Worshiping Govardhana Hill
KRSNA BOOK CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
While engaged with the brahmanas who were too much involved in the
performance of Vedic sacrifices, Krishna and Balarama also saw that
the cowherd men were preparing a similar sacrifice in order to
pacify Indra, the King of heaven, who is responsible for supplying
water. As stated in the Caitanya-caritamrita, a devotee of Krishna
has strong and firm faith in the understanding that if he is simply
engaged in Krishna consciousness and Krishna’s transcendental
loving service, then he is freed from all other obligations. A pure
devotee of Lord Krishna doesn’t have to perform any of the
ritualistic functions enjoined in the Vedas; nor is he required to
worship any demigods. Being a devotee of Lord Krishna, one is
understood to have performed all kinds of Vedic rituals and all
kinds of worship to the demigods. One does not develop devotional
service for Krishna by performing the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies
or worshiping the demigods, but it should be understood that one
who is engaged fully in the service of the Lord has already
fulfilled all Vedic injunctions.
In order to stop all such activities by His devotees, Krishna
wanted to firmly establish exclusive devotional service during His
presence in Vrindavana. Because He is the omniscient Personality of
Godhead, Krishna knew that the cowherd men were preparing for the
Indra sacrifice, but as a matter of etiquette He began to inquire
with great honor and submission from elder personalities like
Maharaja Nanda.
Krishna asked His father, “My dear father, what is this arrangement
going on for a great sacrifice? What is the result of such a
sacrifice, and for whom is it meant? How is it performed? Will you
kindly let Me know? I am very eager to know this procedure, so
please explain to Me the purpose of this sacrifice.” Upon this
inquiry, His father, Nanda Maharaja, remained silent, thinking that
his young boy would not be able to understand the intricacies of
performing the yajna. Krishna, however, persisted: “My dear father,
for those who are liberal and saintly, there is no secrecy. They do
not think anyone to be a friend, an enemy or a neutral party,
because they are always open to everyone. And even for those who
are not so liberal, nothing should be kept secret from the family
members and friends, although secrecy may be maintained for persons
who are inimical. Therefore you cannot keep any secrets from Me.
All persons are engaged in fruitive activities. Some know what
these activities are, and they know the result, and some execute
activities without knowing the purpose or the result. A person who
acts with full knowledge gets the full result; one who acts without
knowledge does not get such a perfect result. Therefore, please let
Me know the purpose of the sacrifice you are going to perform. Is
it according to Vedic injunction? Or is it simply a popular
ceremony? Kindly let Me know in detail about the sacrifice.”
On hearing this inquiry from Krishna, Maharaja Nanda replied, “My
dear boy, this ceremonial performance is more or less traditional.
Because rainfall is due to the mercy of King Indra and the clouds
are his representatives, and because water is so important for our
living, we must show some gratitude to the controller of this
rainfall, Maharaja Indra. We are arranging, therefore, to pacify
King Indra, because he has very kindly sent us clouds to pour down
a sufficient quantity of rain for successful agricultural
activities. Water is very important: without rainfall we cannot
farm or produce grain, and without grain we cannot live. Therefore
rain is necessary for successful religious ceremonies, economic
development and, ultimately, liberation. So we should not give up
this traditional ceremonial function; if one gives it up, being
influenced by lust, greed or fear, then it does not look very good
for him.”
After hearing this, Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in
the presence of His father and all the elder cowherd men of
Vrindavana, spoke in such a way as to make heavenly King Indra very
angry. He suggested that they forgo the sacrifice. His reasons for
discouraging the sacrifice performed to please Indra were twofold.
First, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita, there is no need to worship
the demigods for any material advancement; all results derived from
worshiping the demigods are simply temporary, and only those who
are less intelligent are interested in temporary results. Second,
whatever temporary result one derives from worshiping the demigods
is actually granted by the permission of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. It is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gita: mayaiva vihitan
hi tan. Whatever benefit is supposed to be derived from the
demigods is actually bestowed by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Without the permission of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, one cannot bestow any benefit upon others. But sometimes
the demigods become puffed up by the influence of material nature;
thinking themselves all in all, they forget the supremacy of the
Personality of Godhead. In Srimad-Bhagavatam it is clearly stated
that in this instance Krishna wanted to make King Indra angry.
