Rupa Goswami final

15 August 2016
14:55

BIRTH:

Srila Rupa Gosvami took his birth in 1493 A.D. (1415, Sakabda)
Birth Place: East Bengal,
Fathers Name: Kumaradeva
Mothers name: Revati Devi
Family : Saraswat brahman community in Karnataka in the
Bharadwaja Gotra - the family line of the great rishi Bharadwaja
Muni.
Siblings: Sanatana and Anupama

They had physical beauty, mental clarity. natural compassion and

love for every living being and an unlimited ocean of devotion to
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They were also the greatest
of all scholars. They mastered Sanskrit, Arabic and all of the local
languages

At that time, Bengal was under the Moghul rule and the emperor or
the King was named Nawab Hussain Shah. His ministers told him,
"If you want the Hindu population to be co-operative with you, you
must have Rupa and Sanatana as your ministers." So he persuaded
them by pressurizing them, "If you accept the positions of my
ministers, 1 will protect you and give Vaishnavas and Hindus
freedom. If you do not. I will persecute you and torture'all the
Vaishnavas and Hindus alike."

They were such incredible ministers that the king made

SanatansrSoswami the Prime Minister of Bengal and Rupa Goswami
was made the Home Minister.

They were always in deep separation from Krishna and Vrindavan.

They did not know what to do. They heard that Lord Shri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu had appeared and in their heart of hearts they had
understood that he was Shri Krishna Himself. They wrote several
letters to Him, asking Him, "We want to surrender our lives to your
mission, to you, what should we do?" But they received no reply for
some time.

In their natural devotion to Radha and Krishna they constructed

within their estate, what they called Gupta Vrindavan or the hidden
land of Vrindavan, a replica of Vrindavan. They constructed Syama
Kunda and Radha Kunda and a beautiful forest called Kadamba
Kanana. They also constructed many wonderful places depicting
Krishna's lilas and would spend their days just roaming through
Gupta Vrindavan in separation of Krishna. Immersed in thinking of
his wonderful pastimes, they would simply cry in ecstatic love. They
also installed a beautiful deity by the name Madan Mohan. Day and
night they were immersed in thinking of Madan Mohan and
worshipping Him with great love and devotion. They built an
assembly house and in that house they would invite Vaishnavas and
great scholars of Vedas from all over the country.

Guru;
They live in this way and accepted Sarvananda Vidya Vacaspati
who was the brother of Shrila Sarvabauma Bhattacharya, a pure,
unalloyed devotee of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as their spiritual
guide.

Position
The topmost maidservant of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna is Sri Rupa Manjari who
appeared as the head of the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya, Srila Rupa
Goswami (1489-1588)

Shrila Rupa Goswami, the foremost of the six Goswamis of Vrindavan, was an
incarnation of Rupa Manjari, the most important of the eight confidential
maidservants of Shrimati Radharani in the eternal spiritual Vrindavan.

Before meeting Caitanya Mahaprabhu:

The three brothers later moved to Ramakeli where they were solicited by
the powerful Nawab Hussein Shah to join his government. Due to their
association with the Muslim king, Rupa and Sanatana became known by
the Muslim names Dabir Khas and Sakir Mallik.

When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to Ramakeli, the three brothers

petitioned the Lord to alleviate their suffering condition and grant them
His mercy. Mahaprabhu pacified them and told them that Krsna would
deliver them very soon.

