The Lilas of Manasi Ganga
On this place ,we are being blessed with darshan of Shri Giriraj.Shri Giriraj maharaj ki jai. Raghunath das Goswami prayed for eternal residence in the vicinity of Govardhan hill.ShriBhakti Siddhant Saraswati Thakur inspired his followers in the mood ,that we are so unqualified to be in this place.It should be a prayer and an aspiration ,we are striving to purify ourselves ,and he taught us that we should purify ourselves specially through Harinam and Seva.And one of the most pleasing seva to the Lord is preaching.Preaching or assisting the preaching is the message of lord.Srila prabhupad is actually offering in the line of Bhakti siddhant Saraswati ,he is offering all of us ,eternal residence at the foot of Govardhan Hill.If we simply please him by taking his instructions as our life and soul.Would you all like to remain in this nice shady forest at the foot of Govardhan for all of eternity.(Devotees –Haribol.)Specially amongst all of you ,who would be the greatest treasure in my life.
We are soon coming to the town of Govardhan.There is Manasi ganga.Because of the crowd and congestion in Manasi ganga it would be very difficult for 2000 people to sit down and do Shravanam ,kirtanam.We are taking this opportunity in this enchanting forest in the presence of Giriraj to speak something about the importance of Manasi Ganga.Kamsa sent a demon in the form ,who took the form of a small calf .This was when Krishna was very young and when he was still taking care of little calves.Now ,all of us understand that there is nothing more innocent and sweet than a little baby calf.The lotus eyes,a beautiful form .A most vicious blood sucking ,cruel hearted demon took the form of a very innocent ,lotus like little calf and entered secretly the herds of Krishna and Balaram.Very exclusive purpose of killing Krishna and the Gopas.Krishna knows everything .He took Balaram aside and said you see that little calf, that is demon who has come to kill us.When we trust somebody we can get the greatest benefit if that person is giving us the right thing,but also we could suffer the worst ,if they betray us.In this world sometimes people are cheated,so many times ,they really cant have faith in anybody. If you don’t trust people you can protect yourself from being hurt but you cant make any progress spiritually either. You can have no satisfying loving relationships and cannot make any spiritual advancement, unless you have faith.It is because people have been cheated so many times by people they trust .In the age of quarrel and hypocrisy ,they cant have faith. It is the great duty of every vaishnav ,to act and live and speak in such a way without hypocrisy that people can trust us and put our trust in those who are sincerely and honestly trying to honor guru and Krishna.Bakrasura ,so deceiving ,little calf chewing grass, meditating on killing the cowherd boy.So Krishna quietly walked behind Bakrasura ,picked him up from the rear legs and rolled him circle after circle .Bakrasura was dizzy.He gave up his body.Shri Krishna Bhagwan ki Jai.Krishna threw him to the top of a Kapila tree.And the kapila tree fell down.Why did Krishna throw him on the top of that kapila tree,because there were nice fruits on those trees .And he wanted his friends to enjoy those.After Bakrasura was killed ,demigods showered flowers and all the boys embraced Krishna,well done, well done.Bakrasura assumed his other form and they all ate Kapila fruit.But the Gopas they expressed to Krishna that how can we play with you? You have performed the sin of killing a calf. That was a demon but still he was a calf .Actually, sometimes a person eats meat and then they have to take birth as a cow to be slaughtered. So ,it is the Karma,but still because they are cows you participated in it so you get the karma of killing a cow.Gopas said ,wherever he might be ,whatever his internal demoniac might be, he was a calf and you killed him .So you should ,purify yourself by bathing in the Ganges. Krishna just near the Govardhan hill ,in his mind he meditated on Ganga mai to manifest herself in Vrindavan.From the mind of Krishna ,Gangadevi appeared as Manasi Ganga .And Krishna took his bath and the Gopas took their bath and they had very nice lilas together.This was quite secret among the gopas .One day Nanda and yasoda were listening to katha and they heard an incredible sotry about how Garuda caught a lowly ,envious sinful snake ,captured him with his claws and carrying him away.In the air the tail of the snake was hanging down the tail for a moment just touched the water of Ganges .Immediately that snake assumed a perfectly liberated four armed viakuntha form.Garuda saw that ,he placed the four armed form on his back and took that living entity ,personally brought him to Vaikuntha.Now ,when Nanda and yasoda heard this story ,they told the cowherd men and the cowherd ladies and they all decided ,let us go to the Ganga on pilgrimage. So they were making all nice arrangements ,packing up their rotis and yogurt and putting them on oxcart and Krishna saw and asked “What are you doing ?where are you going?”