19871003 Sunday Feast Lecture on Dāmodara-līlā, Govardhana-pūjā

19871003 Sunday Feast Lecture: Dāmodara Month, Govardhana-pūjā (Happy Dīpāvalī), Returning of Lord Rāmacandra to Ayodhyā in New Orleans, USA.

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca
jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya govindāya namo namaḥ

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho dīna-bandho jagat-pate
gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta namo ’stu te

tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari
vṛṣabhānu-sute devi praṇamāmi hari-priye

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya naraṁ caiva narottamam
devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ tato jayam udīrayet

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavaṁ śrī-caitanya īśvaram
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: Happy Dīpāvalī. Happy Indian New Year. Today several festivals are being celebrated at a time. This is a Dīpāvalī observance a few days. There is also a Govardhana-pūjā. Also, this is the month of Dāmodara or the dāmodara-vrata. All of these are very sacred occasions, which can help us to advance in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, help us to achieve real happiness in life.

The month of Dāmodara is known because Lord Dāmodara or Lord Kṛṣṇa was bound by His mother by ropes around His waist when He was a small child, only two or three years old, in order to keep Him from getting in trouble. It is like mothers today put their children in a play pit so that they stay within one area. Otherwise, they may wander in the street or anywhere. So, Mother Yaśodā was afraid Kṛṣṇa would wander off somewhere. He was stealing butter and feeding it to the monkeys. So, she tied Kṛṣṇa around the waist to a stone mortar that they used for grinding pulses.

The… It is a great history how two residents of a heavenly planet had been cursed. There is one Hare Kṛṣṇa spiritual master who wanders about the universe like a transcendental spaceman, and he spreads this message of kṛṣṇa-bhakti all over the universe. So, when he… his name is Nārada Muni – when Nārada Muni went to the planet where the sons of Kuvera were, near Kailāsa, he found them to be in need of some spiritual guidance, they were misbehaving. So, he cursed them to become trees in Vṛndāvana and stand there until Kṛṣṇa came and Kṛṣṇa would release them. So, for a long time these two residents of another planet had taken their birth in the land of Vṛndāvana, standing as twin Arjuna trees. So, when Kṛṣṇa was tied to that mortar, He pulled the mortar nearby the trees and He said,

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.10.25

devarṣir me priyatamo
yad imau dhanadātmajau
tat tathā sādhayiṣyāmi
yad gītaṁ tan mahātmanā

Translation: “Although these two young men are the sons of the very rich Kuvera and I have nothing to do with them, Devarṣi Nārada is My very dear and affectionate devotee, and therefore because he wanted Me to come face to face with them, I must do so for their deliverance.”

Jayapatākā Swami: In other words, these two sons of the rich Kuvera from the other planets, they may be the sons of a rich man, but they did not have any scope for meeting God face-to-face, for meeting the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. Actually, they had been misbehaving, but somehow Nārada Muni blessed them so that they could come to their senses and also be able to see Kṛṣṇa face to face. This shows the causeless mercy of a devotee. By his mercy one can get Kṛṣṇa. So, then Kṛṣṇa entered in between those two Arjuna trees.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.10.27

bālena niṣkarṣayatānvag ulūkhalaṁ tad
dāmodareṇa tarasotkalitāṅghri-bandhau
niṣpetatuḥ parama-vikramitātivepa-
skandha-pravāla-viṭapau kṛta-caṇḍa-śabdau

Translation: “By dragging behind Him with great force the wooden mortar tied to His belly, the boy Kṛṣṇa uprooted the two trees. By the great strength of the Supreme Person, the two trees, with their trunks, leaves and branches, trembled severely and fell to the ground with a great crash.”

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: This is the pastime of Kṛṣṇa known as dāmodara-līlā. Therefore another of Kṛṣṇa’s names is Dāmodara. As stated in the Hari-vaṁśa:

sa ca tenaiva nāmnā tu
kṛṣṇo vai dāma-bandhanāt
goṣṭhe dāmodara iti
gopībhiḥ parigīyate

Jayapatākā Swami: Thereafter, in that very place where the two Arjuna trees had fallen, two great perfected personalities, who appeared like fire personified, came out of the two trees. The effulgence of their beauty illuminated all directions. With bowed heads they offered obeisances to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. And with hands folded they spoke the following prayers to Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.10.28

tatra śriyā paramayā kakubhaḥ sphurantau
siddhāv upetya kujayor iva jāta-vedāḥ
kṛṣṇaṁ praṇamya śirasākhila-loka-nāthaṁ
baddhāñjalī virajasāv idam ūcatuḥ sma

