Govardhan Puja | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 22nd Oct 2025
Today is Govardhan Puja, the day in which we worship a mountain. So, this may seem a little bit strange. Devotees are worshipping plants like Tulasi Devi and mountains like Govardhan and ponds like Radha Kund [Laughs]. Of course, many people also criticize we worship deities that have forms like Krishna and Radha and the Sakhis and Balarama and Narashima and Varaha. Of course, if we have to worship the Supreme Lord, we have to worship something, which means a form.
Of course, we can say, we’ll meditate on the impersonal, the formless Brahman. But that is also very difficult to do. Ultimately, to meditate, you have to meditate on something and the something will have a form. And Brahman has no form, no qualities, no activities, no words to describe it. So, if we have to worship Brahman and meditate on Brahman, ultimately, we will give it some form and describe it in some way. And immediately it becomes subject to material conception. And thus, even the Mayavadis will criticize. We cannot say that Brahman is blissful or eternal or full of knowledge, because those are descriptive terms and there is no quality in Brahman. Others will say, well yes, we have that Supreme who takes a form in the material world for people who are less advanced. So we can meditate on something. When we are very advanced, we give up that and we emerge in Brahman.
And in Bhagavad Gita, Krishna describes such people as fools. They think, “I am some unmanifest with no form, qualities and activities. Then I come in the material world and I have a form. But it’s material. So that’s foolish.” So, the solution is that, the Lord has form, qualities and activities which we meditate on, but they are not material, they are purely spiritual. However, according to our contamination of material things, when we meditate or see the form of the Lord or remember His qualities, we are bound to put some material conception on the Lord. And thus, Krishna is beautiful. So then the artist will try to make Krishna with a beautiful form. But then we look at it and say, this looks like one Bollywood actor [Laughs]. Because the artist also has a material conception of what is beauty and we also have material conceptions.
Nevertheless, the purer a person becomes as a devotee, then the person can actually see the spiritual form of the Lord. And that is the purpose of the deity forms. We can see those forms and in the beginning we will have material conceptions. However, through knowledge of scripture, we understand Krishna has not got a material form. So, when we see the form or meditate on this form of the deity, as we advance, gradually we will see the spiritual form.
So, as I mentioned, it is always difficult to worship and meditate on the Lord, unless He has a form. And thus, in Bhagavad Gita, also in the 10th chapter and 11th chapter, Arjuna requests, let me see something else because I cannot understand the spiritual form. So, show me something in the material world that I can see. So, in chapter 10, Krishna discusses his vibhutis. So, vibhutis are generally material things, but they have some essence in them that reminds us of some quality of Krishna. So, Krishna says, “Of animals, I am the lion.” So, what does the lion? He is the king of the animals. And why is he king of the animals? Because he fights very bravely [Laughs]. So, the bravery with the lion can, to some degree, indicate the quality of Krishna, because Krishna also is very brave and he fights and kills demons. Of course, when we think of lion and we think of bravery, it is all material. But the whole material world also is an expansion of Krishna, material energy but still shakti of Krishna. Similarly the universal form, it is made up of material elements, but through that we can see the greatness of the Supreme Lord.
So, our Acharyas explain, these two types of meditation (meditating on vibhutis & universal form) are for inferior yogis. Those yogis who are more advanced will meditate on the actual spiritual form of the Lord. So, the Paramatma yogis, they meditate on a form of Vishnu, Paramatma. So, this is a form of the Lord. So, in that way, it is acceptable.
But we also distinguish between Paramatma and Bhagavan. If you look at the form of Paramatma, if you look at the form of Vishnu in the spiritual world, they look exactly the same [Laughs]. So, they have spiritual form which is the same but function is different. So, the Paramatma form performs actions in relation to material world. So, Paramatma glances over Prakriti as Mahavishnu, then he enters into all the living entities as Paramatma and guides them. So, these activities of Paramatma are definitely spiritual, but it is related to matter. So, Bhagavan may have the same form of Vishnu, but his activities have nothing to do with the material world. They are purely spiritual. So, what type of activities are those?
