Śrī Baladeva-avatāra

Jhulan-yatra

Traditionally, in the Jhulan-yatra (swinging festival), conditioned souls (ordinary aspirants) are not entitled to enter. Yet, our Guruvarga has introduced this. This is a type of worship of Supreme Lord. We can do this worship for 5 days as per Archan marg. So our guruvarga said you can do it through sankirtan, by praying for grace, for entering into the transcendental realm. But as long as there is material ego there is no possibility.

Glories of Lord Baladeva

The Supreme Lord, although being one, can perform pastimes or spiritual activities in an infinite variety of forms. Sri Krishna Himself performs His own service in His form of Baladeva. Sri Baladeva—the original Sankarshan (Mula-Sankarshan), has the form of a cowherd boy in Vraja and that of a kshatriya in Dwarka-puri. Sankarshan, of the first catur-vyuha (quadruple expansion), in Dwarka is an amsa- avatar of Mula-Sankarshan (cowherd Baladeva).

Without the Grace of Baladeva We Cannot Get Krishna

Narrating about the Sri Baladev Tatva, Srila Gurudev, emphasizes on the explanation of our Guruvargas on the various pastimes of Lord Baladev. He elaborates on how we can get the grace of Baladev, Gurudev and Guruvarga without which we cannot get Krishna.

Jhulan-yatra Harikatha Day 4 (English)

In the swinging festival, only Gopis are allowed. Gopi’s love is the highest love. How Gopis are completely attached with Krishna is beyond our imagination! Even Nanda Maharaj, Yashoda Devi, other friends and servants are not allowed. But yet our Guruvarga advised us to perform the swinging festival in the mood of deity worship (archana-bhakti), at whatever stage we are. We can worship swinging pastimes for the four-five days by archana-bhakti. It is Vidhi-bhakti—devotional practice with regulated scriptural injunctions.