GIRI acronym – 4 lessons from Govardhana lila
After the Raas Leela, which is the most widely depicted in the bhakti tradition, which is the most widely celebrated.
And this pastime is also celebrated in a very visually and practically graphic way where we make mountains of food and offer to the Lord. So how many of you know the Govardhan Leela pastime? Okay. So is there anyone who has never heard this pastime till now? Okay.
Fine. So I'll briefly tell the pastime and then I will do an analysis of the pastime using an acronym Giri. G-I-R-I.
Giri refers to mountain. And four aspects, four reflections which we can have on this pastime. I'll talk about this.
So the 10th canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam describes the various pastimes of Krishna when he descended to this world. And in that, there are 90 chapters out of which the first 40 chapters describe Krishna's pastimes when he was a child. And as a child, he faced many dangers.
Some dangers were for the demons whom another demon Kamsa, who had been prophesied to be killed by Krishna, he sent. But sometimes not only the demons threatened Krishna, sometimes even the gods challenged Krishna. The Vedic, the bhakti universe depicts this traditional fight between good and bad.
So there is a multiple levels to the universe. We are at the terrestrial level. There is above us the celestial level and below us there is the subterranean level.
And when we exist over here, below us at the subterranean level, below in terms of consciousness exist the demons. Above exist the gods. And there is often a fight between the two.
And we would say that Supreme God would take the side of the gods. He doesn't take anyone's side. He supports the virtues.
And the gods happen to be virtuous. But the Bhagavatam often demonstrates that even the gods can err, go off track. While living a virtuous life, they may go off track from the supreme virtue of devotion.
There are many virtues, honesty, truthfulness, kindness, gentleness. They are all important. The supreme virtue is the virtue of devotion to the Lord.
And when that, the gods get diverted from, Krishna corrects even them. So the Govardhan Leela is a pastime in which Krishna is not fighting against any of the demons. In fact, it is one of Krishna's own men.
The being whom he has appointed as the chief of the gods, Indra, he becomes antagonistic to Krishna. And Krishna does multiple things at the same time through this pastime. So the setting is that Krishna is living in Vrindavan and he is a small boy at this time, barely 5, barely 6-7 years old.
The Acharyas explain that Krishna was 7 when he performed the Govardhan Leela. And at that time he sees elaborate arrangements going on for some festival. He asks, what's happening? They say, actually we are doing this worship for Indra.
So Indra is the god of the gods and he is specifically in charge of rains. So the Vrajvasis say that we need rains and he is the god who gives us rains. So to express our gratitude and respect to him, we are performing this sacrifice.
And Krishna asks, is this sacrifice scriptural or is it traditional? Just because something has been done in the past, are we doing it? Or is there a scriptural basis for this? And then he reasons them, reasons with his father and he tells him, actually there is no need to worship Indra. Ultimately we are cowherds and cowherds, what we need is grass. So it is because the soil of Govardhan is so fertile that we get grass.
Even if Indra gives rains, the soil were barren, we would not get any grass. So we should worship Govardhan instead. And Krishna, it is said that when he wants to speak something, Madhurya Yagira, his voice itself is very sweet.
And the words he speaks are also very pleasing. And what is the result of that? Even the wise get bewildered by his speech. So the wise get enlightened, of course, by Krishna's speech.
But when Krishna wants to persuade someone of something, even the wise can get deluded. So Krishna, he tells his Vrajvasi, the residents of Vrindavan, his father, his mother and all the other elders, he is a small boy, they have all prepared an elaborate sacrifice for Indra and Krishna says, do this for Govardhan. Now Nanda Maharaj starts thinking, Indra can get angry with us.
This was a system where there was a hierarchy. So Nanda Maharaj felt that if we don't give the tribute, we don't offer the respect to Indra, he may become angry. So he told Krishna that, now we, let us do this sacrifice and we will do another sacrifice for Govardhan after that.
So Krishna had his own purpose. Indra had become very proud of his power. I'll come to the lessons later.
Krishna told, no, there is no need to worship Indra. If there is a good thing to be done, it should be done right away. So use this paraphernalia itself to worship Govardhan.