.We are all going to take a bath in Ganga for liberation. Krishna said there is no need ,all the holy places are here in vraj.How is that?Ganga is here,I know .I will show you. Krishna brought them all to Manasi Ganga and by Krishnas wish ,coming right out from the water of Ganga was the presiding deity Ganga devi herself sitting on the top of her carrier crocodile, giving her blessings .And all the vrajvashis understood ,that this is the Ganga .Krishna brought the ganga with his mind to Vrindavan .And they all began to offer ghee lamps,they were offering flowers and they were offereing prayers and they all went and took the bath on Manasi ganga. That particular event took place in Diwali.Last night was Diwali and there were tens and thousands of people here on Ganga offering their lamps.All the banks were just covered with beautiful beautiful Deeps,lamps.All the devotees were offering their love to Krishna.Jiva Goswami explains a very beautiful pastime. One of the unions that took place in Mansi ganga ,where Shri Radha rani and Gopis ,they were carrying pots of sweets ,yogurt and butter.And they have to cross the Manasi Ganga .At the time of Krishna ,the Manasi ganga was quite big about 8 miles .so the night was coming .They needed to get home .But they needed a boat to cross .So Krishna appeared in the disguise of a boatman.And they called Boatman ,Boatman ,please take us across.And the boatman said ,well you have to pay me .You have milk products you have sweets. They had all these negotiations and finally they settled and Krishna sat there and ate so many sweets and drank so much of Gopis milk.And they got on the Boat and he was rowing. The boat rowed and rowed and rowed and then he stopped.Gopis asked why did you stop?.He said I am too hungry .I need something to eat ,give me more yogurt ,give me more butter. So they fed him more and more. He ate so much ,he laid down, they said what are you doing? He said ,that I overate. I can’t row anymore. Now I have to take rest on my left side. He said actually if you want me to row this boat anymore my arms are tired you have to massage my arms. The gopis said if you are not rowing ,we are going to pick you up by your arms and throw you into the water.So he got up and rowed and rowed and he stopped again.Why did yow v stop?Krishna told that there is too much weight in the boat ,I can feel that the boat is actually going to sink.And he started making some movements ,making the boat move.He said to move on to ground have to your their milk pots over.So they took all their milk products and pots and threw it on Manasi ganga.The boat man said it is still to heavy.Now you have to throw all your jewellery in Manasi ganga.So they took off all their jewelleries and threw it in Manasi ganga.Krishna said it is still to heavy.
You have to throw all your clothes in manasi ganga.If this is too heavy ,we will throw you in Manasi ganga.So then ,Krishna began to row again.And then he rowed and rowed and then he stopped.And by his Will clouds formed in the sky and waves started hitting the boat and Krishna was moving in such a way that the whole boat was very very agitated.It was such a fearful condition.Shrimati Radharani held the boat man and said –please save us boat man,please save us.But as soon as she touched the boatman ,she realized it was Krishna.She became very smiling and happy and the clouds disappeared and gopis were wondering what is happening?They turned to Shrimati Radharani ,what is happening? .And then she took Krishnas flute out of his belt and showed them,who is this boatman.And the rest of the night ,Krishna,Radharani and the sakhis performed beautiful nauka lila in the Manasi ganga.On the banks of manasi ganga one day ,Gopis and Shrimati Radharani were waiting for Krishna to come .But he was late.They were feeling so much separation .In separation from the lord , a devotees solace is to chant the Holy Name.Throughout the Gopis were chanting Haridev ,Haridev ,haridev ,praying to Krishna to steal their hearts.They were chanting and chanting and their separation was increasing and increasing,as they were chanting the holy names,and they were on the verge of leaving their body.And at that moment a beautiful deity ,Haridev appeared,In the form of Govardhan dhari ,with his left hand upward lifting the Govardhan hill and a flute being held by his other hand.Gopis they worshipped that deity.Almost everyday ,they would come to manasi ganga to worship Krishna in the form of deity.Vajranath to estabilish ,this historical ,glorious event he estabilished the haridev temple.In the western petal ,in the lotus of vraj ,the predominating deity is Haridev.When Chaitanya mahaprabhu on his govardhan parikrama ,krishnadas kaviraj das goswami explains ,he entered into the temple of Haridev and in estatic love he beheld beauty of the form of Krishna lifting govardhan hill. Sri Chaintya MP performed kirtan before Haridev,jubiliantly dancing in ecstatic love and thousands and thousands of Vrajvasis all around came, loudly chanting the Holyname.When Indra did the Abhishek for Krishna at GovindKund ,various other demigods also performed also the Abhishek and it was at Brahmakund that Lord Brahma performed the Abhishek for lord Krishna .And there is also the Manasi devi temple ,manasi devi was that deity ,which was also established by Vajranath.There are four deities in Vrajbhumi ,in kamyavan is Vridadevi ,in Vrindavan is yogamaya,in Mathura is Pathaleshwari devi ,and at Govardhan is Manasi devi.
