Name Class

VAISHNAV A SAINTS:

THE SIXGOSVVAMIS

OFVRINDAVAN

Hare Krishna Sunday SchoolInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness

Founder-acharya: His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

VAISHNAV A SAINTS:

THE SIX

GOSVVAMIS

OFVRINDAVAN

Compiled by:Tapasvini devi dasi

The Hare Krishna Sunday School Program is sponsored by:ISKCON Foundation

This book is dedicated toHis Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,

the founder-acharya ofthe Hare. Krishna Movement.Throughout his life he provided a perfect example

ofsaintly character for us to follow.

Contents

Title

Sri Sanatan Goswami

Skit: Sanatan Goswami's Escape

Sri Rupa Goswami

Sri Raghunath Bhatta Goswami

Sri Raghunatha Das Goswami

Sri Jiva Goswami

Sri Gopal Bhatta Goswami

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12

18

24

28

37

46

Session Verse

sri-caitanya-mano-'bhistam

sthapitam yena bhu-tale

svayam rupah kada mahyam

dadati sva-padantikam

Translation: When will Srila Rupa Goswami

Prabhupada, who has established within this

material world the mission to fulfill the

desire of Lord Chaitanya, give me shelter

under his lotus feet?

Introduction

Why do we study the lives of famous people? Why do we have rolemodels and heroes? What value is it to us to learn about people who are nolonger in this world? How can they affect us now?

Unfortunately, we are not born knowing what is always the right thingto do. And there are many opinions in the world about just what is the rightthing to do. Hopefully, by this point, we all agree that one right thing we cando is to serve Lord Krishna. Even if we do agree, we may not be clear onhow to do that.

Studying the lives of the great saints gives us a glimpse of the activitiesofpure souls, of those who know how to serve Krishna in the right way. Wecan learn from their examples and we can be inspired by hearing about theirinteresting lives. Many saints, indeed, the ones we will study in this session,did not have an easy time when trying to serve the Lord. Sonle were throwninto prison, kidnapped by angry parents or tested by Krishna Himself: Yetthey never gave up the desire to serve Krishna.

Lord Chaitanya is an incamatiQn ofKrishna who appeared in Indiaover 500 years ago. The six goswamis ofVrindavan were all followers ofLord Chaitanya. They lived in India at the same time that Lord Chaitanyawas present and spent their lives spreading His teachings. They are His closepersonal associates.

Just as Lord Chaitanya is really Krishna, and Lord Nityananda is reallyBalarain, the six goswamis are incarnations ofKrishna's associates. Theyappeared with Lord Chaitanya to share in His pastimes on earth.

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----_._-

The Six Goswamis

krsnokirtana-gana-nartana parau premamrtambho-nidhidhiradhira-jana-priyau priya-karau-nirmatsarau pujitau

sri-caitanya-krpa-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bharavahantarakauvande rupa-sanatana raghu-yugau sri-jiva gopalakau

I offer ~y r~spectful obeisances unto the six Goswamis, namely SriRupa GOSWaml, Sn Sanatan Goswami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami, SriRaghunatha das Goswami, Sri Jiva Goswami, and Sri Gopal BhattaGoswami, who are always engaged in chanting the holy name of Krishna anddancing. They are just like the ocean of love of God, and they are popularboth with the gentle and with the ruffians, because they are not envious ofanyone. Whatever they do, they are all-pleasing to everyone, and they arefully blessed by Lord Chaitanya. Thus they are engaged in missionaryactivities meant to deliver all the conditioned souls in the material universe.

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Sri Sanatan Goswami

Sanatan Goswami was the older brother of two other great devotees,Rupa and Anupama. He was born into a brahman family in Bengal, and fromthe very beginning, all three brothers were absorbed in thoughts of Krishna.They named the forests they would play in after the forests of Vrindavan.They called their favorite bathing ponds Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda.

Some years later, after Lord Chaitanya took sannyasa, He traveledthroughout India. At that time the Muslim government was ruling in Bengaland Sanatan and Rupa both became ministers of the government. Theyadopted Muslim names and were valuable assistants to the Mohammedanruler.

In those days, it was not very acceptable for a Hindu to closelyassociate with a Muslim. He would lose his place in Hindu society and beconsidered a Muslim. Why would these two pure, pious brothers be involvedin politics and serve a Muslim government? It wasn't something they hadreally chosen to do. It was simply a matter of politics.

The ruler, Nawab Hussein Shah, had heard how much Rupa andSanatan were loved by the people. He also knew that they were known as"the kings of learning." He thought, "If I could some way have them in mygovernment service, then I would have the support ofmany more people."

The Nawab threatened to cause trouble for the brahman communityunless Rupa and Sanatan worked for him under Muslim rule. The twobrothers were very frightened - not for themselves, but they feared that thebrahmans would be hurt. So they were blackmailed into working for theNawab because they didn't want any harm to come to the Vaisnavas.

The Nawab was delighted by gaining the two valuable brothers. Hepaid them very generously as they dlltifully did their jobs. Bllt while theywere carrying on their government jobs, the brothers continued teachingothers about Srimad Bhagavatam.

One time Sanatan and his brother Rupa heard that Lord Chaitanya wasvisiting their village. They thought about it for some time and then decided togo and see Him. They knew their Muslim bosses would not like this, so toprotect themselves, they went in disguise.

Lord Chaitanya was told that the two brothers came to see Him. Helooked up and saw Rupa and Sanatan. Ollt of humility, they took bunches ofstraw and placed them between their teeth as they fell flat to offer obeisances.The brothers were overcome with joy and began to cry. The Lord raised

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them up and they took the strawbetween their teeth again andbegan to offer prayers. Theypleaded and begged with LordChaitanya for His mercy. Overand over again they cried, "Weare not worthy, but when, 0when, will we be able to serveYou?"

Lord Chaitanya replied,"Please stand up. Your humilityis breaking My heart! I havecome to this village just to seeyou both. Now you can gohome and don't be afraid.Krishna will deliver you verysoon."

The devotees present blessed Sanatan and Rupa and congratulatedthem for getting the mercy of the Lord. The two brothers then went home,anxious for the day when they could leave their government jobs and joinLord Chaitanya.

Sana/an Goswami EscapesEventually, the Nawab let Rupa resign from his government job but he

refused to let Sanatan quit. Sanatan held a very high position and the Nawabfelt he couldn't do without him. He left Sanatan in charge of his governmentwhile he went off to conquer distant lands. Sanatan would let his assistantsdo all the work while he studied and taught Krishna Consciousness. Hewould file sick reports saying he was too ill to do his job.

One day the Nawab needed to speak to Sanatan personally so he paid avisit to his house. Inside he found Sanatan discussing Bhagavatam with 20 or30 others, not a sick Sanatan like he expected.

"Yau have been submitting sick reports," said the angry Nawab, "but

you are not sick! I came to see why you are not doing your job. What are

your plans?""I cannot work for you anymore," said Sanantan. "Please find

someone else to do my service."This made the Nawab even angrier. "The only reason I have been able

to conquer other lands and to spend time hunting is because you have been

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6

taking care of the government. Noone else can do it as well as you when Iam gone. If you leave, then my work will have to stop, also."

Sanatan Goswami was determined not to work for the Nawab anylonger. He told the Nawab that he must quit. The Nawab immediately threwSanatan into jail. He left to conquer Orissa, planning on coming back later todeal with the disobedient Sanatan.

