The Secrets of Govardhana Hill

[Submitted by Jadurani Dasi]

There is a beautiful twelve-foot boulder in New Braj, Badger, California, at the home of Sripad Nanda Gopala dasa Adhikari and his family. Four years ago, in the summer of 1998, during his third world touring in America, Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja visited that home and performed a very unique ceremony. In front of over three hundred devotees, with the utterance of ancient Vedic mantras, and with all the paraphernalia and liquid substances for the bathing of a Deity, Srila Maharaja performed the prana-pratistha installation ceremony of Giriraja Govardhana. At that time, by the invocation of the acarya, Giriraja descended from Goloka Vrndavana, and manifested in New Braj with all his power and mercy.

This year, on May 7, 2001, on the disappearance day of Srila Madhavendra Puri, Srila Maharaja and five hundred devotees performed the 5,000 year-old Govardhana Annakuta Festival, a mini replica of the same festival performed by Krsna and His cowherdsmen and gopis. Over five hundred preparations were offered, ten Govardhana silas were bathed in pancamrta, Vedic mantras and prayers were sung, and kirtana and arati were performed for the pleasure of Giriraja.

That evening Srila Maharaja gave a class on the glories of Govardhana, and the following is a transcription of that class:



Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja

The Glories of Giriraja Govardhana

From the beginning of our Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya line, all our acaryas have given proper respect to Giriraja Govardhana. All devotees have so much respect for Govardhana. So many Govardhana silas have somehow come to them, and they are worshiping those silas. What is the truth as to why our Sampradaya has accepted Giriraja Govardhana? We should know his tattva - Govardhana-tattva. We should know who he is. We should know what process to follow in worshipping him, what should be our goal in this worship, and what we should ask for in our prayers to him.

Syamarani should speak something in answer to these questions.

Syamarani: We follow our disciplic line in order to know how to worship any Deity. We learn from Sri Sanatana Gosvami in his Brhad-Bhagavatamrta how to worship Giri Govardhana. He tells us that Giri Govardhana is addressed by the gopis as Hari-dasa-varya, the best of the servants of Hari, and that we are followers of the gopis. Govardhana can be worshiped as Hari, and he can also be worshiped as Hari-dasa. However, Hari, Krsna, cannot give krsna-prema in the same way as those who possess it. Those who have krsna-prema can easily give it. The servants of Krsna have krsna-prema, and our prayojana, our goal, is only that krsna-prema. Our goal is not Krsna. Kamsa's goal was Krsna, but he was a demon and had no bhakti. Our goal, therefore, is not Krsna, but krsna-prema. We can get krsna-prema from those who are devotees. If we worship Giri Govardhana as a devotee, then he can give us krsna-prema in that form. Sri Sanatana Gosvami therefore prays to Hari-dasa-varya Giri Govardhana, who is worshiped as a devotee by the gopis. The Vedas also worship him as the best devotee, as the tilaka marking of Vraja, and all of our authorities confirm this.

Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami is also our authority.

He tells us that Srimati Radhika Herself personally gave Giriraja Govardhana the name Hari-dasa-varya. Hari-dasa means servant of Krsna. Maharaja Yudhisthira is a servant of Krsna, so much so that Narada Muni went to his palace, not to see Krsna, but to see him and to glorify him. An even greater devotee is Uddhava, and he is known as Hari-dasa-vara. He is a very great devotee. Krsna wanted to share his sufferings of separation from the gopis with Uddhava. He trusted Uddhava to go to Vraja to console his parents and gopis, and therefore Uddhava is even more intimate than Maharaja Yudhisthira,. Yudhisthira Maharaja was never sent to Vraja. Uddhava is a great devotee, but Hari-dasa-varya, the very, very topmost devotee of Krsna, is Giri Govardhana. He serves in the most intimate ways.

pramoda-madana-lilah kandare kandare te
racayati nava-yunor dvandvan asminn-amandam
iti kila kalanartham lagna kastad dvayor me
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam

Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami is praying, "O Govardhana, in your caves and kunjas, throughout the twenty-four hours of the day, you are not only witnessing but facilitating the most confidential pastimes of Radha and Krsna and their associates. I therefore beg you to please give me residence near you so that I can also witness and serve their pastimes." It is in this way that we follow our authorities. Srila Visvanatha Cakavarti Thakura, in his prayers to Govardhana, has a similar message. He is praying for the service of Govardhana and for the service of Radha and Krsna through the mercy of Govardhana. "You facilitated and witnessed the Dana-keli pastimes of Radha and Krsna's love quarrel involving the payment of taxes. I want to witness this delightful quarrel." In this way we follow our authorities, our guru-parampara, to know how to worship Govardhana as Hari-dasa-varya. In addition, we understand that Giriraja Govardhana is the fractional manifestation of the heart of Srimati Radhika. In all existence, the supreme absolute truth is Radha-Krsna. Radhika is the complete svarupa-sakti, the complete facilitator of Krsna's pleasure. She expands in order to give Krsna pleasure in different ways. She expands as Yogamaya, as Mother Yasoda, as the gopis, as the queens, as the Laksmis, and in so many other ways. In Her beautiful madhurya love, She even expands as the Dhama and Baladeva, and as Giri Govardhana. Ultimately, therefore, even greater than Hari-dasa-varya, Govardhana is a sakhi. Only the sakhis, the gopis, can witness the most confidential pastimes of Radha and Krsna in the kunjas and caves. Even the most intimate sakhas, like Subala and Arjuna, cannot witness these pastimes.

Why is Govardhana in the form of stone? Being stunned is one of the symptoms of asta-sattvika bhava, the eight-fold ecstatic symptoms of love. Giriraja Govardhana is so stunned in seeing these beautiful pastimes, which he himself has facilitated by becoming the caves and kunjas, that he is now like stone. In this way he can witness the pastimes of Radha and Krsna, and at the same time Radhika and Krsna don't feel encumbered or embarrassed by anyone else seeing them. After all, he appears only as stone. In this way, Giriraja Govardhana can be worshiped in more and more intimate ways, for more and more advancement in Krsna Consciousness.

Srila Narayana Maharaja: In what way did Caitanya Mahaprabhu want to worship Giriraja?

Sripad Aranya Maharaja: When Caitanya Mahaprabhu was staying in Jagannatha Puri, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was also there under the guidance and protection of Sri Svarupa Damodara and others. One devotee, Sri Sankararanya Sarasvati, returned from Vraja, bringing a Govardhana-sila and gunja-mala, which He gave to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Every day Caitanya Mahaprabhu would chant harinama, holding the Govardhana-sila to His heart, sometimes on His eyes, sometimes on the top of His head, and sometimes He was smelling that sila. That sila was never dry because it was always moistened by His tears.

After worshiping this Govardhana sila for some time, Mahaprabhu called Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and said, "O Raghunatha, I want to give you something." He gave him Govardhana sila and told him, "This Govardhana sila is Krsna kalevara. It is the very body of Krsna Himself. You should worship him every day, doing puja in the mode of goodness and in a simple fashion. You should keep him on a wooden platform and, taking a jug of water, you should offer eight very soft and fragrant tulasi manjaris with two leaves on either side. You should do abhiseka of Giriraja and offer the eight tulasi manjaris."

Raghunatha dasa then began to worship Giriraja in this way. After some time Caitanya Mahaprabhu told him to offer some ghaja, sweets, every day. He said, "When you offer these sweets to Govardhana, they will become more than nectar." Thus, under the guidance of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Svarupa Damodara, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami worshiped Giriraja Govardhana, and he expressed his own realizations. He was thinking, "By giving me this Govardhana sila, Caitanya Mahaprabhu is giving me a transcendental home. And, by giving me this gunja mala, this garland of small berries, He is placing me in the service of the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani." Even though Caitanya Mahaprabhu had said that Govardhana sila is Krsna kalevara, still, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami considered, "O Govardhana, you are Hari-dasa-varya."

giri nrpa! haridasa sreni varyeti nama
mrtam idam uditam sri radhika vaktra candrat
vraja nava tilakatve klrpta! Vedaih sphutam me
nija nikata nivasam dehi govardhana! tvam

"Your name is Hari-dasa-varya, the best of the servants of Hari. Where did this name come from? It came directly from the lips of Srimati Radharani." Also, in his Manah Siksa, Ragunatha dasa is praying:

visakham siksali vitarana gurutve priya saro
girindrau tat preksa lalita rati datve smara manah

"O my dear mind, don't forget this. Always worship Giriraja Govardhana. Why? Because Giriraja is that personality by whose mercy one can have the darsana of the pastimes of Radha and Krsna and attain the jewel of rati, deep attachment for Their lotus feet."