And the devotees perform elaborate worship of Govardhan. So they have big mounds of food, big mounds of rice, of sweet rice, of laddus, all kinds of delicacies and they offer it to Govardhan. And then Krishna, he tells him, Govardhan is a large mountain around which and on which Krishna and his devotees perform various pastimes.
So Govardhan is the place where all the pastimes of Krishna are performed. Krishna's pastime with his Gopas, his friends, with his Gopis, with his girlfriends, with his animals, with the trees. In Gopal Champu, which is a very sweet book describing Krishna's pastimes, elaborately written by Jiva Goswami, he describes how everything in Govardhan works perfectly for Krishna's pleasure.
There are rocks, but when Krishna steps on those rocks, the rocks become soft. There are grass, but when Krishna steps on the grass, every blade of grass wants to become the softest possible to give Krishna the most pleasant sensation. Because the mountain is high up, sometimes the sun can become very hot.
The sun becomes hot and immediately the clouds rush to shade Krishna from the sun. And when the clouds shade Krishna from the sun, at that time, sun feels, I am not getting darshan of Krishna. So sun becomes more intense.
And the clouds melt away. And Krishna starts feeling warm again. And immediately other clouds rush.
And these clouds, when they rush, they cover the sun and then the warmth, that heat that Krishna has felt, as these clouds melt, a light drizzle comes and it comforts Krishna. So a beautiful breeze blows, bringing fragrance and freshness. And in Govardhan, there are many beautiful caves where Krishna can rest, Krishna can eat food, Krishna can perform pastimes.
And this way Govardhan serves Krishna in all the various pastimes that he performs. So at this particular time, Krishna tells the Vrajivasis, offer obeisances to Govardhan. And then Krishna himself manifests in a separate form, near Govardhan, as Govardhan personified.
And when this form, huge form appears, Krishna is here also, Krishna is here also. And Krishna says, bow down. And they all bow down to him.
And Govardhan takes all the food. And the Vrajivasis keep offering the food and Govardhan keeps eating the food. And then Govardhan gives all the food back as prasadam.
And then the whole festival ends with all the Vrajivasis circumambulating Govardhan. It's a big mountain. Some of them go on their carts, some of them walk along, some of them dance along.
And the festivities end in great celebration. But while there is celebration here, there is fury up there. Indra is expecting honour.
If suppose we are going for a programme and we presume that we are the chief guest over there. And then we go for the programme and then we are not even invited in the dais. And somebody who is very insignificant, an unknown person, that person is made the chief guest.
We start boiling with, what is this? So now multiply this thousands of times, Indra, he is the God of the Gods and Govardhan is a mountain. From Indra's perspective, it's a non-entity. He gets wild with anger.
Is that worship that is meant for me? How could they give this to this insignificant mountain? And he, now it's obviously an ego issue for him, but he masks it. And he said the mortals are meant to offer respect to the celestials. And if they do not offer that respect, they should be punished.
And he uses all the celestial power at his command. So he summons clouds and he orders the clouds to just shower torrential rains in Vrindavan. Now, today science knows how rains come.
We say water is heated by the sun, it forms clouds and clouds give rains. Now that is correct, but it is not necessarily complete. The Bhagavatam also knows that rains come from clouds.
But how are the clouds formed? We know a mechanism, but that mechanism needs supervision. When scientists try to make artificial clouds, it requires so much delicate balance of pressure, volume, temperature and everything so that the cloud is formed. Otherwise the cloud gets formed and the cloud goes somewhere else only.
And if it rains on a river, the cloud water is of no use. So the point is the Bhagavatam is also aware of the mechanism through which rains happen, that is through clouds. But the Bhagavatam sees something more.
That there is a personal controller beyond the mechanism. So that means the scientific and the scriptural explanations are not contradictory, they are complementary. So that is of course not our subject here.
But the important thing is he sends down the rains and the rains start showering, showering, showering. And just as, say, if police consider somebody to be a criminal and they want to punish that person, there are different degrees of punishment. Sometimes torture is used as an instrument for confession.
And there is also some proportionality. You know, the greater the danger perceived by a criminal, the greater may be the instrument of torture that is used. So here Indira is so angry that he doesn't just send rains, he doesn't just send ordinary or even extraordinary rains.
