Srila Rupa Gosvami was extremely dear to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Through him and his elder brother, Sri Sanatan, Mahaprabhu disseminated His own teachings, the essential conclusions of all the scriptures.
Srila Rupa Gosvami
Srila Rupa Gosvami was extremely dear to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Through him and his elder brother, Sri Sanatan, Mahaprabhu disseminated His own teachings, the essential conclusions of all the scriptures. Amongst the devotees of Mahaprabhu, these two were known as His generals. In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, Kavi Karnapura has written that Sri Rupa Gosvami was known as Sri Rupa Manjari during Krishna lila.
There is an anecdote as to how they came to be the ministers of the king of Gaudadesa, Hussain Shah Badsha. Even at a very young age they had become quite learned in all of the scriptures. The guru (moulavi) of Hussain Shah was supposedly capable of seeing into the future. Hussain Shah asked him about the prosperity of his kingdom. The moulavi replied, "There are two extremely learned brahmana boys who are endowed with all good qualities. If you appoint them as your ministers then you will attain a very opulent kingdom."
Having heard of the glories of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Rupa had written a letter to Him praying for His darshan. In His reply Mahaprabhu explained to him, "As a woman who is attached to another man makes a show of being devoted to her husband, so you should, while being internally attached to the lotus feet of Sri Krishna, externally make a show of being engaged in your worldly duties. Krishna will bestow His mercy on you very soon."
While residing at Ramakeli, Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana were visited by many brahmanas and panditas from Navadvipa, Karnataka and various other parts of India. They were always careful to receive these guests and serve them in a befitting manner. They lived in a very opulent surroundings at Ramakeli. Their court, was always attended by brahmanas, pandits from many lands as well as poets, singers, musicians and dancers. At great expense they maintained these guests and were always very careful that no one was disrespected in any way. They were always engaged in studying the shastras and could establish and defeat the same philosophical arguments alternatively. Near their house were solitary gardens of Kadamba and other trees in the middle of which were Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda. There they would meditate on the Vrindavana pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Shyama and thus, a constant stream of tears would flow from their eyes. They were always absorbed in the service of Sri Madana Mohana and constantly assuaged their grief by praying for His mercy. Hearing of the pastimes of Sri Gaurasundara at Nadia they were always meditating when they might get His darshan.
Rupa Gosvami's worshippable Deity in Vrindavana was Sri Govinda Deva. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had instructed the Gosvamis to re-discover the holy places of Krishna's pastimes in Braja and to establish worship of His Sri vigraha. One day Sri Rupa was sitting on the banks of the Yamuna, lamenting that they hadn't been able to properly carry out His instructions. It was known to them that Sri Krishna's grandson Vajranabha had installed a number of Deities in Braja, among them Hari Deva, Madana Mohana Deva, Gopinath Deva and Sri Govinda Deva. Sri Rupa had tried to locate these Deities, but to no avail. As he was sitting and thinking in this way a very beautiful cowherd boy came along and asked him, "Why do you look so sad?" Hearing the boy's cheerful voice, Sri Rupa's reverie was broken. He replied that he was feeling sad because he hadn't been able to follow Mahaprabhu's instructions properly. The cowherd boy told him, "Please come with me. I will show you where it is." Then the boy brought him to Gomatila and explained, "Everyday a cow comes on top of this hill and pours down her milk here. There is a good chance you will find what you are looking for inside. Now I have to go."
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