From the evidence of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and from the evidence of Ragunatha dasa Gosvami's own writings, we see that there is some provision to worship Giriraja Govardhana as Krsna Himself. There is no doubt about this. In Srimad Bhagavatam also, when all the Vrajavasis performed the annakuta mahotsava, Govardhana assumed a very large form, like Krsna, and accepted everything as the Supreme Lord. This is very good, but we see many great Vaisnavas in our line worshiping Govardhana as Hari-dasa-varya, the servant of Hari, not as Hari Himself. There is also evidence for this.

How can we reconcile these two approaches? It is very easy. Srila Gurudeva has given a simple example. We know Baladeva. Who is Baladeva? He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is Visnu-tattva, the almighty Supreme Lord, non-different from Krsna. Yet, at the same time, Baladeva is dasa. He is the servant of Krsna. At the same time, all those who go very deeply will know that Baladeva has become Ananga Manjari in order to serve the lotus feet of Krsna in madurya rasa.

In the same way, anyone may see Giriraja Govardhana as the supreme Lord Hari Himself. Anyone who goes deeper may see him as Hari-dasa-varya, the best servant of Hari. And, those who go very deep will think that Giriraja Govardhana is like a sakhi of Srimati Radhika, having female form in which to serve.

pramoda-madana-lilah kandare kandare te
racayati nava-yunor dvandvan asminn-amandam

"In the caves and kunjas of Govardhana, Giriraja is seeing all of the sweetest pastimes of Radha and Krsna. Who can see them? Can any male person be there and serve at that time? It is quite impossible. Srila Gurudeva gave an example that in our Guru-gayatri we see the word krsnanandaya. Guru is giving pleasure to Krsna and Krsnaa [Krsna with a long 'a'], Srimati Radharani. Therefore, if gurudeva is krsnanandaya, giving pleasure to both Radha and Krsna, how can he have a male form in that realm? Surely this mantra is for remembering and praying for the mercy of guru in his sakhi form, as a maidservant of Srimati Radharani. In the same way, the various conceptions of Giriraja Govardhana can be reconciled.

There are two types of mercy. One type of mercy is called bhagavat prasadaja-krpa, the mercy which comes from Bhagavan Himself. Another kind of mercy is bhakta prasadaja krpa, the mercy which comes from the devotees. Krsna is visaya-vigraha, the object of love and affection, and the devotees who love Him are the asraya-vigraha, the abode of love. Srimati Radharani's love is so high that Krsna Himself cannot understand it. He had to come into this world as Caitanya Mahaprabhu to have some idea of what kind of love is in the heart of Srimati Radharani.

We find in the Bhavisya Purana a verse which states: manasah prakrite jato giri govardhano mohana. From where has Govardhana Giriraja come? Was he brought to Vraja Mandala by Hanuman? This story is there in the Puranas and it is true. Or, was he brought to Vraja Mandala by Pulastya Rsi? This story is also there. However, our acaryas have especially presented this commentary: manasah prakrite jato giri govardhano mohana. Giriraja Govardhana has manifested directly from the heart of Srimati Radhika in order to facilitate Radha and Krsna's highest and sweetest pastimes.

Rupa Gosvami has written:

vaikunthaj janito vara madhu puri tatrapi rasotsavad
vrndaranyam udara pani ramanat tatrapi govardhanah
radhakundam ihapi gokula pateh premamrtaplavanat
kuryad asya virajato giri tate sevam viveki na kah

"Mathura is higher than Vaikuntha, and higher than Mathura is Vrndavana. Higher than Vrndavana is Govardhana, and the highest place of all these is also at Govardhana - Radha Kunda." Giriraja is serving and providing the playground and facilitating the most wonderful and beautiful pastimes of Radha and Krsna. Therefore, he is very dear to Them.

