From a satsang with Paramacharya of SWAHA, Pt. Hardeo Persad
Celebrated on the day after Divali, Goverdhan puja is an auspicious day of worship that celebrates the powerful connection of faith, devotion and shelter between the Lord and his devotees. The festival of Divali celebrates the individual and collective transition from the darkness of ignorance to the light of wisdom and divinity. It is at this point that Goverdhan puja commences, signifying devotion and faith in the Lord as well as the control of the senses and the mind.
In the katha, child Krishna saved the villagers from the effects of seven days of torrential rains. He picked up the Goverdhan mountain and lifted it with his little finger. The villagers and their livestock sheltered until the rains ceased; Shree Krishna then dispersed the waters and He was revealed as the true avatar of the Divine Consciousness, to whom all the forces of nature were subservient.
At a deeper level of meaning, Goverdhan represents yoga, the union of the soul with the Supersoul. Every action, or karma, that we perform should lead us to union with God. Shree Krishna explained that karma yoga, the path of action, has declined over time and his aim was to re-establish it as a path of dharma, righteous conduct. In Satya Yug, the first golden age of humans, the mountain of yoga was very large and tall. However, over the subsequent ages it shrank until, in Kalyug, it has become almost non-existent. In this age, many people are led solely by the senses and the focus is on the external world to the detriment of spiritual advancement.
Shree Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, in chapter 4, relates to Arjuna the meaning of the path of karma yoga: “Perform your allotted duty, because action is superior to inaction. (V. 8) Man is bound by his own action except when it is performed for the sake of sacrifice. Therefore, Arjuna, do you efficiently perform your duty, free from attachment, for the sake of sacrifice. (V. 9) Dedicating all actions to Me with your mind fixed on Me, the Self of all, freed from desire and the feeling of me-ness, and cured of mental agitation, fight (desire).” (V. 30.) In uplifting Mount Goverdhan with his firm, immoveable little finger, Shree Krishna once more affords yoga the height and grandeur which was lost over time and provides shelter for his devotees from the storms of life.
Thus, when devotees perform Goverdhan puja, the intention is to lift the mountain of yoga within us through Divine Consciousness. We must perform the karmas that will lead us to union with the divine. We must also understand the deep philosophy that underpins the rituals. Our efforts and actions must be sincerely performed without a sense of ego and with a sense of dispassion, thus maintaining the path of karma yoga. We will then be bestowed with success and blessings in our material and spiritual endeavours.