Translation: “Thereafter, in that very place where the two arjuna trees had fallen, two great, perfect personalities, who appeared like fire personified, came out of the two trees. The effulgence of their beauty illuminating all directions, with bowed heads they offered obeisances to Kṛṣṇa, and with hands folded they spoke the following words…”

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.10.29

kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa mahā-yogiṁs
tvam ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ paraḥ
vyaktāvyaktam idaṁ viśvaṁ
rūpaṁ te brāhmaṇā viduḥ

Translation: “O Lord Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa, Your opulent mysticism is inconceivable. You are the supreme, original person, the cause of all causes, immediate and remote, and You are beyond this material creation. Learned brāhmaṇas know [on the basis of the Vedic statement sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma] that You are everything and that this cosmic manifestation, in its gross and subtle aspects, is Your form.”

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.10.30-31

tvam ekaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
dehāsv-ātmendriyeśvaraḥ
tvam eva kālo bhagavān
viṣṇur avyaya īśvaraḥ

tvaṁ mahān prakṛtiḥ sūkṣmā
rajaḥ-sattva-tamomayī
tvam eva puruṣo ’dhyakṣaḥ
sarva-kṣetra-vikāra-vit

Translation: “You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the controller of everything. The body, life, ego and senses of every living entity are Your own self. You are the Supreme Person, Viṣṇu, the imperishable controller. You are the time factor, the immediate cause, and You are material nature, consisting of the three modes passion, goodness and ignorance. You are the original cause of this material manifestation. You are the Supersoul, and therefore You know everything within the core of the heart of every living entity. O Lord, You exist before the creation. Therefore, who, trapped by a body of material qualities in this material world, can understand You?”

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way, they offered their prayers to Kṛṣṇa, who is before them, small child, two-three year boy and they are offering their obeisances to Him. Then, they prayed,

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.10.37-38: “O supreme form, we are always servants of Your servants, especially of Nārada Muni. Now give us permission to leave for our home. It is by the grace and mercy of Nārada Muni that we have been able to see You face to face. Henceforward, may all our words describe Your pastimes, may our ears engage in aural reception of Your glories, may our hands, legs and other senses engage in actions pleasing to You, and may our minds always think of Your lotus feet. May our heads offer our obeisances to everything within this world, because all things are also Your different forms, and may our eyes see the forms of Vaiṣṇavas, who are nondifferent from You.”

Śukadeva explained that the two young demigods thus offered prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Godhead, is the Master of all and was certainly Gokuleśvara, the Master of Gokula, He was bound to the wooden mortar by the ropes of the gopīs, and therefore smiling widely He spoke to the sons of Kuvera as follows.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Kṛṣṇa was smiling because He was thinking to Himself, “These two young demigods fell from the higher planetary system to this planet, and I have delivered them from the bondage of standing for a long time as trees. But as for Me, I am bound by the ropes of the gopīs and am subject to their chastisement.” In other words, Kṛṣṇa submits to being chastised and bound by the gopīs because of pure love and affection worthy of being praised by the devotees in so many ways. Kṛṣṇa is so powerful He can release these sons of Kuvera. He can do so many wonderful things, yet He allows Himself to be tied by Mother Yaśodā.

This month is known as the Dāmodara month, where we remember how Kṛṣṇa was caught by the love of His mother. Similarly, how He delivered those two sons of Kuvera by His causeless mercy, even though they were only doing  improper activities, but by the blessing of the Vaiṣṇava they could be delivered. So, we also pray that by the mercy of Lord Dāmodara, just as the sons of Kuvera could be freed from their bondage, we can be fixed in devotion of the Lord. Now on this day also we are observing… this Dāmodara month is glorified, also known as kārtika-māsa, ūrjā-vrata, and anyone who does some spiritual activity in this month gets a thousand times, a hundred times, the benefit. So, it is a very good month to practice being a vegetarian, a good month to eat kṛṣṇa-prasāda and do all these festivals.