He sends the torrential rains that are summoned at the time of universal destruction. So those rains are capable of inundating the whole landmass of the earth. So it's completely a disproportionate reaction from Indira.
And the Brajavasis, when they see these rains coming, they are unseasonal, they are torrential and they are devastating. So they immediately run to Krishna. And they say, Krishna, our cows are our treasure.
Cows are scared now. We have angered Indira. What should we do? Krishna says, don't worry.
Come with me. They all go from the village of Vrindavan to the outskirts. And they run with Krishna in the lead to the mountain Govardhan.
The Brajavasis are thinking, that is Krishna going to take us inside a cave? And we don't know any cave in which all of us can fit in. But maybe Krishna knows. And Krishna takes them there and Krishna bends down and he puts his left hand under.
And with his small finger, he lifts it. The whole mountain lifts up. And the Brajavasis are stunned.
What's happening? So he puts his finger under the mountain and says, all of you come inside. They are looking, is this mountain going to collapse? What is going to happen? Krishna says, don't worry. The mountain is not going to collapse.
But then they have some doubts. How can you lift such a big mountain? So Krishna in the Vrindavan, he does not necessarily always manifest his Godhood. So he, there is this God's greatness and his sweetness.
So he sometimes manifests his greatness. But the primary rasa, primary mood in Vrindavan is of God's sweetness. So Krishna tells, actually don't worry.
The mountain will not fall off. Don't think I am so small that I can't lift it. Actually Govardhan is so kind that he wants to give all of us shelter.
Because we have worshipped him. So he has simply risen up himself. My finger is just for show.
So, if Govardhan is lifted up, Govardhan will not fall down. They all come inside. And Krishna is holding the finger up.
And as they all come inside, then they wait. Now Indra, he sees, what has happened? He sees nothing has happened. He had sent such rains that there is no possibility for escape also.
Sometimes when a big storm comes, when the storm comes with advance warning, we can retreat. We can go somewhere else. The storm comes with, even if it comes in one way, we might go to some other way.
But if the storm comes and brings floods from all directions, then we will be completely trapped. So Indra had that kind of vengeful attitude. He would trap the Vrajavasis.
So they had nowhere to go and then they just came under Govardhan. And he got the report that no Vrajavasi has been hurt at all. He says, shower more rains, more rains.
And he says, shower to your full capacity. And the rains go on for not just one hour or two hours, they go on for seven days and seven nights continuously. And after that the clouds have exhausted all their water.
Then the water stops. Indra comes out. Indra is stunned.
This is what happened. And to add insult to injury, he finds that not only has he not been able to cause any harm to Vrindavan, he has not been able to cause any harm to Govardhan also. The mountain which had acted as an umbrella, on that not even one leaf has fallen from a tree.
Everything is just as it is. This is a complete defeat for Indra. He is so shattered.
At that time, when he sees this astonishing power, he realises that he has made a big mistake. So he knows that Krishna is God, but at that time he has forgotten it. That knowledge has become obscure.
When he sees the extraordinary power of Krishna, then he realises he is God. And he wonders what to do. There are different degrees of mistakes that we commit.
If we try to kill someone's loved ones, how do you even go and apologise to them? I am sorry I tried to kill them. So he thinks what to do now? The only hope is if somebody else whom Krishna loves, they appear on my behalf. So then he goes to the Surabhi cows.
Krishna loves cows very much. And he goes to the Surabhi cows and the cow, Surabhi is the mother of the cows, and he tells her what has happened. He says, please, you go on my behalf.
And she says, this is the God of the Gods and he is very powerful. He is coming and asking me for help. So she with kind heart goes and she goes to Krishna and offers her milk to Krishna.
Now by this time, the rains have stopped. Krishna has asked all the Vrajavasis to come out. He has placed the Govardhan back and the Vrajavasis are going back to see what is the damage, what is happening over there.
So then the Surabhi cow comes over there and she offers her milk to Krishna. She offers her loving service to Krishna in maternal affection. And then she requests Krishna, Indra who is foolish, please forgive him.