When Rupa heard that his brother was in jail, he sent a letter tellingSanatan that he had gold coins saved for emergencies such as this. Sanatanknew right away what had to be done. He called the jail-keeper and said,"Dear sir, I have done you many favors in the past. Now please dosomething for me. Here are five thousand gold coins. Please take then1 andrelease me. You will be rich and you will also be blessed for helping me joinLord Chaitanya."

The jail-keeper's eyes shifted back and forth as he nervously said, "Iwould like to let you go, but I am afraid of the government. What would 1 tellthe Nawab?"

Sanatan replied, "Just tell him that when you took me Ollt to theGanges, I jumped in with my iron shackles on and drowned."

Sanatan could see that the jail-keeper was still not convinced. He thenoffered him seven thousand gold coins for his release. The jail-keeper agreedand that night cut Sanatan's shackles and let him cross the Ganges.

Sanatan was now free! He traveled day and night through dark jungles.His servant Ishan went with him. They reached a very hilly area and Sanatanasked a landholder to help him cross the area. A palm-reader was stayingwith the landholder. The palm-reader knew about Sanatan and whispered tothe landholder, "This man has eight gold coins with him."

The landowner was happy to hear this and said to Sanatan, "Certainly,sir, just have lunch and tonight my men will help you cross the mountains."

But Sanatan felt that something was not right. Why was the landholderso polite? After all, Sanatan was dressed like a very poor man. Why did thelandholder seem to respect him so? He called Ishan aside. "Are you carryingany money?" he asked.

"Yes," said Ishan. "I have seven gold coins."Sanatan didn't like this at all. They were traveling alone on a road that

had many robbers. "Why are you carrying this money? It could be the cause

of our death!" he cried.Sanatan took the gold coins at once and offered them to the landholder.

The landholder said, "I knew that you had eight gold coins with you. 1 was

7

8

Sanatan worshiping hisDeity

going to kill you tonight and take your coins. But I see that you are agood person, so you can keep the coins."

"No," said Sanatan, "if you don't take them, someone else will kill mefor them. It is better I give them to you." The man accepted seven goldCOllS.

Later that night, the landholder and his men helped Ishan and Sanatanover the hilly jungle. Sanatan then sent Ishan back, letting him keep the onegold coin that was left. Finally Sanatan was completely free, and he went on,wearing his tom clothing and carrying only a waterpot. His only desire wasto join Lord Chaitanya's sankirtan movement. Many days later he met theLord.

Lord Chaitanya instructed Rupa and Sanatan to go to Vrindavan touncover some of the lost holy places. He also wanted them to establishtemples and deity worship and to write Vaisnava scriptures. So they traveledthrough the land ofVrindavan, discovering many of the places where Krishnahad His pastimes 5000 years ago. They lived very simply, barely eating andsleeping only 1 1/2 hours in a day. And instead of sleeping in a comfortablehut in a soft, wann bed, they would sleep under a tree or bush every night.

The Madan Mohan Deity o(Sanalan GoswamiSanatan Goswami had a deity named Madan Mohan. He carried this

deity with him everywhere but could only offer Him the simplest foodstuffs.He would make "chapatis" by rolling some flour into a ball, adding someYamuna water and dropping it into smoldering coals to bake. This salt-freebaked bread ball is what he would offer to his deity ofMadan Mohan.

. One day, after this sort ofoffering, Madan Mohan spoke toSanatan Goswami. He said, "Is thisall you have to offer Me? I would likesomething a little tastier."

Sanatan Goswami replied to hisdeity, "You knew when I got You thatI was just a poor brahman. I can onlygive You what I beg from others. I'mspending most of my time writing andcan't offer You opulent worship."

Madan Mohan said, "Well, howabout at least a little salt with Mychapatis?"

9

Sanatan said, "Oh no. Today You want a little salt, then tomorrowYou'll want a little sugar and the next day You'll want something else. I'mnot going to start that!"

A bit later, a big boat was going up the Yamuna .River on the way toAgra. The boat became stuck on a sand bar and no matter what anyone did,it would just not come unstuck. The captain was very frustrated and wasworried that his cargo would not be able to be sold in Agra. The villagersadvised him to go pray to Madan Mohan. He did this and within a short timehis boat floated free.

The captain took his ship and sailed up to Agra where he sold his cargo(which happened to be salt) for a very high profit. He was so grateful toMadan Mohan that he returned to Vrindavan and paid for the construction ofthe Madan Mohan Temple, a beautiful, seven-story, elaborate building for theDeities. Lord Chaitanya had requested Rupa and Sanatan to establishtemples in Vrindavan and this was the fIrst temple built.

Sana/an Goswam;'s ParikramaSri Sanatan Goswami spent 40 years wandering from village to village

in Vrindavan. In his last years, he le~ the care of Madan Mohan in the handsof Krishna das brahmachari, his disciple. He went to Manasi Ganga atGovardhan to perform bhajan. Even though he was 65 years old now,everyday he walked the 24-mile parikrama trail around Govardhan Hill. Hekept his vow of offering 1008 obeisances daily to Govardhan Hill and to anyVaishnava he met.

One day while Sanatan Goswami wasmoving along on the parikrama path, Krishnasuddenly appeared from the bushes and askedSanatan why he was going through so muchtrouble at such an old age. Sanatan simplysmiled and continued to walk. Krishna calledout to him, "Hey, old man! You are too old forthis!"

Sanatan explained to Him that he had taken avow to do this 24-mile parikrama daily. Krishnalaughed at this and picked Sanatan up, put Himon His shoulder and started walking off, saying,"I will carry you."

Sanatan stopped Him by telling Him that it was his vow to walk aroundGovardhan Hill, not to be carried. Krishna was pleased with His devotee's

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determination, but He was also concerned about Sanatan's body. It hadbecome very weak due to his old age and was getting difficult for him tomaintain his vows.

Feeling great love and compassion, Krishna put His foot on aGovardhan Sila and made a footprint in that stone. He told Sanatan Goswamito take the stone and worship it with Tulasi leaves and water. He said that ifhe performed parikrama seven times daily around the Govardhan Sila itwould be the same as walking around Govardhan Hill. Thus, SanatanGoswami would not break his vow.

For the rest of his life, Sanatan Goswami worshipped the sila and afterhe left the world the sila was taken to Vrindavan and placed in the Radha­Damodar Mandir. You can still see this stone with Krishna's footprint in it ifyou visit the temple. You yourself can do parikrama around this very specialsila of Sanatan Goswami's.

Lord Siva's Favor to Sanatan GoswamiThere is another special pastime of Sanatan's that happened while he

was staying at Manasi Ganga. One time Lord Siva noticed that SanatanGoswami was preparing to leave his place here and move on to another place.Lord Siva took the form of an old brahman and came up to meet Sanatan. Heasked him why he was leaving. Sanatan replied, "The mosquitoes here arevery bad. They are constantly disturbing file. I don't feel that I can live hereany longer."

Lord Siva (who really didn't want tolose Sanatan's association) asked him to stayfor at least one more day. Sanatan Goswamiagreed and Lord Siva immediately went andcalled the demigod in charge of mosquitoes.He told him that his mosquitoes weredisturbing a great devotee of the Lord.Would he please order all mosquitoes toleave this place immediately? The demigod

commanded the mosquitoes to leave and

Sanatan was able to perform his bhajanpeacefully there without having to move. Tothis day, you will not fmd mosquitoes in thatarea.

,-------- .-;'

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Skit: Sanatan Goswami's Escam:

Characters: Sanatan Goswami, the Nawab, jail-keeper, Ishan, landowner,Lord Chaitanya, servant

The Skit:Nawab (talking to Sanatan): Yes, I have let your brother retire from his job.But you must stay. I need you. You are the only one able to run thegovernment while I travel.

