Giriraja as Hari-dasa-varya (2)

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Giriraja Govardhana Ki Jaya!

 

 

VENU-GITA by H.H. Sivarama Swami

Chapter 13, Giriraja as Hari-dasa-varya Part 1

 

 

Pgs.437/438/439

 

....... Although inwardly pleased by Her sakhi's words, externally Radhika

expressed displeasure by shooting an arrow-like glance at Visakha. She

said, "Dear friends, the unlimited glories of this king of mountains is not

to be understood in this pleasant chat. Still, one who lives for the

service of Hari deserves our respect, veneration, and worship, of this

there is no doubt.

"One who is devoted to serving Sri Krsna should certainly be recognized

as

being very great. Our Visakha has elaborately and expertly explained that

among such great souls Giriraja stands supreme. That I, too, may purify My

tongue by the mahima of such a sadhu, please allow Me to summarize what I

have heard form our siksa-guru, Anuradha.

The best of all presentations offered by Govardhana Hill are the sweet

grasses meant for the pleasure of the cows and calves. Giriraja is very,

very intelligent, for he understands that pleasing Sri Krsna is most

efficiently achieved by pleasing His most beloved associates, the cows and

the cowherd boys.

"But this king of mountains is not a selfish spiritualist who cares

only

for his own benefit and leaves the world of suffering mortals aside. No,

no, no!" says Sri Radha, moving Her index finger from side to side while

sweetly shaking Her head. "Sarvesam eva ananda-vara siddhi! Great souls do

not only achieve transcendental pleasure, but they give pleasure to less

fortunate souls. In that way they destroy the miseries of this world, sarva

dukha harana.

"If one asks how Giri-Govardhan gives pleasure to others, the answer

will

be as follows. As Sri Krsna is the Soul of all souls, by pleasing Him with

service, he automatically pleases everyone. But that is not all!" She says

with emphasis, "The many facilities offered by Giriraja for His pastimes

are an invitation for countless wonderful lilas which, in His eternal quest

for enjoyment, Sri Govinda cannot resist. After attracting Hari to exhibit

daily pastimes in his vicinity, within their hearts Govardhana Hill

inspires great poets to broadcast His amazing sports throughout the world.

In this way he sprinkles the parched jivas with the invigorating nectar of

krsna-katha, relieves them from the pangs of illusion, and elevates them to

the regions of eternal happiness.

"Is our beloved Govardhana expecting some remuneration for his great

deeds? Never! In exchange for his unlimited services, he seeks only the

touch of the lotus feet of Sri Krsna and His associates. When he is blessed

with such favor he expertly preserves such footprints on the smooth stones

of his divine body. These are his supreme ornaments and best decoration.

Having achieved such perfection, that insatiable well-wisher of the world

makes such footprints, the very touch of Govinda, accessible to those

spiritual aspirants who seek his shelter." Holding Her two lotus hands to

Her heart, Her eyes closed in intense emotion, Radha says, "Such fortunate

pilgrims touch their heads to Krsna's lotus feet, take Him into their

hearts, and feel unending bliss." Opening Her eyes slowly and looking

around, She says with great emphasis to Her ever-subnissive friends,

"Sakhis, without a dobt Govardhana Hill is the best of all the devotees.

There is no need to say anymore; his actions speak louder than the

libraries of the Vedas."

Looking towards Govardhana Hill with large sparkling tears decorating

the

corners of Her eyes, Sri Radhika impels all Her friends to also turn their

attention to him. Having appeared on the horizon of Javat for the pleasure

of the gopis, Giriraja offers his prostrated obeisances to them, whose love

and devotion know no equal. The natural reddish color of his rocks reflects

the divine attachment which possesses the butter-soft heart of Govardhana

Hill. That is the color of anuraga. Its glow mixes with the afternoon

shadows as some wonderful iridescent splendor.

Those stones on which Sri Krsna walked sometimes assume a soothing

blackish color; those stones where Baladeva places His lotus feet sparkle

like white crystal; and those stones that received the bhava of Radha put

the color of molten gold to shame. Decorated with white cows, green

grasses, crystal blue waters, multicolored flowers, birds of manny hues,

and an endless variety of trees, Govardhana Hill is truly the most colorful

expression of devotional love within the three worlds. Where is such

spiritual variety to be found in Vaikuntha?

Gradually fading from the loving view of the gopis Giriraja returned to

his rightful place near Radha-kunda. Left with an insatiable emptiness in

their eyes, the gopis hearts tried to substitute his place with a torrent

of tears. By seeing Govardhana, the gopis were seeing Krsna, and better

still, seeing His greatest devotee. In his absence, their lives felt devoid

of purpose and they began to cry, submerging in the ocean of separation

from Hari and Hari-dasa-varya.

This concludes the thirteenth chapter of The Song of the Flute, by a

very

insignificant disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupada, entitled 'Giriraja as Hari-dasa-varya', in which the supremacy

of Govardhana Hill, who reigns above all other servants of Sri Hari, is

glorified by a very appreciative Sri Radha to Her own gana, with such

appreciation and love that he is obliged to appear before the gopis and

exhibits the jubilation he feels at the touch of Rama and Krsna's lotus

feet as a consequence of his great respect for Them, and exhibiting further

extraordinary ecstatic symptoms such as the shedding of tears in the form

of a wonderful waterfalls, the standing on end of hair in the form of its

sweet grasses, and his perspiration manifest as the drops of water on

stones, grass, and trees, also offers a great variety of fruits for eating,

roots for chewing, herbs for digestion, minerals for decoration, for not

only Sri Krsna but all His friends and cows, what to speak of the

universally renowned caves which are equipped with varied divine

paraphernalia for His enjoyment, well known to gopas and gopis alike, and

who is covered with special stones which, for Sri Krsna's comfort, adapt to

the weather and are as soft as feathers and as smooth as silk, this

Govardhana, so opulent in service to Govinda, certainly gains much pleasure

from Sri Krsna's pastimes, which he distributes to the world through the

pen of great devotees, making the hearts of the gopis very happy, although

they feel sadness being bereft of His sanga, but remain pacified because

they implicitly trust the expertise of Govardhana Hill to please their

beloved Hari.