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How Many Silas Do You Have

by Parama Seva dasa, Atlanta

Whenever I mention to another Iskcon devotee that I happen to worship a

Goverdhana Sila, the first question they usually ask is, “How many do you have?”
"One," I answer, and they invariably appear under-whelmed; "Oh....I saw on the
internet that so an so Maharaja has over a hundred." Thus a major
misunderstanding regarding the worship of the Sila exists in our movement that
needs to be addressed.

It seems as if there is a sort of cold war going on in our movement, where

devotees are stock-piling Silas of all sorts with an undue emphasis on quantity.
The quality of our bhakti is what counts and there is no necessity of
worshipping more than one in order to achieve love of God. In fact, I find
serving only one small Goverdhana Sila to be the greatest asset in my life.
Giriraja is incredibly merciful, certainly beautiful, and He has arrested my
attention with His love for me. Indeed it would be difficult (and probably
inappropriate) to mention here the many ways in which Giriraja reciprocates with
my service, but those who worship the Lord in any of His forms will understand
me.

Secondly, I do not have a Sila - my Sila has me. I belong to Him and not vice
versa. While it is possible to purchase the Lord with one’s pure love for Him, I
do not have an inkling of such devotion. At this point in my spiritual life I
can only humbly worship Giriraja with as much attention and reverence as I can
muster. He is not just a “pet rock,” but the Supreme Lord Himself who has made
me His pet! Thinking of the Lord as a friend, son, or lover is not applicable to
me; such emotions are on the spiritual plane while my consciousness is anchored
to the sea of matter by endless desires for worldly enjoyment. Imitating the
advanced sentiments of great Vaishnavas will not help, rather I should try and
serve the Lord in deep adulation. We may be devotees of Radha and Krishna in
Vrindavana, but we must serve in the mood of Vaikuntha where Sri Sri
Laxmi-Narayana are attended by bhaktas endowed with the mood of awe and
veneration. Proper honor of the Sila engenders great spiritual advancement
whereby the aforementioned mellows become manifest to the faithful servant by
the grace of the Lord.

Moreover, I can honestly say that my personal path to Krishna consciousness can
be viewed as having two phases - before Giriraja and after. Once that 1 7/8”
tall incarnation of Lord Krishna entered my life…well, let’s just say that the
change has definitely for the better. I may still have a long way to go, but it
feels great to be going there with Giriraja. Today (Annakuta) is the anniversary
of the appearance of Giriraja in my otherwise wretched life and I can honestly
say that this year has been the best ever. Although my consciousness still
leaves much to be desired, it seems to be developing at an unprecedented rate.
In addition, the mundane aspects of my life have improved as well; business has
been good and I recently purchased a new home. Last week I also bought a new
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car.

The Sila incarnations of Lord Krishna/Vishnu are unique as there is no need to

install the Deity in that form, for He is already present. Hence, there is a
comforting feeling in the knowledge that Krishna is fully manifest in this
uncommon incarnation. Lord Caitanya has clearly stated that the incarnation of
the Goverdhana Sila is non-different from Krishna’s body. So if Krishna has
personally incarnated and is present in my Deity room in such a potent form, is
there really a need for two Krishnas? Twelve Krishnas? A hundred, a thousand, or
even more?

If I were offered another Sila I would find it difficult to refuse as They are
all so captivating, but I do not see a pressing need to collect more. Nor do I
think that serving so many would somehow increase my Krishna consciousness. To
care for one beautiful, shining Sila is sufficient. I am not exactly sure why
some devotees feel it is necessary to adore so many; perhaps it is an odd
western concept to somehow equate “more” with “better.” Maybe it feeds one’s
false ego. It could be a form of subtle sex taken to the extreme, I don’t know.
The puja of a Sila is no light matter. While elaborate ceremonies and Vedic
mantras may be appropriate for temple worship, our personal service may be
simple - but it must be performed with love above all else. We should be
cultivating such a relationship with our Ishtadevas and not be so concerned with
simply gathering more. If we are not feeling great ecstasy while honoring one
Sila, should we really expect to suddenly develop Krishna prema by caring for so
many that we do not even know all of Their names?