Sanatan: Very well, sir. I wish to retire but if you will not let me, I mustcontinue. (He leaves)

Sometime later ...

Nawab: (reading a paper) So, my servant is sick again! He has been filingthese sick reports a lot lately! I must see him anyway. I have importantbusiness to discuss.

The Nawab rides to Sanatan's home and enters. He sees Sanatansitting and discussing the Bhagavatam with other devotees.

Nawab: What is this? You say you are sick? You don't look sick to me!Why are you not doing your job? Do you have some other plan?

Sanatan: I cannot work for you any longer. You must fmd someone else todo my job.

Nawab: Impossible! With you filnning my government I am free to conquerothers and expand my kingdom! If you go, my work will have to stop also.That is impossible. You cannot quit.

Sanatan: I must qllit. I will not work for you any longer.

Nawab: Never! Off to jail with you! No one can disobey me like this!

The Nawab takes Sanatan away and puts him in jail. He leads thejailkeeper over and instructs him to watch Sanatan. Then he leaves.

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Jailkeeper: Here's your lunch. And someone brought a letter here for you.(He walks away.)

Rupa: (opening and reading the letter) My dear brother, I have heard thatyou are in jail for disobeying the Nawab. I know that you want to come andjoin me with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. I have many gold coins saved foremergencies such as this. Do whatever you have to do to get Otlt ofjail.Come and join us as soon as possible. Your brother, Rupa.

Sanatan calls the jailkeeper back.

Sanatan: Dear sir, I have known you may years since we have worked for thesame government. I have done you many favors. Now do me a favor. I willgive you five thousand gold coins. Please let me go. You will have helpedme join my Lord and you will also be rich.

Jail-keeper: I would let you go, but I would be in much danger. What wouldI tell the Nawab? Ifhe knows I let you go, he would kill me!

Sanatan: Tell him you took me to the bank of the Ganges. Then I jumped inwith my leg chains on before you could stop me.

Jail-keeper: I'm not sure ...

Sanatan: I'll give you seven thousand gold coins if you do this for me.

Jail-keeper: Seven thousand! All right, I will help you. Tonight I will set youfree.

He exits and comes back later, opening Sanatan's cell and cutting his legchains off. He leads Sanatan to the Ganges and points the way. Sanatantravels a bit and then enters a house where his old servant Ishan is staying.

Sanatan: Ishan! Wake up! We must go at once. I need you to come withme.

Ishan: Yes, master.

They travel here and there and come to a place where the landowner is.

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Sanatan: Hello, kind sir. My servant and I need some help passing thesemountains. Can you assist us?

Land-owner: (to himself) Ahhh... This must be the man who is carrying thegold coins. My palm-reader told me abollt him.(To Sanatan) Yes, of COllrse we can help you. Why don't you stay here forlunch and then tonight all of my men can help you over the mountains. Wewould be more than happy to assist you.

Sanatan: Ishan, why is he treating us with such respect? We look poor anddirty from so much traveling. Are you carrying any money?

Ishan: Yes, I have seven gold coins with me.

Sanatan: Oh, no, that is like carrying a death wish with us! Someone is sureto kill us for this money! Give them to me at once.

Ishan hands him the coins and Sanatan immediately takes them to thelandowner.

Sanatan: My servant was carrying this money. Take it. It's yours.

Land-owner: I know that you had eight coins with you. Here are seven ofthem. I would have killed you tonight for these. But I understand now thatyou are a saintly person. Keep the money.

Sanatan: No, if you don't take them someone else will kill me for them.Keep it please. Ishan, take the last coin you have saved and go back. I willtravel on alone.

Sanatan leaves and travels on. He arrives at the place where LordChaitanya is staying. Lord Chaitanya is in a room with one ofHis servants.

Lord Chaitanya: There is a devotee outside your home. Go and let him in.

Servant: (looking outside) There is no devotee out here.

Lord Chaitanya: Is there anyone out there?

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Servant: (looking again) Only a Muslim beggar.

Lord Chaitanya: Go and bring him in.

The servant goes out and leads Sanatan Goswami in. Lord Chaitanya seesSanatan and goes to embrace him.

Sanatan: Oh, my Lord, do not touch Dle. I am so unclean!

Lord Chaitanya: My devotee, to see you is the perfection of my eyes. It isvery rare to fmd a pure devotee like you. I am glad you have fmally come.

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i~1~. Imagine that you are the jailkeeper watching Sanatan Goswamt. Think of(r r:;) what your life and duties would be like. Write a diary entry for the day;~;;' 0 that you let Sanatan Goswami escape. Tell the diary all about your day.

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Sanatan Goswami

I ACROSS2. Lord Siva 10. Sanatan built Sanatan

wanted them to the first one in walked aroundleave Manasi Vrindavan this hill dailyGanga 11. Sanatan was 3. this got stuck

4. Sanatan's put here by his in the Yamunaservant took boss while travelingthis with him 12. the to Agra

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th\S \n h\s his chapat\s 8. Sanatan andmouth to show Rupa slept

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Deity worked in thiskind ofgovernment

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Sri Rupa Goswami

Sri Rupa Goswami was the younger brother of Sanatan Goswami. Hewas also one of the assistants to the Muslim government. After the twobrothers had frrst met Lord Chaitanya, they began to make plans to quit theirgovernment jobs. They asked two learned brahmanas to perform a specialceremony which would free them from their material activities.

Rupa was able to quit his government duties, but Sanatan was forced tocontinue. After the ceremony, Rupa collected all the money he had earnedfrom the government. There were so many silver and gold coins that theyfilled a large boat. He counted it and immediately gave half of it to thebrahmanas and the devotees. The other half was also divided in two: onepart was given to his family and the other was saved for emergencies. Thiswas later used to help free Sanatan from prison. Then, with his youngerbrother Anupama, he set out for Mathura to meet Lord Chaitanya.

Rupa Meets Lord ChaitanvaRupa and Anupama traveled on, searching for the Lord. When they

found Him they heard shouting, laughing, singing, chanting, and crying.Thousands ofpeople were following the Lord and were roaring the holy nameofKrishna.

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The two brothers stayedat a distance and watched thewonderful scene. The Lord wasdancing with his arms raised,shouting, "Haribol! Haribol!"Rupa and Anupama fell downon the ground and offeredobeisances. They chanted manyverses m praise of LordChaitanya. Suddenly, the Lordsaw them. He embraced themboth and touched His feet totheir heads. The Lord was sohappy that Rupa was free fromhis government service.

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Lord Chaitanya felt uncomfortable among the crowds, so he took Rupato a quiet place on the barlk of the Ganges. For ten days he instructed RupaGoswami about devotional s~rvice. Rupa listened carefully and rememberedeverything, which he later presented· in his many books.

After Sanatan had escaped from jail and had joined Lord Chaitanya,the Lord gave both brothers the special instruction to go to Vrindavan. LordChaitanya had given Rupa and Sanatan four orde·rs that he wanted them tofulfill in Vrindavan. They were to:(1) Uncover Sri Krishna's lost places ofpastimes(2) Install Deities and start puja(3) Write bhakti-shastris, devotional literature(4) Teach the rules of devotional service

Rupa Goswami's WritingsOne time when he was traveling to Puri, Rupa

had the idea of writing dramas to tell the pastimes ofKrishna. He thought, "I would like to write a playabout Krishna as a cowherd boy in Vrindavan. Thedrama could also tell how Krishna went and lived as aking in Dwarka." He soon started working on his idea.

