The Proper Standard of Deity Worship

Question: I have just started to worship two govardhana-śilās – one as Kṛṣṇa, and one as Rādhārāṇī, and this has caused some controversy in the temple. Is this type of pūjā (worshipping govardhana-śilās as both Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa) common in our sampradāya?

Swami Narasiṅgha: Our first point is this – a disciple does not inaugurate the worship of any particular form of the Lord on his own. The disciple must receive the Deity (or śilā) from his dīkṣā or śikṣā-guru, along with the corresponding instructions and mūla-mantras for such worship. If a disciple ventures on his own, then there is no assurance that such worship is accepted by the Lord.

The worship that you have described above regarding govardhana-śilā as Rādhārāṇī is not the standard Gauḍīya sampradāya worship of Govardhana. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave govardhana-śilā to Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī along with guñja-mālā. The govardhana-śilā represents Kṛṣṇa, and the guñja-mālā represents Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. This is the bona fide way to worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa (Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Giridhārī) in our sampradāya.

Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī is our prayojanācārya, and to worship Govardhana in a different way than what has been shown by him is simply being over-intelligent. We will always draw down the highest benefit by serving in the mood of our previous ācāryas and under their direction. This is the standard that Śrīla Prabhupāda established.

My advice is that you should approach your guru to settle your dispute. If you have no guru to consult, then you have no business worshiping govardhana-śilā – your first business is to take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master – adau guru-pāda-āśraya. This is the first instruction of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. Then, Śrī Rūpa says, tasmāt kṛṣṇa-dīkṣādi-śikṣānām – one should receive dīkṣā, or initiation, into kṛṣṇa-mantra and śikṣā, or divya-jñānam, divine knowledge from the guru, and then begin the worship of śrī-mūrti. Then he says, viśrambheṇa-guruḥ-sevā — we should serve the guru with enthusiasm and great affection (viśrambheṇa). Those who accept guru for formality’s sake, or who have no proper regard for their guru, cannot perform viśrambheṇa-guruḥ-sevā — they are disqualified. Then Rūpa says, sādhu-vartmānuvartanam — we should follow in the footsteps of the sādhus, or great devotees of the Lord.

Question: Who is eligible to worship govardhana-śilā?

Swami Narasiṅgha: Only those disciples who are instructed to do so by their gurus. It should be noted also that govardhana-śilā is worshipped in rāga-mārga, and not vaidhi–mārga.

Question: Is there śāstrika reference (pūjā-śāstra) that refers to that type of worship?

Swami Narasiṅgha: The pastime of Mahāprabhu giving govardhana-śilā and guñja–mālā to Dāsa Gosvāmī can be found in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Caitanya-caritāmṛta is actually our ultimate śāstrika authority. The process of Deity worship to be followed can be referenced in the writings of Sanātana Gosvāmī, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Under the guidance of the spiritual master the disciple should study the teachings and writings of the previous ācāryas.

Question: Can you comment on the following letter by Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Regarding your question about why we dress the Deities in very opulent fashion and not as simple cowherd boy and girl, this is an intelligent question and the answer is that according to the regulative principles, we cannot worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa now. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa worship is meant for persons who have already developed spontaneous love of God. In the training period we are only worshipping Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. We worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa because Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa is there also, but actually we do not worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa with our present Deity ceremonies; we are worshipping Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. Nārāyaṇa is there when Kṛṣṇa is there, but actually we do not worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in Their Original Form. This is why we should worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in Their Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa feature with all respect and reverence. If we deviate from this standard then we shall be prākṛta-sahajiyā, or a person who takes things very cheap. We worship Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, and because Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa includes Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, there is no necessity of installing a Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa Deity. It is just like a king who is engaged in administering justice. Actually, that business belongs to the justice department. But what is that justice department? It is all part of the king’s energy, and the king also has the power to execute this function. (Letter to Madhusūdana, January 24th, 1969)

Swami Narasiṅgha: What to say? Śrīla Prabhupāda has said it all! It is true. Not only must one be on the platform of spontaneous love of God before he can worship Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, but such worship (rāgānuga-bhakti) must be performed in Vṛndāvana – for Kṛṣṇa never leaves Vṛndāvana.

Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa cannot be worshipped or pleased by vaidhi-bhakti. They are only pleased when worship is offered from the platform of rāgānuga, spontaneous love. If this rāgānuga is imitated by a less qualified devotee, it will result in the same sort of offences made by the prākṛta–sahajiyās. Therefore, one should begin worship as directed by Śrīla Prabhupāda – in a mood of reverence. Of course, we are worshiping Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, but in an immature stage – in the mood of awe and reverence. This means Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, as described above.

Progress in the line of pure devotional service in spontaneous love of God depends on association with sādhus who are situated on the platform of rāga-mārga. Without the direct shelter and association of such sādhus, the attainment of bhakti is simply not possible.

Before worshipping the Deity of the Lord, the devotee should take shelter of the spiritual master. Under his watchful guidance, the disciple will progress. The principal activity in Deity worship is nāma-bhajana, or the chanting of the Holy Name. Such chanting must be done without offence. If one becomes an offenceless chanter of the Holy Name, then he is sure to attain the stage of love of God. Actually, our only business is to chant offencelessly. Here again, the association of saints is our greatest fortune.