And we would also come to Mukharavinda,Mukharavinda is the mouth of Govardhan.Every given day ,Thousands and Thousands of people would come to offer milk to Mukharavinda.The scriptures and Acharyas tell us that Govardhan is shaped like a peacock.Face is the kusum sarovar,the two eyes of the peacock ShriRadhakund ,ShriShyamkund .The tail of the peacock is the punchiri.Some say the ears of the peacock is Goalpokar and the mouth of the Govardhan is Mukharavinda and the tongue of Govardhan ,Raghunath das Goswami discovered that .That is worshipped today in Radhakund.So we will have the darshan of Mukharvinda ,perhaps a little distance ,because it is a really crowded place.Also on the banks of Manasi ganga is Chakaleswar Mahadev . Vajranath estabilished four predominant deities of Lord Shiva,in the different directions of Vraj.In Kamyava it is Paalrameshwar mahadev,in Mathura Gumteshwar Mahadev,in Vrindavan ,Gopeswar Mahadev and in Govardhan Chakaleswar mahadev.Sanatan Goswami ,he lived for sometime at Mahavan,he lived for sometime at XXXXX,and he travelled and did Bhajans in so many parts of Vraj bhumi.When he became quite elderly he made his residence right beside Chakaleswar mahadev at manasi ganga.There he was writing his divine literatures such as Brihad Bhagawatam amrit.Sanatan goswami was completely immersed in transcendental loving service to Shri Radha and Krishna and to Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,to all the Goswamis to all the Vrajvasis and to every living being.Sanatan Goswami was considered the guru of all the Vraj vasis.He treated them with such love ,respect and affection .He was so deeply concerned with every aspect of their lives and their welfare.He would go to a village and ask how are your crops growing? How did you get your daughter married ?How is your health. He was always absorbed speaking and glorifying Krishna.In this way every Vrajvasi he would travel throughout the twelve forests and all the vrajvasis felt such an intimate loving affection with Sanatan goswami.When he was living in Manasi ganga ,many mosquitos were coming and disturbing his bhajan.He decided that he would go to another place. Because after all the Bhajan of a great Vaishnav is for the pleasure of Radha and Krishna.If our Bhajan is being disturbed then our service to Krishna is disturbed. So he was thinking let me go to another place.But Chakaleswar Mahadev did not want to give up the association of such exalted, supremely ,divine being as Sanatan Goswami. So Lord Shiva disguised himself as Brahman and approached Sanatan Goswami .Where are you going?I am leaving ,too many mosquitos here.He said just stay one more night ,there would be no more mosquitos.Lord Shiva approached demigod in charge of insect life and ordered him no more mosquitos at Manasi ganga.Donot disturb Sanatan Goswami.That night ,there was not even a slightest sound of a mosquito.Sanatan Goswami was very very comfortably performing his Bhajan.So he did not leave ,infact he stayed for the rest of his life there.Everyday he would do parikrama of Giriraj.But he would do the long parikrama ,through places like bhaita and chandrasarovar and rasasthali and kadambakandi.He would go all these places .It is twentyfour miles around.He would do it everyday.Constantly chanting the holy names and meditating on Krishna.In his old age it was becoming very difficult .Krishna couldn’t even tolerate to see the trouble he was taking to do this parikrama everyday.So Krishna appeared in such a way to Sanatan Goswami that Sanatan did not recongnize him.He was a small cowherd boy like a vrajvasi and asked him why are you taking so much of trouble.He said I must .And Krishna said –No ,no you are too old ,you have already done it so many times ,you have done it every day for years and years and years.You are an old person now ,there is no need.I cant see you going through so much trouble.Santan Goswami said,no ,it is my service to Krishna.It is my service to Govardhan.So the boy stood on