After he started writing, he came to a village known as Satyabhamapur.He stopped there for the night and went to sleep. That evening he had adream. A very beautiful woman appeared and said, "My dear Rupa, wouldyou please write a separate drama about me?" In the morning Rupa realizedthat she was Krishna's queen Satya.bhama, asking him to write a play abouther and the Lord. He followed "her request and wrote two separate dramas.

When Rupa would read his writings to the other devotees, they becamespeechless. His expression and poetry were so beautiful to hear that theybegged him to read more. He could very expertly describe the love thatRadha and Krishna felt for each other.

Much of Rupa Goswami's time was spent in writing. For many years,he had his bhajan kutir at Ter Kadamba, a beautiful forest full of kadambatrees. Sometimes he would write about Radha and Krishna separating andhow very sad They would feel to be apart from each other. When thekadarnba trees would hear this, they would immediately shed all their leavesjust like a person in great pain sheds tears. And when Rupa Goswami wroteabout Radha and Krishna meeting again, the trees instantly sprouted newleaves and blossoming flowers. By the mercy of a pure devotee like Rupa

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Goswami, even the trees could understand and appreciate the pastimes ofRadha and Krishna

The Govinda Deity ofRupa GoswamiOne time Rupa Goswami was trying to locate the original Govinda

Deity, which was sculpted thousands ofyears ago by Krishna's grandson. Hewas feeling very unhappy because he was not having any luck at finding theGovinda Deity. He sat beneath a tree on the bank of the Yamuna River, verysad. One beautiful young boy came to him and told him about a hill where acow went daily. This cow would stand at the top of the hill and from herudder, milk would pour down into a hole in the ground. After telling RupaGoswami this, the young boy took him to the hill and asked him to fmd outwhat was buried there. Then he ran away.

Rupa Goswami called several local villagers to dig down into the hill.After a lot of effort, they discovered the deity of Govinda. Rupa Goswamihad Govinda installed in a small temple on that same hill. Raghunatha BhattaGoswami had a rich disciple who later built a very opulent, seven-storytemple for Govinda's worship.

Lord Chaitanya carefully instructed his devotees how to performservice to Krishna. Since He was Krishna Himself, there could be no betterteacher. He personally taught Rupa and Sanatan and wanted them to spreadlove of God through their writings. Rupa Goswami's writings are veryimportant spiritual literatures. If we practice Krishna consciousness, we arefollowing the teachings he received from Lord Chaitanya. Then we are called"rupanugas," or followers of Sri Rupa Goswami.

Rupa and Sanaten, theleaders of theSix Goswamls.

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L P N D T V L H T A A L C

J E K H I I U U Y W K T D

W P E U M N A T A N A S K

P R M T P D E H A M T I A

5 R I M 0 A N U C E P V W

L R C T C V C R H D A W F

E X V H E H E D F 0 R B K

Q C E E A R Z 0 H Z G 0 K

H R B U 5 0 A D X T E R L

BrothersDevoteeGovindaLord Chaitanya

MuslimPoetRupaSanatan

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SatyabhamaTeacherWriter

Rupa G05wami'5 Book Searcf,!

Rupa Goswami wrote The Nectar ofDevotion. Look up Chapter20 in .The Nectar ofDevotion and write down three qualities ofKrishna and what they mean.

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He also wrote The Nectar ofInstruction. Look up Text Three inThe Nectar of Instruction and write down ONE of the sixfavorable principles for devotional service.

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~~

----~

Sri Raehunatha Bhatia Goswami

Raghunatha Bhatta fIrst met Lord Chaitanya when the Lord was inBenares instructing Sanatan. Raghunatha Bhatta was justoa young boy, but hewanted to offer some service to Lord Chaitanya. A devotee named TapanMishra invited the Lord to eat lunch at his house each day. Every day whenHe came, young Raghunatha Bhatta would come before Him with foldedhands asking to do any small service. Lord Chaitanya asked him to massageHis legs. Raghunatha Bhatta would also wash the dishes after LordChaitanya took lunch.

Raghunatha continued doing these small services for two months. Inthat short time, he had become completely attached to Lord Chaitanya. Aftertwo months Lord Chaitanya left Benares and Raghunatha Bhatta washeartbroken. The only way he could bear the pain was to constantlyremember their activities together. He couldn't wait to be with the Lordagain, but he had to wait until he was old enough to leave his family and livein Purl.

Raghunatha Bhatta waited until hewas almost 20 and then went to Purlagain to meet Lord Chaitanya. The Lordwas happy to see him and showed Hismercy by having lunch each day withRaghunath. Very soon RaghunathaBhatta was serving the Lord as His cook.

He became an excellent cook."Raghunath Bhatta' s preparations tastelike nectar for the gods!" people wouldexclaim. And even Lord Chaitanya, whowas very choosy about what He ate, atewhatever Raghunatha Bhatta would cook :/for Him. And when the Lord had ~fmished, Raghunatha Bhatta would eatwhatever was left on the plate. Heshowed everyone how much spiritualadvancement one could make by serving ===­

the exalted souls and eating theirremnants.

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After spending eight months together, Lord Chaitanya told RaghunathaBhatta, "Now y.ou must return home to take care of your elderly parents." Henoticed that Raghunatha Bhatta was naturally very spiritual and not interestedin material life. cs .c2 --

"Raghunath," said the Lord, "It wouldbe better for you never to marry. Gettingmarried would distract you from your goal ofdevotional service. I also want you to studySrimad Bhagavatam from a pure Vaishnava."Saying this, the Lord took off his neck beadsand placed them around Raghunatha Bhatta's -f,. -. ~

neck. He lovingly embraced Raghunatha o!iiJ..~

Bhatta, who began crying at the thought of ;.~ - .leaving his Lord. ~~'_. ~~

~ .......,,/:~Even though Raghunatha Bhatta hated ~. i~ ~ ~

to be separated from Lord Chaitanya, he U~~~obediently left and went back to care for his ~L.'"parents. He also studied Srimad ~

Bhagavatam. After four years his parentsdied and Raghunatha Bhatia then traveledback to be with Lord Chaitanya. --

Raghunatha Bhatia and the Lord again spent eight months together.Then Lord Chaitanya gave 11im further instructions. "Now I want you to goto Vrindavan. Put yourself under the care of Rupa Goswami and SanatanGoswami and always remember what I have taught you. Chant the HareKrishna mantra daily and continuously read Srimad Bhagavatam. You willget mercy from Krishna very quickly this way."

Raghunatha Bhatta did just that. He went to Vrindavan, and Rupa andSanatan soon became very pleased with his saintly behavior. He was well­known for singing beautiful kirtans, and for that he was called the kirtanacharya.

The devotees of Vrindavan loved to hear Raghunatha Bhatta singBhagavatam verses, and while he sang, his tears of pure love would wet thepages. He was so absorbed in Krishna-katha, talks about Krishna, that hewould never speak about any material topic. And he was very careful neverto criticize devotees. He felt that all Vaisnavas were sincerely servingKrishna, so their faults should be ignored.

Raghunatha Bhatta loved Rupa Goswami's Govinda deity. He servedthe deity daily, not just for a little while, but for forty years. One thing he

25

enjoyed doing was making ornaments for the deity, such as flutes andearrings. A wealthy disciple of his built a ~rgeous temple in Vrindavan forSri-Sri Radha-Govinda. Now, nearly 500 years later, this temple still remainsone of the most beautiful temples in all ofNClthem India.

. . . . .. ....

