I recently bought Bal Gopal ji. I am very confused on how to serve him. Can I do mangal aarti for him everyday at 4:30 am? What I do now is after taking bath, I first wake him up and offer him sugar and water. Then I change his clothes and put kesar chandan on his forehead and make him seated on a gaddi kept on an aasan. I also keep flowers and tulsi leaves near him. Then I light a ghee diya and incense sticks. Then I give him water and whatever I cook without onion-garlic or else fruits and keep a tulsi leaf on each food item and water. Then after 15 minutes I put it on a separate plate and eat and drink that considering them prasadam. Then repeat the procedure in the afternoon and then make my Laddoo Gopal Ji sleep. In the evening I wake him up and light a ghee diya and insence sticks. At around 7 pm I offer him food and then after half an hour change his clothes, remove the flowers from his bed and make him sleep. Am I serving him right? Any additional thing I have to do? Also, please tell me what all items are needed during aarti. Is it ok that I worship only Laddoo Gopal Ji or do I need to worship Srila Prabhupada and Gaura-Nitai also? What is the correct way to offer prasadam and what mantra has to be chanted while offering it? Is it important to keep him in jhula everyday or can I do it only during Jhula Mahotsav?Hare KrishnaPrerna Preetish Mohanty
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Hare Krishna
Thank you so much for helping me out Krishna Dasi Ji. I am reading this discussion again and again and getting sheer pleasure out of it. I wake my Laddoo Gopal Ji at 9 am. I first offer him water and sugar. Then I get him dressed and apply kesar chandan and sandalwood perfume. Then I do aarti with ghee diya, insence sticks, camphor and red roses. Then I offer him prasadam topped with tulsi leaves. Then at around 12:45 I offer him prasadam again and light diya and insence sticks. Then at around 1 pm, I make him sleep. Then I wake him up at around 6 pm and do aarti by offering ghee diya, camphor, insence sticks and marigold flowers.then at around 8 pm I offer him prasadam again and light insence sticks and diya. At around 8:30 pm I remove all the flowers and shringaar and make him wear woollen clothes and put bolster and sing lullabuy and carress him and make him sleep.
Thank you everyone for your guidance.
Hare Krishna
krishna dasi > Prerna MohantyJanuary 16, 2015 at 9:14pm
Hare Krishna
Hope all of us gets immense chance of the service of Krishna. You are doing excellent service....i was just far far less than what you are doing in such a short span of time. Hari Bol!
By the grace of Lord Krishna, I also have Ladoo Gopal ji in our home. I would like to share my views here.
First of all - Ladoo Gopal ji can not be bought from market - though apparently it might look like that. He actually comes to you - when He desires to. So it means He has chosen to come to you and so you are very fortunate. :)
There is no fixed and strict rules for Ladoo Gopal ji. He adjusts as per the limitations and resources of the family. But the keyword is consistency.
About the service of Ladoo Gopal ji - the most basic thing is - whatever you do, you need to do that consistently. In the beginning, set a minimum standard for His service. This minimum should not be missed - this has to happen 365 days a year.
Now when you experience that you are ready to increase your service do that slowly one by one. As the minimum service is not to be skipped ever.
Btw, he takes boiled milk ofcourse, :) neither too hot not cold. (here also, if you want to start offering milk, it has to be done everyday. if you are offering Him milk once or twice - make that regular)
The service of Ladoo Gopal ji is a vast topic. If you be specific I would love to share my ideas also.
When possible for you, please buy a singhasan for Him. you can put your gaddi on the singhasan.
About His bhog, if you are giving Him Anna Bhog - set a minimal standard - once/twice/thrice a day upto you. Maintain that. sometimes during time crisis, a little bit of suji can be roastedin ghee and add water and sugar , boil iti - halwa is ready.For emergencies, keep some stock of dry fruits like raisins/kaju/almond - incase you are not cooking for some reasons. As you can not skip this, once you start.
It is not compulsory to put Him in jhula everyday.
About his bath, set a routine - either everyday (which is difficult for working/students) or Sundays or or on Ekadashis. It means either daily, weekly, twice a month or once a month. set the standard and follow that.
When you are out-of-station someone has to do the service of Gopal ji. Or else you may carry Him with you. But then again the diety of our home many a times adjusts as per the limitations of the householder - like I know one Vaishnava family - who though very religious and serious in devotion - do not carry their Ladoo Gopal ji while travelling - they keep Ladoos in big tiffin boxes before Him (like if they are going for 4 days , they will keep 2 ladoos for everyday that is eight ladoos) and while leaving the head of the family joins hands and says in His native language. "Jab man karein, Kha lije, Jaha man kare ghum lije, jahan man kare so lije". and then they leave.