Krishna’s advent was especially meant for the annihilation of the
demons and protection of the devotees. King Indra was certainly a
devotee, not a demon, but because he was puffed up, Krishna wanted
to teach him a lesson. He first made Indra angry by stopping the
Indra-puja, which had been arranged by the cowherd men in
Vrindavana.
With this purpose in mind, Krishna began to talk as if He were an
atheist supporting the philosophy of Karma-mimamsa. Advocates of
this philosophy do not accept the supreme authority of the
Personality of Godhead. They put forward the argument that if
anyone works nicely, the result is sure to come. Their opinion is
that even if there is a God who gives man the result of his
fruitive activities, there is no need to worship Him because unless
man works He cannot bestow any good result. They say that instead
of worshiping a demigod or God, people should give attention to
their own duties, and thus the good result will surely come. Lord
Krishna began to speak to His father according to these principles
of the Karma-mimamsa philosophy. “My dear father,” He said, “I
don’t think you need to worship any demigod for the successful
performance of your agricultural activities. Every living being is
born according to his past karma and leaves this life simply taking
the result of his present karma. Everyone is born in different
types or species of life according to his past activities, and he
gets his next birth according to the activities of this life.
Different grades of material happiness and distress, comforts and
disadvantages of life, are different results of different kinds of
activities, from either the past or present life.”
Maharaja Nanda and other elder members argued that without
satisfying the predominating god one cannot derive any good result
simply by material activities. This is actually the fact. For
example, it is sometimes found that in spite of first-class medical
help and treatment by a first-class physician, a diseased person
dies. It is concluded, therefore, that first-class medical
treatment or the attempts of a first-class physician are not in
themselves the cause for curing a patient; there must be the hand
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, a father’s and
mother’s taking care of their children is not the cause of the
children’s comfort. Sometimes it is found that in spite of all care
by the parents, the children go bad or succumb to death. Therefore
material causes are not sufficient for results. There must be the
sanction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nanda Maharaja
therefore advocated that in order to get good results for
agricultural activities, they must satisfy Indra, the
superintending deity of the rain supply. Lord Krishna nullified
this argument, saying that the demigods give results only to
persons who have executed their prescribed duties. The demigods
cannot give any good results to the person who has not executed the
prescribed duties; therefore demigods are dependent on the
execution of duties and are not absolute in awarding good results
to anyone. So why should one care about them?
“My dear father,” Lord Krishna said, “there is no need to worship
the demigod Indra. Everyone has to achieve the result of his own
work. We can actually see that one becomes busy according to the
natural tendency of his work; and according to that natural
tendency, all living entities—either human beings or
demigods—achieve their respective results. All living entities
achieve higher or lower bodies and create enemies, friends or
neutral parties only because of their different kinds of work. One
should be careful to discharge duties according to his natural
instinct and not divert attention to the worship of various
demigods. The demigods will be satisfied by proper execution of all
duties, so there is no need to worship them. Let us, rather,
perform our prescribed duties very nicely. Actually one cannot be
happy without executing his proper prescribed duty. One who does
not, therefore, properly discharge his prescribed duties is
compared to an unchaste wife. The proper prescribed duty of the
brahmanas is the study of the Vedas; the proper duty of the royal
order, the kshatriyas, is engagement in protecting the citizens;
the proper duty of the vaisya community is agriculture, trade and
protection of the cows; and the proper duty of the sudras is
service to the higher classes, namely the brahmanas, kshatriyas and
vaisyas. We belong to the vaisya community, and our proper duty is
to farm, to trade with the agricultural produce, to protect cows or
to take to banking.”
Krishna identified Himself with the vaisya community because Nanda
Maharaja was protecting many cows and Krishna was taking care of
them. He enumerated four kinds of business engagements for the
vaisya community, namely agriculture, trade, protection of cows and
banking. Although the vaisyas can take to any of these occupations,
the men of Vrindavana were engaged primarily in the protection of
cows.
Krishna further explained to His father, “This cosmic manifestation
is going on under the influence of three modes of material
nature—goodness, passion and ignorance. These three modes are the
causes of creation, maintenance and destruction. The cloud is
caused by the action of the mode of passion; therefore it is the
mode of passion which causes the rainfall. And after the rainfall,
the living entities derive the result—success in agricultural work.
