmindful, the sage put Goverdhana down and went off to answer the call. But when he returned he was unable to again lift Goverdhana. Trying with all his might, using both hands, he could not lift Goverdhana even slightly. In great anger Pulastya Muni cursed Goverdhana to sink into the ground by the measurement of one mustard seed every day. When Goverdhana first came to Vraja in the beginning of Satya-yaga, he was eight yojanas long (64 miles); five yojanas wide (40miles) and two yojans high (16 miles). It is said that after ten thousand years of Kali-yaga, Goverdhana Hill will have completely disappeared. After narrating the wonderful story of Goverdhana's appearance, Sunanda informed Nanda Maharaja that as long as Goverdhana Hill and the river Yamuna remained manifest, Kali-yuga would not take its full effect. Sunanda also said that anyone who is fortunate enough to hear the description of the appearance of Goverdhana Hill would be freed from all sins. " O Goverdhana, O king of mountains, O hill whose nectarine name-the best of Hari's servant - flows from the moonlike mouth of Sri Radha, O hill that the Vedas declare to be the tilaka marking of Vraja, please grant me a residence near to you." >From 'Stavavali' by Raghunatha dasa Goswami Sri Sri Giriraja Goverdhana Raja ki jay! CC: Antya 6 TEXT 294 TRANSLATION Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Raghunatha dasa, "This stone is the transcendental form of Lord Krsna. Worship the stone with great eagerness." PURPORT Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura writes in his Anubhasya that in the opinion of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the govardhana-sila, the stone from Govardhana Hill, was directly the form of Krsna, the son of Maharaja Nanda. The Lord used the stone for three years, and then in the heart of Raghunatha dasa the Lord awakened devotional service to the stone. The Lord then gave the stone to Raghunatha dasa, accepting him as one of His most confidential servants. However, some envious people conclude that because Raghunatha dasa had not taken birth in the family of a brahmana, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not give him the right to worship the Deity directly but instead gave him a stone from Govardhana. This kind of thought is naraki, or hellish. As stated in the Padma Purana, arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhih . . . yasya va naraki sah. If one thinks that the worshipable salagrama-sila is a mere stone, that the spiritual master is an ordinary human being or that a pure Vaisnava preaching the bhakti cult all over the world is a member of a particular caste or material division of society, he is considered a naraki, a candidate for hellish life. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed that the govardhana-sila, the stone taken from Govardhana, is non-different from the body of Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He indirectly advised such foolish persons that one should not be envious of a Vaisnava who belongs to a different caste or sect. One should accept a Vaisnava as transcendental. In this way one can be saved; otherwise, one is surely awaiting a hellish life. Antya 6.295 TEXT 295 ei silara kara tumi sattvika pujana acirat pabe tumi krsna-prema-dhana TRANSLATION Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, "Worship this stone in the mode of goodness like a perfect brahmana, for by such worship you will surely attain ecstatic love of Krsna without delay. Antya 6.296 TEXT 296 eka kunja jala ara tulasi-manjari sattvika-seva ei--suddha-bhave kari TRANSLATION "For such worship, one needs a jug of water and a few flowers from a tulasi tree. This is worship in complete goodness when performed in complete purity. Antya 6.297 TEXT 297 dui-dike dui-patra madhye komala manjari ei-mata asta-manjari dibe sraddha kari'" TRANSLATION "With faith and love, you should offer eight soft tulasi flowers, each with two tulasi leaves, one on each side of each flower." Antya 6.298 TEXT 298 sri-haste sila diya ei ajna dila anande raghunatha seva karite lagila TRANSLATION After thus advising him how to worship, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally offered Raghunatha dasa the govardhana-sila with His transcendental hand. As advised by the Lord, Raghunatha dasa worshiped the sila in great transcendental jubilation. PS note that today one can have darshana of Goverdhana-sila given to Raghunatha dasa Goswami at Radha Gokulananda in Vrndavana attached is a photo of the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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