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The Nectar of Devotion
gods.” This means that even an ordinary person who goes to Vṛndāvana out of inquisitiveness and by chance sees the temple, especially that of Govindadeva, even if he is not elevated to the spiritual kingdom, is still assured promotion to the higher planetary systems. This means that simply by visiting the Deity of Govinda in Vṛndāvana one becomes highly elevated in pious life.
Observing Ārātrika and Celebrations of the Lord
In the  Skanda Purāṇa  there is the following description of the result of seeing  ārātrika  (worship) of the Deity: “If someone sees the face of the Lord while  ārātrika  is going on, he can be relieved of all sinful reactions coming from many, many thousands and millions of years past. He is even excused from the killing of a  brāhmaṇa  or similar prohibited activities.”
As we have already explained, there are different ceremonies to be observed, such as the birthday of Kṛṣṇa, the birthday of Lord Rāmacandra, the birthday of some prominent  Vaiṣṇavas , the ceremony of  Jhulan-yātrā  with the Lord sitting on a swing,  Dola-yātrā  (the Lord’s activities in the month of March), and so on. In all festivals the Lord is seated on the car, and the car moves through different streets of the city so that people may take advantage of visiting the Lord. In the  Bhaviṣya Purāṇa  it is said: “In such a ceremony, if even a  caṇḍāla  [dog-eater], simply out of curiosity, sees the Lord on the cart, he becomes counted as one of the associates of Viṣṇu.”
In the  Garuḍa Purāṇa  it is stated: “Any person who in gladness sees the worship of the Deity in the temple will obtain the results of  kriyā-yoga  which are described in the  Pañcarātra  scripture.”  Kriyā-yoga  is a system of practice much like practical devotional service, but it is especially meant for the mystic  yogīs . In other words, by this gradual process, the mystic  yogīs  are eventually elevated to the devotional service of the Lord.