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Benares

Govinda Deity

Lord Chaitanya

neck beads

serve devotees

Matching!

was served by Raghunatha Bhatta for 40 years

one way to make spiritual advancement

a gift that Lord Chaitanya gave Raghunatha Bhatta

advised young Raghunatha not to marry

where Raghunatha Bhatta first met Lord Chaitanya

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Sri Raghunatha Das Goswanli

Raghunatha das was born ina small village in West Bengal.His father was very rich andRaghunatha was his only son.When he was young, he studiedthe Vedas from his family guru,Balaram Acharya. BalaramAcharya would take Raghunathato see Haridas Thakur and Haridaswould tell him all about LordChaitanya.

Once Lord Chaitanya cameto Shantipur, a village nearRaghunatha's home. Raghunathabegged his father to be able to gosee the great Lord Chaitanya buthis father refused. Govardhandidn't want his 15 year-old son toleave his family and renounce theworld. But Raghunatha ran awayfrom home anyway and saw Lord ~'r'? .,.-,.\.:.tChaitanya. After ten days, Lord ?t'""'-- .~~,'

Chaitanya left for Puri and ~Raghunatha came back home. '0£;

A few years later, Lord Chaitanya returned to Shantipur andRaghunatha met him again with tears of love in his eyes. Raghunatha waseager to give up everything and just follow Lord Chaitanya, but the Lord toldhim, "For now, go home and live like a worldly man." Raghunatha wenthome and later married a very beautiful girl. He managed his father's estatevery well. This satisfied his parents, who thought that he was now happy andsecure in his family life. But deep in his heart Raghunatha longed for the daywhen he could give all these things up.

Raghunatha dasa passed a whole year like this, acting as a fIrst-classbusinessman, but the next year he decided to leave home. Late one night hegot up alone and ran away from home, but his father found him in a faraway

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place and brought him back. This began to happen almost daily! Raghunathadas would escape fron1 his home, and his father would bring him back.

Raghunatha das's mother spoke to his father, "Our son has gone crazy.Just keep him here by tying him up with ropes."

His father said, "Our son is as rich as Lord Indra. His wife is asbeautiful as an angel. If even that won't keep him at home, what good willropes do? He has received Lord Chaitanya's mercy. Who can keep homesuch a madman of Lord Chaitanya's?"

The Chipped Rice FestivalThe next day Raghunatha das went to see Lord Nityananda.

Raghllnatha das was very humble and stayed a distance away and offered hisobeisances. The Lord caught hold of him and placed His feet on Raghunathadas' head and cried, "You thiefl Instead of coming near me, you stay away ata distant place. Now that I have captured you, I shall punish you. Make afestival and feed all of my friends yogurt and chipped rice."

Raghunatha das certainly didn't think of this as punishment! He wasvery happy and sent his men to buy all kinds of food right away. Chippedrice, yogurt, milk, sweets, sugar, bananas and many other tasty things werebrought.

People heard that a festival was going to be held, and many morebrahmans and other men began to arrive. Raghllnatha das saw the crowdgetting bigger and bigger, so he had to get more food from other villages. Healso brought three hundred large, round pots. Seven other huge pots wereused to soak the chipped rice. Raghunatha das was happily going to all thistrouble just to please his beloved Lord Nityananda.

In one place, chipped rice was soaked in hot milk in each of the largepots. Then half the rice was mixed with yogurt, sugar and bananas. Theother half was mixed with condensed milk and bananas. Then sugar, gheeand camphor were added.

Lord Nityananda sat down with his associates. There were so manypeople that no one could count them all. Everyone was offered two clay pots.One had the chipped rice with yogurt in it and the other contained the chippedrice with condensed milk. Lord Nityananda was sitting on a large platform,but there was not enough room for everyone. Some went to the bank of theGanges and had their chipped rice there. Others, who could not ev.en get .aplace on the river's bank, got down into the water and began eatmg theIr

chipped rice.

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-==---"""-- -===-=..----~ Lo =---

'"-.- ---~-

When the chipped rice had beenserved to everyone, Lord Nityananda,in meditation, brought Lord ChaitanyaMahaprabhu there. Lord Nityanandastood up, and together with LordChaitanya, They saw how the otherswere enjoying the chipped rice withyogurt and condensed milk. Then LordNityananda took a piece of chippedrice from each and every pot andpushed it into Lord Chaitanya' s mouthas a joke. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhudid the same, making Lord Nityanandaeat more also.

In this way, They walked through the groups of people and all thedevotees watched the fun. Not everyone could understand what LordNityananda was doing, since they could not see Lord Chaitanya. But somecould see that Lord Chaitanya was there, too.

Both brothers sat down and kept eating. Lord Nityananda called, "Allof you eat, chanting the holy names of Harl." Immediately everyone beganchanting loudly.

When the shopkeepers of many other villages heard about the festival,they came to sell chipped rice, yogurt, sweets and bananas. Raghunatha dasbought all they could bring. He paid them and then later fed them the verysame food.

When Lord Nityananda had fInished, He gave His remnants toRaghunatha das and the other devotees. Raghunatha das very happily ate thechipped rice. He felt so lucky that he was able to arrange a festival that LordNityananda had enjoyed so much.

This pastime of the chipped rice and yogurt festival is still celebrated intemples around the world today. Devotees gather together to hear the storyand then prepare many wonderful varieties of chipped rice. As we celebratethis festival, we should remember Raghunatha das, who began the tradition.

Raghunatlla Das Finallv Joins Lord ChaitanyaVery soon after this, Raghunatha das went to see Lord Nityananda

agam.He said to the Lord, "I am the lowest of men, a great sinner. Even so, I

want to obtain the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. I have tried my best

30

many times, but like a dwarf who tries to catch the moon, I have failed overand over. Every time I try to leave my family, my mother and father captllreme. Please give me Your mercy so that I may achieve ChaitanyaMahaprabhu's shelter."

Lord Nityananda brought Raghunatha das close to Him and placed Hislotus feet upon Raghunatha's head. "Dear Raghunatha," He replied, "LordChaitanya came here just to deliver you. Don't worry. Very soon you willbe with the Lord."

Raghunatha das humbly returned to his home. He was so grateful thatLord Nityananda had reassllred him. He sent a large quantity of gold to bedivided and given to each and every devotee of Lord Nityananda. From thatday on, he would not enter the inside section of his house but would sleep inthe outer section. The watchmen kept close guard over him in case he hadany plans of running away again.

Late one evening while he was sleeping outside, the family priest paida visit to him. The priest wanted Raghunatha das to come with him to speakto one of his disciples who wanted to quit his service. Raghunatha das wentwith the priest, leaving the watchmen sound asleep.

The two men walked and talked for some time and then Raghunathadas turned to the priest and said, "I will go to the home of YOllr disciple andspeak to him. There is no need for you to come along. Go ahead and go toyour own home for it is late now."

After the priest left, Raghunatha das thought, "Now is the perfect timeto escape. Not a single watchman or servant is with me."

Looking over his shoulder, he quickly made his way toward JagannathaPuri, where he knew Lord Chaitanya would be. It was a very long distanceand he was afraid of getting caught by his father's men, so he traveled onsmall paths going through the jungle. He walked abollt 30 miles in one dayand stopped at the cowshed for the night. He was able to get some milk andhe slept there that evening.