So at one level this is mortifying for Indra. He has been foolish. So even after we are foolish, somebody else tells, you know, he has been foolish.
That is quite hurting. So but Indra, he recognises what has happened. He has made a big, big mistake.
Then he comes and offers prayers to Krishna. And those prayers are among the sweetest prayers. Not sweet in terms of musical recitation, but sweet in terms of the mood of humble devotion.
And then Krishna forgives Indra. So this pastime is often depicted with Krishna with one hand lifting Govardhan Hill and all the Vrajavasis around them. And on this day in Vrindavan, we have thousands and thousands of people who do Govardhan Parikrama.
And in hundreds of places along Vrindavan, there are devotees who sit and they offer food to everyone. So profusely, this is a festival of, it's a festival for practically, it's centred on food. Of just as, it's a mountain which protected Krishna, particular Vrajavasis arranged by Krishna.
So devotees want to offer their love to Krishna through expression that is like a mountain. So Krishna used a mountain to express his love for his devotees. And when devotees want to offer their love, they express it through making mountains of food, mounds of food and they offer it to Krishna.
So I'll talk about four aspects of this pastime in terms of analysis. So I'll talk about Giri, G-I-R-I. So Giri in Sanskrit means mountain.
So first, of course, G is Govardhan. Now Govardhan is a mountain. And what it demonstrates is God can manifest his glory through anyone.
Some people, they say, what is this? You people worship a mountain? It is the, it is the high. OK, some people worship different things, but why a mountain of all things? It may seem you are just wearing a hill or a mountain. It may seem crazy.
But actually in Krishna's pastimes in Vrindavan, which is manifested in this world, everything is spiritualised by Krishna's inconceivable potency. And Krishna, when he wants to perform a pastime, he can use anyone and he can glorify anyone. So for us, we don't think, see in the Western, especially in the Christian tradition, they have that idea that God alone is to be worshipped and no one else should be worshipped.
I think if you start worshipping nature, you start worshipping this force, that power, this object, then you are deviating from God. But our understanding is not that we are deviating from God. We see God's grace manifesting in different ways.
And however God's grace manifests, we adore that. So we have devotees, we know in the Narasimha Leela, Lord Narasimha Devi manifests through a pillar. And when he manifests through a pillar, at that time, we consider the pillar also as respectable.
So Prahlad tells Narasimha, Hare Nakashipu that, is God present everywhere? Yes. Is he present in this pillar? Yes, he is there also. Now when Narasimha Dev comes from the pillar, what happens? Prahlad, he offers the worship.
He doesn't go and garland the pillar. He garlands the pillar. But because from the pillar the Lord manifested, so we worship, we respect the pillar also.
In 7.19, Krishna says that, those who after many lifetimes of spiritual evolution, see, they get knowledge and they see that Vasudeva Sarvamiti, that God is everything. That means God is everything does not mean that everything is to be worshipped. They surrender to Me.
There are different stages in people's spiritual evolution. So this is again a whole different subject. The point I am trying to make over here is, some people may think this worship of hell is such a primitive, unformed kind of worship.
You personify some object in nature and start worshipping it. That's not what is going on over here. Actually, people think initially there is no God.
Then they think there are many Gods. Then they think there is one God. And then we understand that there is only God.
There is only God doesn't mean an impersonal oneness. It means we also are parts of God. Everything is potentially divine.
So Vasudeva Sarvamiti. So as devotees, we don't worship Govardhan as a competitor to Krishna. Rather Govardhan is manifested, we worship Govardhan because he is a part of such a sweet pastime of Krishna.
He serves Krishna in such extraordinary ways. So yes, there may be some people who may consider some hill to be sacred and start worshipping that. And if they don't have any philosophical understanding, that is just a kind of nature worship.
But when in the bhakti conception, we do parikrama of Govardhan. We offer our worship, respect and worship and obeisances to Govardhan. That is because we see the connection of Govardhan with Krishna so intimately that Govardhan also becomes an object of worship for us.
Not because it is an independent object of worship separate from God, but because it is so close to God. So ultimately we understand the Bhagavatam says what is maya? To see anything separated from Krishna that is maya. And the more we see things connected with Krishna, the more those things remind us of Krishna and they take us closer to Krishna.
