Worshiping Govardhana Hills

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While engaged with the brahmanas who were too involved in the performance of Vedic sacrifices, Krsna and Balarama 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-caritamrta, a devotee of Krsna has strong and firm faith in the understanding that if he is simply engaged in Krsna consciousness and Krsna's transcendental loving service, then he is freed from all other obligations. A pure devotee of Lord Krsna 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 Krsna, 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 Krsna but one who is engaged fully in the service of the Lord has already finished all Vedic injunctions.

 

Krsna ordered a stop to all such activities by His devotees, for He

wanted to firmly establish exclusive devotional service during His

presence in Vrndavana. Krsna 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 Maharaja Nanda and

others.

Krsna 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

Maharaja, remained silent, thinking that his young boy would not be

able to understand the intricacies of performing the yajna.

Krsna, 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 Krsna,

Maharaja 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, Maharaja 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, Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the

presence of His father and all the cowherd men of Vrndavana, 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-gita,

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-gita, mayaiva vihitan hi tan.

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 Srimad-Bhagavatam, it is clearly stated that in this

instance Krsna wanted to make King Indra angry. Krsna'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, Krsna wanted to teach him a lesson. He first

tried to make Indra angry by stopping the Indra Puja, which was

arranged by the cowherd men in Vrndavana.

With this purpose in mind, Krsna began to talk as if He were an atheist supporting the philosophy of karma-mimamsa.

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 Krsna began to speak to His

father according to these principles of the karma-mimamsa

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. "

Maharaja 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 Maharaja therefore advocated that, in order to get good

results for agricultural activities, they must satisfy Indra, the

superintending deity of the rain supply. Lord Krsna 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

Krsna 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 brahmanas is the study of the Vedas; the proper duty of the royal order, the ksatriyas, is engagement in protecting the citizens; the proper duty of the vaisya

community is agriculture, trade and protection of the cows; and the proper duty of the sudras is service to the higher classes, namely the brahmanas, ksatriyas, and vaisyas. We belong to the

vaisya

community, and our proper duty is to farm, or to trade with the agricultural produce, to protect cows, or take to banking. "

Krsna identified Himself with the vaisya

community because Nanda Maharaja was protecting many cows, and Krsna

was taking care of them. He enumerated four kinds of business

engagements for the vaisya community, namely agriculture, trade, protection of cows and banking. Although the vaisyas can take to any of these occupations, the men of Vrndavana were engaged primarily in the protection of cows.

 

Krsna 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

Vrndavana. Our specific relationship is with Govardhana Hill and

Vrndavana forest and nothing more. I therefore request you, My dear

father, to begin a sacrifice which will satisfy the local brahmanas and Govardhana Hill, and let us have nothing to do with Indra. "

After hearing this statement by Krsna, Nanda Maharaja replied, " My dear

boy, since You are asking, I shall arrange for a separate sacrifice for

the local brahmanas and Govardhana Hill. But for the present let me execute this sacrifice known as Indra-yajna. "

But Krsna replied, " My dear father, don't delay. The sacrifice you propose for Govardhana and the local brahmanas

will take much time. Better take the arrangement and paraphernalia you

have already made for sacrificing Indra-yajna and immediately engage it

to satisfy Govardhana Hill and the local brahmanas. "

Maharaja Nanda finally relented. The cowherd men then inquired from Krsna how He wanted the yajna

performed, and Krsna gave them the following directions. " Prepare very

nice foodstuffs of all descriptions from the grains and ghee collected

for the yajna. Prepare rice, dhal, then halava, pakora, puri and all kinds of milk preparations like sweet rice, sweetballs, sandesa, rasagulla and laddu and invite the learned brahmanas

who can chant the Vedic hymns and offer oblations to the fire. The brahmanas

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 brahmanas. As far as the lower animals are concerned, such as the dogs, and the lower grades of people, such as the candalas, or the fifth class of men who are considered untouchable, they also may be given sumptuous prasadam. After giving nice grasses to the cows, the sacrifice known as Govardhana-puja may immediately begin. This sacrifice will very much satisfy Me. "

In this statement, Lord Krsna practically described the whole economy of the vaisya

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 vaisya 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 candalas

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 Krsna consciousness is there, then everyone's total

benefit is taken care of. The sacrifice known as Govardhana-puja

is observed in the Krsna consciousness movement. Lord Caitanya has

recommended that since Krsna is worshipable, so His land, Vrndavana and

Govardhana Hill, are also worshipable. To confirm this statement, Lord

Krsna said that Govardhana Puja is as good as worship of Him. From that

day, the Govardhana Puja has been still going on and is known as Annakuta.

In all the temples of Vrndavana or outside of Vrndavana, 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 prasadam offered

to Krsna 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, Krsna,

therefore advised the cowherd men to stop the Indra-yajna and begin the

Govardhana Puja 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 Maharaja accepted Krsna's proposal

and executed in detail everything He advised. They performed Govardhana

worship and circumambulation of the hill. (Following the inauguration

of Govardhana Puja, people in Vrndavana 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

Krsna, Nanda Maharaja and the cowherd men called in learned brahmanas and began to worship Govardhana Hill by chanting Vedic hymns and offering prasadam.

The inhabitants of Vrndavana assembled together, decorated their cows

and gave them grass. Keeping the cows in front, they began to

circumambulate Govardhana Hill. The gopis also dressed

themselves very luxuriantly and sat in bull-driven carts, chanting the

glories of Krsna's pastimes. Assembled there to act as priests for

Govardhana Puja, the brahmanas offered their blessings to the cowherd men and their wives, the gopis.

When everything was complete, Krsna assumed a great transcendental form

and declared to the inhabitants of Vrndavana that He was Himself

Govardhana Hill in order to convince the devotees that Govardhana Hill

and Krsna Himself are identical. Then Krsna began to eat all the food

offered there. The identity of Krsna and Govardhana Hill is still

honored, and great devotees take rocks from Govardhana Hill and worship

them exactly as they worship the Deity of Krsna 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 Krsna who began to eat the offerings was

separately constituted, and Krsna Himself along with other inhabitants

of Vrndavana began to offer obeisances to the Deity as well as

Govardhana Hill. In offering obeisances to the huge form of Krsna

Himself and Govardhana Hill, Krsna declared, " Just see how Govardhana

Hill has assumed this huge form and is favoring us by accepting all the

offerings. " Krsna also declared at that meeting, " One who neglects the

worship of Govardhana Puja, 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 Puja will be bitten by

these snakes and killed. In order to assure the good fortune of the

cows and themselves, all people of Vrndavana near Govardhana must

worship the hill, as prescribed by Me. "

Thus performing the Govardhana Puja sacrifice, all the inhabitants of

Vrndavana followed the instructions of Krsna, the son of Vasudeva, and

afterwards they returned to their respective homes.

 

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Twenty-fourth Chapter of Krsna, " Worshiping Govardhana Hill. "

 

 

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