If we can pray for the mercy of Giriraja by following the prayers and moods of our acaryas, especially Rupa Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, then Giriraja, being so kind, can bestow upon us the darsana of the highest and most wonderful pastimes. He can also give the chance to serve the lotus feet of Srimati Radhika in those pastimes.

Srila Narayana Maharaja: We have heard that Giriraja is the highest hari-dasa-varya. What does this mean? It means that he is the highest servant of Radha and Krsna.

What must be the quality of Hari-dasa? If Hari-dasa is a servant, a devotee, he must have some qualities. In what way does he serve, and how can we follow him? Raghunatha dasa Gosvami has written:

sthala jala tala saspair bhuruhacchayaya ca
prati padam anukalam hanta samvardhayan gah
tri-jagati nija-gotram sarthakam khyapayan me
nija nikata nivasam dehi govardhana! tvam

Giriraja gives everything and sustains Krsna in all ways. Sri caitanya mano'bhistam sthapitam yena bhutale / svayam rupah kada mahyam dadati sva padantikam. A guru-sevaka, servant of guru, must know all the moods of his gurudeva. If he does not know his moods, how can he serve him? He can never serve. If gurudeva is telling his servant, "I am very thirsty", and the servant fans him, he is doing the opposite of his guru's desire and he is really not a servant. We should know the wish and heart of our gurudeva, and then we can serve him. If a disciple does not possess this quality, then he is really not a sevaka. He may be a sevaka, but not first class or even second class. He may be a third class bogus sevaka.

A disciple may create many problems for his gurudeva, as did Ramacandra Puri. He was the disciple of Madhavendra Puri, but he was always making problems for him. Madhavendra Puri therefore told him, "I don't want to see your face for the duration of my life. You are bogus, and you should go away from here." On the other hand, Isvara Puripada knew the heart of Madhavendra Puripada. He was always fulfilling his desires. He was a real disciple and sevaka. In return, Madhavendra Puripada manifested everything he had - all his devotion - in the heart of Isvara Puripada.

If the disciple knows the heart of his gurudeva and he is not serving in that capacity, then he should decide for himself at what stage he is in his devotional life. Will gurudeva give his full mercy and his whole mood to that disciple? No, the disciple is not qualified to receive that. What kind of problems will a disciple make for his gurudeva? If the disciple is always running after sense gratification and not totally obeying him, he is not a real disciple, and he will naturally create problems.

Contrary to this, Govardhana is serving fully. In what way is he serving? He knows all the desires of Krsna and He understands how to fulfill His desires. Srimati Lalita suggested to Srimati Radhika, "If you want to please Krsna, then you have to serve that person whom Krsna likes the most." Srimati Radhika Herself is the most dear to Krsna, and if you are serving Her, then Krsna will automatically be pleased. If, on the other hand, you are quarrelling with Radhika, what will happen?

Similarly, if gurudeva has so much love and affection for someone, then, to please him, we should try to serve that person. This is the easiest process to please him. If you are always quarrelling, then after some time you will go away. Govardhana is always serving the most beloved of Krsna - Srimati Radhika - in so many ways. Not only that, but he has so much honor for those who are related with Krsna in any way.

Govardhana knows that the cows are very dear to Krsna. Krsna Himself, without shoes or an umbrella, without any protection, follows the cows and gives them water. He never uses a stick to beat the cows; His stick is for demons, not for cows and calves. He will never beat them. Krsna personally pours water on their lotus feet and washes them. Govardhana knows all these facts, and therefore his lake known as Kusuma Sarovara supplies very sweet water for the cows.

Green grasses are everywhere on Govardhana. The grasses are not only green, but very tasteful, sweet, and soft. Krsna goes searching for these grasses near Govardhana, near Manasi Ganga, and on the top of Govardhana.

What does Govardhana provide for Krsna's companions, the cowherd boys? He provides fruits everywhere: mangos, jackfruits, oranges, grapes, and so many other varieties. To decorate their bodies, Govardhana supplies an abundance of colors in the form of minerals. If you go to Govardhana near Dan Ghati and do abhisekha, you can see this. There are some hidden Govarhana silas there, and if you simply rub them with your hand, some color may come on your hand. These colors are used for decorating Krsna, His cowherd boys, the cows, and also for the gopis. For the gopis there are also so many groves, so many kunjas, so many caves, and also so many kinds of juices to drink. There are deer with their very fragrant kasturi, musk, and all the Govardhana silas have this fragrance naturally. If you go to Giriraja Govardhana, you will see that his fragrance is just like that of kasturi from a deer.