Rupa Goswami leaves Government service

Rupa Goswami took all his treasures and wealth and loaded them
into boats. He and his younger brother, Anupama, left for their
ancestral home at Fatiabad, where they distributed their wealth.
Shrila Prabhupada explains that the way they distributed their
wealth is the exemplary process by which grihasthas should also
distribute their wealth. They sent two messengers to Jagannath
Puri because they heard that Lord Chaitanya was going on another
trip to Vrindavan and they wanted to join Him. These messengers
went to Jagannath Puri to find out what Lord Chaitanya's plan was.
They came back and said, "Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has already
left for Vrindavan." Rupa Goswami and Anupama immediately
decided to go and wrote a letter to Shrita Sanatana Goswami.
Sanatana Goswami being the Prime Minister felt obliged to stay on
for some time. Nawab Hussain Shah had much love and affection
for Sanatana Goswami. The Goswamis were dear to both the gentle
and the ruffians. Even the most terrible, violent, hateful demons
loved Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami. Rupa Goswami sent a
letter that said "Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has gone to Vrindavan.
Anupama and I are immediately leaving to join Lord Chaitanya in
Vrindavan. You should come to us as soon as you can. Meet us in
Vrindavan. If you require help, 1 have left 10,000 gold coins for
you."
Meanwhile, Sanatana Goswami stopped going to his office and
would Just stay at home reading and chanting Shrimad
Bhagavatam all day with many great devotees. Nawab Hussain
Shah came to his home and when he saw him, he said, "You said
you were sick. You are not sick. You are just studying Shrimad
Bhagavatam ail day. Whal about all the duties I have given you?
Your elder brother (referring to himself) is very fond of going out
and killing and he needs your help."
Sanatana Goswami said, "I will not help, 1 resign. You cannot count
on me for any service, you can punish me in any way you like." So
Nawab Hussain Shah put him in prison. But by the arrangement of
Rupa Goswami he was able to bribe the prison guard with the gold
coins and he was freed from the prison.

Sri Rupa Gosvami gave up all family connections, joined

the renounced order of life and divided his money, giving
fifty percent to the brahmanas and Vaisnavas and twenty-
five percent to his kutumba (family members) and keeping
twenty-five percent for personal emergencies.

Later meeting

Not long afterwards, an intense feeling of renunciation awakened in the

hearts of Rupa and Sanatana. Finally Rupa resigned from the Nawab’s
service and sent messengers to Puri to find out when Mahaprabhu
planned to travel to Vrndavana. When the messengers returned with the
news that Mahaprabhu had left already for Vrndavana, Rupa wrote to
Sanatana and requested him to extricate himself from the Nawab’s
service as soon as possible and meet him in Prayaga. Rupa and Anupama
then traveled to Prayaga where they met Sri Caitanyadeva who was
staying at the house of a South Indian brahmana.

Instructions from Sri Caitanya Mahaprbhu

While in Prayaga, Mahaprabhu taught Sri Rupa the esoteric teachings of

Vaisnava philosophy at the Dasavamedha Ghata and requested him to go
to Vrndavana to uncover Sri Krsna’s pastime places and write literatures
on bhakti

On the order of Mahaprabhu, Rupa Goswami traveled to Vrndavana and

stayed for one month. On the way to Puri, where they were to meet the
Lord again, Anupama left his body on the banks of the Ganga.

Travel to Puri
Arriving in Puri, he was greeted by the Lord as well as Sri Svarupa
Damodar Goswami, Raya Ramananda and the other associates of the
Lord. All the Lords devotees considered that he was the beneficiary of the
Lord’s special mercy, thus he knew the heart of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
All the devotees delighted in hearing his divine compositions.

In Puri Rupa Goswami stayed at Haridas Thakur’s siddha bakula. They

never even attempted to enter Jagannath temple because they saw
themselves unqualified. So Lord Caitanya gave them a place where they
could see the chakra and worship Jagannath in that form. Every single day
Lord Caitanya would bring Jagannath’s mahaprasad and personally offer it
to them.

During the ratha yatra, Rupa Goswami heard Lord Caitanya singing a
verse which appeared just like a conversation between a young boy and a
young girl. Rupa Goswami wrote a commentary on this verse, kept it on
the roof of Haridas Thakur’s hut and went to take his bath. Meanwhile
Lord Caitanya came there and read that verse. He was struck with wonder
and asked Swaroop Damodar Goswami,“How could Rupa Goswami
understand the confidential feelings of My heart?” Swaroopa Damodar
Goswami said, “It is because You have showered Your mercy upon him.”
Lord Caitanya confirmed this and said, “While in Prayag, seeing the
genuine humility of Rupa Goswami, I empowered him to completely
understand My heart.” When Rupa Goswami came back to the hut, he
bowed down to Lord Caitanya and Lord Caitanya asked him, “How did you
know My mind?” Rupa Goswami didn’t say anything and out of love, Lord
Caitanya gently slapped him.
Another day Lord Caitanya visited Rupa Goswami and saw a particular
verse he had written. Just seeing the handwriting of Rupa Goswami, Lord
Caitanya was intoxicated. He said,“Your hand writing is as beautiful as
rows of pearls.” And then He read the verse. “I do not know how much
nectar the two syllable krs-na have produced. When I chant the name of
krs-na I wish I had many many tongues, when that name enters my ears I
desire millions and millions of ears and when it enters my heart it
conquers my mind and my senses become inert.” Hearing this Haridas
Thakur went into ecstasy. He had never heard anything so beautiful and
comprehensive in glorification of the holy name.

