SB 10.21.18

Host: We feel very fortunate to organize various Krishna conscious activities over here, especially in the presence of His Holiness Giriraj Swami Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: So, I will read one verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Twenty-one, “The Gopīs Glorified Krishna’s Flute,” Text Eighteen.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 18

hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa-varyo
yad rāma-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa-sparaśa-pramodaḥ
mānaṁ tanoti saha-go-gaṇayos tayor yat
pānīya-sūyavasa-kandara-kandamūlaiḥ

TRANSLATION

Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O my friends, this hill supplies Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, along with Their calves, cows and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities — water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respects to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This translation is quoted from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 18.34).

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains the opulence of Govardhana Hill as follows: Pānīya refers to the fragrant, cool water from the Govardhana waterfalls, which Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma drink and use to wash Their feet and mouths. Govardhana also offers other beverages, such as honey, mango juice and pīlu juice. Sūyavasa indicates dūrvā grass, used to make the religious offering of arghya. Govardhana also has grass that is fragrant, soft and conducive to the strong growth of cows and increased production of milk. Thus this grass is used for feeding the transcendental herds. Kandara refers to the caves where Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and Their friends play, sit and lie down. These caves give pleasure when the weather is too hot or too cold, or when it is raining. Govardhana also features soft roots for eating, jewels for ornamenting the body, flat places for sitting, and lamps and mirrors in the form of smooth stones, glistening water and other natural substances.

[Break in audio 00:20:00]

Giriraj Swami: The gopīs were at home discussing among themselves. Because of transcendental vision and deep attachment to Krishna, they would speak as if they were [Unintelligible 00:22:15]. In this verse, the gopīs experience great joy. Hantāyam is an expression of joy. [Unintelligible 00:23:00] Although the gopīs were far from Govardhana Hill, they felt as if they were nearby so they say [Unintelligible 00:23:32]

Sometimes the question is raised: How could the whole of Vraja fit under Govardhana Hill when Govardhana Hill is only part of Vraja? The acharyas have answered that Govardhana Hill felt so much ecstasy in being lifted by Krishna that he expanded in size. Did you know that Govardhana Hill felt so much ecstasy?

[Unintelligible 00:29:00]

Govardhana Hill knew the secret of how to please the Lord, by pleasing His most beloved associates. Govardhana Hill gave his body and everything else for the service of not only the Lord personally but of the Lord’s servants as well. How did Govardhana show his joy? His tall grasses were his bodily hairs standing up in ecstasy. The water trickling through his stones was his ecstatic perspiration, and his gushing waterfalls were his tears of love. Although Krishna once revealed that He Himself is Govardhana Hill, here we see the gopīs appreciating Govardhana as the best of Krishna’s servants. So, they were appreciating Govardhana as the best of Krishna’s servants, not as Krishna Himself; why? The gopīs are in the mood of separation. They want to meet and serve Krishna. So the gopīs are thinking, one can fulfill one’s desires only by the mercy of great souls. I will read that again: The gopīs are thinking, one can fulfill one’s desires only by the mercy of great souls. The great souls are the servants of Lord Hari, and Govardhana Hill is the best of them. So we should go to Govardhana and by his mercy, all our desires will be fulfilled. We will be able to meet and serve Krishna. Because the gopīs were under the protection of their elders and other relatives, they had no chance to meet Krishna. So they thought, we will tell our elders that we want to go to Manasi Ganga to bathe, and then take darshan of Hari deva.

Sri Hari deva, Krishna in the form of Lord Narayana, is the presiding deity of Govardhana Hill. But actually, the mercy one can get from Haridas, the Lord’s servant, is greater than the mercy one can get from Hari deva, the Lord. So on the pretext of going to Govardhana Hill to worship Hari deva, they went to get the mercy of Govardhana himself, the best of Hari’s servants, to be able to meet Krishna.

Now, devotees have asked which statement is correct. That Govardhana is Krishna’s devotee or that he is Krishna directly. Actually both are correct. During the Govardhana-puja Krishna expanded Himself into a huge form and declared, “I am Govardhana Hill.” So in fact, He is Govardhana Hill. But the gopīs worship Govardhana Hill as the best devotee of Krishna, Haridasa Savaria. So both ways of seeing are valid. But I think the mercy we can get from the devotee of Krishna is more than the mercy we can get from Krishna directly. By following the gopīs, we can benefit more. In a similar way, we see that Gaura, Krishna Chaitanya is also Krishna, but that as Krishna, He did not give prema, love of Godhead, as He did as Gaura. As Gaura Hari, He was more merciful because He was in the mood of Hari’s servant. If we aspire to serve Hari’s servant, we can get it benefit more than if we tried to serve Hari directly. Gaura Hari, Lord Chaitanya, aspire to be gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ, a servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Sri Krishna, the maintainer of the gopīs. And approaching Govardhana Hill, his ambition was fulfilled.

If we approach Govardhana Hill following in the line of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, we may also get the mercy to become a servant of the servant of the best of Lord Hari’s servants, and so we pray to Govardhana, “Please fulfill our desires.”

Sri Giri Govardhana ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

So discussing Govardhana Hill like this, following the gopīs, I also felt like I was there at Govardhana. And I felt I got some good instruction from the example of Govardhana Hill, how to be a good servant and give pleasure to the master. Both Srila Prabhupada and Lord Chaitanya, Sri Krishna, are pleased when we chant the holy names.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

So thank you very much for listening so patiently and attentively. It is late, so we might skip questions and comments.