I will just give a brief description of Govardhana-pūjā and also a description of Dīpāvalī. Then, we will do a worship of Govardhana and Kṛṣṇa. The Govardhana-pūjā happened when Kṛṣṇa was six or seven years old. At that time His father wanted to do the worship of Indra. Indra is the king of the demigods. In the universe, there are many universal controllers known as demigods according to the Vedas. Sometimes people think that all gods are the same, but the Vedas clearly say, ekaṁ brahma dvitīyaṁ nāsti, that there is one Supreme Brahman, one Parameśvara:

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
[Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.1]

There are many other subordinate controllers. So sometimes Kṛṣṇa has to cut them down to size, to bring them into the proper mood. So, this king… according to the Vedas, the king of the higher planets is known as Indra, and his personal weapon is the thunderbolt and he is in charge of all the clouds, bringing rain or drought. So, they wanted to worship Indra to get good rainfall but Kṛṣṇa, He convinced them that instead of worshiping Indra, they should worship Govardhana Hill. He did this for two reasons: one was to establish the worship of Govardhana, the sacred hill in Vṛndāvana, and the second was to arouse the anger of Indra by stopping his traditional pūjā so that He could teach Indra a lesson. So Kṛṣṇa explained to Nanda Mahārāja what should be the Govardhana-pūjā.

tasmād gavāṁ brāhmaṇānām
adreś cārabhyatāṁ makhaḥ
ya indra-yāga-sambhārās
tair ayaṁ sādhyatāṁ makhaḥ
[ŚB 10.24.25]

Translation: “Therefore may a sacrifice for the pleasure of the cows, the brāhmaṇas and Govardhana Hill begin! With all the paraphernalia collected for worshiping Indra, let this sacrifice be performed instead.”

“Let many different kinds of food be cooked, from sweet rice to vegetable soups! Many kinds of fancy cakes, both baked and fried, should be prepared. And all the available milk products should be taken for this sacrifice. The brāhmaṇas who are learned in the Vedic mantras must properly invoke the sacrificial fires. Then you should feed the priests with nicely prepared food and reward them with cows and other gifts. After giving the appropriate food to everyone else, including such fallen souls as dogs and dog-eaters, you should give grass to the cows and then present your respectful offerings to Govardhana Hill. After everyone has eaten to his satisfaction, you should all dress and decorate yourselves handsomely, smear your bodies with sandalwood paste and then circumambulate the cows, the brāhmaṇas, the sacrificial fires and Govardhana Hill.” [ŚB 10.24.26-29]

Devotee: (inaudible)

Jayapatākā Swami: [Aside: The GMC truck is blocking the driveway, and someone says the police are touring here or something. Anyone here owns a GMC truck?] So, in this way Kṛṣṇa got all of the residents of Vṛndāvana to go around the Govardhana Hill in the procession and had this very big festival. After the festival was over and they went back home, Indra became furious that, “Who is this Kṛṣṇa? They are listening to some little boy. He is just an ordinary boy, and they are listening to Him, and they are stopping my worship. I am going to teach them all a lesson.”

So, then he started to flood Vṛndāvana with a huge rain and of course we know that Kṛṣṇa, as a small six-year-old boy, He lifted up the Govardhana Hill like a huge umbrella. I do not know if you can see, those of you who do not know this pastime. [Aside: If it can be demonstrated…] Kṛṣṇa lifted up the hill for seven days [Aside: lifted up and holded like this…] He held up the Govardhana Hill for seven days while the floodwaters were going.

Afterwards, Lord Indra, he could realize that he had made a mistake, that this was not an ordinary boy. Ordinary boys do not lift up mountains for seven days with one finger like this, effortlessly and he came to his senses that actually Kṛṣṇa is his Lord. He had mistaken Him, because when Kṛṣṇa comes and plays the part, when Lord Rāma comes, They play the part in such a way that They are not easily recognizable.

When the incarnation of God comes down, He comes just to enjoy intimate pastimes with His devotees, especially as Kṛṣṇa or Rāma, they are very human-like. They are there, the original and immediate expansions. So, then Lord Indra came, and he fell down at Kṛṣṇa’s feet, and he begged forgiveness that he had not recognized Kṛṣṇa. He thought He was just an ordinary boy. Now he could realize He was the original Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead. So, today is the Govardhana-pūjā celebration. Here also we are going to offer some worship to the Govardhana Hill.

Also, the Dīpāvalī celebration is the returning of Lord Rāma to Ayodhyā after Vijayā Daśamī, where Lord Rāma was victorious. Then Rāma returned to Ayodhyā after some days. The residents of Ayodhyā, they lit lights all around their houses to welcome Lord Rāma back to His kingdom after so many years of absence. They all decorated their houses, they all wore nice clothing, and they put candles and lights on the tops of their houses so that Lord Rāma could easily find Ayodhyā even if He came in the night. So, Dīpāvalī, dīpa means light, Dīpāvalī means the festival of lights. So, today we are also going to offer lights to the Deity…the deities and to the Govardhana Hill, and we will circumambulate Govardhana Hill.