Vrindavan:

In 1517, Shri Rupa Goswami and Shri Sanatana Goswami, his elder brother, came to Vrindavana to
fulfill four orders of Lord Chaitanya's:
(1) Uncover Shri Krishna's lost pastime places.
(2) Install Deities, start puja.
(3) Write bhakti-shastras.
(4) Propagate the rules of bhakti-yoga.

Wearing only kaupina (loincloth) and kantha (patchwork quilt), Shri Rupa Goswami lived a
mendicant's life absorbed in hearing, chanting, writing about Radha-Govinda's sweet loving pastimes
in Shri Vrindavana-dhama

Returning to Sri Radhadamodar Mandir, Vrindavan to carry out the order

of the Lord, he was joined by his elder brother Sanatana Goswami whom
he had not seen for more than a year. In Vrindavan, the two brothers led
an exemplary life of devotion and austerity, writing transcendental
literatures, visiting the Lord's places of pastimes, and chanting the Holy
Name. They would sleep for only an hour and a half every day, and some
days not at all. Their food was meager and consisted of only a few fried
chickpeas or a dry chapatti just to keep body and soul together.
Books and teaching

Shri Rupa Goswami wrote practical yet profound transcendental books. He established Shri-Shri
Radha-Govindaji, the beloved Deities of the entire Gaudiya sampradaya. Through extensive Vedic
research Shri Rupa Goswami proved that Shri Chaitanya's teachings present the highest philosophy
and the perfection of religion.

"Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then sent the two brothers

Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami to Vraja.
By His order, they went to Sri Vrndavana-dhama. After
going to Vrndavana, the brothers preached devotional
service and discovered many places of pilgrimage. They
specifically initiated the service of Madana-mohana and
Govindaji.
"Both Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami brought
various scriptures to Vrndavana and collected the essence
of these by compiling many scriptures on devotional
service. In this way they delivered all rascals and fallen
souls.
"The Gosvamis carried out the preaching work of
devotional service on the basis of an analytical study of all
confidential Vedic scriptures. This was in compliance with
the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Thus one can
understand the most confidential devotional service of
Vrndavana."

(1) Hamsaduta, (2) Uddhava-sandesa, (3) Krsna-janma-

tithi-vidhi, (4 and 5) Radha-krsna-ganoddesa-dipika, Brhat
(major) and Laghu (minor), (6) Stavamala, (7) Vidagdha-
madhava, (8) Lalita-madhava, (9) Dana-keli-kaumudi,
(10) Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (this is the most celebrated
book by Sri Rupa Gosvami), (11) Ujjvala-nilamani, (12)
Akhyata-candrika, (13) Mathura-mahima, (14) Padyavali,
(15) Nataka-candrika and (16) Laghu-bhagavatamrta.
Gaudiya Vaishnavas
 Gaudiya Vaishnavas are known as rupanugas, followers of Shri Rupa
Goswami. Every raganuga Devotee aspires to become a servant of the
servant of the lotus feet of Shri Rupa Goswami. Shri Narottama Dasa
Thakura sings, shri-rupa-manjari-pada, se more sampada, sei mor bhajana
pujana: "The feet of Shri Rupa-manjari (Rupa Goswami's eternal form as
Shri Radha's maidservant in Vraja) are my only wealth. They are the only
object of my service and worship."

Tattva

Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu commissioned Shri Rupa Goswami to write

on the science of rasa-tattva. In Chaitanya-chandrodaya, Shri Kavi
Karnapura says that Shri Rupa Goswami is the form of true love and
devotion. Shri Chaitanya empowered him to explain His own love and
devotion, and to propagate it to the world. Lord Chaitanya manifested His
own pastimes through Shri Rupa Goswami. He received the title bhakti-
rasacharya (guru of devotional mellows) for his devotional classics,
Bhakti-rasamrta sindhu, Ujjvala Nilamani, Lalita Madhava and others.
Bhakti-rasamrta sindhu gives the essence of all Vedic scriptures regarding
the kingdom of bhakti. In great detail it explains how to advance in
Krishna consciousness and attain prema-bhakti, pure unalloyed love for
Radha-Govinda in Shri Vrindavana.