And that is why we worship them also. So Govardhan is not just a nature worship or hill worship. It's actually worship of Krishna as manifested through an intimate pastime.
So I is impossible. Somebody may say, how can somebody lift a hill? You know, this is just some fantasy, some fairy tale. Some people thought it up.
So the inconceivable is not impossible for God. We often think of what is possible and what is impossible based on our scale of observation. So if there is a small ant going along, now for the ant, this laptop can be like a huge barrier.
Or this, if the ant is on the floor, this stool can seem like a mountain. And the ant can't even conceive that the stool can be lifted. But for me, it's easy to lift it.
Why? Because it's a different scale. So we often think of what is possible or not possible based on our scale of observation. But our scale of observation is time.
What is impossible for us is very much possible for higher beings. What to speak of the highest being. So Krishna, he's capable of lifting not just a mountain.
In fact, the Vedic scriptures say that it is he who sustains all of existence. So for Krishna, nothing is impossible. And some sceptics, they are asking, okay, Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill.
If you want to lift Govardhan Hill, how did he find, if you have to accept, if I lift a big object, I mentioned this in earlier class, you have to place your finger right at the centre of that object. That is called the centre of gravity. So how did Krishna find the centre of gravity to balance Govardhan Hill? Now, Krishna does not have to find the centre of gravity because he is the source of gravity.
Maya adhyakshed prakriti. So material nature works under his supervision. So gravity works by his will and gravity can be suspended by his will.
So that is the extraordinary power of Krishna. And Jiva Goswami, in the Sandarbhas, he explains that actually the conception of God has no meaning unless we accept that God can do things which our intelligence can't understand. This inconceivability is an intrinsic attribute of God if he is truly supreme.
If God can only do the things which we can understand, then that means our intelligence becomes greater than God. Because our intelligence can comprehend God. So we can have many frames for trying to analyse and to understand things.
And yes, we can use those frames of analysis. So we have science, we have logic, we have naturalism. These are all frames of analysis for trying to understand things and ultimately to understand God.
So we can use those frames of analysis as far as they go. But God outgrows every frame of analysis that we may have. So he is infinite in his power and thus the inconceivable is not impossible for the Lord.
And our reversals are meant for redirection. So for the Brajwasis, they could have blamed Krishna. Krishna, because of you, we got into trouble.
It is a big reversal for them. Sometimes we start practising Krishna Bhakti and normally we are told that, Oh, Bhakti is so joyful and by practising Bhakti, you know, we will get so much joy, all our problems will go away. But sometimes it appears because of our Bhakti practise only our problems are increased.
You know, sometimes say there are relationships, people start, you become too fanatical or you become like this, you become like that. We face problems because of our Bhakti. In some parts of the world, devotees are persecuted just because they are practising devotion.
So the Brajwasis could have blamed Krishna. Krishna, you know, we made a big mistake by listening to you. So the Brajwasis never do that.
Now when we face reversals, we understand their purpose is that for redirecting our heart, for focussing our heart more and more on the Lord. So for the Brajwasis, what happens is, when they see this problem, yes, we can see God as the cause of our problems or we can see God as the cure for our problems. If we see, we are going to face problems in life.
If we think that God is the cause of my problems, then we bring that as a barrier between us and God. So our problems are caused by our own past karma. In this case of Govardhan Leela, it was just a Leela of Krishna.
It was a pastime of Krishna. But what the Brajwasis do is, they don't go out blaming Krishna. Oh, we told you, you should not have done this.
Why did you do this? No, they just took shelter of Krishna. And Krishna arranged in His own way, not only to protect them, but He benedicted them. Actually, the Govardhan Leela was the time when all the Brajwasis got the most intense shelter of Krishna, the most intense association of Krishna.
Normally, Krishna would be with different devotees at different times. He would sometimes be with the cowherd boys when He would go to the forest. In the morning and evening, He would be with His parents.
In the nights, He would be with the Gopis. He would perform, He would be with different devotees at different times. But here, all devotees could have His association at the same time and not just for some time, constantly.