In this way, Giriraja serves all the friends, all the cows, and all the Vrajavasis. He provides them fruits and vegetables, fragrance, and colors for decorating themselves. Sthala jala tala saspair bhuruhacchayaya ca.

The word Govardhana means that by Govardhana's service to the cows, they are increasing in number. The cows do not only give forty litres of milk. They give unlimited milk and they can fulfill all your wishes. They all do more than any kama denu, wish-fulfilling cow. In this way, Govardhana serves everyone, from top to bottom.

In Vraja, everyone was worshiping Indra. One day, Yasodamaiya was very busy cooking many preparations and, in each and every gopi's house, all were also busy. Krsna went to His mother and said, "Mother, I am very hungry. Perhaps you are preparing all these things for Me?" Mother Yasoda became annoyed and chastised Him, "Oh, go away from here. Go to your father! Don't stay here, naughty boy."

Krsna became upset and, like a sad boy, He went to the lap of His father. Weeping He said, "Father, what is mother doing? She is not in a good mood." Nanda Baba told Him, "Everyone is preparing to worship Indra."

As though not knowing anything, Krsna innocently asked, "Baba, who is Indra and why do we worship him? We should worship someone who can give us many things. So why are we worshiping him?"

Nanda Baba answered, "Indra can give rain, and by rain all kinds of grains are produced. Grasses and sweet water also come, and without this we cannot maintain our lives. It is for this reason that each year we worship Indra on this day. Tomorrow we will all go with many preparations, on lakhs and lakhs of bullock carts, to the middle of Giriraja Govardhana to worship Indra."

Krsna said, "Baba, I think that even in that place where there is no Indra puja, whether there is rain or no rain, still everyone is maintaining their lives. Is that not true?" Nanda Baba replied, "I don't know. Why do You want to know all these things?" Krsna replied, "I think that it will be better to worship Giriraja Govardhana. We maintain our lives by his mercy. Our lives depend on these cows, and Govardhana gives so much good, soft grass, very pure water, and everything else needed to support us. So why should we not try to do puja to Giriraja Govardhana?"

Nanda Baba did not have any logical answer, and by logic Krsna convinced him and he agreed, "Oh, tomorrow we will all worship Giriraja Govardhana."

The next day thousands and thousands of carts were brought and loaded with all the preparations collected from all the 84 krosas of Vraja. Everyone came and assembled at Giriraja Govardhana, in the middle of where the present-day Govardhana town is located, and they were worshiping Giriraja Govardhana as we do today. What we are doing is a very, very, very mini-worship of Giriraja Govardhana, but still it is exactly like what the Vrajavasis did. All the thousands and millions of cows of the whole of Govardhana were there, and they were worshiped by everyone.

After that the Vrajavasis performed full worship of guru, Vaisnavas, and the brahmanas, and then they offered all the preparations. Krsna exclaimed, "O Baba, O Vrajavasis! My friends! O, look at that! Giriraja Govardhana has assumed a huge shape, and with so many long, long arms, he is eating everything from here, from there, from very far away, from everywhere, and still he is not satisfied." His belly was so big, and he was telling them, "Bring more! Bring more! Anore! Anore! Bring more, more, more, more! I want more!"

All the Vrajavasis became puzzled and said, "Oh, what shall we do?" Krsna folded His two hands and prayed to His four-handed form as Govardhana, "O Prabhu, Your belly is so big. We cannot offer anything more. What we have got may fill only one pore of Your body. How can we satisfy You? We cannot satisfy You." Govardhana then took the water from Manasi Ganga, from Kusuma Sarovara, Govinda Kunda, and all the water entered His mouth. Krsna asked him, "We have brought you prasadam, but you have taken everything. So what should we do?" At once they saw that all the preparations were returned to their places, and Krsna told the Vrajavasis, "We have worshiped Indra, but we have not seen him, nor have we seen how he is accepting our offerings, how he is satisfied, and how is giving any boon. On the other hand, we are seeing that Giriraja Govardhana himself is here, and we see that he is now satisfied. He is telling us that he is prepared to give us whatever boon we want."

