Touchstone Media has announced the release of the book Govardhana, the Hill that Fulfils all Desires written by ISKCON spiritual master Bhakti Caitanya Swami. The book is a virtual guide to this most holy place of pilgrimage for devotees of Lord Krishna.
Lord Krishna appeared on earth more than five thousand years ago and enacted intimate pastimes with His dearmost devotees who were hankering intensely for it. Govardhana Hill provided the most suitable atmosphere by which all the desires of the Lord were fulfilled in His intimate loving dealings with His devotees. Govardhana provided shelter to the devotees in Vrindavan when they were in distress having being tormented by the incessant torrents of rains being sent by the king of demigods, Indra. In order to further proclaim the glories of this greatest of hills, Govardhana, Lord Krishna Himself assumed the form of Govardhana in order to accept the offerings of His devotees in Vrindavan. One of the great disciples of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Rupa Goswami had written thus about Govardhana Hill:
“The holy place known as Mathura is spiritually superior to Vaikuntha, the transcendental world, because the Lord appeared there. Superior to Mathura-Puri is the transcendental forest of Vrindavana because of Krishna’s rasa-lila pastimes. And superior to the forest of Vrindavana is Govardhana Hill, for it was raised by the divine hand of Sri Krishna and was the site of His various loving pastimes. And, above all, the superexcellent Sri Radha-kunda stands supreme, for it is overflooded with the ambrosial nectarean prema of the Lord of Gokula, Sri Krishna. Where, then, is that intelligent Person who is unwilling to serve this divine Radha-kunda, which is situated at the foot of Govardhana Hill?”
Simply put, Govardhana Hill is the shelter prayed for by the devotees to attain loving devotional service to Lord Krishna. A single visit to this king of the mountains assures one of liberation from the material existence, but more so guarantees one entrance into loving relationships with Lord Krishna.
Bhakti Caitanya Swami and his crew spent tireless days and nights photographing all the places on and around Govardhana Hill. All the temples, shrines, lakes, Deities and often the most difficult ones were caught on camera and presented in this book that took more than three years in the making. Bhakti Caitanya Swamu then accompanied each photos with vivid descriptions of the places and pastimes performed by the Lord with His devotees, thus assuring us of being intimately absorbed as we flip through the pages. There are also a large accompaniement of arts that were drawn especially for this book.
Govardhana, the Hill that Fulfills all Desires is a big coffe-table book. It is 298 pages, a very large double-sided map, and enclosed in hard sleeve case.
The book is now available for bulk ordering and single purchase.
For individual single purchase, you can follow this link on our website: here, or check at your local ISKCON book store.