大象传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Brahmacharini Shripriya Chaitanya

Good morning.

Today marks the fourth day of the festival of Diwali, celebrated with worship known as 鈥楪ovardhan puja鈥� and 鈥楢nnakut鈥�.

The Bhagavata Mahapurana, a Hindu scriptural text, tells the story of the life of Krishna. As a young boy, every year in the autumn season, he witnessed in his village worship being offered to Indra, the deity of rain.

Seeing that Indra was becoming increasingly arrogant in his demands, Krishna suggested to the villagers that they ought to pay their respects to nature, particularly to the Govardhan mountain near their village, rather than to Indra. Incensed at the insult, Indra caused a terrible storm over the village that gave rise to great flooding. The young Krishna, in order to provide shelter for the villagers, picked up the mountain and held it on his little finger so that they all could stand underneath it.

Having been saved from the deluge, the villagers offered their worship to the mountain and were blessed in turn. Accordingly, this day is celebrated by cooking 鈥榤ountains鈥� of food (referred by the name Annakut), which is then offered to God. After the worship is complete, the food offered is then called 鈥榩ras膩da鈥�: it is taken and consumed with an attitude of acceptance and gratitude.

Love is an incredibly powerful force; when action is performed with love for a higher ideal, it is called 鈥榢arma yoga鈥�, in the language of the Bhagavad Gita. The story of the Govardhan mountain and the practice of Annakut is to remind us of the importance of love for God in every action we perform, and in accepting the results of our actions that come back to us.

May we remember the Lord, who gives us the capacity for action, in everything that we do. May our love sweeten our acceptance of life with gratitude and humility.

Namaste, Hari Om.

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