Prerna Mohanty > krishna dasiJanuary 19, 2015 at 11:00pm
Hare Krishna
Do I have to cover the glass and bowl? Also suggesst some aarti songs for morning and evening. If I massage Laddoo Gopal Ji with oil, is coconut oil ok and do I have to give him a bath next morning in that case? When I offer Prasadam to Laddoo Gopal Ji, I put a Tulsi Leaf on the water and food. I eat the prasadam but what do I do with the water and Tulsi Leaf? Also, if I chant 16 rounds in a day, then do I have to do continuously or I can do half in morning and half in evening? Is it ok that I have kept the other Gods like Ganpati, Lord Shiva, Mata Rani, Sai Baba just next to Laddoo Gopal and worship then at 6 am and Laddoo Gopal at 8 am since he is a child to wake up at 6 am?
If you are keeping any prasadam/ water for overnight, you should cover both. Next morning, you can transfer the contents to your utensils (and not use Gopal ji's utensils) and eat and drink both. Tulsi also can be eaten.
16 rounds chanting - ideally, at one time. If its not possible, take as many breaks as required, chant 16 before you go to sleep, thats all.
The last part is not right - if you have demigods in your altar, then you should place Gopal ji on a higher platform - maybe a singhasan or atleast a gaddi. And you have to open and close your altar all at once, not separately for each deity/ photo in your altar. If you have pitr (ancestors) also on the altar, please remove them and keep them outside the altar.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi
krishna dasi > krishna dasiJanuary 15, 2015 at 5:55pm
Our Ladoo Gopal ji prefers to accompany us 99% of the time but like sometimes, while we are going to places for longer periods where it will be difficult to maintain the service to Gopal ji in terms of cleanliness etc, we can also give Him to some friend or relative if he/she commits to maintain the service willingly during your absence.
About His clothing and accessories - slowly, as the budget and time allows you can arrange for his clothes as per the climate - like sweaters in winter, cotton clothes in summer etc.
I know a friend who has just started to do a massage to Ladoo Gopal with mustard oil while making Gopal ji sleep as she felt His body was too cold.....she gets immense pleasure in that. :)
Please get Him a flute. Other things that you can dress Him with can be , pagri, earrings, necklaces, bangles. Bindis are there also. I must warn you that once someone start to enjoy dressing Ladoo Gopal ji - this can get very very addictive! :)
You can talk to Ladoo Gopal ji or sing bhajans for Him.
While making Him sleep, you can press/massage His legs a little, softly as the legs of infants get very tired while crawling through the day. there is one very nice bhajan "prabhu ji ab tum shayan karo -2, prabhu ji nayanan neend bharo...das tumharo charana dabawe ...ab tum shayan karo".
The service of Ladoo Gopal is too addictive!
krishna dasi > krishna dasiJanuary 16, 2015 at 9:09pm
I just missed out one thing - at night after putting Him to sleep, you can keep little water and prasad(like raisin/badam/mishri/sugar whatever) by His side, just in case He get hungry or thirsty in the night.
Hare Krishna
Thank you so much Bhuwan Dutt Bawari Prabhuji. I still have a few confusions. What all items are required for aarti? Should I serve him raw milk or boiled milk?
Replies
Thank you so much for helping me out Krishna Dasi Ji. I am reading this discussion again and again and getting sheer pleasure out of it. I wake my Laddoo Gopal Ji at 9 am. I first offer him water and sugar. Then I get him dressed and apply kesar chandan and sandalwood perfume. Then I do aarti with ghee diya, insence sticks, camphor and red roses. Then I offer him prasadam topped with tulsi leaves. Then at around 12:45 I offer him prasadam again and light diya and insence sticks. Then at around 1 pm, I make him sleep. Then I wake him up at around 6 pm and do aarti by offering ghee diya, camphor, insence sticks and marigold flowers.then at around 8 pm I offer him prasadam again and light insence sticks and diya. At around 8:30 pm I remove all the flowers and shringaar and make him wear woollen clothes and put bolster and sing lullabuy and carress him and make him sleep.
Thank you everyone for your guidance.
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna
Hope all of us gets immense chance of the service of Krishna. You are doing excellent service....i was just far far less than what you are doing in such a short span of time. Hari Bol!
Hare Krishna
Dear Prerna ji,
By the grace of Lord Krishna, I also have Ladoo Gopal ji in our home. I would like to share my views here.
First of all - Ladoo Gopal ji can not be bought from market - though apparently it might look like that. He actually comes to you - when He desires to. So it means He has chosen to come to you and so you are very fortunate. :)
There is no fixed and strict rules for Ladoo Gopal ji. He adjusts as per the limitations and resources of the family. But the keyword is consistency.
About the service of Ladoo Gopal ji - the most basic thing is - whatever you do, you need to do that consistently. In the beginning, set a minimum standard for His service. This minimum should not be missed - this has to happen 365 days a year.
Now when you experience that you are ready to increase your service do that slowly one by one. As the minimum service is not to be skipped ever.
