Govardhan Parikrama Bliss
What trip to Vraja Mandal, Sri Vrindavan Dham, would be complete without doing Govardhan Parikrama, the circumambulation of Govardhan Hill? We don't have to worry about the answer to this question because today we are doing it. We are out on Govardhan Parikrama, a pilgrimage that is so powerful that it can deliver one from material existence, the wheel of repeated birth and death.
The great spiritual potency of Govardhan is confirmed in the Adi-varaha Purana as follows: "Two yojanas [sixteen miles], west of Mathura, is the very rare place named Govardhan. A person who circumambulates this place named Annakuta-tirtha does not return to this world." Of course we should not take this boon cheaply and think that we can do all nonsense and then circumambulate Govardhan for deliverance. We should live a pure life of bhakti under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master and also circumambulate Govardhan Hill for the special blessings it bestows.
Govardhan is the hill that was lifted by Lord Krishna 5,000 years ago to protect the Vraja-vasis, the inhabitants of Vrindavan, from the devastation unleashed upon them by angry Indra, the king of heaven, who was uncontrollably furious when on the order of Krishna they neglected Indra's worship and worshipped Govardhan Hill instead. When in great fear for their lives the Vraja-vasis approached Krishna for shelter, He lifted Govardhan holding it over them as an umbrella as effortlessly as a child holds a mushroom and held it on the little finger of His left hand until the devastation ended after seven days.
The parikrama is about fourteen miles (23 kilometers) and takes about five or six hours to complete if one walks at a brisk pace. It's a quite a trek so we start out in the early morning before sunrise. Because every particle of Govardhan dust is non-different from Krishna most pilgrims respectfully make their parikrama barefooted. In this same mood of respect we also follow suit by leaving our sandals behind.
According to the authority of the great spiritual master Raghava Pandita, Govardhana Hill is full of transcendental bliss and just by the sight of Govardhan Hill one is relieved of all the miseries of material life.
Govardhana Hill gives unlimited pleasure to Krishna, who lifted the hill with His left hand to curb the pride of Indra and protect the Vraja-vasis, the inhabitants of Vrindavan.
In the Skanda Purana, Mathura-khanda, it is said: "Govardhana Hill is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the Lord lifted the hill, all the people of Vraja were saved from Indra's rains. Lord Vishnu stays eternally on Govardhan Hill. Brahma, Shiva, and Laksmi also reside there. There is no doubt about this."
If you would like to join me on my 2008 parikrama of Govardhan Hill, let me know and we will inform you how to make the necessary arrangements how join us for the ultimate enlightening experience.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
He should always be in Vrindavan Why does he live in the USA? If he advises others to stay away from materialism, why does he himself live in luxury in the USA? Why does he travel in luxury air-conditioned cars and live in posh bungalows? If he is true to his followers, he should live in India and not in the USA. He is a noble person, no doubt. But not living in Lord Krishna's birth place is a sin for someone who is head of ISKCON. Out of 365 days in a year, he has only 5-10 days for Indians. It is a matter of shame for him.
Shobhit Kaushik
What would you say such a person after reading his reply?
Amit
Apparently your friend does not know the real meaning of staying away from materialism. Matter is the energy of God, and materialism means when we utilize that energy for our sense gratification. Conversely spiritualism means when we utilize that energy in God's service. Some people have the misconception that spiritualism means to have nothing to do with matter. But that is not a fact. We cannot avoid dealing with matter because we are surrounded by it on all sides. The key is that we have to engage whether material facility we have in the service of the Lord, then we are spiritualists. The same principle applies both in the USA and in India.
You may tell your friend that I am constantly traveling and preaching all over the world because my Guru Maharaja has ordered me to turn the entire world into the spiritual Vrindavan atmosphere. I am not staying in one place permanently to enjoy the material facilities there.
Krishna's incarnation in this age, Lord Caitanya, has ordered that it is duty of all Indians to become spiritually perfect and do the highest welfare work of spreading Krishna consciousness all over the world. But instead of going after Krishna, the modern day Indians are going after technology and money and are therefore neglecting their duty to become Krishna conscious and make the whole world Krishna conscious.
