Food Mountain Festival--Govardhan Puja

All pictures are courtesy of Ajay Prabhu.

Snan Yatra

Not too long ago we celebrated the public bathing ceremony of Sri Jagannath Baladeva and mother Subhadra at our center. Sri Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra on their arrival were first seated in the library, were they were offered cooling yogurt rice and laddus.It was a very intimate moment of service to the Lord as we fanned them with  the Chamara and Peacock feather fans. The library was hot and humid, that it recreated the atmosphere of being in Puri. Jagannath Baladev and Subhadra changed into an off white, south Indian style dhoti attire, and were adorned with jasmine and tulasi garlands. Amidst the blowing of conches They were brought to the snan vedi and were readied for their public bath..Devotees came forward to bathe the Lords to the singing of Jagnnathastakam in the background. Conches of aromatic water and nectar were showered on Them and they were whisked away to don the masks of elephants and a lotus and provide Darshan in their Gajanan Attire. The Lordships looked resplendent in the Hati Vesha, made so meticulously by Kalpavriksha Prabhu..In the meantime the Chappan Bhoga feast was laid out for the Lords. Rasagollas, simply wonderfuls, gaja, khaja, fruit platters and savories waited to be tasted by the Lord, while Preeti mataji made the medicinal drink of ginger, camphor, pepper, and other spices to be offered to the Lord..Our little Jagannath wanted to be there for this Chappan Bhog feast as well and so He donned the Hati vesha too and partook the feast laid out so lovingly by all the devotees. After the heavy feast,we returned home with a carful of sick Lords to be treated and nurtured back to health. Some devotees remarked seeing our car "Just imagine the plight of a cop if ever this car was stopped." A transcendental Mardi gras I thought. As I  took off Their elephant masks, I was reminded of years ago when I had made similar such masks for my nieces on their birthday. The Lord surely likes to play like a little child I thought. A week later as I performed Aroti to the Kunjavihariasatakam sung by mother Jagattarini and heard the translation of the verses I got yet another perspective of Kunjabihari Krishna being referred to as an elephant by Srila Rupa Goswami..

sthasakikrta sugandhi patirah
svarnakandi parisobha katira
radhikonata payodharavari
kunjaro jayati kunjavihari
All Glories to Sri Jagannatha Snan yatra, all glories to Sri Kunjabihari Krishna..

Snan Yatra

The Interview

An interview according to the Webster's,  is a formal consultation usually to evaluate qualifications (as of a prospective student or employee).

Srila Prabhupada writes in the translation of Text 43 of the Antya Lila -Caitanya Caritamrita, Chapter 6: The Meeting of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Raghunath Dasa Goswami as follows, "In the village of Panihati, Raghunatha dasa obtained an interview with Nityananda Prabhu who was accompanied by many kirtana performers, servants and others."

This is the prelude to the celebrated Chida Dahi Festival that took place 500 years ago on the bank of the Ganges at the place named as Panihati. Also referred to as Danda Utsav, this festival celebrates the unique punishment received by Raghunath Das Goswami. Our teachers say that the best way to approach Krishna is through Sri Guru. SriGuru interviews the candidate scans the qualifications of the person and if he is not qualified, makes them qualified, polishing them like a jeweler would a precious stone and then finally present the jewel to a higher authority. In this chapter one can read about Raghunath Das Goswami's escapade from home and his meeting with Caitanya Mahaprabhu, only to be returned back home for another year. The Danda Mahotsava is held to teach the aspiring sadhakas, with the example of Raghunath Das Goswami; that one has to approach the adi Guru Sri Nityananda Rama first before attempting to reach the Lord directly. The Guru engages the aspiring disciple in seva to the the Lord and Vaisnavas. In this case the seva that the Prayojana Acarya received was so sweet that he was asked to distribute chida-chipped rice in yogurt and condensed milk to all the devotees assembled there. We tried to recreate the same mood in an attempt to please Sri Nityananda Rama in order to try and obtain an interview with him. 6 sets of Gaura Nitai deities gathered under a Tulasi plant trying to simulate the effect of being under a banyan tree, a few matajis gathered to glorify Lord Nityananda through bhajans by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakura and others..As harinam resounded, They were offered a very simple bhoga of chida with dahi and chida with condensed milk..The devotees relished the prasadam and offered heartfelt prayers to Lord Nityananda to recruit us some day in the service of Sri Radha Krishna.  Here are some pictures from the festival.