by Shrila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami
Vasudevarcanam
On the day of the wedding, that devotee of Govinda who has accepted panca-samskara initiation from a bona-fide guru, no matter which varna he is from, should take his bath in the morning, perform his standard daily duties (such as sandhya-vandana etc), and in a decorated mandapa or temple of Vishnu, should sit on kusha and perform acamana and vishnu-smaranam (by chanting the mangalacarana prayers).
He should establish a pot in a beautiful mandala and put a copper plate on top. On the plate he should place a shalagrama and then procede to worship the shalagrama with the Purusha Sukta prayers. At a wedding or any other function, Lord Narayana or His shalagrama form should always be worshipped. It is an offence to devotional service and to the holy name to worship Ganesha and the other demigods such as the panca-devatas, Surya and the other planetary deities, Indra and the deities of the directions, Gauri and the matrikas etc. Instead, the Vaishnavas are worshipped. The evidence for this is in Padma Purana:
shuddha-sattvamayo vishnuh
kalyana-guna-sagarah
narayanah parambrahma
vipranam daivatam harih
brahmanyah shripatir-vishnur
vasudevo janardanah
brahmanyah pundarikaksho
govindo harir-acyutah
“Lord Vishnu is made of transcendental goodness, He is an ocean of auspicious qualities. He is Narayana, the Parambrahma, He is the worshippable Deity of the brahmanas. He is the Lord of Lakshmi, the Supreme Lord Vishnu, Janardana, Vasudeva, Pundarikaksha, Govinda, Hari and Acyuta.”
sa eva pujayo vipranam
netare purusha-shabhah
mohad yah pujayedanyam
sa pashandi bhaved dhruvam
“O best of men! He is worshipped by the brahmanas and no one else is to be worshipped. If someone worships other gods due to illusion, he becomes a pashandi.”
smaranadeva krishnasya
vimuktih papanam api
tasya padodakam sevyam
bhuktocchishtanca pavanam
“Those sinful people who meditate upon Lord Krishna attain liberation. They honour the water that has bathed His lotus feet and partake of His remnants.”
svarga-pavargadam nrinam
brahmananam visheshatah
vishnor-niveditam nityam
devebhyo juhuyadvabih
“They can attain the heavenly planets and become freed from the five kleshas that trouble the living entities. That is why the Lord’s prasadam is especially honoured and eaten by the brahmanas, who always offer the remnants of Lord Vishnu in the fire of sacrifice to the demigods.
pitribhyash-caiva tadadyat
sarvam-anantyamashnute
yo na dadyadvarer bhuktam
pitrinam shraddha-karmani
“That person that offers the remnants of the Lord to his forefathers in the shraddha ceremony, recieves infinite rewards and endless gain.”
ashnute pitaras-tasya
vinmutram satatam dvijah
tan-mad vishnoh prasaddo vai
sevitavyo dvijanmana
“O brahmanas! That person who performs shraddha but does not offer Vishnu-prasada to his forefathers, condemns them to continuously eat stool and urine.”
itaresham tu devanam
nirmalyam garhitam bhavet
sakrideva hi yohashnati
brahmano jnana-purvatah
“Therefore, a brahmana must always honour the Lords’ remnants, otherwise if he takes the remnants of the demigods he becomes utterly condemned.”
nirmalyam shankaradinam
sa candalo bhaved dhruvam
kalpa-koti-sahasrani
pacyate narakagnina
“If a brahmana knowingly partakes of the prasada of Lord Shiva or any other deva even once, he certainly becomes a candala and burns in the fires of hell for one thousand koti kalpas.”
nirmalyam tu dvija-shreshta
rudradinam divoikasam
raksho-yaksho-pishacanam
madya-mamsa-surasamam
“O best of the twice-born! The remnants of the demigods such as Shiva etc, rakshasas, yakshas, and pishacas are no different from meat and wine.”
tad brahmanaina bhoktavyam
devanam bhunjitam havih
tasmad-anyam parityajya
vishnum-eva sanatanam
“Therefore, the brahmanas should not honour the remnants of the devas. Because Lord Vishnu is the only eternal Supreme Lord, all others should be rejected.”
pujayadvam dvija-shreshta
yavajjivamatendratah
arccayen-mantra-ratnena
vidhina purushottamam
“O best of the twice-born! As long as there is life in the body one should enthusiastically worship Lord Purushottama according to scriptural injunctions and with the best of mantras.”