Meanwhile, the watchmen at Raghllnatha das' house realized that hewas missing. Great shouts of, "He has gone!" and "Now Raghunath has run

away'" fIned the air while his father's men searched frantically for him.Although they looked everywhere and even sent requests to the devotees

traveling to Jagannatha Puri, they could not fmd him. .A very determined Raghunatha das walked and walked closer to hIS

Lord. He traveled all day, not caring whether he ate or not. He reachedJagannatha Puri in twelve days but was only able to eat for three of those

days.

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When Raghunatha das met Lord Chaitanya, he fell down to offerobeisances. He offered prayers to the Lord and to all the devotees present,saying in great relief, "It is Your mercy, 0 my Lord, that has saved me frommy family life."

Lord Chaitanya's heart melted at seeing how skinny and dirtyRaghunatha das was because of his traveling and fasting. He turned to hisclose disciple Svarupa Damodar and said, "I anl giving Raghunatha das overto your care. Please accept him as your son. Take good care of him for hehas had a difficult time for many days. Let him eat well and rest."

Raghunatha das Shows his HumilitvWith such a wealthy family, one would expect that Raghunatha das

was used to a very pampered lifestyle -- the best food, the best clothing andnot a worry in the world. That may have been so, bllt Raghunatha das gaveup his rich living as easily as one would tl1foW away a piece of garbage.After five days of being taken care of by Svarupa Damodar, Raghunatha dasbegan getting his food by standing at the gate of the temple and begging.

He asked Lord Chaitanya what his duty was and the Lord gave himthese instructions: "Do not talk like materialistic people or hear what theysay. You should not eat very tasty food, nor should you dress according tofashion. Do not expect honor, bllt offer respect to others. Always chant theholy name of Lord Krishna, and within your mind render service to Radhaand Krishna in Vrindavan."

Eventually his father found out where he was. When he heard that hisson was living so simply, he was very worried. He sent 400 gold coins, twoservants and one brahman to Raghunatha das. Raghunatha das did not acceptthe money, but would take out a bit each month so that he could invite LordChaitanya to his house for two days every month. He did this for two years.He stopped because he felt that it was not right to offer the Lord food thatwas paid for by materialistic people. Lord Chaitanya was very pleased withhim and gave Raghunatha das a conchshell garland and a stone fromGovardhan Hill, two of His own favorite items.

Raghllnatha das became more and more austere. At times he ate onlyprasadam that had been rotting for a few days (which the cows wouldn't eventouch). Near the end of his life, he ate only a few drops of buttermilk daily.He never touched anything to wear except a small tom cloth and a patchworkshawl. He was chanting the holy name of Krishna 22 hours daily. He wasoffering his obeisances to the devotees 2000 times a day and to the Deities1000 times a day.

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Raghunatha das Goes to Radha KundaYears later, Lord Chaitanya left this world. Nothing could have been

worse than this for Raghunatha das. He didn't want to Jive any longer. Hewent to Vrindavan to end his life by jumping off Govardhan Hill. RupaGoswami and Sanatan Goswami met him and convinced him not to commitsuicide but to live on and tell all the Vaishnavas about Lord Chaitanya' spastin1es. So for three hours each day on the banks of Radha Kunda, hewould speak about Lord Chaitanya. Even today you can see his bhajan kutir(hut) on the banks of Radha Kunda.

Once Raghunatha daswas slttmg at Radha Kundawhen a tiger and tigress cameto drink water from the pond.At that moment, Lord Krishnacame and stood nearby in casethe tigers disturbed Raghunathadas. Sanatan Goswami walked

up and saw Raghunatha das, the two _tigers and also Krishna, who smiled atSanatan. The tigers fmished drinking and went away and Krishna alsodisappeared.

Sanatan told Raghunatha das what had happened and said, "Pleasemake a small hut for yourself so Krishna doesn't have to be bothered bycoming to protect you."

Another day, Raghunatha das was sitting in the same place under thehot afternoon Sull. Then Srin1ati Radharani came and stood behindRaghunatha das holding the top of Her sari over his head to shade him. All ofthe swans, turtles, deer and other animals came to the bank of Shyama kundato watch. Then Sanatan arrived again and saw Radharani standing there inthe. Sull. He noticed that Her sari was wet with Her perspiration. RadhasmIled at.Sanat.an and then left. This time Sanatan went to Raghunatha dasand chastIsed him for causing Radharani this inconvenience. Raghunatha das

then built asmall hut so that he could perform his bhajan inside.Srila Raghunatha das Goswami shows us the perfect mood of humility

and austerity. He also wrote many books and composed various bhajans andprayers. Raghunatha das was greatly loved and respected by an the de~otees

who knew him. And we can benefit from his association, too. The ChaltanyaCharitamrita states, "Anyone who hears about the incident of the meeting of

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Raghunatha das with Lord Chaitanya attains the lotus feet of Sri ChaitanyaMahaprabhu.

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cho-o1,et e;t.t P(M'"~a:pht fyo-rJ'l/ £he, ~oryJ U~C"hippecLR~ FW"'waL. JJ V YaMl e;t.t pidulYe,t of it:~yO«!~

it:~ iN\; thet bo1u below.

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How much do you know about Raghunatha dasGoswami?

Circle the correct answer in parentheses

1. Raghunatha das was from a very (poor, rich) family.

2. Raghunatha das ran away from home (once, many times).

3. (Lord Chatinaya, Lord Nityananda) asked Raghunatha das to holda festival and feed everyone chipped rice and yogurt.

4. Lord Nityananda brought Lord Chaitanya to the festival simply by(meditating, inviting him).

5. (All, Only some) of the people could see Lord Chaitanya at thefestival.

6. Raghunatha das finally escaped from his family and went to (thetemple, Lord Chaitanya).

7. Krishna protected Raghunatha das from two (tigers, thieves).

8. Radharani protected Raghunatha das from the (rain, hot sun) whilehe did his bhajan.

Name three austerities Raghunatha das performed.1.2.3.

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Sri Jiva Goswami

Sri Jiva Goswami was the son of Anupama, Rupa and Sanatan'sbrother. This made him the nephew of Rupa and Sanatan. Of the sixgoswamis ofVrindavan, he was the YOlIDgest and the last to reach Vrindavan.He had all the features of a divine personality: lotus eyes, a high nose andforehead, a broad chest, long arms and a radiant golden boqy.

When he was young JivaGoswami made a deity of Krishna­Balarama. He would offer clothes,chandan, flowers, ornaments andsweets to his deity and then distributethe maha-prasadam to his friends.He was so devoted that he would often cry while worshipping Krishna­Balarama. Jiva was so attached to Krishna-Balarama that at bedtime hewould hug his deities and fall asleep. His parents thought that he was just alittle boy playing, but the villagers were joyful to see Jiva's great love forKrishna-Balarama.

His father Anupam was traveling with Rupa Goswami to Purl when hesuddenly died. Jiva was devastated when he heard that his father was dead."Alas," he cried, "this material world is a place of horrible cruelty! Who canever be happy here knowing that suffering will soon come? I will havenothing more to do with this cruel world. My life shall be spent in escapingthis material life ofpain and death." He very seriously began to study SrimadBhagavatam and faithfully worshipped Krishna and Balaram.

Jiva Visits NavadwipYoung Jiva had wanted to visit the birthplace ofLord Chaitanya but his

mother was afraid to let him do so. She didn't want her only son to travel andlive a life of austerity. Somehow he convinced his mother that he reallywanted to go and see the home of his ancestors. This didn't bother her andshe agreed to let him go. Jiva set out for his journey, but instead he arrangedfor the boatman to take him to Navadwip, the site ofLord Chaitanya's birth.