Many people in trying to understand God, can accept, yes, God creates the world, God destroys the world, but activities beyond the material world, they cannot understand. We can only understand those activities, by seeing the pastimes, when the Lord comes as avatar or seeing the descriptions in scripture. And by reading Srimad Bhagavatam, we have the opportunity to understand the spiritual activities of Krishna. What is the difference between these activities and the activities of Paramatma? The activities of Bhagavan and the spiritual world have nothing to do with material creation or destruction of material energy or Jivas under conditional life. The activities are in relation to devotees who are completely pure and have Prema.
So, these activities may look a little bit strange. What does the Lord do in the spiritual world? What do the devotees do in the spiritual world? So, in Bhagavatam, there is a description of Lakshmi. And there it is described, she is sweeping the floor [Laughs]. And then we will think, well, how is that possible [Laughs]? People in the material world are sweeping floors. How can Lakshmi in the spiritual world also be sweeping the floor? So, the things in the spiritual world may look like activities in the material world, but they are completely different. They are inspired by pure love, Prema. And they produce more Prema in the Lord and in the devotee. So, in other words, all the activities in the spiritual world are simply an expression of the Lord’s bliss.
Of course, the Lord’s activities in the material world as He creates material nature, in one sense, are also Lord’s bliss. But it’s a little bit indirect. Because the Lord creates the material world, Jivas are put into bodies and they suffer [Laughs]. Of course, the Lord’s intention is that the Jivas in the material world should also be blissful. And therefore, He gives teachings in scripture and devotees to guide the Jivas. That part, to give the devotees in the scripture, is the blissful part of the Lord in the material world. But unfortunately, some of the Jivas won’t accept, so therefore they suffer. So, in this way, the Lord is acting in the material world, but those actions are a little different from those in the spiritual world.
However, the Lord also comes into the material world and displays pure spiritual activities as Bhagavan. He comes as various avatars, such as Narasimha and Rama. He also comes as Krishna. So, Srimad Bhagavatam points out that Krishna is very special. So, in the very beginning of Bhagavatam, in listing all the avatars, then Krishna is described as ‘Svayam Bhagavan’. All these forms are spiritual. They are all Bhagavan. But Krishna is distinguished by the word ‘Svayam’. It literally means Krishna is actually the Supreme Lord [Laughs]. But of course, we know they are all Bhagavan. So, then we can say that Krishna is more Bhagavan than anybody else [Laughs]. Even that seems strange, because all forms of Bhagavan are perfect, so one cannot be more than the other. But in Nectar Devotion, Rupa Goswami explains, yes, Vishnu, Krishna, Rama, all same. They are one Bhagavan. But we also distinguish Krishna from everybody else. And why? Because he manifests the most attractive rasas. In other words, other forms also have all the rasas, everything, but they don’t display them. So, Krishna displays all the rasas in complete form. And what is the significance of that? By manifesting rasas fully, the Jivas also experience the highest bliss. So, therefore, Bhagavatam states, everyone should worship Krishna, because then you can experience the highest bliss.
So, throughout the tenth canto, we will see descriptions particularly of Krishna’s pastimes. And they all show, how Krishna is blissful and he gives bliss to devotees. So, in the first chapter of the tenth canto, we have a description of how Nanda and Yashoda take care of Krishna. And one of the principal pastimes there is the Damodara Leela. And through that pastime, we can understand the most exalted nature of Yashoda. Of course, all the elder gopas and gopis have Vatsalya rasa. And that Vatsalya rasa is stronger than Sakya or Dasya rasa. But Yashoda, among all the elder gopis, has the strongest Vatsalya of all. And that is illustrated in the Damodar pastime. Her Vatsalya is so strong that she is willing to punish Krishna. And all of that is because of her great affection. We know that Vasudeva and Devaki also have Vatsalya rasa. But they would never dare to make Krishna angry or make Krishna cry. They wouldn’t dare tie him up. Similarly, Rama’s mother and father don’t dare tie up Rama. But mother Yashoda acts very boldly. And that is because of her very strong Vatsalya rasa. Because of that, she never sees Krishna as Supreme Lord. She sees him as her son. But not a material son. Why? Because her love is pure. Not contaminated by Ahankara or material conditioning. She has a relationship of pure unconditional love for Krishna.
