Śrī Gaurāṅga Dāsa Bābā was a deeply realized devotee who lived at the foot of Govardhana Hill—the sacred mountain that Lord Kṛṣṇa once lifted with the little finger of His left hand to protect the residents of Vraja from torrential rain. For him, Girirāja was not an inert stone but Kṛṣṇa Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead taking the form of the hill to receive his worship.
The Bābā lived a life of the utmost renunciation. His only possessions were a waterpot, a wooden bowl, and a few pieces of cloth. His food consisted of whatever he could gather or beg, yet every day he performed parikramā—the full circumambulation of Govardhana—chanting the holy names with tears streaming from his eyes.
He worshiped Girirāja Govardhana as his life and soul. Each morning he would collect a few flowers, tulasī leaves, and water from a nearby well, and offer them with great love to a small stone from the hill that he had received from his guru.
One year, during the monsoon season, his store of firewood became completely soaked, and he had nothing dry with which to light a fire. The day of offering food to Girirāja arrived, but he could not cook. As he sat helplessly before his small altar, he said with folded hands, “O Girirāja! You are the presiding Lord of Vraja, the shelter of the entire world. I am only Your servant. If You desire that I should prepare Your meal today, please arrange for some dry wood.”
Hardly had he spoken these words when the sky grew dark and a great clap of thunder shook the air. A flash of lightning struck a nearby tree, splitting it into two. The tree fell to the ground, completely dry from the heat of the bolt.
The Bābā was astonished. Weeping in gratitude, he bowed down before Girirāja and said, “O Lord, how merciful You are! You have heard my plea and arranged everything for Your own service.”
He immediately cut the branches into small pieces, lit a fire, and prepared a simple meal. After offering it with tears of devotion, he sat before the Lord chanting softly, overwhelmed by love.
That night, he dreamt that Girirāja appeared before him in the form of a dark-skinned boy, smiling radiantly. The Lord said to him, “Bābā, you were cold and hungry today. Forgive Me for arranging the wood so late.”
Upon hearing these tender words, Gaurāṅga Dāsa Bābā woke up trembling with divine joy. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he cried, “My Lord, You feel concern for Your servant! You, who sustain the universe, worry that I might have gone hungry!”
From that day forward, his devotion deepened even more. He saw every pebble of Govardhana as the very body of the Lord, each leaf and blade of grass alive with consciousness. The hill was no longer a landscape of stone and soil but the living, breathing form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
It is said that till the end of his life, whenever anyone asked him who his Lord was, he would simply smile and point to Govardhana Hill.
Reflection
For one who loves Kṛṣṇa, even a mountain becomes a person, and every atom of the world vibrates with divine presence.
Śrī Gaurāṅga Dāsa Bābā’s story reveals that bhakti transforms the universe from matter into spirit.
To the eyes of knowledge, the world is lifeless dust; but to the eyes of love, it is God’s body—alive, merciful, and ever-responsive. The Lord listens even to the smallest prayer of His devotee, and nature itself bends to fulfill it.
