Govardhana Puja 2026

“Therefore, a person should worship work [karma] itself, in accordance with their own nature and their own work. That by which one may live easily is indeed their deity.” (Lord Krishna, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.24.18)

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तस्मात्सम्पूजयेत्कर्म स्वभावस्थ: स्वकर्मकृत्
अञ्जसा येन वर्तेत तदेवास्य हि दैवतम्

tasmāt sampūjayet karma
svabhāva-sthaḥ sva-karma-kṛt
anjasā yena varteta
tad evāsya hi daivatam

“Listen, I am learning. I am the product of my environment, of my upbringing, of the society around me. Things were quite different for my parents. They grew up on farms. There was no electricity. There was certainly no television. At the same time, there was love. There was joy. There was family, extending sideways, upwards, and downwards. As my mom would say, there was no distinction between the various siblings. If someone was actually your cousin, they were treated like a brother or a sister. The same for the aunts and uncles, who were like extensions of the parents.

“I have been accustomed to throwing things out when they stop working. The previous generation never did that. They tried their best to repair anything that was malfunctioning. The various possessions were almost considered sacred. The land remained in the family for generations. There was appreciation for the earth, the skies, the heavens, the ancestors, and even the animals.

“In the particular tradition to which I belong, cows are sacred. Similar to how someone today might love their cat or dog, the difference was that even the supposedly unclean parts of the cow have merit. The dung has practical use for the human society. The same for the urine. The milk products are like mercy from a mysterious place. The only thing that cow needs is contact with its children. The love flows from there. Why would any decent and honest person ever contemplate rewarding that mercy with unspeakable violence? And all to satisfy a palate, which is fickle and never at rest, to begin with.

“Trust me, the part about respecting cows entirely makes sense. The one thing is, that was a different period of time. Even within our own family, hardly anyone lives on a farm anymore. No one in the current generation has experience owning a cow. Do you see what I am saying? Are the traditions of the past not relevant only for the past? Why should we hold on to practices that no longer have relevance? Everyone is in the cities. Let them live like everyone else. Why should they be concerned with a festival such as Govardhana Puja, for instance? That was particularly related to the cows in the rural area of Vrindavana. What if we don’t live anywhere near Vrindavana today?”

This is a peculiar question considering that the settings still exist. The people may not be in the same areas as before, but nothing about the mechanism has changed. It is like considering a population of people who worship the sun. Every single day, without fail, they rise and offer a kind prayer to the one who is literally the maker of the day. There is a corresponding Sanskrit word: dinakara. That word is ancient in origin, but eternal in relevance. The sun is still in the sky. The sun still provides. The sun still makes the day.

I may live in a metropolitan area that barely has a direct line of sight with the sun. I do not like living in such an area, but for the time being, I have no choice. Someone refers to my distaste as “metrophobia.” I have never heard of such a term before, but it appears to apply to my situation. I miss seeing the sun. Just because I lack direct contact does not diminish the impact of the sun. The rules of nature have not changed.

In the same way, the cow is forever dear. It is sacred to practically the entire world. The only distinction is how that exceptional status gets applied. In one place, the cow is sacred enough to be protected. In another place, the same cow is sacred enough to be rounded up in bunches to intentionally be placed on the conveyor belt for destruction. Of course, the byproducts need to be extracted first. Once the cow has been sufficiently exploited, it can then make the final sacrifice in giving up its life, for the sake of food.

I may change occupations several times over the course of the life experience, but those shifts make no impact on the value of my existence. In the same way, human behavior does not have to change simply because of a difference in setting. The very first Govardhana Puja took place because a small child leaned upon the tendency for appreciation within a specific population. In other words, the people of Vrindavana were good. They were kind-hearted. They did not look to exploit. They believed in God.

A young Krishna suggested that the people appreciate a nearby hill instead of the king of heaven. Krishna pretended to be a proponent of the philosophy known as karma-mimamsa. Krishna said that a person should make their own work their highest deity. Especially that work which went about easily – that would be the most important to them. Govardhana Hill helped the people carry out their work, and so worship of that hill made sense.

In the process, Krishna showed how special that hill was. Govardhana is non-different from Krishna. As Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, relevant across all periods of time, so worship of Govardhana can continue, irrespective of our location. Wherever we live, in whatever condition we find ourselves, respecting and honoring the land that is sacred to Krishna will never grow out of style.

In Closing:

As eternal truth to know,
Never out of style to grow.

That Govardhana to Him the same,
Worship when idea to Him came.

That Indra-yajna for people instead,
Towards that blessed hill be led.

Because to cows and land so dear,
Importance in aftermath clear.