He personally entrusted and empowered Shrila Rupa Goswami to

very carefully propagate through the writing of transcendental
literatures, the very basics of His teachings. Shrila Rupa Goswami's
writings and his example is the inspiring force behind our
sampradaya. Therefore His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada before pursuing the fulfillment of his Guru Maharaja,
Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's, mission of spreading the
teachings of Lord Chaitanya all over the world in the English
language, lived in Radha Damodar Temple in order to be right
beside the samadhi-mandir of Shrila Rupa Goswami.

Transcendental pastimes
Writtings
"When Shri Rupa Goswami would sit in his bhajana kutir at Ter Kadamba
(Nandagram, Vrindavana), and write about the pangs of separation that
Shri Radha and Shri Krishna felt for one another the leaves of the
Kadamba tree would fall off; just like tears running down the face of
someone in pain. And when Shri Rupa wrote about Radha and Krishna's
ecstatic loving reunion, that overjoyed Kadamba tree immeditately
sprouted new leaves and blossoming flowers. By the mercy of a pure
Vaishnava like Shrila Rupa Goswami this Kadamba tree could understand
and appreciate the intimate and confidential subject matters which
remain beyond our comprehension."

Govind Deva
Shrila Rupa Goswami was so completely committed to fulfilling the
orders Lord Chaitanya had given him that he and Sanatana roamed
throughout Vrindavan to reveal and excavate the holy places of
Krishna's important pastimes. But still Rupa Goswami was not happy.
One day he sat on the banks of the Yamuna in an ocean of lamentation
because he could not find Shri Govindadeva, the prominent deity of
Vrindavan. The scriptures revealed that this deity was installed by
Vajranabh, the great-grandson of Lord Krishna and it was somewhere in
Vrindavan. He was hidden. Rupa Goswami searched everywhere, he
studied many books, he was desperately looking for the Govinda deity,
because he knew it was Lord Chaitanya's desire. He went here and
there, he even went to the houses of practically all the Vrajavasi's to see
if Govinda-deva was being worshipped in any of them. But despite all his
attempts Govinda-deva did not reveal Himselt. Rupa Goswami would sit
day after day on the bank of the Yamuna in lamentation, praying to the
Lord, "Please reveal to me where you are hiding".
One day a Vrajavasi came and sat beside Shrila Rupa Goswami. This
Vrajavasi was a beautiful cowherd boy. He asked Rupa Goswami, "Why
do you look so sad?" Rupa Goswami was attracted by the beauty and
the charm of this child, his heart was filled with ecstasy. He began to
explain," I have searched everywhere, but 1 cannot fulfil my Lord's
desire, to establish the worship of Govinda-deva.". The little cowherd
boy replied, "Do not be in distress. There is a very spiritual place, called
'Gomatill' and everyday a beautiful cow comes to that place and lets
down her milk on the ground. Under the spot where the cow is making
the offering, is the deity of Govinda-deva. Previously, Moslem
conquerors came to this place and so the deity was hidden under the
ground. Come, I will show you that place".
And the beautiful little cowherd boy took Shrila Rupa Goswami to
'Gomatill' and then he disappeared. Rupa Goswami understood who this
cowherd boy was, and in great ecstasy of love he fell unconscious. After
a long time, he came back to his consciousness and began to cry. Then
he understood his mission, and he told several Vrajavasis, "Let us
carefully dig in this place, Govinda-deva is here". They began to dig in
the ground, carefully. After sometime they unearthed the beautiful deity
of Govinda, whose beauty was more charming than millions and millions
of Kandarpas (Cupids). The news spread and hundreds and thousands
of people, mostly Vrajavasis, gathered there to celebrate the appearance
of Shri Govinda-deva. When the news spread, Shrila Rupa Goswami
became much admired, loved and worshipped by all the Vraiavasis of
Shri Vrajadham.

