Govardhan Shelter
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam “O Govardhan, please give me shelter near you.”
~ Srila Raghunath Das Goswami
“Those who want to love God adopt the same spirit of one-pointed determination as the dualists and the same mood of utter humility and meekness, a necessary attitude for them to overcome the gulf separating a tiny soul from God almighty. But they also combine it with the contemplative calmness which comes from an intuitive feeling of eternal closeness to the Absolute Truth. That’s how a tearful prayer full of devotion blends with the tranquility and calmness of meditation and transforms into a sweet kirtana.The waves of this kirtana rise above the pasturing fields of Vraja, scale the small rocky hill known as Govardhan that is stretched out as the tilak marking of Vraja, and ascend high into the sky, trying to reach its snowy peaks and steep slopes hidden in the clouds, where, some say, the horses of the Sun God are pasturing.The ambrosial sounds of that kirtana rise to the very top of Giriraj from where a small cowherd boy with a staff, a bamboo flute and a horn is proudly observing his domain. He is the king of this boundless land of love, where every blade of grass is known to him. From the top of the hill he’s watching over the cows that graze in the meadow below; they are ready to forget their grass and come running if he calls them. He sees peacocks dancing just for him, and deer craving for the sound of his flute. On the same meadow he sees his faithful friends, with Balaram ahead. They all roll around in the emerald green grass, chase birds and giggle whilst searching for their friend who escaped from them.His watchful sight traces mother Yasoda in Nandagram. She is fussing around the stove preparing his dinner while a countless number of maidservants help her. He suddenly sees a flock of young cowherd girls on the other side of the hill. Stealthily they are glancing around while going to the place of their secret meeting. Chandravali’s bashful beauty shines among them. He sees all this, and his heart halts, filled with love and happiness.But his thirsty eyes are still searching for someone else. What more does he need? Is all this love and happiness not enough for him? No, it is not! And therefore he calls loudly from the top of Govardhan, Aniyora! Aniyora! - “It’s not enough, I need more! I need more!” ~ HH Bhakti Vijnana Goswami
Happy Govardhan Puja today!
All the best,
Rukmini Walker