What, then, has Indra to do in this affair? Even if you do not
please Indra, what can he do? We do not derive any special benefit
from Indra. Even if he is there, he pours water on the ocean also,
where there is no need of water. So he is pouring water on the
ocean or on the land; it does not depend on our worshiping him. As
far as we are concerned, we do not need to go to another city or
village or foreign country. There are palatial buildings in the
cities, but we are satisfied living in this forest of Vrindavana.
Our specific relationship is with Govardhana Hill and Vrindavana
forest and nothing more. I therefore request you, My dear father,
to begin a sacrifice which will satisfy the local brahmanas and
Govardhana Hill, and let us have nothing to do with Indra.”
After hearing this statement by Krishna, Nanda Maharaja replied,
“My dear boy, since You are asking, I shall arrange for a separate
sacrifice for the local brahmanas and Govardhana Hill. But for the
present let me execute this sacrifice known as Indra-yajna.”
But Krishna replied, “My dear father, don’t delay. The sacrifice
you propose for Govardhana and the local brahmanas will take much
time. Better take the arrangement and paraphernalia you have
already made for the Indra-yajna and immediately engage them to
satisfy Govardhana Hill and the local brahmanas.”
Maharaja Nanda finally relented. The cowherd men then inquired from
Krishna how He wanted the yajna performed, and Krishna gave them
the following directions. “Prepare very nice foods of all
descriptions from the grains and ghee collected for the yajna.
Prepare rice, dhal, then halava, pakora, puri and all kinds of milk
preparations, such as sweet rice, rabri, sweetballs, sandesa,
rasagulla and laddu, and invite the learned brahmanas who can chant
the Vedic hymns and offer oblations to the fire. The brahmanas
should be given all kinds of grains in charity. Then decorate all
the cows and feed them well. After performing this, give money in
charity to the brahmanas. As far as the lower animals are
concerned, such as the dogs, and the lower grades of people, such
as the candalas, or the fifth class of men, who are considered
untouchable, they also may be given sumptuous prasadam. After nice
grasses have been given to the cows, the sacrifice known as
Govardhana-puja may immediately begin. This sacrifice will very
much satisfy Me.”
In this statement, Lord Krishna practically described the whole
economy of the vaisya community. In all communities in human
society—including the brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaisyas, sudras,
candalas, etc.— and in the animal kingdom—including the cows, dogs,
goats, etc.—everyone has his part to play. Each is to work in
cooperation for the total benefit of all society, which includes
not only animate objects but also inanimate objects like hills and
land. The vaisya community is specifically responsible for the
economic improvement of the society by producing grains, by giving
protection to the cows, by transporting food when needed, and by
banking and finance.
From this statement we learn also that although the cats and dogs,
which have now become so important, are not to be neglected, cow
protection is actually more important than protection of cats and
dogs. Another hint we get from this statement is that the candalas,
or the untouchables, are also not to be neglected by the higher
classes and should be given necessary protection. Everyone is
important, but some are directly responsible for the advancement of
human society and some are only indirectly responsible. However,
when Krishna consciousness is there, then everyone’s total benefit
is taken care of.
The sacrifice known as Govardhana-puja is observed in the Krishna
consciousness movement. Lord Caitanya has recommended that since
Krishna is worshipable, so His land—Vrindavana and Govardhana
Hill—is also worshipable. To confirm this statement, Lord Krishna
said that Govardhana-puja is as good as worship of Him. From that
day, Govardhana-puja has been going on and is known as Annakuta. In
all the temples of Vrindavana or outside of Vrindavana, huge
quantities of food are prepared in this ceremony and are very
sumptuously distributed to the general population. Sometimes the
food is thrown to the crowds, and they enjoy collecting it off the
ground. From this we can understand that prasadam offered to
Krishna never becomes polluted or contaminated, even if it is
thrown on the ground. The people, therefore, collect it and eat
with great satisfaction.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, therefore advised the
cowherd men to stop the Indra-yajna and begin the Govardhana-puja
in order to chastise Indra, who was very much puffed up at being
the supreme controller of the heavenly planets. The honest and
simple cowherd men, headed by Nanda Maharaja, accepted Krishna’s
proposal and executed in detail everything He advised. They
performed Govardhana worship and circumambulation of the hill.