It is certainly true that the Vedas describe the great benefits of worshipping
many Silas. However, it seems that this is specifically meant for puja performed
in the temple. For example, in our sampradaya Gopal Bhatta Goswami was blessed
with many Silas that came to him at the Kali Gandaki river. The Six Goswamis,
however, had a standing order from Lord Caitanya to contruct temples in
Vrindavana and those Silas were later enthroned at the Radha Ramana temple. Most
importantly, Gopal Bhatta Goswami did not make much effort to obtain those
Silas; when They repeatedly jumped into his water pot he took it as the
fulfilment of Lord Caitanya's promise that by going to the Kali Gandaki river he
would have the Lord's darshana there.

One will not find any example in the scriptures of a devotee caring for a
hundred silas at his residence or of a sannyasi hiring a coolie to lug around a
rucksack full of Them. We can see in the shastra however, that most of the
devotees honored only one Sila in private: Jagganatha Misra worshipped Damodara,
the brahmana whose offerings baby Nimai continually stole carried one Sila, and
Sri Advaita Acarya invited Lord Caitanya to descend simply by offering Ganges
water and Tulasi leaves to a single Narayana Sila. As Ganges water and Tulasi
leaves are easily available in India, so the Narayana Sila was common in the
homes of brahmanas until recent times. Indeed, the word "Narayana Sila" is often
used interchangeably with "Salagram Sila." If there was such a thing as a
“regular” Sila, the Narayana form would be it. The Vedas describe Him as having
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few unusual characteristics, round, black, etc. [N.B. you can see a photo of one
worshipped as "Vasudeva" by my friend Janardana on this web-site] thus proving
that worshipping the Lord with great love using items found in almost any
devotee's home can create all auspiciousness.

Sometimes it seems as if Silas just “appear” to devotees. It is not uncommon to

hear of a devotee already engaged in the worship of a Sila suddenly receiving
another one unexpectedly and in the most surprising way. Many stories have been
posted on this web-site describing such incidents. Silas may certainly
experience happiness gathering and relishing the love of Their devotee together,
but that is a different issue. If the Lord appears to us in his beautiful form
of a Sila, we should honor Him and accept the responsibility of caring for Him.
But on the other hand, we should not be so eager to just amass a hill of Silas
in our homes in a vain attempt to obtain instant salvation or to impress anyone
with our “devotion.” One can go to Kathmandu and collect a ton of Salagrama
Silas from traders who try to sell Them by the kilo like the common brick, but
that will not bring about the desired result. Proper veneration of even a pebble
from the Kali Gandaki river or Goverdhana hill, however, can bring irrevocable
bliss to the bhakta.

"Sri Shalagram Tirtha Pradarshani" is a great boon for the devotees of the Sila.
Before this web-site was up and running, we (JTCd and I) discussed this project
for some time and it seemed imperative that he post such a site. I wrote to him
that “every single day 300 pornographic web-sites are created to propagate the
most profound ignorance, so why should we not have at least one site to glorify
these beautiful forms of the Lord?” He wanted to name it “Sri Salagrama Tirtha”
and I had the idea to call it “Sila Pradarshani.” Eventually JTC Prabhu used a
combination of both and by his valiant efforts has created this amazing site to
increase the understanding of such puja in Iskcon (and probably out of it as
well). Yet a number of the devotees with Silas featured have so many that a
viewer could misunderstand and think that it is necessary to hoard hundreds of
Them. The purpose of this web-site is to glorify the Lord's Deity in the form of
the Sila and to increase our appreciation of those charming incarnations. It is
also our duty to educate the devotees about the proper worship of Them. Some
misunderstandings regarding the Sila exist in our movement and I am submitting
this humble article in an attempt to rectify one.
The most humble of servants,
Parama Seva dasa
New Panihati Dhama
Atlanta, Georgia USA
Goverdhana Puja, 2001
Articles on amounts of Silas to serve:
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