The Laughter of Srila Rupa Goswami

From Srila Narahari Chakravarti’s Sri Bhakti-ratnakara, fifth wave
bhakta-sthane sabadhana habe sarva-mate
yena kona akausala nahe tan’ra cite

Always be careful in your dealings with devotees and never create any ill
feelings in their hearts.
akausala ha-ile saba haya antaraya
prasanga paiya kichu kahiye ethaya

Creating ill feelings with the devotees will create impediments on one’s
path. I will relate a story to reveal this truth.
One day in Vrindavan Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhupada sat rapt in
meditation, feeling great bliss in his heart. While he was sitting in his
samadhi he observed a wonderful pastime. The gopis were decorating
Srimati Radharani while Krishna stood behind Her watching. Krishna
revealed His presence to the sakhis, bringing an increasing festival of joy
to their hearts, but Radharani was unaware that He was there. In many
wonderful ways the gopis braided and decorated Radha’s hair. Then they
placed a mirror before Her. As She gazed at the beauty of Her own face,
Radharani also saw Sri Krishna’s moonlike face in the mirror. Radha
became very shy and quickly covered Herself with Her cloth. The gopis
happily laughed at this, and Srila Rupa Goswami also joined in their
laughter.
Just at that moment a vaisnava arrived who was very eager to see Rupa
Goswami. Seeing Rupa laughing, the vaisnava did not say anything, but
feeling very sorrowful in his heart he went to see Srila Sanatan Goswami.
[According to the tradition in Vrindavan, this vaisnava was a famous
devotee named Krishnadas. It is said that Krishnadas was lame and
unable to walk and that when Rupa Goswami laughed, Krishnadas
thought that he was laughing at his disability.]
The vaisnava told Sanatan, “I went to see Sri Rupa, but when he saw me
he suddenly burst into laughter. My heart filled with sorrow! I don’t know
why he acted in that way. I didn’t say anything, but came to ask you
about it.” Sri Sanatan then explained the true reason for Rupa Goswami’s
laughter. Hearing this, the vaisnava became repentant at heart.
Lamenting greatly, the vaisnava said, “Why did I approach him at that
moment? Not understanding his heart, I have offended him.” The
vaisnava became very agitated. Sanatan Goswami pacified him and made
him peaceful again.
Meanwhile, when the vaisnava had felt offended, Srila Rupa Goswami
suddenly lost his vision of the Lord’s pastimes. He became very disturbed
and looked everywhere. Considering the situation carefully, he concluded
that someone must have come to see him while he was absorbed in
seeing Krishna’s pastimes. “I did not honor the person that came, and
thereby I committed an offense.” Thinking in this way, Rupa also went to
Sanatan Goswami’s place.
When he saw Prabhupada Srila Rupa Goswami coming, that vaisnava
approached him. Falling on the ground, he offered his respects. With
great humility he told Rupa, “O great soul, I have committed an offense to
you. Please forgive me. Previously when I went to see you I did not
understand that you were rapt in meditation.” Standing before Srila Rupa
Goswami, the vaisnava prayed, “Please be kind and forgive me for my
offense. If you are merciful to me, only then can my heart become
peaceful.”
When he heard these words, Srila Rupa Goswami became very agitated at
heart. Falling to the ground, he offered respectful obeisances to that
vaisnava. Folding his hands, he said, “I have no power to say how great
was the offense that I committed to you. Please kindly forgive me.”
Both devotees were very humble and both were filled with bhakti-rasa.
Forgiving each other, they both became peaceful. The two of them then
went to Srila Sanatan Goswami. For a long time they all plunged into
relishing nectarean topics of Lord Krishna. When everyone heard about
this incident they all became filled with wonder.
Concluding this story, Srila Narahari Chakravarti cautions everyone:
ohe bhai vaisnavete sabadhana habe
pranapana kari’ aparadha ksamaibe
O my brothers, please be very careful in dealing with the vaisnavas. Beg
their forgiveness for any offense with your heart and soul.
vaisnavera dosa-drste habe sabadhana
nirantara karibe vaisnavera guna-gana
Be careful not to see a vaisnava’s faults, and always sing their glories.
purva purva bhagavata-gana ei kaya
vaisnavera kriya-mudra vijne na bujhaya

All of the previous great devotees have said, “No one can understand the
behavior of a vaisnava.”
sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu priya-bhakta-dvare
anyere dilena siksa ei ta’ prakare
Although Srila Rupa Goswami is a highly elevated devotee very dear to Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord used him to teach all of us of the
dangers of vaisnava aparadha.
bhakta-.-padma dhari’ mastaka-upara
bhakti-rasa-sayare dubaha nirantara
Hold the devotees’ lotus feet to your head and always dive in the nectar
of pure devotional service.