And now when an American takes up the duty neglected by the Indians your friend criticizes him for not spending more time in India. Apparently he is not aware that in the Vedic histories we have authoritative information that this entire planet was formerly India. Simply it is due to the influence of this materialistic age of Kali that India has been gradually shrinking more and more. Just like several decades ago Pakistan was chopped off as a separate country. Formerly the capital of the entire planet earth was Hastinapur, which is now known as Delhi, India. I have dedicated my entire existence to restoring the original Indian Vedic culture all over the world. What is your friend doing besides criticizing me?
So far no one has ever given me a posh bungalow for my residence or has driven me in a luxury car. I accept whatever meager transportation or place of residence is offered to me, even if is it very simple. But in this connection I ask your friend to kindly note:
Because the spiritual master is a representative of God, according to the authorized Vedic literatures, he is meant to be offered the same honor and respect that is given to God. When God is conveyed from one place to another He is taken in a golden chariot. When He is offered a place of residence the walls are bedecked with valuable jewels. So I think that even if my disciples were to offer me a Rolls Royce and a marble palace, it will still not be to the full standard.
I am not the head of ISKCON. I am simply one of the many spiritual masters who are working together within the ISKCON mission to bring about a spiritual revolution on this planet. I spend more or less time in a place depending on how many lectures my students and disciples can arrange for me. If your friend can book for me an extensive lecture tour within India, I will be happy to spend more time in the wonderful Indian holy land.
The shame is not on me. I am doing my duty. The shame is on those Indians who are neglecting their duty. They have been ordered to make their lives spiritually perfect and spread Krishna consciousness all over the world. It is these Indians who are neglecting their duty who should be ashamed, not me. I am properly situated in dharma (duty). It is they who have become adharmis, neglectors of their duty.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
The great spiritual potency of Govardhan is confirmed in the Adi-varaha Purana as follows: "Two yojanas [sixteen miles], west of Mathura, is the very rare place named Govardhan. A person who circumambulates this place named Annakuta-tirtha does not return to this world." Of course we should not take this boon cheaply and think that we can do all nonsense and then circumambulate Govardhan for deliverance. We should live a pure life of bhakti under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master and also circumambulate Govardhan Hill for the special blessings it bestows.
Govardhan is the hill that was lifted by Lord Krishna 5,000 years ago to protect the Vraja-vasis, the inhabitants of Vrindavan, from the devastation unleashed upon them by angry Indra, the king of heaven, who was uncontrollably furious when on the order of Krishna they neglected Indra's worship and worshipped Govardhan Hill instead. When in great fear for their lives the Vraja-vasis approached Krishna for shelter, He lifted Govardhan holding it over them as an umbrella as effortlessly as a child holds a mushroom and held it on the little finger of His left hand until the devastation ended after seven days.
The parikrama is about fourteen miles (23 kilometers) and takes about five or six hours to complete if one walks at a brisk pace. It's a quite a trek so we start out in the early morning before sunrise. Because every particle of Govardhan dust is non-different from Krishna most pilgrims respectfully make their parikrama barefooted. In this same mood of respect we also follow suit by leaving our sandals behind.
According to the authority of the great spiritual master Raghava Pandita, Govardhana Hill is full of transcendental bliss and just by the sight of Govardhan Hill one is relieved of all the miseries of material life.
Govardhana Hill gives unlimited pleasure to Krishna, who lifted the hill with His left hand to curb the pride of Indra and protect the Vraja-vasis, the inhabitants of Vrindavan.
In the Skanda Purana, Mathura-khanda, it is said: "Govardhana Hill is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When the Lord lifted the hill, all the people of Vraja were saved from Indra's rains. Lord Vishnu stays eternally on Govardhan Hill. Brahma, Shiva, and Laksmi also reside there. There is no doubt about this."