(Following the inauguration of Govardhana-puja, people in
Vrindavana still dress nicely and assemble near Govardhana Hill to
offer worship and circumambulate the hill, leading their cows all
around.) According to the instruction of Lord Krishna, Nanda
Maharaja and the cowherd men called in learned brahmanas and began
to worship Govardhana Hill by chanting Vedic hymns and offering
prasadam. The inhabitants of Vrindavana assembled together,
decorated their cows and gave them grass. Keeping the cows in
front, they began to circumambulate Govardhana Hill. The gopis
dressed themselves very luxuriantly and sat in bull-driven carts,
chanting the glories of Krishna’s pastimes. Assembled there to act
as priests for Govardhana-puja, the brahmanas offered their
blessings to the cowherd men and their wives, the gopis.
When everything was complete, Krishna assumed a great
transcendental form and declared to the inhabitants of Vrindavana
that He was Himself Govardhana Hill in order to convince the
devotees that Govardhana Hill and Krishna Himself are identical.
Then Krishna began to eat all the food offered there. The identity
of Krishna and Govardhana Hill is still honored, and great devotees
take rocks from Govardhana Hill and worship them exactly as they
worship the Deity of Krishna in the temples. The followers of the
Krishna consciousness movement may therefore collect small rocks or
pebbles from Govardhana Hill and worship them at home, because this
worship is as good as Deity worship. The form of Krishna who began
to eat the offerings was separately constituted, and Krishna
Himself, along with the other inhabitants of Vrindavana, offered
obeisances to the Deity as well as Govardhana Hill. In offering
obeisances to the huge form of Krishna and Govardhana Hill, Krishna
declared, “Just see how Govardhana Hill has assumed this huge form
and is favoring us by accepting all the offerings.” Krishna also
declared at that meeting, “One who neglects the worship of
Govardhana-puja, as I am personally conducting it, will not be
happy. There are many snakes on Govardhana Hill, and persons
neglecting the prescribed duty of Govardhana-puja will be bitten by
these snakes and killed. In order to assure the good fortune of the
cows and themselves, all people of Vrindavana near Govardhana must
worship the hill, as prescribed by Me.”
Thus performing the Govardhana-puja sacrifice, all the inhabitants
of Vrindavana followed the instructions of Krishna, the son of
Vasudeva, and afterwards they returned to their respective
homes.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Twenty-fourth Chapter of
Krishna, “Worshiping Govardhana Hill.”

Devastating Rainfall in
Vrindavana
KRSNA BOOK CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada.
When Indra understood that the sacrifice that was to be offered by
the cowherd men in Vrindavana had been stopped by Krishna, he
became angry, and he vented his anger upon the inhabitants of
Vrindavana, who were headed by Nanda Maharaja, although Indra knew
perfectly well that Krishna was personally protecting them. As the
director of different kinds of clouds, Indra called for the
Samvartaka. This cloud is invited when there is a need to devastate
the whole cosmic manifestation. The Samvartaka was ordered by Indra
to go over Vrindavana and inundate the whole area with an extensive
flood. Demonically, Indra thought himself to be the all-powerful
supreme personality. When demons become very powerful, they defy
the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead. Indra, though
not a demon, was puffed up by his material position, and he wanted
to challenge the supreme controller. He thought himself, at least
for the time being, as powerful as Krishna. Indra said, “Just see
the impudence of the inhabitants of Vrindavana! They are simply
inhabitants of the forest, but being infatuated with their friend
Krishna, who is nothing but an ordinary human being, they have
dared to defy the demigods.”
Krishna has declared in the Bhagavad-gita that the worshipers of
the demigods are not very intelligent. He has also declared that
one has to give up all kinds of worship and simply concentrate on
Krishna consciousness. Krishna’s invoking the anger of Indra and
later on chastising him is a clear indication to His devotees that
those who are engaged in Krishna consciousness have no need to
worship any demigod, even if it is found that the demigod has
become angry. Krishna gives His devotees all protection, and they
should completely depend on His mercy.
Indra cursed the action of the inhabitants of Vrindavana and said,
“By defying the authority of the demigods, the inhabitants of
Vrindavana will suffer in material existence. Having neglected the
sacrifice to the demigods, they cannot cross over the impediments
of the ocean of material existence.” Indra further declared, “These
cowherd men in Vrindavana have neglected my authority on the advice
of this talkative boy who is known as Krishna. He is nothing but a
child, and by believing this child, they have enraged me.” Thus he
ordered the Samvartaka cloud to go and destroy the prosperity of
Vrindavana. “The men of Vrindavana,” said Indra, “have become too
puffed up over their material opulence and are overconfident due to
the presence of their tiny friend, Krishna. He is simply talkative,
childish and unaware of the complete cosmic situation, although He
is thinking Himself very advanced in knowledge. Because they have
taken Krishna so seriously, they must be punished. They should be
destroyed with their cows.” In this way Indra ordered the
Samvartaka cloud to go to Vrindavana and inundate the place.