Netrayi Pibanti, Naina Bhirama. Netrayi Pibanti, they are drinking with their eyes, the nectar of the beauty of Krishna, who is Naina Bhirama, who is a delight for the eyes. So, for seven days and seven nights, the Brajwasis were delighting in Krishna's form, in just drinking the beauty of Krishna's form.
So, actually, when the difficulties come in our life, they are meant to reinforce our devotion. See, for those who are not yet devoted to Krishna, the adversities are meant to take shelter of Krishna. They are meant to redirect our heart.
And for those who have directed their heart towards Krishna, they are meant to reinforce that devotion. So, when the problems come and we take shelter of Krishna at that time, we experience relief. That the rains were still coming.
The Brajwasis said, oh, you know, if they refused to come under Govardhan, they would have been drained, they would have been drenched, they would have been destroyed. They came under Govardhan, they were protected. So, Govardhan represents Krishna's shelter.
It represents Krishna's remembrance. It represents absorption in Krishna. By represent, I don't mean Govardhan doesn't exist.
It just means what it further demonstrates. So, like that, when problems come, it's like a storm is coming in our life, rains are coming. But the remembrance of Krishna, the absorption in Krishna is like the shelter.
If we refuse to come under Govardhan and we stay in the rains, why don't the rains go away, why don't the rains go away? We will get drenched. Why is not the problem going away? The problem will come, the problem will go away in its due course. But when the problem comes, rather than resenting the arrival of the problem, we need to take shelter of Krishna.
Let's absorb ourselves in remembrance of Krishna. And that which was a time of great tribulation, that which would have been otherwise a very distressing time, can become a very spiritually uplifting time. We will get the most intense experiences of the potency of Krishna's protection.
When amidst danger, we take shelter of Krishna. So, rather than asking the question, why is this happening? Focus on how can I serve you, Krishna? How can I take shelter of you? How can I move forward now? The situation. So, Prabhupada, when he was asked, what is the best prayer we can offer to Krishna? He said, Krishna, please give me the strength to serve you.
So, when problems come, asking the why question, why is this happening? Why is this person behaving like this? That is simply paralysing. The Vrajavasi did not get into the why question. Why is Indira angry? Oh, because we did not perform the worship.
Why did we not perform the worship? Because of Krishna. So, Krishna is the cause of our problems. They didn't think like that.
They just took shelter of Krishna. So, rather than getting into the cause, focus on the purpose. Cause means why it happens.
Purpose means, cause means what made it happen. But purpose means what is the purpose for which this is happening. The purpose of everything in this world is to help us take more shelter of Krishna.
So, reversals are meant to reinforce our devotion. And last, I is intoxication invites tribulation. So, Indira was intoxicated.
So, we can learn from what happened below Govardhan. We can learn from what happened above Govardhan. So, what happened above Govardhan was Indira was very proud of his promise.
You know, I am the king of the gods and I am meant to be worshipped. And Krishna just completely defeated her. In fact, according to the Bhakti poetry in Vrindavan, they say, Ek din maana Indra kumaro, naka upare Govardhan dharo, naam paro Giridhari Radhe Shyam, Shyam, Shyam.
So, they say that Krishna, he did not even lift the Govardhan on his little finger, on his pinky. He actually lifted up on the nail of his pinky. Naka upare Govardhan dharo.
Naka is nail. So, it's like, say two wrestlers come to fight with each other. And if they have a big fight and then one wrestler wins, okay, you lost, but it was honourable loss.
But if this person comes to fight and this person just catches with the left hand and throws him off. You know, it's not just a defeat, it's a humiliating defeat. But what Krishna does to Indira is, not even with his left hand, with the little finger of his left hand and not even little finger, with the nail of the little finger.
So, he totally shatters Indira. And the purpose of this, Krishna's purpose was not to destroy Indira. It was to destroy Indira's pride.
So, sometimes for us, we ourselves may unwittingly be in the position of Indira, where we become intoxicated and proud of certain things. We become proud of our wealth, of our power, of our intelligence, of our abilities. And sometimes, the very thing, which we may think, actually I am using it for Krishna's service, that itself may be taken away.
