SHYAMDAS 1953-2013 IN MEMORIAM

THE GOVARDHAN LĪLĀ
SHYAMDAS
úrà Käüóa transforms the minds and hearts of the cowherds, so that they became totally focused on divinity
úRÅ KÉûîA and the other residents
of Braja were dairy people who
lived on milk products from their cows.
They concluded that their happiness
and well-being were entirely dependent
upon the rain, which nourished the grass
their cows consumed. As a result, over
the years the people of Braja developed
a tradition of honoring the rain god,
Indra. Every fall they offered Indra a
sacrifice, with the limited expectation
that the rain-god would supply them
with sufficient rainfall.
For six years, úrà Käüóa watched the
cowherds perform the sacrifice that they
had dreamt up in honor of Indra. This
sacrifice was not Vedic, nor did it follow
any proper enlightened lineage. Dharma
can never be contrived, and spiritual
practice must always be authentic.
Gopal, the indweller of all hearts,
knew that one attains whatever one
honors. So when He turned seven years
old, He decided it was time to turn His
fellow cowherds’ minds away from Indra
and towards His glorious self, the single
source of all blessings, the origin of all
divinities, as well as the inner and outer
controller of all things. By doing so, He
encouraged them to worship the root of
every cause, rather than water each leaf
of the tree. In this manner they would
experience God’s extensive blessings.
Although the cowlads were basically
focused on úrà Käüóa, their hearts
were not firmly set upon Him. Their
partial devotion obstructed them
from entering deeply into the state of
nirodha, a blessed condition they had
just begun to experience. Hari therefore
schemed this new làlá to remove their
inferior dedications.
úrà Käüóa wanted to bring His
kinsmen to their natural devotional
bhakti path. By removing their spiritual
misconceptions, He enabled them to
proceed more deeply into the mysteries
28 Special Issue • Shyamdas ~ In Memoriam
of God’s playground. Only after the
dormant seed of knowledge within the
heart is awakened can the nectar of
devotion be tasted.
Gopal saw that his father,
Nanda Baba, was preparing to
dedicate his actions and wealth to Indra
again, with the limited expectation
of plentiful rainfall. He approached
Nanda Baba and asked, “Father, what
is the fruit of Indra’s sacrifice that you
are so eagerly preparing for? Is this all
for some sort of worldly gain?”
By questioning the nature of the
sacrifice, its materials and rewards,
úrà Käüóa inspired an upgrade in that
practice and thereby promoted divine
awareness. He continued, “Father,
know that the actions of a thoughtless
man do not produce a true reward. The
truly reflective individual is crowned
by his actions.”
Nanda Baba replied, “But Käüóa, we
worship Indra to attain religious virtue,
enjoyment, as well as worldly wealth!”
Our actions and spiritual practices
can be done with the aim of achieving
a specific, visible goal, or they can be
performed for the sake of the action
itself. The latter practice is selfless,
devoid of hankering, and is performed
for His pleasure. The reward of such a
focused, yet detached, undertaking is
always subtle, exalted and immaterial.
Young Käüóa smiled and continued,
“The qualities of rajas, sattva, and
tamas are the cause of the appearance,
continuation, and dissolution of
creation. Impelled by the qualities of
rajas, the clouds shower rainwater.
What does Indra have to do with it?
He is incapable of altering the course of
events, for everything arises according
to its unique constitution.
“We own no cities, territories, villages
or even homes. We live in this forest
abode by the side of the Govardhan
Hill. Let us honor this area and the
items we are blessed with here. Now,
take the materials you were going to use
for Indra’s sacrifice and employ them
in the worship of the Govardhan Hill.
Let a variety of foods, made with rice
and wheat, be offered and then fed to
absolutely everyone and all animals.
Then everyone will circumambulate
the cows, the Brahmins, as well as the
Govardhan Hill. This form of devotional
worship is very dear to me. Now perform
this Vaiüóava sacrifice.”
In this way úrà Käüóa not only directed
His people’s minds and hearts towards
His blessed self, for Govardhan is His
very form, but He also managed to incur
Indra’s wrath, as was necessary for the
làlá to unfold. This làlá was both for the
spiritual development of His associates
and to remove Indra’s false pride.
Nanda Baba and the other residents
decided to follow úrà Käüóa’s advice.
Many types of grains were cooked and
offered to the Govardhan Hill, and fresh
grasses were given to the cows. After the
residents of Braja adorned themselves
and encircled the Govardhan Hill,
amazing Käüóa manifested another
form out of His blessed being. This time
He appeared as the personified, divine
form of the mountain itself! úrà Käüóa
clearly became the Govardhan Hill.
Then Käüóa worshipped Käüóa, and He
partook of the offerings right before
their very eyes!
After the sacrifice was completed,
the people of Braja returned home
with their minds and hearts full of pure
conviction. The puffed up rain god
Indra, however, was not happy to lose
his yearly offerings. Just after young
Käüóa completed the sacrifice to the
Govardhan Hill, Indra commenced to
display his displeasure. He commanded
the rain clouds that he reserved for