It is indicated here that in the villages or outside the towns, the
inhabitants must depend on the cows for their prosperity. When the
cows are destroyed, the people are destitute of all kinds of
opulences. When King Indra ordered the Samvartaka and companion
clouds to go to Vrindavana, the clouds were afraid of doing this
mischief. But King Indra assured them, “You go ahead, and I will
also go, riding on my elephant, accompanied by great storms. And I
shall apply all my strength to punishing the inhabitants of
Vrindavana.”
Ordered by King Indra, all the dangerous clouds appeared above
Vrindavana and began to pour water incessantly, with all their
strength and power. There was constant lightning and thunder,
blowing of severe wind and incessant falling of rain. The rainfall
seemed to fall like piercing sharp arrows. By pouring water as
thick as pillars, without cessation, the clouds gradually filled
all the lands in Vrindavana with water, and there was no visible
distinction between higher and lower land. The situation was very
dangerous, especially for the animals. The rainfall was accompanied
by great winds, and every living creature in Vrindavana began to
tremble from the severe cold. Unable to find any other source of
deliverance, they all approached Govinda to take shelter at His
lotus feet. The cows especially, being much aggrieved from the
heavy rain, bowed down their heads, and taking their calves
underneath their bodies, they approached the Supreme Personality of
Godhead to take shelter of His lotus feet. At that time all the
inhabitants of Vrindavana began to pray to Lord Krishna. “Dear
Krishna,” they prayed, “You are all-powerful, and You are very
affectionate to Your devotees. Now please protect us, who have been
much harassed by angry Indra.”
Upon hearing their prayer, Krishna could also understand that
Indra, being bereft of his sacrificial honor, was pouring down rain
that was accompanied by heavy pieces of ice and strong winds,
although all this was out of season. Krishna understood that this
was a deliberate exhibition of anger by Indra. He therefore
concluded, “This demigod who thinks himself supreme has shown his
great power, but I shall answer him according to My position, and I
shall teach him that he is not autonomous in managing universal
affairs. I am the Supreme Lord over all, and I shall thus take away
his false prestige, which has risen from his power. The demigods
are My devotees, and therefore it is not possible for them to
forget My supremacy, but somehow or other he has become puffed up
with material power and thus is now maddened. I shall act in such a
way to relieve him of this false prestige. I shall give protection
to My pure devotees in Vrindavana, who are at present completely at
My mercy and whom I have taken completely under My protection. I
must save them by My mystic power.”
Thinking in this way, Lord Krishna immediately picked up Govardhana
Hill with one hand, exactly as a child picks up a mushroom from the
ground. Thus He exhibited His transcendental pastime of lifting
Govardhana Hill. Lord Krishna then addressed His devotees, “My dear
brothers, My dear father, My dear inhabitants of Vrindavana, you
can now safely enter under the umbrella of Govardhana Hill, which I
have just lifted. Do not be afraid of the hill and think that it
will fall from My hand. You have been too much afflicted from the
heavy rain and strong wind; therefore I have lifted this hill,
which will protect you exactly like a huge umbrella. I think this
is a proper arrangement to relieve you of your immediate distress.
Be happy along with your animals underneath this great umbrella.”
Being assured by Lord Krishna, all the inhabitants of Vrindavana
entered beneath the great hill along with their property and
animals, and they all appeared to be safe.
The inhabitants of Vrindavana and their animals remained there for
one week without being disturbed by hunger, thirst or any other
discomforts. They were simply astonished to see how Krishna was
holding up the mountain with the little finger of His left hand.
Seeing the extraordinary mystic power of Krishna, Indra, the King
of heaven, was thunderstruck and baffled in his determination. He
immediately called for all the clouds and asked them to desist.
When the sky became completely cleared of all clouds and there was
sunrise again, the strong wind stopped. At that time Krishna, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, known now as the lifter of
Govardhana Hill, said, “My dear cowherd men, now you can leave and
take your wives, children, cows and valuables, because everything
is ended. The inundation has gone down, along with the swelling
waters of the river.”