Our Sampradaya is called Rupanuga Sampradaya, which means that all devotees in our
Sampradaya are meant to very carefully follow the teachings of Shrila Rupa Goswami

Important points
Shrila Rupa Goswami has been attributed with the honor of being the person
who realized the mano-‘bhistam, the innermost heart’s desire, of Shri Krishna
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Even though there are so many great acaryas, Srila Rupa Goswami has been
attributed with the honour of being that person who has established the
mano-'bhistam, the innermost heart's desire, of Sri Krsna in the form of
Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When Sriman Mahaprabhu came to the village of
Ramakeli-grama, He met with Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatana Goswami
and told them, "You should leave your homes and be with Me."
After a short time they left their homes, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came
from Vrndavana and met with Srila Rupa Goswami at Prayag, the confluence of
the rivers Yamuna and Ganges. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told him:
Lord Caitanya gave one drop of the ocean of rasa to Srila Rupa Goswami, and
that one drop was sufficient to inundate millions upon millions of universes.
Later, He met with Srila Sanatana Goswami in Varanasi.
After some time Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatana Goswami came here to
Vrndavana and began to perform their bhajana, their hearing, chanting, and
remembering Krsna. Rupa Goswami thought, "In order to fulfill the innermost
heart's desire of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu I will write a drama. In this drama I
will explain the beauty of the meeting pastimes of Srimati Radhika and Sri
Krsna in Vrndavana, and also the separation pastimes, when Lord Krsna leaves
Vrndavana and goes to Mathura and Dvaraka. I will explain how, by their
expansions, Srimati Radhika and all the sakhis somehow or other went to
Dvaraka and became Lord Krsna's 16,108 queens." He intended to write about
this, but while he was travelling towards Jagannatha Puri he came to the
village of Satyabhama-pura. There, Srimati Satyabhama-devi, Lord Krsna's chief
queen, appeared to him in a dream and told him, "Please don't make this only
one drama. Rather, divide it into two parts."
Then, when Srila Rupa Goswami finally arrived at Jagannatha Puri and met with
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord confirmed what he had heard from Srimati
Satyabhama in his dream. Sriman Mahaprabhu told him, "Don't take Lord
Krsna out of Vrndavana."
"Krsna never leaves Vrndavana. He never even sets one foot outside of
Vrndavana." Srila Rupa Goswami then divided his drama into two parts. The
first part is called Vidagdha-madhava, Sri Krsna's pastimes in Vrndavana; and in
the second part, called Lalita-madhava, He goes to Dvaraka and all the gopis of
Vrndavna were reunited with Him in the form of the queens of Dvaraka.
Why did Srila Rupa Goswami do this? The reason is a very deep siddhanta
(conclusive philosophical truth). Srila Kavi Karnapura is a very great devotee
and he composed Sri Ananda Vrndavana Campu. In this book he has described
the pastimes of Lord Krsna from His birth up to rasa-lila and the Divine
Couple's swing pastimes, and he stopped there. He didn't go any further than
this. He didn't describe about Krsna going to Mathura or Dvaraka, because this
separation mood is very difficult to tolerate for the pure devotees. He was
thinking, "My Mistress Radhika cannot tolerate this separation, so I will not
write about it."
Srila Rupa Goswami, however, has written about the moods of both meeting
and separation – because this separation mood is a very deep transcendental
ecstatic feeling. At the time of meeting, though Radharani and Krsna are
together, something may be forgotten or lost in the heart. On the other hand,
at the time of separation, there is complete meeting in new and fresh ways in
the heart; and not only inside, but sometimes externally there are sphurtis,
temporary visions in which the loved one is actually present.
Knowing all these very deep transcendental established truths, and wanting to
establish the desire of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu within the world, Srila Rupa
Goswami also glorified the mood of separation. Although this mood is very
high and has many transcendental features that will not come at the time of
meeting, still, it is not our goal of life.
No Gaudiya Vaisnavas want Sri Sri Radha and Krsna to be eternally separated.
What kind of person would want this? No Vrajavasi would want it. Rather,
there is a place for this separation mood, and Srila Rupa Goswami has
explained this in his book, Ujjvala Nilamani: "Na vina vipralambha sambhoga
pusti masnute. Without the mood of separation, the mood of meeting will not
be nourished and come to increasingly higher stages. The pastimes of
separation are very important because they play the role of nourishing the
sweetness of meeting."
When Srila Rupa Goswami was in Puri with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord
was dancing at the Ratha-yatra festival and uttering a verse from a book of
mundane poetry called sahitya-darpana:
No one could understand why Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was uttering this verse
and in what mood He was absorbed. There was one young boy there, however,
named Rupa, who later on became that very same Rupa Goswami. There and
then, upon hearing this verse from Mahaprabhu, another verse appeared in his
own heart, and he wrote down that verse:
In this verse Srila Rupa Goswami has clarified Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's inner
meaning and thus he revealed to the world the importance of parakiya-rasa,
the mood of paramour love between Lord Krsna and the gopis. Srila Rupa
Goswami is that very person who established within this world the innermost
heart's desire of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
After Sriman Mahaprabhu disappeared from the vision of the world, the
discussion of parakiya-rasa was not prominent. According to scripture,
mundane rasa, this world's love between those who are unmarried, is very
immoral, illicit and sinful. However, in addition to manifesting the endless
varieties and wonder of vipralambha and sambhoga, the meeting and
separation pastimes of Radha and Krsna, Srila Rupa Goswami also established
the superiority of parakiya-rasa. By using evidence from many different sastras,
he proved that Lord Sri Krsna is not an ordinary nayaka (lover) and Radhika is
not an ordinary nayika (beloved). In other words, when there is meeting
between a mundane lover and beloved in the parakiya mood it is very sinful,
but Sri Krsna is a transcendental personality, god Himself, and everything is
possible for Him. Therefore, if He is the object of the parakiya-bhava, there is
no fault or defect in this. Rather this is the topmost supremely pure
manifestation of madhurya-prema, the romantic mood.
Srila Rupa Goswami established the fact that Lord Krsna Himself came into this
world to taste these mellows, and, as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Krsna Himself
experienced this parakiya-bhakti-rasa which is within the heart of Srimati
Radhika:
These deliberations and philosophical conclusions are extremely deep, and
very difficult to understand. It is therefore essential that one come under the
guidance of a self-realized Guru and pure devotees, and give ones full-time and
energy, very hard labour, and enthusiastic work in the service of that Guru and
in chanting harinama, the holy names of Krsna, and doing bhajana. One should
also make a great effort to understand and realise the reason for which Srila
Rupa Goswami appeared in this world and why he wrote so many books like as
Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Sri Ujjvala-nilamani, Sri Vidagdha-madhava and Sri
Lalita-madhava. Unless one comes to the lotus feet of Sri Guru and makes a
very great endeavour to understand these topics, after some time he will be
taken away by maya and engage in mundane activities. This is a very important
point.