As Jiva Goswami wandered about on the roads, he cried with tearsstreaming from his lotus eyes, "0 Chaitanya! Nityananda! You are the life .ofall who live! When will I see You, my Lords? When will I see Navadwlp,the best ofholy places?" The local villagers wondered who this young andbeautiful lad was who was so renounced.

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After many days of walking, he finally came to Navadwip. As soon ashe saw the holy city, he fell down with folded hands to offer prayers andalmost became unconscious.. When his mind became steady, he arose and setoff to fmd Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda's servants found him andbrought him in to meet the Lord. Upon seeing the Lord he exclaimed, "Whata wonderful thing I have seen today! You are the same Balaram that Iworship." He recognized Lord Nityananda's true identity as Krishna'sbrother. "Please give me Your mercy and shelter," he prayed.

Upon seeing the divine form of Sri Nityanandacandra, Sri JivaGoswamf fainted in the ecstasy of premJl

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With motherly affection 5acidevi invitedNityananda Prabhu and ]iva Goswami to take prasada

at her home and fed them sumptuously.

....... i i-:

, ----..- - .._-";'-."-_..:". - - -I

- '- .

Lord Nityananda personally tookJiva Goswami on a tour of Navadwip.Together they saw the places where LordChaitanya spent his childhood. JivaGoswami met Lord Chaitanya's motherSachi and His wife Vishnupriya. Sachiblessed him and instructed Vishnupriya tocook a fme lunch for Lord Nityanandaand Jiva Goswami. As the days passed,young Jiva went throughout the town ofNavadwip, hearing Lord Nityananda tellof the wonderful pastimes of LordChaitanya.

Lord Nityananda told Jiva Goswami, "Now you should go to Benaresand study the scriptures. When you are fInished, travel on to Vrindavan andstay there with your uncles."

Jiva Goswami followed these instructions. When he reachedVrindavan, he served his uncle Rupa Goswami by washing his feet andassisting him in his writing. He later received initiation from Srila RupaGoswami.

Jiva Goswami is Asked to Leave Vrindavan!One day Jiva Goswami was fanning Sri Rupa Goswami while he was

writing. He was always trying to fmd ways to please and serve his guru. Avery old visitor came to see Rupa Goswami. His name was Vallabhacharya.He was much older than Lord Chaitanya and therefore much older than RupaGoswami, also.

Vallabhacharya asked to see what he was writing so Rupa handed himthe book that he was working on. Vallabhacharya read some of the versesand liked them but felt that there could be some corrections. Rupa Goswamisaid to him, "Please take the manuscript then. You can make the correctionsthat you think are necessary. I am going now to take a bath in the Yamuna."

Jiva Goswami had been watching and hearing the whole conversation.

Vallabhacharya spoke with Jiva for awhile and leamed that he ~as Rupa'sdisciple and a Sanskrit scholar. Jiva curiously inquired from him wh~t hethought needed correcting in Rupa Goswami's book. Vallabhac~arya pomtedout a few questions he had. Jiva Goswami defeated and reJect;d a~l. ofVallabhacharya' s arguments. He proved the excellence of Sri Rupa s wntmgand confrrmed that what he had written needed no correction.

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Vallabhacharya was amazed at the knowledge of one so young as JivaGoswami. He thought, "If this young boy could defeat file so easily, whatmust his guru be like? I must have made a mistake in thirlking that RupaGoswami needed some correction." He hurried down to the Yamuna and fellat Rupa's feet, begging his forgiveness. He explained that his eyes had justbeen opened by the young Jiva and now he could understand what a greatpersonality Rupa Goswami was. Saying this, Vallabhacharya then left andwent on his way.

When Rupa returned home from bathing, he called Jiva Goswami tohim. He said, "Why did you make such a big thing out of nothing?Vallabhacharya is senior to us and should be respected. He didn't mean anyharm. If he wants to say something, then you should let him. Didn'tChaitanya Mahaprabhu teach us to be more humble than a blade of grass andmore tolerant than a tree?"

Rupa was upset, thinking that Jiva had disrespected and offended thehonorable Vallabhacharya. He continued, "You are not worthy to be aservant of the Lord! Go back to your home. You are not fit to stay here."

When Jiva Goswami heard these words he was crushed. But heobediently followed his guru's inst~ctions and sadly left Vrindavan. Heheaded east and crossed the Yamuna to a place called Baigau and decided tostay there. Many crocodiles used to build their houses on the banks of theYamuna. Jiva found an abandoned crocodile hole and lived inside it. He did

not eat, he did not sleep and hewould not go anywhere. Hetook a vow of silence for oneyear. He just cried and criedtears of sorrow from beingseparated from his guru. The

people in the area were astonished at seeing someone so young performingsuch severe austerities and they wondered who he was.

One day Sanatan Goswami was passing through Baigau and thecitizens greeted him joyously. They praised him for his austerities. But theysaid, "YOU, indeed, are very wonderful, Sanatan Goswami. But your

austerities seem like nothing compared to the austerities that this young manis performing on the banks of the Yamuna. He simply sits in a crocod~le h~lecalling out 'Krishna! Krishna! Guru! Guru! Rupa and Sanatan! whIle

shedding tears like rain." ..Sanatan Goswami could understand that this must be JIva Goswaml.

He immediately went to the banks of the river and found the crocodile hole

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where Jiva lived. When Jiva Goswami saw the older Goswami, he tried toget up but he was too weak, so he just laid on the ground offering hisobeisances.

Sanatan Goswami picked him up and told hinl, "Come, I'm taking youback to Vrindavan." But Jiva was too weak to walk and had to be carried ona cot all the way. He had only been eating some plain chapati dough thatpeople would sometimes leave him which gave him stomach ulcers. So hewas very feeble and ill as he returned.

When Sanatan Goswami reached Rupa Goswami's place in Vrindavanhe left Jiva Goswami outside. He went in and said to Rupa, "What is yourduty toward the jivas, the living entities, who are drowning in this materialocean?"

Srila Rupa Goswami replied, "My duty is to save them."Sanatan asked him, "Don't you have any compassion for the jivas of

this world?""Of course, I have compassion for them!" Rupa replied, surprised."Then why," said Sanatan Goswami, "did you not show any

compassion to this Jiva?"Hearing these words from his older brother, Rupa Goswami realized

his mistake and rushed Ollt to embrace Jiva Goswami. He took Jiva insideand saw that he was taken care of until he fully recovered.

After the disappearance of Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatan, Jiva Goswamibecame the acharya for all the devotees in Bengal and Orissa. He guided thedevotees in their spiritual lives while he continued writing many books. Hisfame spread allover India. Even the Moghul emperor, Akbar, traveled toVrindavan to meet Jiva Goswami. Emperor Akbar was so impressed by himthat he offered to help the goswamis construct some of the temples ofVrindavan.

Of all of the goswamis Jiva was the youngest, but he also wrote themost books. He wrote about 25 books, or a half-million Sanskrit verses, onthe science of Krishna Consciousness. He also established the Radha­Damodar Temple in Vrindavan. Five hundred years later Srila Prabhupadastayed at this temple while writing his books about Krishna consciousness.

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MULTIPLE CHOICECircle the letter that will correctly complete the sentence.