So these pastimes in the material world of Krishna are opportunity for Yashoda to experience that Vatsalya to the highest degree. In the material pastimes, Krishna begins to grow. First of all, he can hardly move. Then he turns over in his bed. Then he begins to kick his feet. Then he gets little teeth. He drinks milk and then he starts eating food. Then he begins to crawl. Then he begins to crawl further and further. Then he begins to steal butter. So he does all sorts of activities just like a small child. And these are causes for mother Yashoda’s affection.
But then, when he gets to about five years old, then he becomes more independent. So he establishes friendship with the other cowherd boys. And in the daytime, they run off into the forest and they play with the cows and have games. So during this period called Pauganda, Krishna shows how he expresses Sakya rasa with the cowherd boys. And that continues until Krishna reaches eight years old. He grows more and he grows more beautiful.
And then he enters into Kaishora period. In that period, then he expresses Madhurya rasa. So it’s in that period that Krishna began to perform the Rasalila. And that Rasalila is considered to be the highest expression of bliss in the spiritual world. So in that Rasalila is displayed the highest music, the highest singing, the highest dancing, the highest acting. And Krishna expands himself for three billion gopis. And all the gopis experience the highest bliss in Madhurya rasa.
So in this way, Krishna displays through his form all sorts of pastimes which give bliss to his devotees. So the Govardhan pastime takes place at the end of his Pauganda, just before he is entering Kaishora period. So the rasa pastimes began when Krishna became eight years old in the autumn season. And one year before that is, when Krishna had Govardhan pastime. So Krishna has almost got to Kaishora period. Mother Yashoda, Nanda and the elders still have Vatsalya rasa. The cowherd boys have Sakya rasa. And because he is almost entering into Kaishora period, the gopis are developing Madhurya rasa. It is not manifest. They don’t speak to Krishna, but they are developing their attraction for Krishna. So this pastime of lifting Govardhan is an opportunity for all the devotees to see Krishna. Krishna lifted up Govardhan for seven days. Or more correctly, seven days and seven nights. And he was lifting up Govardhan with his little finger of his left hand and he was standing directly under Govardhan. And everybody was gathered around and everybody could see Krishna continuously.
Often the devotees are unsatisfied. They see Krishna, but then Krishna disappears. So when Krishna goes to the field, Mother Yashoda and Nanda can no longer see Krishna. So for some hours of the day until the evening time, they have to lament. And then Krishna comes home and they are happy again. Cowherd boys are opposite. They get to see Krishna in the morning, go out and play in the field. Evening time, they go home. Separation from Krishna. Gopis again.. they see Krishna in the morning, go out in the fields. Then he comes back in the evening. Then, in the middle of the night, they have rasa leela. But in the morning, they separate from Krishna again. So in all these pastimes, there is meeting and separation and consequently sometimes they are happy, sometimes they lament. But for seven days a night, everybody saw Krishna continuously. No separation at all.
So all the elders and Nanda Yashoda could experience Vatsalaya rasa. And what do they do? They try to protect Krishna. So Krishna is lifting up the hill and they say, Krishna is getting tired, we have to help him. So all the elder men, they get sticks and they start holding up Govardhan hill. All the cowherd boys are joking with Krishna. And all the Gopis are looking at Krishna with Madhurya rasa. So simultaneously, one Krishna is there, but all the different devotees express their various rasas for Krishna. And Krishna satisfies them all simultaneously.
The very first verse of Nectar Devotion is ‘Akhila Rasamrita Murthy’. Krishna is the very form of all rasas. Usually in pastimes, He will display those rasas separately for individuals. But sometimes, as in the Govardhan pastime, all the rasas are expressed by the devotees and Krishna. This is very different from the other forms of God. Most of the other forms will express Dasya rasa. Krishna displays all rasas. And Krishna displays all rasas even simultaneously as with Govardhan. So therefore, this pastime shows how Krishna responds to all of His devotees in Vrindavan.