Question: We have seen that when some devotee wishes to worship a govardhana-śilā, he simply takes a śilā from Govardhana Hill, and when questioned, he quotes Śrīla Prabhupāda who writes in Chapter Twenty-four of Kṛṣṇa Book as follows:

The identity of Kṛṣṇa and Govardhana Hill is still honored, and great devotees take rocks from Govardhana Hill and worship them exactly as they worship the Deity of Kṛṣṇa in the temples. Devotees therefore collect small rocks or pebbles from Govardhana Hill and worship them at home, because this worship is as good as Deity worship.

Here, Śrīla Prabhupāda says ‘great devotees.’ Maybe you can clarify what ‘great’ means in this regard?

Swami Narasiṅgha: Who will say that the above quote refers to themselves? Who will say, “I am a ‘great devotee’ and therefore, I am qualified to worship govardhana-śilā”? A devotee never feels qualified, but sees everyone else as qualified. So again, we come back to the same point – only after being instructed by one’s dīkṣā or śikṣā–gurus should one begin the worship of śrī-mūrti.

All instructions that we find in the śāstra presupposes that one has accepted initiation from a bona fide guru. Only initiated disciples are actually qualified to study the śāstra, but it is a fact that sometimes an uninitiated person reads the śāstra to gain knowledge, and therefore, throughout the Vedas, the same thing is mentioned:

tad vijñānartham sa guruṁ eva abhigacchet

To understand the science of Kṛṣṇa, one must approach a bona fide guru. (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12)

Here is an important point in the philosophy of Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu – Kṛṣṇa consciousness proper is subjective, not objective. When a fallen jīva acts independently, even in the matter of serving Kṛṣṇa, he is acting in objective-consciousness (consciousness tinged by māyā). But when he acts only under the instruction of Gurudeva, then and only then, is he acting in subjective consciousness. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Such posturing of the living entity is absolutely required, due to the living entity being a unit of serving consciousness. Service is not performed according to the desire of the jīva — devotional service is only performed on the desire of Kṛṣṇa. Actually, pure devotional service is not performed directly on the desire of Kṛṣṇa, but it is always performed on the desire of the āśraya–tattva. The āśraya-tattva means the eternal associates of the Supreme Lord such as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Mother Yaśodā, Baladeva Prabhu and others. Śrī Guru is the manifest principle of the āśraya-tattva by which a fallen jīva becomes connected to the transcendental world.

The worship of Kṛṣṇa is not to be done for the satisfaction of our senses, but it is always performed for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees. Actually, the disciple only assists the guru in the worship of the Deity. The guru is worshiping Kṛṣṇa and the disciple is simply assisting. The disciple must think that, “Everything is being done by my Gurudeva — I am only an instrument in his hand.”

In the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Lord, that same position is given to one who is liberated from material bondage — we do not directly worship, or serve Kṛṣṇa in His līlā, but we are admitted there to assist the Lord’s eternal associates – dāsa-dāsa-dāsa-dāsa-dāsānudāsa!

In the above quote which you have mentioned from Śrīla Prabhupāda, the word ‘great’ refers to those who are firmly established on the platform of rāgānuga-bhakti. Only rāgānuga-bhaktas can worship govardhana-śilā. Once, when Śrīla Prabhupāda was asked why so many big devotees were falling down in our movement, Śrīla Prabhupāda replied by saying, “Why do you say ‘big’? Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī, he is a big devotee, and he has not fallen down!”

In vaidhi-bhakti, śālāgrāma-śilā, or Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa are worshipped. Deity worship in general belongs to the stage of bhakti called bhajana–kriyā, or the process of sādhana which includes arcana. Bhajana-kriyā again indicates the same point – acting under the instruction of the guru.

Of course, someone may say that Śrīla Prabhupāda is jagat-guru, and his instructions are already there in his books. That is a fact, but Śrīla Prabhupāda never suggests anywhere that a disciple should become over-intelligent and avoid the instructions of his guru.

Only once in the time of Śrīla Prabhupāda did a disciple independently pick up a govardhana-śilā and begin worship. This came to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s notice while he was in Bombay, and he instructed that disciple to return the śilā to Govardhana Hill immediately.

While the spiritual master is living in this world, a disciple must take full advantage of that situation and always approach the guru for guidance and instructions. In the event that the guru is no longer present in this world, then a neophyte should always consult senior Vaiṣṇavas. In the absence of one’s guru, if one is actually a high-class madhyama or uttama–adhikārī, then an undisturbed subjective relationship exists eternally between the guru and his disciple. In that stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, divine instructions are always manifest in the disciple’s heart — this is called anurāga-bhajana. Even then, we see that a high-class devotee does not disregard the instructions or advice of senior Vaiṣṇavas. Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī was an uttama-adhikārī, but he remained under the shelter of Rūpa and Sanātana. Rūpa Gosvāmī is the head of our sampradāya, yet he always took shelter of Sanātana as his senior. This is the way of proper Vaiṣṇava behaviour — this is the way to perfection. Independence is nowhere!

I hope this answers your questions.

Swami B.G. Narasiṅgha

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