1. Jiva Goswami's uncles were _

a. Anupama and Gopalb. Rupa and Sanatanc. Sanatan and Anupam

2. The deities that Jiva Goswami loved were----a. Radha- Krishnab. Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadrac. Krishna-Balaram

3. met Jiva Goswami in Navadwip and took him to seethe places of Lord Chaitanya's pastimes.a. Lord Nityanandab. Rupa Goswamic. Mother Sachi

4. Rupa Goswami was with Jiva and asked him to leave Vrindavan.a. happyb. angryc. delighted

5. After Jiva Goswami left Vrindavan, he lived in a _a. friend's houseb. small hutc. crocodile hole

6. convinced Rupa Goswami to forgive Jiva.a. Sanatan Goswami

b. Lord Chaitanyac. Lord Nityananda

7. Jiva Goswami was well-known for his _----

a. booksb. dramasc. cooking

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Anacrostic Time!

r,n anacrostic uses the letters of a name to begin words or phrasesrClescribing the person that is names. Here is an example of an anacrostic

,using Rupa's name.I

Realizing spiritual life

Unending devotion

Pure

A Iways thinking of Krishna

Now make an anacrostic for Jiva Goswami.

J _I _

VA

G _0 _

1

5 -----------W _AM _I _

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Gopal Bhatta taking instruction from his um:le, Prabhodananda Sarasvati

Sri Gopal Bhatta Goswami

Sri Gopal Bhatta Goswami was the son ofVyenkata Bhatta, who was aclose friend of Lord Chaitanya. They lived in South India and LordChaitanya, who was a sannyasi, once spent four months in their home. Gopalwas just a young boy at this time, and h~ personally served the Lord. Eventhough he was so young, his love for Lord Chaitanya was very strong and hewanted to be with Him always.

Gopal Bhatta had only known the Lordas a sannyasi. He wished that he could haveseen the Lord as young Nimai, too. He had avery astonishing dream which fulfilled thisdesire. In his dream, he was able to watch thepastimes of Lord Chaitanya as a boy. He not

. only watched, but he also participated in thepastimes. Lord Chaitanya showed GopalBhatta that He was the same as Krishna bychanging His form to Krishna and back againto Lord Chaitanya.

In the same dream, Lord Chaitanyainstructed Gopal Bhatta, "You will meet 2jewel-like persons named Rupa and Sanatan. Ihave given them My own mind so that theycan publish my teachings. But by yourdisciples, these teachings will be spread."

Soon after having this dream, GopalBhatta went to join Lord Chaitanya. Aftermeeting the Lord, he received an instructionsimilar to Raghunatha Das' instruction. LordChaitanya told him to stay home and serve hisparents, and then go to Vrindavan to stay withRupa Goswami and Sanatan Goswami.

Later, after Gopal Bhatta grew up, he took initiation from his uncle,Prabhodananda Sarasvati, who was a great scholar and devotee. GopalBhatta was an excellent student and became greatly learned. He was knownall around for his knowledge and devotion. As his reputation spread, he feltready to go to Vrindavan. His parents agreed to let him go.

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Lord Chaitanya was happy to hear this and He told Rupa and SanatanGoswami to accept Gopal as their younger brother and take care of him.After a few months Lord Chaitanya wondered if Gopal Bhatta had made it toVrindavan. He sent a letter from Puri to Rupa and Sanatan in Vrindavan tosee if had Gopal Bhatta had arrived. A messenger soon arrived back in Puri,saying, "Yes! He is here. We accept him as our own brother."

Lord Chaitanya joyfully sent a letter back enclosing a package forGopal Bhatta - his loincloth and some other personal items. "Help Rupa andSanatan write transcendental books," He instructed Gopal Bhatta, "and studytranscendental teachings, too.

Gopal Bhatia Travels to NepalAfter Lord Chaitanya disappeared, Gopal Bhatta was very sorry and

felt great separation from the Lord. But in a dream, Lord Chaitanya told him,"Ifyou want my darshan, make a pilgrimage to Nepal."

Gopal Bhatta decided to do that. In those days travel meant walking,and the trip to Nepal was a long and difficult journey. When he fmallyreached Nepal, Gopal Bhatta went to the Gandaki River to take his bath. Hecollected 12 salagram silas (stones from sacred rivers that are worshipped asKrishna) and took them with him back to Vrindavan.

When he reached Vrindavan and began worshipping his salagram silas,he began to have doubts. "Who am I to think 1 am worthy of worshipping theLord?" he thought. "I am so impure and yet 1 dared take the salagram silasfrom their sacred spot. What a fool I am to do this!"

He decided to walk all the way back to Nepal to return the stones tothe same spot. He did, and when he fmally returned to the Gandaki River, hechanted the proper mantras and returned the silas to the water. All twelvejumped back into his hands. He put them down again, and again they jumpedback into his hands. This happened three or four times.

Gopal Bhatta stared in amazement at the silas and said, "This must besome special mercy from the Lord. The silas will not let me leave withoutthem!" So he took the salagram silas with him back to Vrindavan. He keptthem in a cloth bag hung from his neck.

One day a wealthy man came to Vrindavan to see Gopal BhattaGoswami. "I have many beautiful dresses and ornaments for your Deities,"he told Gopal Bhatta. "All the dresses are made of the fmest silk; the jewelryis gold and silver with many sparkling gems. Please take them all and usethem in your worship of the Lord."

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Gopal Bhatta looked at the ground and quietly told him, "Thank you,kind sir, but yo~ may give them to someone else. My Deities are round andcannot wear the dresses."

He thought of Rupa Goswami's Govinda Deity..How beautiful LordGovinda was and He could be dressed in handsome clothes and jewelry!Gopal Bhatta prayed to the Lord, "Someday, 0 Lord, bless me that I canworship you in your full form. I long to dress You in costly clothes andglittering ornaments."

The next morningGopal Bhatta woke up andwent in to worship hisdeities. He saw withamazement that one of thesalagram sila stones hadchanged into a full deity ofKrishna. From a smallround stone, He haddeveloped into the form ofbeautiful Krishna, standingwith legs crossed andplaying the flute! Rupaand Sanatan and all thedevotees nearby hurried tothe spot when they heardwhat had happened. Theyarrived and saw GopalBhatta offering greatprayers of love with tearsin his eyes.

He named the deity Radha-Ramana and worshipped Him faithfully forthe rest of his life. Now, 500 years later, you can still visit this deity inV rindavan. There is a mark on His back showing where He emerged fromthe salagram sila.

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---"'-

, ..".\"

Pretend you are a reporter for a newspaper in Vrindavan back in the timeof the six goswamis. Write a newspaper article for the appearance of

Gopal Bhatta's sila. Radha-Ramana.

,'j,.,:

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Gopal Bhatta had a very spiritual dream. Draw a picture ofsomething that happened in his dream in the dream cloud below.

FILL IN THE MISSING LETTERS IN THESE WORDSFROM THE STORY OF GOPAL 8HATTA.

VI ND VA- -

D fA

0' L 1

1 f V L G MA- - - -- - --

S AS

N A L

D IT

H

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1A

Can you answer these questions?

1. What was unusual about the dream that Gopal Bhatta hadabout Lord Chaitanya? How was it differentfrom dreamsyou have?

2. Who did Lord Chaitanya tell Gopal Bhatta to stay with inVrindavan?

3. Why did Gopal Bhatta take back the twelve salagram silasthat he found in Nepal?

4. Why did Gopal Bhatta refuse the offer ofdresses for hisdeities?

5. What amazing thing happened to one ofhis salagram silas?

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Outline of the Six Gosvvamis

1) Sanatan Gosvvami

A.B.c.D.

2) Rupa Gosv#amiA. _

B.c. _D.

3) Raghunath Bhatta Gosv#amiA.B.c.D.

4) Raghunath Das Gosvvall1iA. _

B. _c. _D.

5) .Jiva Gosv#amiA. _B. _c. _D.

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