The Worship of Giri Govardhan

The following quotes and statements validate the significance of the Worship of Sri Giri Govardhan

GOVARDHANA PUJA - ANNAKUTA
Govardhana Hill SB 10-24-29
Silas He Himself SB 10-24-35
Govardhana CC Madhya 2-4-83 "I am Govardhana Hill"

[After the Lord was laid down to rest on the bed, Madhavendra Puri gathered all the brahmanas who had prepared the prasada and said to them:  "Now feed everyone sumptuously, from the children on up to the aged!"
        CC Madhya 2-4-83]
Govardhana CC Antya 2-6-292, 294, 295, 307:

[As they came, bringing all kinds of food, Raghunatha dasa purchased it all.  He gave them the price for their goods and later fed them the very same food.
       CC Antya 2-6-292]

[2-6-294:  Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Raghunatha dasa, "This stone is the transcendental form of Lord Krsna.  Worship the stone with great eagerness."

PURPORT:  Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura writes in his Anubhasya that in the opinion of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Govardhana-sila, the stone from Govardhana Hill, was directly the form of Krsna, the son of Maharaja Nanda.  The Lord used the stone for three years, and then in the heart of Raghunatha dasa the Lord awakened devotional service to the stone.  The Lord then gave the stone to Raghunatha dasa, accepting him as one of His most confidential servants.  However, some envious people conclude that because Raghunatha dasa had not taken birth in the family of a brahmana, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not give him the right to worship the Deity directly, but instead gave him a stone from Govardhana.  This kind of thought is naraki, or hellish.  As stated in the Padma Purana, arcye visnau siladhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhih...yasya va naraki sah:  "One who considers the arca-murti (the worshipable Deity of Lord Visnu) to be stone, the spiritual master to be an ordinary human being, or a Vaisnava to belong to a particular creed is possessed of hellish intelligence."  If one thinks that the worshipable salagrama-sila is a mere stone, that the spiritual master is an ordinary human being or that a pure Vaisnava preaching the bhakti cult all over the world is a member of a particular caste or material division of society, he is considered a naraki, a candidate for hellish life.  When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed that the govardhana-sila, the stone taken from Govardhana, is non-different from the body of Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He indirectly advised such foolish persons that one should not be envious of a Vaisnava who belongs to a different caste or sect.  One should accept a Vaisnava as transcendental.  In this way one can be saved;  otherwise, one is surely awaiting a hellish life.
      CC Antya 2-6-294]

[2-6-295:  Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, "Worship this stone in the mode of goodness like a perfect brahmana, for by such worship you will surely attain ecstatic love of Krsna without delay.
      CC Antya 2-6-295]
[2-6-307:  "By offering me the govardhana-sila, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has offered me a place near Govardhana Hill, and by offering me the garland of conch shells, He has offered me shelter at the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani."
       CC Antya 2-6-307]

July 1969 Letter p.929 Giriraj
June 1976 Govardhana Silas (waited to see them) p.3166
Vaisnavas observe Annakuta (not Durga Puja) Oct. 1967, p.231

Annadan CC Mad. 2 - p.46

["'My dear sir, since You, a great personality, have accepted Sanatana Gosvami, he is greatly fortunate;  no-one can be as fortunate as he.'"

"Thus Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced both Haridasa Thakura and Sanatana Gosvami and then got up and left to perform  His noon duties."

"'My dear Sanatana,' Haridasa Thakura said, embracing him, 'no-one can find the limits of your good fortune.'"]
       CC Mad. 2 - p.46]
Annakuta 31-35;  43;  BG 9.27

[BG 9.27:  Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform - do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me.]

Annakuta Madhya 2-4-93:

[The inhabitants of the village brought to the Deity of Gopala as much food grains, ghee, yogurt and milk as they had in their village.
PURPORT:  Anna, ghrta, dadhi and dugdha are food grains, ghee, yogurt and milk.  Actually, these are the basis of all food.  Vegetables and fruits are subsidiary.  Hundreds and thousands of recipes can be made out of grains, vegetables, ghee, milk and yogurt.  The food offered to Gopala in the Annakuta ceremony contained only these five ingredients.  Only demoniac people are attracted to other types of food, which we will not even mention in this connection.  We should understand that in order to prepare nutritious food, we require only grains, ghee, yogurt and milk.  We cannot offer anything else to the Deity.  The Vaisnava, the perfect human being, does not accept anything not offered to the Deity.  People are often frustrated with national food policies, but from the Vedic scriptures we find that if there are sufficient cows and grains, the entire food problem is solved.  The vaisyas (people engaged in agriculture and commerce) are therefore recommended in Bhagavad-gita to produce grains and give protection to cows.  Cows are the most important animal because they produce the miracle food, milk, from which we can prepare ghee and yogurt.

The perfection of human civilization depends on Krsna consciousness, which recommends Deity worship.  Preparations made from vegetables, grains, milk, ghee and yogurt are offered to the Deity and then distributed.  Here we can see the difference between the East and the West.  The people who came to see the Deity of Gopala brought all kinds of food to offer the Deity.  They brought all the food they had in stock, and they came before the Deity not only to accept prasada for themselves, but to distribute it to others.  The Krsna consciousness movement vigorously approves this practice of preparing food, offering it to the Deity, and distributing it to the general population.  This activity should be extended universally to stop sinful eating habits as well as other behaviour befitting only demons.  A demoniac civilization will never bring peace within the world.  Since eating is the first necessity in human society, those engaged in solving the problems of preparing and distributing food should take lessons from Madhavendra Puri and execute the Annakuta ceremony.  When people take to eating only prasada offered to the Deity, all the demons will be turned into Vaisnavas.  When the people are Krsna conscious, naturally the government will be so also.  A Krsna conscious man is always a very liberal well-wisher of everyone.  When such men head the government, the people will certainly be sinless.  They will no longer be disturbing demons.  It is then and then only that a peaceful condition can prevail in society.
        Madhya 2-4-93]

Worship of Giri-govardhan - Garga samhita

Govardhan Hill pages