Meaning of Govardhan Puja Date: 2009-10-28 Author: Narahari Krishna das Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva. This week Govardhan puja was celebrated by devotees all over the world. Many times, I had the doubt, "Why this Govardhan Lila is to be glorified so much? For the Supreme Lord, who makes big planets to float in space just by His mere will, lifting a hill is nothing. Then what is the wonder in this lila?" Some people may argue, "The Lord was only seven years old during this lila. Also lifting a mountain is not an ordinary task for any human being". But devotees like Hanuman have lifted Sanjeevani mountain and even demons like Ravana lifted the mountain Kailasha without being the Supreme Lord. Also, for God being one year old or 7 years old does not matter. Because in the case of conditioned souls, the strength of a person is related to the body structure and size, height weight etc. But for the Supreme Lord who is form is made of consciousness and bliss, He will have the same absolute power whether he is a small boy or within the atoms as Paramatma. So, glorifying the Lord for His great power in lifting the hill is like glorifying a great weight lifter champion for lifting a small mushroom. So what is special in this lila? Great devotees explain the sublime truth behind this lila of the Lord. When the Lord lifted the hill, it served as an umbrella and all the residents of Vrindavana took shelter under the hill and were protected from the torrents of rain sent by Indra. In this material world, the miseries are like the torrents of rain sent by Indra. Wherever we go in this world, there is misery, just like the rains were lashing across the entire Vrindavana. And the Lord's lotus feet can be compared to an umbrella. One who is situated under this umbrella is protected from all miseries of this material world. So, everyone should take shelter under the umbrella of the lotus feet of the Lord. There are many slokas in the Bhagavata Purana (11.19.9) which compare the lotus feet of the Lord to an umbrella. One such sloka is spoke by the Lord's dear devotee Uddhava. tāpa-trayeṇābhihatasya ghore santapyamānasya bhavādhvanīśa paśyāmi nānyac charaṇaṁ tavāṅghri- dvandvātapatrād amṛtābhivarṣāt My dear Lord, for one who is being cruelly burned in the blazing fire of material miseries, having fallen into the network of material existence, I do not see any other possible shelter besides Your two lotus feet, which are a shower of nectar extinguishing the fire of suffering. The word "ātapatrād" means umbrella. When the Lord lifted the hill, the rains did not stop immediately. They continued to lash. But because the devotees were under the shelter of the hill which served as an umbrella, they were not at all affected. In the same way, even after taking to Krishna consciousness, we can see that material miseries continue to lash the devotees, because this world is by nature miserable. However, because of the absorption of our minds in Krishna consiousness, the devotees are not affected by the miseries of this world. In the verse quoted above, the word "abhihatasya" means "completely defeated in all directions". When such a person approaches the Lord's feet, the Lord drowns him in the shower of the nectar of His lotus feet (amṛtābhivarṣāt). So, a devotee may also have many problems like any other person. But he is not affected by those miseries. The more a devotee is advanced in his devotional service, the less he becomes affected by the miseries of the material world. Also, the umbrella is a special shelter because it protects one from both heat and rain. In the same way, the Lord's lotus feet protect a person from both material happiness and distress of this world. One may think "Why we should be protected from happiness because that is what everyone is looking for?" The answer is that when we don't take shelter at the Lord's lotus feet during the times of happiness, we will become elated and misery always follows happiness in this material world. So, the more we become elated, the more we will be depressed in times of misery. When we are under the Lord's lotus feet, we never become elated in happiness or depressed in distress. So, one is protected from the dualities of this material world. When a person continues his life in this way up to the point of death, the Lord awards the devotee another beautiful umbrella which is the spiritual kingdom. The Bhagavata purana (12.11.19) compares the spiritual world to an umbrella. Once we reach that place, no more miseries exist and one is eternally situated under that umbrella: ātapatraṁ tu vaikuṇṭhaṁ dvijā dhāmākuto-bhayam tri-vṛd vedaḥ suparṇākhyo yajñaṁ vahati pūruṣam O brahmanas, the Lord's umbrella is His spiritual abode, Vaikuntha, where there is no fear, and Garuda, who carries the Lord of sacrifice, is the threefold Veda. So from the Govardhan lila, the Lord revealed that the only shelter in this world is His lotus feet and only this shelter can award the spiritual world. I pray at the lotus feet of Maharaj, Srila Prabhupada and all devotees so that I will sincerely seek the Lord's shelter. Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva, Narahari Krishna das Chennai..