Mood

of
Surrender
during
Reversals
SB 8.4.9: While Indradyumna Mahārāja was engaged in ecstatic
meditation, worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
great sage Agastya Muni arrived there, surrounded by his disciples.
When the Muni saw that Mahārāja Indradyumna, who was sitting in
a secluded place, remained silent and did not follow the etiquette of
offering him a reception, he was very angry. .

SB 8.4.10: Agastya Muni then spoke this curse against the King:
This King Indradyumna is not at all gentle. Being low and
uneducated, he has insulted a brāhmaṇa. May he therefore enter the
region of darkness and receive the dull, dumb body of an elephant.
. .
SB 8.4.11-12: Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, after
Agastya Muni had thus cursed King Indradyumna, the Muni left that
place along with his disciples. Since the King was a devotee, he
accepted Agastya Muni's curse as welcome because it was the desire
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, although in his
next life he got the body of an elephant, because of devotional
service he remembered how to worship and offer prayers to the
Lord.
SB 1.18.30 (1965): The king thus being insulted while going out
took up a lifeless snake by the front part of his bow and placed it
on the shoulder of the sage in great anger and thus returned back
to his palace.

SB 1.18.31 (1965): While going cut he began to contemplate and

argue within himself whether the sage was actually in meditation
by concentration of the senses and closed eyes or it was a false
show of trance just to avoid reception of a lower Kshatriya.

SB 1.18.32 (1965): The sage had a son who was very much
powerful as a Brahmin's son and was playing with boys who
were all inexperienced. The sage's son heard about the distress of
the father made by the king and thus he began to say then and
there like this.SB 1.18.37 (1965): The son of a Brahmin cursed
the king like this "On the seventh day from to-day a snake bird
will bite the wretched of the dynasty on account of his breaking
the law of etiquette by doing enmity with my father.
On seeing that the inhabitants of Vrindavan had neglected to worship him,
lndra, the King of Heaven, decided to punish them by sending terrible rain
clouds to inundate the land of Vrindavan. Seething with rage, King lndra
was thinking that simply on the advice of a talkative village boy named
Krishna the Vrajavasis had stopped the lndra-yajna and instead worshiped
Govardhana Hill, the brahmanas, and the cows.

Unfortunately, being so puffed-up with his own self-importance and false

prestige, lndra could not understand that this simple village boy called
Krishna was in fact the Supreme Personality of Godhead enjoying His
transcendental pastimes as a cowherd boy in the land of Vrindavan .
.

Calling for the samvartaka clouds of devastation that are used to destroy the
whole cosmic manifestation at the end of a kalpa, lndra ordered them to
proceed to Vrindavan and cause extensive floods that would destroy the
livelihood of the inhabitants. Within no time torrents of rain as thick as
pillars, accompanied by thunder, lighting and howling winds, descended on
Vrindavan, causing great misery to its inhabitants. The land became so full
of water that no one could distinguish between high ground and low ground.
Shivering because of the severe cold brought about by the torrential rains,
the inhabitants of Vrindavan approached Lord Krishna for shelter.
For some people, when the pot of worldly miseries becomes
excessive, it leads them to conclude that running after the world is
futile, and it is better to take shelter in God. Likewise, when they see
that worldly supports are unable to protect them, they then turn to God
for protection. Draupadi’s surrender to Shree Krishna was an example
of this type of surrender. When Draupadi was being disrobed in the
assembly of the Kauravas, she first counted upon the protection of her
husbands. When they remained silent, she relied upon the pious elders
present in the assembly—Dronacharya, Kripacharya, Bheeshma, and
Vidur—to help her. When they too failed to offer her protection, she
clenched her sari between her teeth. Up to this stage, Shree Krishna
did not come to Draupadi’s rescue. Finally, when Dushasan pulled her
sari with a jerk, it slipped from the grasp of her teeth. At that point, she
no longer had any faith in the protection of others, nor was she relying
on her own strength. She surrendered herself totally to Shree Krishna,
who immediately offered her complete protection. He intervened by
extending the length of her sari. No matter how much Dushashan
pulled, he was still not able to disrobe Draupadi.
The Vedas give the right direction to people so that they
can properly mold their lives and come back to Godhead,
back to home. The Vedas offer knowledge of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa in His
incarnation as Vyāsadeva is the compiler of the Vedānta-
sūtra. The commentation on the Vedānta-sūtra by
Vyāsadeva in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives the real
understanding of Vedānta-sūtra. The Supreme Lord is so
full that for the deliverance of the conditioned soul He is
the supplier and digester of foodstuff, the witness of his
activity, and the giver of knowledge in the form of the
Vedas and as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī
Kṛṣṇa, the teacher of the Bhagavad-gītā. He is
worshipable by the conditioned soul. Thus God is all-
good; God is all-merciful.
Purifying the Items (Upacaras)
Before offering each item (upacara), first purify your right hand with a few drops of
water from the acamana cup and then the sprinkle the item (upacara) with water from
the acamana cup.

Offering Procedure
While standing on an asana and ringing a bell, present the incense first to your
spiritual master by waving it in three or four graceful circles, and then present it to
Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya in the same manner.

Then, with the consciousness that you are offering it on behalf of your spiritual master
and with the blessings of %Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya, offer it with the full
number of circles (listed below) to the main deity.

After offering the incense to the main deity, offer it as prasada to the Lord’s associates
in descending order, and to the guru-param- para—senior to junior. This may be done
with seven or three circles for each personality, depending on time allowance.

Then “distribute it” (with one or three circles) to the assembled Vaishnavas as the
prasada of the Lord and His associates.

Offer the remaining items in a similar way.

Offered items should not be mixed with unoffered items. You may place offered items
back on the plate that was used to bring in the paraphernalia, provided no unoffered
paraphernalia remains on it.
How to Offer Each Item

Offer all the items, except the camara and fan, by moving them in clock- wise circles while ringing a bell with your left hand (above waist
level), fixing your attention on the deities.

Incense: offer seven circles around the whole body of the

Lord.Lamp(s): offer four circles to the lotus feet, two circles to the navel, and three circles to the Lord’s face; then offer seven circles to the
Lord’s whole body.

Arghya in a conch: offer three circles to the Lord’s head and seven circles to the whole body of the Lord. Then pour a small amount of the
offered arghya back into the water pot before proceeding to offer arghya to the next personality. (Arati arghya: plain or scented water).

Cloth: offer seven times around the Lord’s body.

Flowers: offer seven times around the Lord’s body.

Camara: wave before the Lord a suitable number of times.

Fan: wave before the Lord a suitable number of times.

Completing the Arati.

After completing the arati, blow the conch three times outside the deity room, as at the beginning of the arati. Then distribute the arghya and
flower prasada to the assembled devotees.

Then with joined palms offer pranama prayers softly to your spiritual master and Their Lordships.