So, Indira had great power and he was meant to use it for Krishna, for the cosmic administration. He was ultimately meant to be in the service of Krishna. But, when he mistakenly started using it for defying Krishna, then what happened? Krishna took away that power.
He had that power, but that power was of no use to him. Just couldn't do anything. So, sometimes when this happens to us, we are trying to do something and we are just not able to do it.
So, we may not be, we will never be as outright offensive as wanting to destroy someone. But, you know, we may try to destroy someone's character by casting aspersions against someone. This person is like this, this person is like this.
So, this actually, pride, when it is buried, it comes out as envy. When we try to do something wonderful and whether we are able to do it or not, we find somebody else is doing it better. If I am very proud, I give good classes.
Then, if somebody in my presence, somebody else praises, oh, that person gives good classes, yeah, but, then I will speak something which will minimise that person. So, here what is happening? I am seeing his power and my power as competitive. But actually, the understanding is, my intelligence is intelligence, all intelligence comes from Krishna.
So, when we see it that way, we see all the same, all intelligence, Krishna is manifesting through me, that is his kindness. He is manifesting through other person, that is his kindness. Sometimes Krishna may take away our intelligence.
And then we just wonder what happened. I thought I was so intelligent. So, at that time, the very thing which we are using in Krishna's service, it seems to be taken away from us.
It is not that Krishna is rejecting our service or rejecting us. Krishna is simply reminding us that whatever we are doing, it is by his ability and it is for him that it should be done. So, when Indra reformed, Krishna forgave him.
So, similarly for us, when we face, when we have some abilities, it is very easy to become proud of those abilities. So, by considering how Indra was corrected by Krishna, we can actually learn that lesson that although my abilities are there, my abilities are not my abilities, they are from Krishna. Yes, they are coming through me.
So, I am grateful for them. I appreciate them and I use them in Krishna's service. Now, I'll conclude with one incident from my life.
When I was, in the early days of my bhakti, I am still in my early days only, but when I was literally in very few, so I used to do translation for many devotees. So, the devotees would speak in English and I would translate in Hindi. So, at one time, some devotee, Chandramouli Maharaj was giving the class in Pune and I was translating.
So, at that time, Chandramouli, somebody asked a question. So, normally they translate maybe half a sentence or one sentence and then I translate it. But Chandramouli Maharaj, he was asked a difficult question and he started answering it.
And he got so caught in the answer that he forgot that I was supposed to translate. And he spoke for almost 15 minutes. And then after that, he looked at me and then everybody started laughing.
Then somehow, I was able to remember practically everything. And then I remembered and I spoke for 15 minutes, full translation. Not literally sentence by sentence, but I spoke practically all the points.
And then, everybody was very, they clapped. They clapped more for my translation than for Maharaj's answer. So then, after that, many devotees came and appreciated.
You know, how do you have so much memory? So then, one senior devotee told me, it was amazing you translated so much. So, I just, as a habit, not with a conscious heart, it's Krishna's mercy. And that devotee just looked at me and he says, if you remember that it is Krishna's mercy, that is Krishna's greatest mercy.
So, we may be able to do good things and if we are able to, it's nice. But ability is actually the first instalment of Krishna's mercy. When you want to serve Him, Krishna gives us abilities by which we can serve Him.
But humility is a greater instalment of Krishna's mercy. So, Krishna gives us ability and if He gives us the humility to remember that His ability comes from Him, then we can use that ability to do wonderful things without becoming proud. So, Govardhan Leela for us is a reminder that when we become proud, we become alienated from Krishna, then Krishna will correct us as He corrected Indra.
But by remembering Krishna and remembering that our abilities come from Him, we can be protected and we can move forwards towards Krishna by using whatever we have in His service. So, let's conclude quickly with the prayer once again and start. Leela bhandu prasam ye na Ni to Govardhanogiri Shri Giriraj Govardhan ki Jai Giridhari Krishna Bhagwan ki Jai Shri Prabhupada ki Jai Aur Bhakta Vrindaki Jai Jai Jai Gaur Premanande Namaskaram.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Thank you very much.
because it's wonderful. I just wanted to ask Margaret, who was not able to come this morning.