Kṛṣṇa goes to Vṛndāvana, Mātavana, Bhāṇḍīravana, Gokula Mahāvana and the other forests of Vraja with the sakhās and calves. But He especially likes to go to Govardhana. Kṛṣṇa always respects and teaches the glories of Girirāja Govardhana. He did not instruct to simply serve Girirāja Govardhana and perform His parikramā and after never to respect or serve Him. Before, Kṛṣṇa thought, The Vrajavāsīs make large houses of stacked cow dung patties on Girirāja Govardhana.” Kṛṣṇa told the Vrajavāsīs, Dont think that Girirāja Govardhana is a place to stack your cow dung patties.” By Kṛṣṇas desire, Indra cleaned Girirāja Govardhana with a thunderstorm and Pavana-devatā, the demigod presiding over air, blew all the rubbish away. Then Govardhana shone beautifully. Kṛṣṇa said, Govardhana is worthy of great respect. He has many minerals. If you smear these minerals on your body, all unwanted desires will be cleansed from your heart and you will feel very well and satisfied. Girirāja Govardhana gives many fruits, roots and has many ponds and lakes. If you take Girirāja’s prasāda, then this increases your happiness. Girirāja is he who increases the bliss of the gopas, gopīs, and everyone in Gokula. This Girirāja Govardhana is never defeated by any demigods, and he is only present to serve everyone in Vraja-maṇḍala. If anyone takes shelter of him, worships him, offers him some bhoga, or takes some prasāda from him, like minerals, and uses this to decorate his body, then that person will always be free from unwanted desires and obstacles in his life.” Kṛṣṇa sits on top of Girirāja Govardhana and plays His flute. Kṛṣṇa is sitting very high. Girirāja Govardhana is seven kilometers high. This is each like one of the upper planets. Also underneath, there are seven planetary systems. Girirāja Govardhana collects all presentations for Kṛṣṇa service. The rule is to give an offering to ones nearest and dearest person. If you try to offer something directly to God there is no guarantee whether he will accept it or not. Girirāja Govardhana is Rādhārānīs very nearest and dearest and Kṛṣṇas very nearest and dearest. Rādhārānī praised Govardhana to all the gopīs, “He is the best of Hari’s servants. He is hari-dāsa-varya.” Hari-dāsa means the servant of Hari. This is common. There is no distinction given here whether Girirāja is masculine or feminine. Rādhārānī Herself accepts Girirāja as hari-dāsa-varya and Her words have the greatest significance. The sakhīs, mañjarīs and all Vrajavāsīs are present in the heart of Girirāja Govardhana. Kṛṣṇa is present now on the bank of Govardhana. He plays His flute and calls the cows. The cows come there and drink water from a pond, eat some grass and rest. Many birds come and wait for Kṛṣṇas prasādam. When Kṛṣṇa eats and any grains drop, that is the birds’ sustenance. Many other animals come as well and wait for prasāda. Girirāja Govardhana arranges for all of the Vrajavāsīs. The birds sing wonderful songs and the animals play. After seeing Kṛṣṇa, then spiritual strength, knowledge and bliss comes in their hearts. The devotees do not independently take anything. They only take Kṛṣṇa’s prasādam. Now, there are sādhakas who independently take whatever people present them with and thus their progress is blocked. Girirāja Govardhana never thinks like this. Any charity that comes to Girirāja, he uses everything for Kṛṣṇa’s service. At Dāna-ghāṭī, He takes everything and reserves it for the service of the Vrajavāsīs. When this mood comes in the sevā, one will be very close and dear to Śrī Guru. Girirāja Govardhana has strong mamatā. Outwardly he shows himself to be a stone. But his heart is very soft and sweet, and he is always absorbed in service. Rādhārānī and the sakhīs bathe in different areas by Govardhana, and their caranāmrtā comes on the body of Girirāja Govardhana. Then this becomes a mineral unguent. Kṛṣṇa uses these minerals on His forehead, chest and body and then His heart is cooled. There is not only one type of candana. Gopī-candana is directly present there. That place is called Caraṇa-silā. When Kṛṣṇa plays His veṇu flute, many clouds gather in the sky. It seems like so much rain is about to fall, that a big storm is approaching. The cows become restless. Kṛṣṇa is thinking about them, therefore they are restless. Where will millions of cows and sakhās go in a great storm? Then, like an umbrella, when you push the button, the umbrella spreads out and cover one from the rain, likewise, Girirāja Govardhana can also stand and shelter all the Vrajavāsīs from a storm. The sakhās and cows enter into caves and take shelter from the coming storm. The clouds thought they would do abhiṣeka of the Vrajavāsīs, the sakhās and cows, but now the cows and sakhās all hid in the caves of Govardhana and the clouds dispersed without raining, feeling, “Our lives are useless, they have not accepted our service. The sakhās came out and began to clap and said, O Kṛṣṇa, just see, the clouds are afraid of You and have run away.” “Should I call them back? Kṛṣṇa said. “Yes,” the sakhās said, “then we will play in the rain and it will be great fun.” Kṛṣṇa again played the flute and many clouds came from every side and began to rain down so much. Kṛṣṇa and the