prasadaya vai kuryani-
nityam bhaktimatendritah
tasyavarana pujayam
tridashannarcchayet sudhih
@” One should always attentively do His service in order to get His mercy. TRANS.???
ananya sharano bhakto
nama mantreshu dikshitah
kada cin narcayed devan
ganeshadims tu vaishnavah
“The devotee interested in pure devotion to the Lord, and initiated with Vaishnava mantra should never worship Ganesha and the other devatas.
yatra yatra surah pujya
ganeshadyas tu karminam
vishnvarcane tatra tatra
vaishnavanam hi vaishnavah
“Wherever the materialists prescribe worship of Ganesha and the devatas, the Vaishnava should instead worship the pure devotees of Lord Vishnu”
vishvaksenam sa sanakam
sanatana matah param
sananda sanat kumara
pancaitan pujayet tatah
“Thus instead of worshipping Ganesha to remove material obstacles, the devotee should worship Vishvaksena and the four Kumaras to remove obstacles on the spiritual path.”
yasmin-navagraha arcchyas-
tatra kavyadayo nava
yatra yajanti vidhina
dik-paladimstu karminah
tatra prapujayedetan
vidhim bhagavatam shukam
sada-shivam vainateyam
naradam kapilam balim
tato bhagavatam bhishmam
prahlad-anjana-sutam
ambarishamsh ca janakam
mahabhagavatam yamam
manum svayambhuvam vyas-
adikanca vaishnavottamam
yuge yuge ca vikhyatan-
aparan vaishnavanapi
“Whereas the materialist will worship the navagrahas (the nine demigods presiding over the nine planets), the devotee will worship Kavya Muni and the other navayogendras.
When the non devotees worship the deities of the directions (dikpalas), the devotees should worship Brahma, the great devotee Shukhadeva, Sada-Shiva, Garuda, Narada, Kapila, Bali, the great Bhishma, Prahlada, Hanuman, Ambarisha, the great Yama, Svayambhuva Manu, and the great Vaishnava Vyasa.This worship of Lord Vishnu and the Vaishnavas is well known and has been performed age after age,”
harayarcchanai yaje-nityam
na tu devan kadacana
yatra matriganah pujyas-
tatra hyetah prapujayet
sada bhagavati paurna-
masi padmastarangika
ganga kalindatanaya
gopi candravali tatha
gayatri tulasi vani
prithivi gaush-ca vaishnavi
shri yashoda devahutih
devaki rohinimutha
shri sita draupadi kunti
apara ya maharshayah
rukmininyadyas tatha cashta
mahishya yash-ca ta api
“O great sages! Worship and sacrifice to Lord Hari is eternal, but the worship of the devas is not. Whenever others worship the matriganas, the Vaishnavas instead worship Bhagavati Paurnamasi, Padma, Antarangika, Ganga, Yamuna, Candravali, Gayatri, Tulasi, Sarasvati, Prithivi, Vaishnavi, Go, Yashoda, Devahuti, Devaki, Rohini, Sita, Draupadi, Kunti, Rukmini, and the other eight queens of the Lord.”
gopalopasakash-caiva
shridamadin visheshatah
tatrasyavaranatvena
gopalan paripujayet
“The devotee of Lord Gopala will also worship the cowherd friends of the Lord, in particular Shridama etc.” shri krishnapasakastva tad-
arcchane sarva-karmani
lalitadyah sahacarih
sa sakhi-rangini yutah
“In every function, the devotee of Shri Krishna will worship Lord Krishna and His dearest sakhis, such as Lalita etc.”
pujayedvidhina karsno
yato vaishnava-daivatah
nanyan kadarcidvibudha-
nupadevamsh ca shuddhabuddhih
“The devotee of Shri Krishna, with great intelligence, should worship these Vaishnavas according to the proper scriptural rules and should never worship the primary or secondary demigods.”
vaishnavanansh karyanam
kriyaisha sattviki yathah
na rajasi na tamasi
pashanda-dharmabhititah
“These rituals that are performed by the devotees are very wonderful because they are in the mode of goodness. They are not in the modes of passion and ignorance unlike the so-called religious books of the atheists (demigod worshippers).”
Sat Kriya Sara Dipika, Part Fifteen
BY: SUN STAFF
Oct 18, 2016 — CANADA (SUN) — By Shrila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. Printed by The Bhaktivedanta Academy, Mayapur (1995).
