Parikrama. Surabhi Kunda

0:01Oma gyanati nirandasya, dhyanam djana chavakaya, chaksuru dilitanyam, tasma shriv, 6-aita no bešta, stapi dame bother, swa mrupa.

0:29La dahti swa tikam pandeha, Sri Guru, Sri Utapadam, Shri Guru Vaishnavasch, Sri Rupam Sagradata, Saganahaguna damvitam tamsa devam, sadvaitam, savadvutam, paridana sali tam Krishna Chaitanya Deva, Sri Radha Krishna Padaam, Saganabalita, Sri Sakaritansha Krishna Karuna Sindhu Dina Bandhu Jagat Pate Gopesha Gopikakanta Radakantamos

1:33todavía, taptainshi, Rade Vrhavaneswari visabanu so deve, pranamami prianchaupatarubjas, pripasind Patitanpawanipy, Vaishnavyam, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhuni Tananda, Sriadvaitang, Srivassadula

2:20Bhakta Brinda, Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna.

2:44Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Kale Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Significance of circumambulation during parikrama

3:18Hare Krishna. So our parikrama is going on. Doing parikram uh is a way to uh express our uh respect. It's a very long-standing tradition that by circumambulating somebody we are putting him in the center of our life.

3:57We are very self-centered personalities and we are very prominently standing in the center of our own lives. And we want others to go around us. In fact, if we could, we would be happy

4:18if the whole world would be circumambulating us so center is something which is not movable.

4:29Everything else is moving, but the center is stable. So circumambulating Govardhan, circumambulating deities, circumambulating the temple or respected personalities, we are saying that you are the center of my life and you are not changeable.

4:55You are the same, and I will do whatever you like me to do. That's why it's very important to complete the circumambulation. Of course, today we will not complete Giriraj circumambulation.

5:10But at one point we should complete circumambulating whole world around him. Parikrama is much better. So anyway, and they're on this beautiful Govardhana hill, and there are many, many places connected with Kṛṣṇa līlā.

5:41And by doing parikrama, we should sit in these places and meditate on this līlā. This is the way how Giriraj Govardhan teaches us to meditate on Kṛṣṇa.

History and meaning of Surabhi Kunda

5:56By meditating on his different līlās and by trying to offer prayers which are conducive in this particular place.

6:08So this place, Surabhikuṇḍa, on the other side of Govardhana Hill, is the place where Kṛṣṇa came with his cow, Surabhi, from the heavenly planets.

6:24And he was begging forgiveness from Kṛṣṇa by using Surabhi as the vehicle of his forgiveness. It's a very again uh interesting and intelligent approach.

6:50When we offend somebody, we actually inflict some pain to this person. What is offense? Offense is nothing but some pain which we inflict on somebody.

7:06And the result of this offense makes the distance between us and somebody whom we offended greater. We cannot really approach him because this pain will prevent us from coming too close.

7:27We can literally feel that, you know, we cannot come too close because we offended somebody.

7:34It creates a distance and the grosser the offense, more severe the offense, the bigger is the distance between us and this person. So, how to overcome this distance?

7:48How to cover this distance which we created ourselves by our improper attitude.

7:55The only way to do it is to put uh first somebody who is uh very dear to this person and to ask this person to beg on our behalf. So because Surabi all the cows are very uh dear to Krishna.

8:18And actually all the cows which are living here in the earth they are uh descendants of the original Surabi cows. That's why they are so sacred. The connection is there in the genes.

8:35You know, if somebody will make DNA analysis of the Surabhi cows and the heavenly planets, he will prove that there is a connection. Anyway, so here Indra was basically forgiven for his offense.

8:53That's the significance of this place, because he pleased Surabhi cow. You know, service means not necessarily the service to somebody whom we want to serve.

9:09Actually, if we really want to serve somebody, we should prove that we are sincere by serving somebody who is dear to somebody whom we want to serve.

9:20Then only we will be allowed to serve the person who is dear or who whom we aspire to become near. So because Indra became very humble and he first bowed down to Surabi cow.

9:36Even to this day sometimes people they bow down to cows. And it's a very important custom. So Indra he bowed down to cow, he did some Abhishek to cow and Surabi said, no problem, you're a good boy.

9:55So I'll I'll take care of you. And I'll make sure that Krishna will forgive you.

10:04And when Indra offered his prayers where he expressed very philosophical prayers where he is expressing how the pravaha, the current of karma, forces us to do something which we don't even want to do.

10:24That's the essence of Indra's prayers. Indra is saying there in his prayers that, you know, yes, I did this stupid thing, but please forgive me, it was my karma. Basically, that's what he's trying to say to Krishna.

10:40You know, and I know that there is only one way to counteract karma, to get out of karma and to become free from this powerful force which karma says is to surrender to you.

Begging for forgiveness from offenses

10:57But again to, surrender to Krishna means to surrender to somebody who is dear to Krishna, who is closer to Krishna than ourselves. So, because Indra was forgiven. Well, sorry it's not Krishna was forgiven.

11:14Krishna doesn't need anyone's forgiveness. Because Indra was forgiven here in this place in this Surabhi Kundam, then it is said that if somebody is praying here on the bank of this Kunda to forgive his offenses, his offenses will be easily forgiven.

11:36So that's a very important place for us who are offensive by nature, who unwillingly commit offenses. That's the nature of ego. Because ego is so strong, it pushes us to commit offenses, to try to put down somebody.

11:56So here we can sit in this place, meditate on this līlā a little bit, and then take a few drops of the water, put on our hand, uh, on our head and, uh, beg forgiveness for all offences, uh, past and future, just in case.

12:15You know, to make sure it's good to do it. You know, please forgive me. I don't want to be offensive.

12:25I don't want to play into these games of offenses because offense is nothing but a game of our ego, which wants to establish us, our superiority over somebody else. So it doesn't give us any benefit, it only... So

12:44here we can beg Surabhi cow to forgive us from the offenses and to make us offenseless, to turn us into niraparadhī uh, like, uh, cow-like personality. And because cow is so, uh, inoffensive, so innocent, so simple. Uh because of this, she is so peaceful.

13:20This peacefulness is a result of this particular nature, which, uh, cows have by the uh mercy of God. And this nature facilitates our meditation.

13:37You can only meditate on Krishna uninterruptedly if you acquire the same nature, if you become simple, inoffensive,

13:48and very unassuming personality like cow. Then the mind will become peaceful, and then the flow of the mind's energy, mental energy will naturally flow towards God and our thoughts will be engaged in God.

14:07So that's the benefit of being in this place, and we can, uh, say Girirāja Mahārāja kī jaya.