All the men loaded their valuables on carts and slowly left with
their cows and other paraphernalia. After they had cleared out
everything, Lord Krishna very slowly replaced Govardhana Hill
exactly in the same position as it had been before. When everything
was done, all the inhabitants of Vrindavana approached Krishna with
feelings of love and embraced Him with great ecstasy. The gopis,
being naturally very affectionate to Krishna, began to offer Him
yogurt mixed with their tears, and they poured incessant blessings
upon Him. Mother Yasoda, mother Rohini, Nanda and Balarama, who is
the strongest of the strong, embraced Krishna one after another
and, from spontaneous feelings of affection, blessed Him over and
over again. In the heavens, different demigods from different
planetary systems, such as Siddhaloka, Gandharvaloka and
Caranaloka, also began to show their complete satisfaction. They
poured showers of flowers on the surface of the earth and sounded
different conchshells. There was beating of drums, and being
inspired by godly feelings, residents of Gandharvaloka began to
play on their tambouras to please the Lord. After this incident,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, surrounded by His dear friends
and the animals, returned to His home. As usual, the gopis began to
chant the glorious pastimes of Lord Krishna with great feeling, for
they were chanting from the heart.
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Twenty-fifth Chapter of
Krishna, “Devastating Rainfall in Vrindavana.”
----

Go Puja
Lord Krishna, as the teacher of human society, personally
showed by His acts that the mercantile community, or the vaisyas,
should herd cows and bulls and thus give protection to the valuable
animals. According to smriti regulation, the cow is the mother and
the bull the father of the human being. The cow is the mother
because just as one sucks the breast of one’s mother, human society
takes cow’s milk. Similarly, the bull is the father of human
society because the father earns for the children just as the bull
tills the ground to produce food grains. Human society will kill
its spirit of life by killing the father and the mother. It is
mentioned herein that the beautiful cows and bulls were of various
checkered colors—red, black, green, yellow, ash, etc. And because
of their colors and healthy smiling features, the atmosphere was
enlivening. (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srimad Bhagavatam
3:2:29. purport.)
pita-mata mari’ khao——eba kon dharma
kon bale kara tumi e-mata vikarma
SYNONYMS
pita-mata—father and mother; mari’—killing; khao—you eat; eba—this;
kon—what kind of; dharma—religion; kon bale—on what strength;
kara—do; tumi—you; e-mata—such; vikarma—sinful activities.
TRANSLATION
“Since the bull and cow are your father and mother, how can you
kill and eat them? What kind of religious principle is this? On
what strength are you so daring that you commit such sinful
activities?”
PURPORT
Everyone can understand that we drink the milk of cows and take the
help of bulls in producing agricultural products. Therefore, since
our real father gives us food grains and our mother gives us milk
with which to live, the cow and bull are considered our father and
mother. According to Vedic civilization, there are seven mothers,
of which the cow is one. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
challenged the Muslim Kazi, “What kind of religious principle do
you follow by killing your father and mother to eat them?” In any
civilized human society, no one would dare kill his father and
mother for the purpose of eating them. Therefore Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu challenged the system of Muslim religion as patricide
and matricide. In the Christian religion also, a principal
commandment is “Thou shalt not kill.” Nevertheless, Christians
violate this rule; they are very expert in killing and in opening
slaughterhouses. In our Krishna consciousness movement, our first
provision is that no one should be allowed to eat any kind of
flesh. It does not matter whether it is cows’ flesh or goats’
flesh, but we especially stress the prohibition against cows’ flesh
because according to sastra the cow is our mother. (A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Sri Chaitanya Charitamrta Adi-lila
17:154. text and purport).
"According to the Vedic social system, as soon as one takes birth
he becomes indebted to so many persons. We are indebted to the
rishis, or great sages, because we derive knowledge from their
transcendental writings, such as the Srimad-Bhagavatam, compiled by
Srila Vyasadeva. The authors of the scripture know past, present,
and future, and we are urged to take advantage of such invaluable
knowledge. Thus we are indebted to the sages.
We are also indebted to the demigods, for they manage the affairs
of the universe, supplying it with every essential—sunshine from
the sun-god, Surya; moonshine from the moon-god, Candra; air from
Vayu; and so on. Each element is controlled by a particular
demigod.