sakhās played outside with all the cows and calves. They all began to dance and bathe in the rain shower. Indra said, Before I made an offense, but now bathing Kṛṣṇa, my life is has become successful.” The sakhīs from inside the kuñja kuṭīras also came out in the open and bathed in the rain. The demigods became afraid, “What if Kṛṣṇa becomes angry and curses us? Before, Kṛṣṇa defeated us, but now He is bathing in the rain. Will He give us any punishment?” They were very scared like this and said, “Let the sun quickly come out and dry Kṛṣṇa and His friends.” Then the sun came out and shone down brightly and the sakhās dried their cloth, opening their turbans and drying them in a few minutes. Rādhārānī thought, They must be hungry now. The Vraja-devīs had many clay pots full of varied drinks. They brought this for Kṛṣṇa and the sakhās. The sakhās didnt have glasses and cups, so they just took the whole clay pot and drank everything. A short time later, Dhaniṣṭhā said to Rādhārānī, “Kṛṣṇa has been attacked on all sides by kandarpa and is on the verge of defeat. Please go and help Him. He has been shot by the arrows of kandarpa. Now, He is arrested in the forest and doesnt know what to do. If you go and help Him, then He may get new life. He has been defeated by this beautiful spring season, the gentle breeze, the peacocks, and all the soldiers of kandarpa. O my dear sakhī, if You dont go help Him, then we will all lose our Kṛṣṇa. He is now lamenting nearby Your kuṇḍa. If You go help Him, He will quickly get better. O beautiful one, please go and solve this calamity.” Hearing this message, Rādhārānī felt a great eagerness to meet with Kṛṣṇa. She said, O Dhaniṣṭhe, how can I explain the beauty of Kṛṣṇas form? Wearing a yellow colored dress, peacock feather and the kaustubha jewel, His body smeared with kuṁkum and gorocanā, His complexion like a fresh rain cloud, any lady who sees His form becomes restless at heart and cannot forget Him for a moment. He has very crooked eyes, and stands in a threefold bending posture. This is all very attractive. How can I go to see Him? If I do so, I will become maddened. Even seeing Him from a distance, I will fall senseless. Who will protect Me if I go to help Him from the onslaught of kandarpa? I want to go help Him, but I have no strength to do so. As Dhaniṣṭhā heard this, she saw the ecstatic symptoms of mahābhāva appear on Rādhārānīs body. Kuṇḍalatā came forward and said, Let us not wait here any longer. It is time to go worship the sun. Rādhārānī held the hand of Kuṇḍalatā and walked away to worship the sun, along with Dhaniṣṭhā, Tulasī, Lalitā, Viśākhā, and the sakhīs. As they walked, Rādhārānī became pleased, seeing many auspicious signs. With Her lotus eyes, Rādhārānī looked at the bumblebees and honeybees that were moving over the lotuses, drinking nectar. She glanced with restless eyes to see if Kṛṣṇa was coming along the pathway. Shortly after the gopīs reached Surya-kuṇḍa, Kṛṣṇa arrived with Madhumaṅgala, dressed as Brahmaṇa brahmacārīs. He said, We are priests who collect no fees for our services. We know all Vedic mantras and are expert at worshipping the sun. Would you have us orchestrate the pūjā today?” “We have been waiting for a good brāhmaṇa brahmacārī,” Lalitā said, “If a brahmacārī is the priest during the sun worship, our pūjā will be perfect.” Seeing this brāhmaṇa boy, the gopīs felt well at heart and wanted to follow His instructions. Rādhārānī said, “Lalite, I will not participate in the sun’s worship in the presence of these boys. I came to worship the sun, but since this youthful brāhmaṇa has come, My mind has become restless.” “Dont be restless,” Lalitā said, “we need a priest.” “But My mind is not going towards the pūjā. Now I am divided in My heart from Kṛṣṇa. This brāhmaṇa has stolen my heart.” Saying this, Rādhārānī turned around and left. Then, how would they perform sūrya-pūjā? The brāhmaṇa boy asked, What was my fault? What did I do wrong? Why is everyone leaving?” The other boy, Madhumaṅgala said, “I brought this brāhmaṇa boy, but without giving any dakṣiṇā or laddus, and before even doing the worship, you are all running away. You should at least compensate us for our time here by giving some laddus before leaving.” The sakhīs went and requested Rādhārānī to return, saying, “The brāhmaṇa boy is very quiet and peaceful. He doesnt speak or act inappropriately. He will return Your heart to You.” “By seeing His attractive face,” Rādhārānī said, “I cannot maintain My composure.” The gopīs returned and told the brāhmaṇa boy, “Your face is very attractive, please bind Your head with a turban, covering Your face. Otherwise, our dear sakhīs become very restless and will not participate in the pūjā.” Okay, no problem,” Madhumaṅgala said, “I have arranged something.” He took sandal paste and covered Kṛṣṇa’s face with it. Then he said, “Is it okay now?” But then Kṛṣṇa’s beauty shone out even more. Like if you try to cover fire with a metal, the fire’s glow comes out more strongly. Kṛṣṇas beauty cannot be covered with sandal. The rays of His beauty only shone more brightly.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 08:57:55 +0000
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