And instead of suffering, because of the rain of Indra, everybody reached the highest bliss. So Indra took the rain as a punishment. But Krishna turned this into an opportunity for the highest bliss for all the devotees. The only person who had to suffer was Indra [Laughs]. He tried to give suffering to all the people of Vrindavan and to Krishna and instead he had to suffer. So Indra came to a realization. He tried to act as the controller by rain over Vrindavan. He tried to create misery for the people of Vrindavan. And Krishna took that as an opportunity to create the highest bliss for the people of Vrindavan. So in this way, Indra was defeated.
Of course, Krishna can kill demons and defeat demons. That’s one way of dealing with people, who are opposed to the Lord. But Krishna took this as an opportunity not to kill anyone but to give the people of Vrindavan an opportunity for the highest bliss. So punishment of Indra was secondary. Of course, Indra came later and privately apologized. He also came with Surabhi. This was the opportunity also to give Krishna the name ‘Govinda’. So this name suggests Krishna’s great relationship with the cows and the cowherd people.
So also important here is that, Krishna utilized Govardhan hill. So Govardhan is a mountain but not a material mountain. It is part of the spiritual world. So it may appear to be heavy, but it is not heavy, because it is spiritual. It functions for the pastimes of Krishna. So Govardhan supplies water and grass. It supplies shade. It supplies jewels. So the gopis and Krishna can decorate themselves. It supplies mineral dyes and Krishna uses the mineral dyes to decorate his body. It supplies places for Krishna and the cowherd boys to eat. It supplies places for them to play. It provides a living place for the peacocks and swans and deer and all the other animals. It also provides caves where Krishna can enter in when it is raining out. And it provides places for Krishna to perform pastimes with the gopis in Maduraya rasa. So Govardhan is considered to be the excellent servant of Krishna. It helps Krishna in all of his service with the different devotees. And for that purpose, like Krishna, Govardhan is worshipped.
But in this past time of Govardhan, Krishna did a remarkable thing. When the people were making offerings to Govardhan instead of Indra, Krishna assumed a form on top of Govardhan and became one with Govardhan and began to eat all the offerings. So the people of Vrindavan are not just offering to Govardhan. They are actually offering everything to Krishna. So Govardhan is not just the best servant of Krishna. Also, it is Krishna Himself.
Of course, from a material point of view, how can people worship a mountain or a rock? But from the spiritual point of view, Krishna can assume any form. And it becomes non-different from Krishna. So we can worship Govardhan also as Krishna Himself. And therefore, we can place Him on the altar like that. So anyway, this past time of Govardhan took place in the autumn season, one year before rasa leela was manifested. So it was a great stimulus for all the rasas and particularly for the gopis. So it was an introduction to the rasa leela. So when the rasa leela took place, then the gopis and Krishna had full expression of Madhurya rasa. So the Govardhan past time is a past time that happened once. But then the rasa leela past time didn’t happen once. It happened every night for the next four years. So this was the full manifestation of Krishna and Madhurya rasa. And therefore the rasa leela is considered to be the very height of expression of Madhurya rasa.
Hare Krsna !!
Devotee:
“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare; Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”
So Maharaj, we are very grateful and thankful for this amazing class and for this entire description of Govardhan leela and how it is a prelude to the full expression of Madhurya leela which comes a little later.
So Srila Vishwanatha Chakravarti Thakur has compiled this wonderful book called Sri Vrajarithi Chintamani. It is a transcendental tour of Vrindavan. And we are very fortunate that His Holiness Bhanu swami Maharaj has translated it for us [Claps]. And especially because today is Govardhan pooja day, the third chapter of this book, it’s a very short sweet book, it has three chapters. The third chapter contains the description of Govardhan and how he is the ‘Haridasa Varya’, he is the greatest of the servants of Lord Hari. So I just read one verse for all of your pleasure.
“Krishna is the Sapphire and the Gopis are the gold links on the necklace of Govardhan. The pastimes of Krishna with the Gopis on Govardhan are like its children. Never separated from it. Let all men glorify Govardhan.”
So this chapter has 60 verse, 46 verses talk about Giriraj. So today being the most auspicious day and it’s made even more auspicious because His Holiness Bhanu Swami Maharaj is with us.
“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare ; Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare !!”