Like this, there are so many festivals. Actually, there are unlimited festivals in the Vedic culture. The different festivals are special because not only are they including feasting and culture, but they all have Kṛṣṇa as the center. They have the Supreme Person, Bhagavān, as the center. All these ancient festivals, one cannot separate the Indian culture from religion. It is so much intertwined. Even the dance dramas generally are covering the pastimes of either Kṛṣṇa or Rāma or some avatāras, daśa-avatāras.

The King of Nepal once mentioned that at a big Hindu conference, “There is… You cannot separate the way of life from our spiritual heritage. It is like the air we breathe.” Actually, Prabhupāda, when he came here to the West, he noted that here in America there is everything. There is wealth, people are, you see, good-looking, enough houses, enough cars, enough roads. Everything is there, basically whatever a person needs. But he saw one thing was missing, that Kṛṣṇa was missing. The spiritual culture was missing. If Kṛṣṇa is added, then everything is perfect. He said there should be a cooperation between American and Indian cultures. The American technology and Indian culture should be combined.

Just like you have the two sisters, Sarasvatī and Lakṣmī, both are required. So, Prabhupāda, he requested that there should be a cultural kind of spiritual revolution or spiritual dissemination here in America, so that people can understand that more than just the technology or just the gross material existence, the real happiness of life is in having the spiritual festivals and understanding our own nature, that we are ultimately all parts of the Supreme Person, and that the purpose of human life is to chant and worship the Lord, to develop our devotion for Him, and to return back to Him at the end of this life.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

I thank all the members especially the communities for coming on this occasion and Kṛṣṇa, He promises in Gītā, yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham [Bg. 9.22] “What you have, I protect, I preserve, whatever you need, I provide”, you see. Indra, he was getting a little proud. So, Kṛṣṇa just stabbed his pride for a little bit. He came and he bowed down to Kṛṣṇa. Then Kṛṣṇa said, “All right, you go, and you can again have back your kingdom, but you be more humble, you be more conscious of Me. Do not get overly proud.”

Sometimes people have a mistaken idea that Kṛṣṇa takes away. “Do not worship Kṛṣṇa, He will take away everything.” This is a misconception. If someone is too proud, if they are bewildered, if they are being harmed because of their ignorance and their intoxication with materialistic life, then He may take away for a moment to bring back their sense, and then He gives once one has the proper consciousness, but if one has the consciousness from the beginning, then He does not take away. There is no need to take anything away.

Just like if a small child is playing with a knife. You may take the knife away because the child may hurt. But when the child grows up, knows how to use the knife. You can use the knife, there is no problem, cut vegetables or whatever. So, by the Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy, everyone can develop. They do not have to worry. Kṛṣṇa will simply preserve what they have and give whatever they lack. Thus, everyone can be peaceful in this lifetime. And at the end of this lifetime they can go back to home, back to Godhead. Thank you very much. Are there any questions?

Devotee: (inaudible)

Jayapatākā Swami: Kṛṣṇa, He questioned. It is a long story. He questioned Kṛṣṇa, they defeated him by various arguments. And finally, just because of great affection for Kṛṣṇa, they agreed with what Kṛṣṇa said. Kṛṣṇa gave a lot of explanation that we are farmers, we live off the land. For us the cows and the brāhmaṇas are the most important. We should worship the Govardhana Hill, we should worship the cows and the brāhmaṇas. We do not need to worship demigods, we just worship the Supreme Person. Kṛṣṇa gave many arguments that we do not need demigod worship. We can directly worship. Other questions?

Devotee: (inaudible)

Jayapatākā Swami: The month goes until November sixth. It is a lunar month. The table. So, what the basic. The table. We are going to circumambulate or just in front. We are going to have this replica of Govardhana placed in the center of the room. Then we are going to offer lights, lamps, little candles and lamps to the Govardhana Hill and to Lakṣmī, to Kṛṣṇa, to Jagannātha.

And while kīrtana is being performed we will also go around the [Govardhana] Hill. Yeah, we are going to have everyone operate one lamp. Girirāja ki Jaya! Giri Govardhana ki Jaya! Giri Govardhana ki Jaya! Turn the lights down. This is Kṛṣṇa on top of the hill right here. And we are going to sing one song we sing every month. Here he is going to hand you a candle. You can come up to him and he can give you a light and you can offer like seven circles around Kṛṣṇa or the Govardhana Hill.

We are going to put some sand right here or some rice. You can stick your hand in the sand. There are too many pieces. Excuse me. Circumambulate with  your attention. It is important to circumambulate the Hill. So, as we are singing this song, after you offer your lamp or before you offer your lamp, please walk in a circle at least three times around that Hill. (audio abruptly ends with conchshells blowing)