If anyone is going to Giriraja Govardhana and doing parikrama, Govardhana will give him anything he wants. He can fulfill all desires. Those who have worldly desires bind the branch of a tree with some cloth and pray, "I want to marry a very beautiful girl," or, "I want a very handsome husband." Govardhana will quickly answer this prayer. If you want a house with many storeys, even 130 or 160 storeys, you should pile up some bricks and stones that you find there, one on top of another. However high you make it, Giriraja Govardhana will easily give this to you. However, devotees do not ask for anything and only perform kirtana, singing, "Govardhana jaya Giridhari, Giridhari jaya Govardhana, Giridhari jaya Govardhana" and "Radhe jaya jaya Madhava dayite", Govardhana will be very happy. For such persons Govardhana can give his heart. What is his heart? His heart is the love and affection of Krsna. He will give his heart very carefully, however. He will never give it to lusty persons who engage in sense gratification.

Nowadays this has become very cheap. I don't want to make this subject cheap. This is the most confidential treasure which must be kept only in our hearts. So many times I have told my devotees, my sannyasis, brahmacaris, and preachers, "Be very careful about this. This is not a thing to be given in the fish market or airport or any other such place. Keep it secret." If a woman has love for someone other than her husband, will she tell this fact to her father, mother, husband, or any friend? Try to conceal this, as Mahaprabhu has advised. Otherwise, we will lose what we are getting and lust will come in its place. This is what is going on at the present time.

Now I see that the Iskcon devotees have translated Govinda Lilamrta, Krsna Bhavanamrta, and books that are still more confidential than these. They have translated so many books and they are reading them. It is a very strange phenomenon, and now the same thing is going on here. I want to warn you. Be like Govardhana who concealed everything. He became a stone, and that is why Radha and Krsna and all the gopis have no shame at all in front of him. They have no shame in front of his mountains, hills, and rivers. These entities have life, but they will not disclose anything to others. If you are naked in front of a mirror, is there any harm or any shame? No. This is because a mirror has no life. Similarly, Giriraja becomes like this mirror. He never tells what he has seen of the confidential pastimes of Radha and Krsna to anyone. I therefore request my devotees that they should not broadcast all these high-class subjects. If they are fortunate to hear something, they should keep that in their hearts.

Be like Sri Raya Ramananda, Sri Svarupa Damodara, Srimati Madhavi devi and others. Even Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami were not at the Gambhira. We, on the other hand, have made these topics very, very cheap. We distribute them everywhere in the market. I don't want this. By doing this you will become very lusty. At this stage, don't read all these confidential books. Rather, you should try to follow vaidhi-bhakti and read Caitanya Caritamrta. Read all the prescribed books, especially those of Rupa Gosvami and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, like Upadesamrta and Manah Siksa. You can also read the books of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Srila Prabhupada was very much against revealing all these topics in public. He knew all these subjects, and he knew that these are the best of subjects, but for beginners they are to be hidden.

While the Vrajavasis were performing the worship of Giriraja Govardhana, Govardhana, in a four-handed form, took all their offerings. After that, when the offerings were finished, all the cooks, Krsna Himself, Mother Yasoda, Nanda Baba, Vrsabhanu Maharaja, Kirtika Maiya, and all others began to do parikrama of Giriraja. Those who were not strong enough to go by foot went by bullock-cart. For the children there were malpua and so many things to eat before doing parikrama.

We have to follow some rules and regulations. Especially in our Indian Vaisnava culture, we should try to giveproper honor to aged persons, qualified persons, and the guru-varga. Do you understand? Here in the West I have not seen anything like that. Nowadays, during a class of hari-katha, even very young persons will sit on a chair in front of their guardians, their guru, and old persons, who are all sitting behind them on the floor. It is not proper etiquette that young men or ladies sit on chairs in front of their guardians or their guru-varga. They should give proper respect to senior Vaisnavas and should offer the chair to them, properly and with honor.