If you would like to join me on my 2008 parikrama of Govardhan Hill, let me know and we will inform you how to make the necessary arrangements how join us for the ultimate enlightening experience.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Answers According to the Vedic Version:
Question: He Should Live in India, not the USA
With pleasure I informed a friend of mine about your arrival in Vrindavan, India. He gave a strange reply as follows:He should always be in Vrindavan Why does he live in the USA? If he advises others to stay away from materialism, why does he himself live in luxury in the USA? Why does he travel in luxury air-conditioned cars and live in posh bungalows? If he is true to his followers, he should live in India and not in the USA. He is a noble person, no doubt. But not living in Lord Krishna's birth place is a sin for someone who is head of ISKCON. Out of 365 days in a year, he has only 5-10 days for Indians. It is a matter of shame for him.
Shobhit Kaushik
What would you say such a person after reading his reply?
Amit
Answer: I Always Live in Vrindavan
Materialism and spiritualism have nothing to do with where we live. In fact it is a materialistic conception to think that by residing in one place as opposed to another that we will become more spiritual. The real determining factor is who we associate with. If we associate with great transcendentalists we become great transcendentalists. And if we associate with mundaners, we become mundaners. Mostly all the inhabitants of both the USA and India are in material consciousness. But in both countries there are great transcendentalists to be found if one is very eager to seek them out.Apparently your friend does not know the real meaning of staying away from materialism. Matter is the energy of God, and materialism means when we utilize that energy for our sense gratification. Conversely spiritualism means when we utilize that energy in God's service. Some people have the misconception that spiritualism means to have nothing to do with matter. But that is not a fact. We cannot avoid dealing with matter because we are surrounded by it on all sides. The key is that we have to engage whether material facility we have in the service of the Lord, then we are spiritualists. The same principle applies both in the USA and in India.
You may tell your friend that I am constantly traveling and preaching all over the world because my Guru Maharaja has ordered me to turn the entire world into the spiritual Vrindavan atmosphere. I am not staying in one place permanently to enjoy the material facilities there.
Krishna's incarnation in this age, Lord Caitanya, has ordered that it is duty of all Indians to become spiritually perfect and do the highest welfare work of spreading Krishna consciousness all over the world. But instead of going after Krishna, the modern day Indians are going after technology and money and are therefore neglecting their duty to become Krishna conscious and make the whole world Krishna conscious.
And now when an American takes up the duty neglected by the Indians your friend criticizes him for not spending more time in India. Apparently he is not aware that in the Vedic histories we have authoritative information that this entire planet was formerly India. Simply it is due to the influence of this materialistic age of Kali that India has been gradually shrinking more and more. Just like several decades ago Pakistan was chopped off as a separate country. Formerly the capital of the entire planet earth was Hastinapur, which is now known as Delhi, India. I have dedicated my entire existence to restoring the original Indian Vedic culture all over the world. What is your friend doing besides criticizing me?
So far no one has ever given me a posh bungalow for my residence or has driven me in a luxury car. I accept whatever meager transportation or place of residence is offered to me, even if is it very simple. But in this connection I ask your friend to kindly note:
Because the spiritual master is a representative of God, according to the authorized Vedic literatures, he is meant to be offered the same honor and respect that is given to God. When God is conveyed from one place to another He is taken in a golden chariot. When He is offered a place of residence the walls are bedecked with valuable jewels. So I think that even if my disciples were to offer me a Rolls Royce and a marble palace, it will still not be to the full standard.
I am not the head of ISKCON. I am simply one of the many spiritual masters who are working together within the ISKCON mission to bring about a spiritual revolution on this planet. I spend more or less time in a place depending on how many lectures my students and disciples can arrange for me. If your friend can book for me an extensive lecture tour within India, I will be happy to spend more time in the wonderful Indian holy land.
The shame is not on me. I am doing my duty. The shame is on those Indians who are neglecting their duty. They have been ordered to make their lives spiritually perfect and spread Krishna consciousness all over the world. It is these Indians who are neglecting their duty who should be ashamed, not me. I am properly situated in dharma (duty). It is they who have become adharmis, neglectors of their duty.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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