We are also indebted to ordinary living entities from whom we take
service. For example, we take milk from the cow. According to Vedic
understanding, the cow is considered one of our mothers because we
drink her milk, just as at birth we drink our mother’s milk. The
Srimad-Bhagavatam lists seven mothers: our own mother, the wife of
our teacher or spiritual master, the wife of a brahmana, the wife
of the king, the nurse, the cow, and the earth. We are indebted to
all seven of these mothers, and also to our father, brothers,
friends, relatives, and forefathers."(A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. Second Chance book - chapter 17 "The Moment of
Truth")
"Similarly, this Bhagavad-gita is the essence of all Vedic
literature, just like milk is the essence of the blood. Blood...
The milk is nothing, but it is cow’s blood transformed. Just like
mother’s milk. The mother’s milk, wherefrom it comes? It comes from
the blood, but transformed in such a way that it becomes nutritious
to the child, tasteful to the child. Similarly, cow’s milk also, a
most nutritious and valuable food. So it is compared that this
Bhagavad-gita is the milk of the cow of Vedic literature. And the
milkman is Krishna Himself. And the drinker of the milk is..., we
are, Arjuna, through Arjuna. So these things are there." (A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. 3rd June 1968. Bhagavad Gita
lecture. Montreal.)
"Personified dharma, he’s inquiring from the cow. He’s addressing
cow, amba. Amba means mother. So cow is our mother. Why mother?
Because from practical point of view, we drink milk. So how
mother... How cow is not mother? She’s mother. We are taking her
milk. There are seven mothers according to Vedic civilization:
atma-mata guroh patni
brahmani raja-patnika
dhenur dhatri tatha prithvi
saptaita matarah smritah
Real mother, from whose womb we have come to this world, real
mother, atma-mata. Then guroh patni, wife of the teacher or
spiritual master, guroh patni. Brahmani, the wife of a brahmana.
Atma-mata guroh patni brahmani raja-patnika, and the wife of the
king, or the queen. She’s also mother. Dhenu, the cow. Cow is also
mother. And dhatri means nurse. Nurse is also mother. Tatha
prithvi, and the earth, the earth is also our mother. That we say
in country, in the country which we take birth, we say
desa-matrika. In Sanskrit it is called desa-matrika. That is also
mother. Mother land, mother language. So this... So many mothers we
have got, out of which, cow is also mother. Therefore she’s
addressed as amba. Amba means mother. Still in Gujarat province,
they call amba. And in U.P., United States, er, United Province, in
India, they also call amba, or in a broken language they call amma.
Still... That is from very long time, mother is... Amba-devi. There
is a... From Amba-devi, there is a big temple of Mother Durga,
Kali, in Bombay. So this Amba-devi was pronounced by the
Englishmens as Bamba-devi, and from Bamba-devi it has come to
“Bombay.” Actually, there is a big temple of Amba in Bombay. From
that name, instead of Amba, they have become Bamba. Just like from
Sindhu, they have called, they have designated the inhabitants of
Sindhu-desa as “Hindu.” The Muhammadans, they pronounce s as h. So
from “Sindhu,” it has come to “Hindu.” Otherwise, this “Hindu” name
is not mentioned in any Vedic literature. It is given by the...
This name is given by the other foreigners. Especially the Arabian
countries, they used to call this nation, Bharata-varsha...
Actually, Hindu is not a religion. Hindu is a name given by the
foreigners. The religion is, of India, varnasrama-dharma, following
the institution of four varnas and four asramas. That is varn... Or
sanatana-dharma. Sanatana-dharma means eternal, eternal religion.
Religion of human being is one. That is called sanatana. A living
entity is described as sanatana. Mamaivamso jiva-bhuto jiva-loke
sanatanah. In the Bhagavad-gita you’ll find sanatanah, and Krishna
is also addressed in the Eleventh Chapter as sanatanas tvam. And
there is another place, or spiritual world, which is also called
sanatana. In the Bhagavad-gita you’ll find, paras tasmat tu bhavo
’nyo ’vyakto ’vyaktat sanatanah. So this sanatana term is very
important. The living entity is sanatana and God is sanatana and
the spiritual world is sanatana, and the process by which your lost
relationship with God established and you go back to home back to
Godhead, that is called sanatana-dharma. Sanatana-dharma. That is
our eternal relationship with God." (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. 15th January 1974. Srimad Bhagavatam lecture SB
1:16:19. Hawaii).
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