Once in Braj, people were preparing many varieties of food to offer to god Indra, the king of the celestial abodes, so that he would provide plenty of rain for their crops and cattle. The little son of Nand, Krishn, told them to stop worshipping celestial god Indra and to direct their devotion to Govardhan hill which is the embodiment of God Himself. Thus, all the food that was prepared to be offered to Indra, was offered to Govardhan hill. At that moment, Lord Krishn appeared on the hilltop as Govardhan God and accepted all the offerings.
At JKP Radha Madhav Dham, USA, we celebrate Govardhan Pooja on Oct 30th, the day after we celebrate Divali. Depending on the weather, we may celebrate this festival inside or outside. When celebrated inside, we build a Govardhan hill on the stage in the Temple. We sing bhajans and pads that celebrate the greatness of Govardhan hill and the leelas associated with this favorite place of Krishn's pastimes with His Gwalbal friends. When celebrated outside, we do parikrama from the Temple steps to our Govardhan hill and circumambulate it while dancing joyously and chanting nam sankirtan in praise of our Govardhan Dhari, Krishn. Whether outside or inside, we prapare a delicious meal of devotionally prepared foods and sweets and then offer them to Govardhan and we shower flowers on Him. Dinner prasad is then enjoyed by all those present.
Don't miss our culturally rich and exciting Divali celebration at Radha Madhav Dham on Oct 29th. The festival will begin with dinner prasad at 5 pm. We are having a spectacular laser light show this year.
Program Highlights
- Sita Ram Abhishek near the Shiv Shrine at 6:00pm, performed by Dattatreya Badrinathji, expert Krishn Yajur Veda Pundit. $21 donation per family
Panchamrit will be distributed to those who participate in this auspicious pooja
- Beautiful Sita Ram deity available for a contribution
- Inspirational discourse by Swami Mukundanand at 7:30pm
- Laser light show in the back of the Temple at 9pm
- Ras Garba on Maharas Mandal until 11pm
- Lots of food, fun and Garba dancing with Sur Sangam of Hurst, TX, and a spectacular laser light show in the back of the temple. This entertainment is not to be missed!
Leave a comment