Btw, he takes boiled milk ofcourse, :) neither too hot not cold. (here also, if you want to start offering milk, it has to be done everyday. if you are offering Him milk once or twice - make that regular)
The service of Ladoo Gopal ji is a vast topic. If you be specific I would love to share my ideas also.
When possible for you, please buy a singhasan for Him. you can put your gaddi on the singhasan.
About His bhog, if you are giving Him Anna Bhog - set a minimal standard - once/twice/thrice a day upto you. Maintain that. sometimes during time crisis, a little bit of suji can be roastedin ghee and add water and sugar , boil iti - halwa is ready.For emergencies, keep some stock of dry fruits like raisins/kaju/almond - incase you are not cooking for some reasons. As you can not skip this, once you start.
It is not compulsory to put Him in jhula everyday.
About his bath, set a routine - either everyday (which is difficult for working/students) or Sundays or or on Ekadashis. It means either daily, weekly, twice a month or once a month. set the standard and follow that.
When you are out-of-station someone has to do the service of Gopal ji. Or else you may carry Him with you. But then again the diety of our home many a times adjusts as per the limitations of the householder - like I know one Vaishnava family - who though very religious and serious in devotion - do not carry their Ladoo Gopal ji while travelling - they keep Ladoos in big tiffin boxes before Him (like if they are going for 4 days , they will keep 2 ladoos for everyday that is eight ladoos) and while leaving the head of the family joins hands and says in His native language. "Jab man karein, Kha lije, Jaha man kare ghum lije, jahan man kare so lije". and then they leave.
Do I have to cover the glass and bowl? Also suggesst some aarti songs for morning and evening. If I massage Laddoo Gopal Ji with oil, is coconut oil ok and do I have to give him a bath next morning in that case? When I offer Prasadam to Laddoo Gopal Ji, I put a Tulsi Leaf on the water and food. I eat the prasadam but what do I do with the water and Tulsi Leaf? Also, if I chant 16 rounds in a day, then do I have to do continuously or I can do half in morning and half in evening? Is it ok that I have kept the other Gods like Ganpati, Lord Shiva, Mata Rani, Sai Baba just next to Laddoo Gopal and worship then at 6 am and Laddoo Gopal at 8 am since he is a child to wake up at 6 am?
Hare Krsna Prerna Mataji,
PAMHO.
If you are keeping any prasadam/ water for overnight, you should cover both. Next morning, you can transfer the contents to your utensils (and not use Gopal ji's utensils) and eat and drink both. Tulsi also can be eaten.
16 rounds chanting - ideally, at one time. If its not possible, take as many breaks as required, chant 16 before you go to sleep, thats all.
The last part is not right - if you have demigods in your altar, then you should place Gopal ji on a higher platform - maybe a singhasan or atleast a gaddi. And you have to open and close your altar all at once, not separately for each deity/ photo in your altar. If you have pitr (ancestors) also on the altar, please remove them and keep them outside the altar.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi
Our Ladoo Gopal ji prefers to accompany us 99% of the time but like sometimes, while we are going to places for longer periods where it will be difficult to maintain the service to Gopal ji in terms of cleanliness etc, we can also give Him to some friend or relative if he/she commits to maintain the service willingly during your absence.
About His clothing and accessories - slowly, as the budget and time allows you can arrange for his clothes as per the climate - like sweaters in winter, cotton clothes in summer etc.
I know a friend who has just started to do a massage to Ladoo Gopal with mustard oil while making Gopal ji sleep as she felt His body was too cold.....she gets immense pleasure in that. :)
Please get Him a flute. Other things that you can dress Him with can be , pagri, earrings, necklaces, bangles. Bindis are there also. I must warn you that once someone start to enjoy dressing Ladoo Gopal ji - this can get very very addictive! :)
You can talk to Ladoo Gopal ji or sing bhajans for Him.
While making Him sleep, you can press/massage His legs a little, softly as the legs of infants get very tired while crawling through the day. there is one very nice bhajan "prabhu ji ab tum shayan karo -2, prabhu ji nayanan neend bharo...das tumharo charana dabawe ...ab tum shayan karo".
The service of Ladoo Gopal is too addictive!
I just missed out one thing - at night after putting Him to sleep, you can keep little water and prasad(like raisin/badam/mishri/sugar whatever) by His side, just in case He get hungry or thirsty in the night.
Hare Krsna dear Pia ji,
PAMHO.
Beautiful answers. Loved reading them. You have covered all points and explained very nicely.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi
Hare Krishna
Dear Rashmi ji,
I am thankful for all the encouragement that I have received from Krishna ji through you. Your writings are a source of inspiration to me.
Thank you so much Bhuwan Dutt Bawari Prabhuji. I still have a few confusions. What all items are required for aarti? Should I serve him raw milk or boiled milk?
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