Radhanath Swami & Govardhan Ecovillage
His Holiness Radhanath Swami is a monk in a Krishna-bhakti tradition and a teacher of Bhakti-yoga. He is a guide, a community builder and activist. He is the author of two New York Times Best-selling books – The Journey Home (a memoir of his search for spiritual truth) and The Journey Within (a contemporary guide to Yoga’s Ancient Wisdom).
He was born in Chicago in 1950. During his teenage years, he went on a journey throughout Europe and the Middle East, in search of God. This journey ultimately led him to India, where he lived for several years, and met Srila Prabhupada, Founder of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and the Hare Krishna movement in the west. Accepting Srila Prabhupada as his spiritual master, he eventually took sannyasa at the age of 31, to fully dedicate his life to serve God and humanity.
He resides much of the year at the Radha Gopinath Ashram in ISKCON Chowpatty, Mumbai. He also extensively travels throughout India, Europe and North America, sharing the teachings of Bhakti. For the past four decades he has guided the development of the spiritual community at Mumbai and has directed a number of acclaimed social action projects including Midday Meals, Bhaktivedanta Hospital, which daily serves over 300,000 plates of sanctified vegetarian food to the children of the slums of Mumbai. He has also worked to establish missionary hospitals and eye camps, eco-friendly farms, schools and ashrams, an orphanage, and a number of emergency relief programs throughout India.
Radhanath Swami is the founder of the UN award winning spiritual eco community ISKCON Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV). Expanded over 100 acres of area, situated in the beautiful mountain ranges of Sahyadri, GEV houses several eco-friendly and rural development initiatives, and Ayurveda, Yoga and Meditation to bring about individual and environmental sustainability.