Disciples

He was later joined by his nephew Jiva whom he initiated and to whom
he gave the Deity of Sri Damodar.
Current status
Today in Jaipur, Rajasthan Shri Rupa Goswami's original Deities of Radha-
Govindaji are forever expanding their unlimited beauty. Everyday ten-
thousand Devotees run to attend Their mangala arotika. A prati-bhu Deity
of Govindaji resides in "new" Govindaji Temple behind the historic
masterpiece of architecture that once served Radha-Govinda in
Vrindavana.

Dissappearance of Srila Rupa Goswami

Some authorities claim that in 1564 Shri Rupa Goswami entered Radha-
Govindaji's nitya-lila, just twenty-seven days after the disappearance of
Shri Sanatana Goswami. Shri Rupa Goswami's samadhi and bhajana kutir
are in Seva Kunja within the courtyard of the Radha-Damodara Temple.

disappeared at the age of 73 in 1564 A.D. (1486, Sakabda)

He spent 22 years in householder life, followed by 51 years

in Vrndavana.
Importance for us

By praying and worshipping the great acharyas at their samadhi we

can be fully confident that they hear our prayers and bestow their
bJessings upon us. Shrila Prabhupada would pray, everyday, at
Shrila Rupa Goswami's samadhi-mandir in Vrindavan to give Him
the necessary potency to perform the extraordinary service of
spreading Krishna Consciousness all overthe world. Lord Shri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Shri!a Rupa Goswami and told
him to compile the instructions in the form of a book and practice
them in his life- Shrila Prabhupada began his writings of Shrimad
Bhagavatam just at the lotus feet of Shrila Rupa Goswami. How
important the blessings of Shrila Rupa Goswami are for each and
every one of us! How can we describe the glorious life of such a