Krsna gives so much honor to Baladeva and others, and Srimati Radhika also gives proper respect to Her guru-jana, elders. Once, when Krsna wanted to meet Srimati Radhika, a dhuti, messenger, came and told Her, "Krsna is waiting for You. You should come." In the meantime, Dhanistha or any other sakhi came to Radhika saying, "Mother Yasoda is calling You for cooking." Both dhutis came at the same time, and Srimati Radhika was thinking, "What to do? Should I go to meet Krsna or should I go to Mother Yasoda to cook?" At once She decided, "I must first serve Mother Yasoda." She did not go to meet Krsna.

If you are giving proper respect to seniors, bhakti may come. If you are not giving respect to them and instead you are placing yourself on a high simhasanam, how will you get bhakti? At the time of taking prasadam, you should be somewhat humble and make a line, allowing superiors to he at the head. We should satisfy them first, and then we should take prasadam. We should follow the behavior of our guru-varga. When Sanatana Gosvami is approaching, Rupa Gosvami says, "Oh, my Gurudeva has come." And he serves him. What is Sanatana Gosvami saying in turn? "Although he is my younger brother, still he is my Gurudeva because he serves Srimati Radhika more than I do." They are giving each other proper respect. If you want to have pure bhakti, you should follow the way in which Giriraja Govardhana serves, from top to bottom, those who are very dear to Krsna. According to their 'dearness' to Krsna, he serves all Vrajavasis, and you should serve everyone in the same way.

krsneti yasya giri tam manasadriyeta
diksasti cet pranatibhis ca bhajantam isam
susrusaya bhajana vijnam ananyam anya
nindadi sunya hrdam ipsita sanga labdhya

We should know that all those who are chanting are our family members, and we should give them respect by our mind. Why only by mind? Someone may not have been initiated, but he is chanting the holy name, he never associates with Mayavadis and he stays very far away from them, he himself is not lusty, and he is not the friend of any lusty persons. If one has these qualities, we should give him proper respect by mind, but not by doing pranama. Why? This is because he cannot digest such honor. Rather, he will think, "I am more advanced than this person. I am more qualified." He will not understand the humility of the madhyama-adhikari. Those who have taken diksa in the real sense have received divya jnanam, a very strong transcendental relation with Krsna, and all kinds of anarthas have left them. If anyone is such a diksit Vaisnava, we should offer him pranama by both body and mind. Moreover, if there is someone who never criticizes anyone, who is chanting and remembering throughout the day and night, uninterrupted throughout the twenty-four hours, then we should be his servant in all respects. By serving him, you will associate with that high class of devotee:

krsna-bhakti rasa bhavita matih
kriyatam yadi kuto 'pi labhyate
tatra laulyam api mulyam ekalam
janma-koti-sukrtair na labhyate

["Pure devotional service in Krsna consciousness cannot be had even by pious activity in hundreds and thousands of lives. It can be attained only by paying one price - that is, intense greed to obtain it. If it is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay."] This is Krsna Consciousness. If you find someone whose heart is saturated with love and affection, like that of any of the Vrajavasis or gopis, who possesses the highest type of prema, surrender yourself to that devotee. Fully become his servant. Try to follow him and try to realize his heart. Then your heart will also become saturated with love and affection for Krsna. This is Krsna Consciousness.

Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, my siksa-guru and your Prabhupada, has also said the same thing. He has given this verse as the definition of Krsna consciousness. Who is really Krsna Conscious? A truly transcendental Krsna conscious devotee can never fall away. We should honor all devotees as Giriraja Govardhana has done. We should follow his example. He is serving the cowherd boys, cows, calves, gopas, gopis, and everyone else related to Krsna. If you want bhakti, try to respect anyone who is related to Krsna, or to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami, Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, my Gurudeva Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, and my siksa-guru Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja.

Don't jump over anyone. Otherwise, eagles are there in the sky, waiting to catch you. I know so many devotees who want to jump in the sky to have this rasa. You should be very careful. Don't jump. Otherwise, lust will come and you will be nowhere. Try to follow vaidhi-bhakti from the beginning, and thus control your activities. I pray to Govardhana that he may be merciful to all of you. For those who have taken part in the arcana of Giriraja Govardhana Annakuta in any way, by preparing, by collecting any ingredient, or by doing kirtana, I pray that Giriraja Govardhana will sprinkle his mercy so that you will become good devotees.

Gaura premanande!


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