top of a sila and played his flute ,the sila melted and the boys footprint went into the stone.And that stone was give to Sanatan Goswami and Krishna told him that if you circumbulate this sila seven times, you would get the full benefit of maintaining your vow of circumbulating the whole of govardhan hill.And on the day of Gurupurnima the other Goswamis come from Vrindavan and other places to join Sanatan Goswami in the parikrama of mansi ganga.When they arrived ,Sanatan Goswami appeared to be deeply immersed in the meditation of Radha and Krishna.And then they realized that he left his body .He had departed for Goloka.For whole of Vraj ,was immersed in an in unfathomous ocean of sorrow , they saw Sanatan goswami had concluded his lila on earth.They took his sacred form ,circumnutated Govardhan and brought to Vrindavan ,they put him in Samadhi just a few step away from Radha Mohan temple.Sri Sanatan Goswami ki jai.Till this day ,the lightest day for Govardhan parikrama is not today ,Govardhan puja .The two biggest days are Kartik purnima ,which is the purnima which ends the day of kartik. Even more than that when hundreds and hundreds and thousands of vrajvasis are just align all day and all night long ,just thousands and thousands of people ,all chanting .that is the big day for vrindavan ,for Govardhan parikrama.Gurupurnima.And some Vrajvasis told us ,the reason it is because it is the disappearance day of Sanatan Goswami,who is the greatest devotees of Giriraj Govardhan,along with Raghunath das goswami,Rupa goswami.And in honour of Sanatan Goswami ,the guru of Vraj vasis ,they perform the parikrama.when we go to Manasi ganga ,we are going to likely experience another case of organized chaos or perhaps disorganized chaos.Did all of you enjoy that organized chaos when we went to Vamsi ghat.?We will see how to get in and how to get out .hopefully we will all have darshan of Haridev also .And then we will continue our Govardhan parikrama.We will come past a place called Dhangati.It is also a very crowded place.Dhangati is the place where Krishna disguised himself as tax collector, sometimes he didn’t even disguise himself.But he would take the role with his intimate cowherd boy friends and with sticks tell gopis that they must pay taxes for all the milk products they are carrying.And there would be so many sweets,beautiful lilas inform of exchange Krishna and Gopis.Rupa goswami ,wrote a book lalita madahava,which gives a lot of attention on deep separation,that Radharani and gopis were feeling from Krishna.He gave that manuscript to Raghunath Goswami to read.Raghunath das goswami was reading that .He was reading about the separation of Gopis from Krishna.He was beside himself in grief.He was in esctacy sharing their separation.He was weeping and crying .He wouldn’t even eat a part of butter milk which he would do everyday.Associates from Radhakund ,they went to Rupa Goswami and your book has really done something to Raghunath Das Goswami.He doesn’t sleep ,he doesn’t eat ,he just cries day and night in esctacy in separation.So Rupa Goswami wrote another book.The Dhankeli Kamudi,which is the about playful tax pastime of Dhangati at Govardhan.The loving happy exchanges of Radha and Krishna when they meet to perform the this beautiful lila of Krishna making Radha and her gopis take home.when he said I wrote a new book ,Rupa Goswami presented –I wrote a new book ,Raghunath Das Goswami ,please take and read it.But give me the old book back.He took the lalita madhava and then Raghunath Das Goswami read about the union,the Milan of Radha and Krishna ,he became so happy ,inspiring and dancing and taking his butter milk again mouthful.So in this way we will be passing this place where the Dhanlila is eternally manifested.And then we will come to Dhan nivartan kund ,there is enough space ,that will be our next stop.
So please let us in a very prayerful,grateful mood,continue our worship of Govardhan hill on this day of Govardhan puja.
Thank you very much.
