Giriraja

[Guest guest]

The Worship of Giri Govardhan

The following quotes and statements validate the significance of the Worship

of Sri Giri Govardhan

GOVARDHANA PUJA - ANNAKUTA

Govardhana Hill SB 10-24-29

Silas He Himself SB 10-24-35

Govardhana CC Madhya 2-4-83 "I am Govardhana Hill"

[After the Lord was laid down to rest on the bed, Madhavendra Puri gathered

all the brahmanas who had prepared the prasada and said to them: "Now feed

everyone sumptuously, from the children on up to the aged!"

CC Madhya 2-4-83]

Govardhana CC Antya 2-6-292, 294, 295, 307:

[As they came, bringing all kinds of food, Raghunatha dasa purchased it all.

He gave them the price for their goods and later fed them the very same food.

CC Antya 2-6-292]

[2-6-294: 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 siladhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave

jati-buddhih...yasya va naraki sah: "One who considers the arca-murti (the

worshipable

Deity of Lord Visnu) to be stone, the spiritual master to be an ordinary human

being, or a Vaisnava to belong to a particular creed is possessed of hellish

intelligence." 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.

CC Antya 2-6-294]

[2-6-295: 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.

CC Antya 2-6-295]

[2-6-307: "By offering me the govardhana-sila, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has

offered me a place near Govardhana Hill, and by offering me the garland of

conch shells, He has offered me shelter at the lotus feet of Srimati

Radharani."

CC Antya 2-6-307]

July 1969 Letter p.929 Giriraj

June 1976 Govardhana Silas (waited to see them) p.3166

Vaisnavas observe Annakuta (not Durga Puja) Oct. 1967, p.231

Annadan CC Mad. 2 - p.46

["'My dear sir, since You, a great personality, have accepted Sanatana

Gosvami, he is greatly fortunate; no-one can be as fortunate as he.'"

"Thus Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced both Haridasa Thakura and Sanatana

Gosvami and then got up and left to perform His noon duties."

"'My dear Sanatana,' Haridasa Thakura said, embracing him, 'no-one can find

the limits of your good fortune.'"]

CC Mad. 2 - p.46]

Annakuta 31-35; 43; BG 9.27

[bG 9.27: Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give

away, and whatever austerities you perform - do that, O son of Kunti, as an

offering to Me.]

Annakuta Madhya 2-4-93:

[The inhabitants of the village brought to the Deity of Gopala as much food

grains, ghee, yogurt and milk as they had in their village.

PURPORT: Anna, ghrta, dadhi and dugdha are food grains, ghee, yogurt and

milk. Actually, these are the basis of all food. Vegetables and fruits are

subsidiary. Hundreds and thousands of recipes can be made out of grains,

vegetables, ghee, milk and yogurt. The food offered to Gopala in the Annakuta

ceremony contained only these five ingredients. Only demoniac people are

attracted

to other types of food, which we will not even mention in this connection. We

should understand that in order to prepare nutritious food, we require only

grains, ghee, yogurt and milk. We cannot offer anything else to the Deity.

The

Vaisnava, the perfect human being, does not accept anything not offered to

the Deity. People are often frustrated with national food policies, but from

the Vedic scriptures we find that if there are sufficient cows and grains, the

entire food problem is solved. The vaisyas (people engaged in agriculture and

commerce) are therefore recommended in Bhagavad-gita to produce grains and

give protection to cows. Cows are the most important animal because they

produce

the miracle food, milk, from which we can prepare ghee and yogurt.

The perfection of human civilization depends on Krsna consciousness, which

recommends Deity worship. Preparations made from vegetables, grains, milk,

ghee

and yogurt are offered to the Deity and then distributed. Here we can see

the difference between the East and the West. The people who came to see the

Deity of Gopala brought all kinds of food to offer the Deity. They brought all

 

the food they had in stock, and they came before the Deity not only to accept

prasada for themselves, but to distribute it to others. The Krsna

consciousness movement vigorously approves this practice of preparing food,

offering it

to the Deity, and distributing it to the general population. This activity

should be extended universally to stop sinful eating habits as well as other

behaviour befitting only demons. A demoniac civilization will never bring

peace

within the world. Since eating is the first necessity in human society, those

engaged in solving the problems of preparing and distributing food should take

lessons from Madhavendra Puri and execute the Annakuta ceremony. When people

take to eating only prasada offered to the Deity, all the demons will be

turned into Vaisnavas. When the people are Krsna conscious, naturally the

government will be so also. A Krsna conscious man is always a very liberal

well-wisher of everyone. When such men head the government, the people will

certainly

be sinless. They will no longer be disturbing demons. It is then and then

only that a peaceful condition can prevail in society.

Madhya 2-4-93]