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Date: 31 January 2024 Speaker: HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj & HH Bhakti Ashraya Vaishnava Swami Maharaj: Topic: Appearance Day of Gopal Bhatt Goswami HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj: Hare Krishna! Welcome all of you, who join occasionally or who join daily. Today is the appearance day of Gopal Bhatta Goswami, who is one of the Shad Goswami Vrind. He established the Deities of Radha Raman. His Govardhan Shila became the deities of Radha Raman. In Srirangam, when Gopala Bhatta Goswami was a child, he received the company of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu during Chaturmas. His entire family got company. He left Srirangam and reached Vrindavan. Prabodhananda Saraswati Thakur was his uncle and he was also a great Acharya. Gopal Bhatta Goswami took initiation from his uncle. HH Bhakti Ashraya Vaishnava Swami Maharaj: Hare Krishna! Today is the appearance day of Shril Gopal Bhatta Goswami and the disappearance day of Ram Chandra Kaviraj Goswami, who was a companion of Narottam Das Thakur. Today we will discuss about Gopal Bhatt Goswami. Gopala Bhatta Goswami was born in 1503 century, in Srirangam, located on the banks of the Kaveri River in South India. His father, Sri Venkata Bhatt, was the chief priest of Sri Ranganatha. Venkata Bhatt's brother was Parimal Bhatt, who later took sannyasa from the Sri Sampradaya and later received initiation from the Gaudiya Sampradaya under the guidance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and got the name, Prabodhananda Swami Maharaj. He started sung the pastimes of Braj in this form. Gopal Bhatta Goswami is also a disciple of Srila Prabodhananda Swami Maharaj. Both are followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Gopal Bhatta Goswami was one of the Ashta Manjaris in Shri Krishna pastimes. His name was Guna Manjari, who was sometimes also called Anang Manjari. When he was seven years old, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went on a trip to South India and reached Sri Rangam area. At that time, it was the full moon of Ashadhi. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu goes to see Shri Ranganath ji after taking bath in the Kaveri River. Nowadays, barricades have been installed in the temple, but this was not the case 500 years ago. Thousands of visitors had come to the courtyard of the temple. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, seeing Sri Ranganatha, performed kirtan and dance in the courtyard of the temple. Instead of seeing Shri Ranganath, all the visitors started seeing Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Seeing him, all those people felt that God himself was dancing. The temple priest, Sri Venkata Bhatt was also watching Chaitanya Mahaprabhu while performing the aarti. Seeing him dancing like this, the name of Hari was coming out of the mouth of all the visitors. This is the influence of Lord. Shri Venkat Bhatt also came after the Aarti and he also started looking at him. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu bowed to Shri Ranganatha after the Aarti. While going back home, everyone was thinking that no ordinary person can do such kirtan and dance. Shri Venkat Bhatt greeted him and started inviting him to come to his house. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu accepted his invitation and went to his house as a guest. Venkat Bhatt became so happy and started giving him a special welcome in his house. Gopal Bhatt, who was seven years old at this time, was the first to see Mahaprabhu. He almost fainted after seeing him. When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu touched his forehead with his lotus feet, he stood up. He kept looking at Mahaprabhu. He started wondering why God is making me see him in this sannyasa form. I want to see you in the form of Navdeep's Nimai. Only Gopal Bhatt saw his Nimai form. Then he became convinced that this was his Ranganath. They started serving him. On that day, after the Prasad, Venkat Bhatt requested Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that if Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would not travel anywhere in Chaturmas, then he should stay at his house. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu accepted his request and stayed in Venkat Bhatta's house for four months. Lord stayed for four months and started teaching devotion to seven years old boy, Gopal Bhatt. He used to call the child Gopal affectionately and teach him and used to give him Prasad from his plate. He used to provide his company and service to Gopal Bhatt. Gopal Bhatt lived with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the same way as a shadow, lives with the body. He would sleep with them, go to bathe in the Kaveri River, fetch water for them and bring them prasad. Every day, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to take food only once a day after having darshan of Shri Ranganath and used to recite Krishna Katha in the afternoon. Lord himself was narrating all the stories and the listeners were Gopal and his family members. Gradually everyone in the village also started coming to listen to the pastimes. Hearing his katha, Srila Prabodhananda Swami, who was a Sanyasi of Sri Sampradaya, had a change of mind. He left Narayan worship and started worshiping Radha Krishna. Radha Krishna was actually Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Śrī Guru-paramparā 6: mahāprabhu śrī caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya, rūpānuga-janera jīvana viśvambhara-priyaṅkara, śrī svarūpa-dāmodara, śrī gosvāmī rūpa, sanātana Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa combined, is the very life of the rūpānuga Vaiṣṇavas (those who follow Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī). Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, Śrī Rūpa, and Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmīs were the dearmost servants of Lord Viśvambhara (Śrī Caitanya). At this time Mahaprabhu provided his personal company to Gopal. After four months, when Mahaprabhu left, everyone started crying a lot. Mahaprabhu had to go. But Gopal Bhatt said that he would not be able to live without Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu consoled him and ordered him to stay at home and serve his parents and said that Gopal should come to Vrindavan after the death of his parents. But Gopal does not have to marry. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu trained two celibates: Gopal Bhatt and Raghunath Bhatt. Both were ordered to stay at home and serve their parents and not to marry. Gopal Bhatt Goswami lived with his parents for about twenty years and after the death of his parents, he went straight to Vrindavan. His uncle Prabodhnand Swami had already come to Vrindavan. Gopal Bhatt was educated in many scriptures from his uncle. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was in Puri when Gopal Bhatt came to Vrindavan. Gopal Bhatt met Roop and Sanatan Goswami in Vrindavan. Coming from a trip to South India, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had praised Gopal Bhatt a lot with Roop and Sanatan Goswami. But Roop and Sanatan Goswami had seen Gopal Bhatt for the first time. They honoured Gopal Bhatt very much and said that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has told us a lot about him. Gopal Bhatta Goswami was anxious to meet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and was crying. A letter was sent to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Puri that Gopal Bhatt has come to Vrindavan to meet you. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was very pleased after receiving the letter and wrote a letter in response to it and sent a Kopin and Asana for him and thus he appointed Gopal Bhatt as an Acharya. Roop and Sanatan Goswami told Gopal Bhatta Goswami that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has sent blessings for you, now you stay here and serve him. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had ordered for group of Goswami to read the Bhakti scriptures, propagate devotion, do Deity worship etc. Gopal Bhatt got engaged in all these services but he was very sad in his mind that whether he would not be able to see his worshiped Lord in his life. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ordered him that he would not be able to have darshan of him in this form. He ordered them to go to the banks of river Ganduki and take bath, there you will find me in the form of a rock and I will appear to you in the same rock. After receiving Lord's order, Gopal Bhatt Goswami set out on a journey to Nepal on foot. On the way, he stopped at a Brahmin's house in Devmandya village. That Brahmin couple had no children. He requested Gopal Bhatta Goswami that if they had a child, they would dedicate it to his service. By the grace of Gopal Bhatt Goswami, he got a son whose name was first Damodar and later he got the name Gopinath. He was a grihastha and his descendants still serve Radha Raman. Shri Gopal Bhatt Goswami reached Ganduki river and took bath in Damodar Kund and Shaligram stone came in his hand. They released him back into the water. But again, and again a stone would come into his hand. Therefore, understanding the will of Lord, he kept the stone with him. In this way he got twelve stones. He brought these stones to Vrindavan and started serving them. We know that Rupa Goswami, Sanatan Goswami etc. all had their own worshiped deities, Madan Mohan, Gopinath. Loknath Goswami's deities was Radha Vinodilal, Jiva Goswami's deities was Radha Damodar. In this way all the Goswami had their own dedicated deities. But Gopal Bhatt Goswami had Shaligram stones, he used to serve them only. Gopal Bhatt Goswami was a very great Brahmin, he also edited the book Hari Bhakti Vilas of Sanatan Goswami. He also wrote a commentary on Jiva Goswami's Krishna Karnamrit, Shadasandarbha. He was the spiritual master of Srinivas Acharya, who has written Shad Goswami Ashtakam. He had given initiation to very high ranking Vaishnavas. He was a very good speaker and many people used to come from nearby areas to listen to his story. Once when it was the day of Vaishakh Chaturdashi, it was the day of Narasimha Chaturdashi, some devotees came from Punjab. Those devotees had visited all the temples of Goswami in Vrindavan and they used to donate a lot of ornaments. He was very happy to hear the katha and he also gave ornaments and clothes etc. to Gopal Bhatt Goswami. Gopal Bhatt Goswami started thinking that everyone else has deities, they can decorate them etc., but I only have Shila, how will I decorate them. But those devotees started forcing Gopal Bhatt Goswami to take all the clothes and ornaments. On the day of Narasimha Chaturdashi, Gopal Bhatt Goswami was narrating Katha after fasting till evening. After the katha, all the devotees took leave and went away. After the Shayan Aarti, Gopal Bhatt Goswami started thinking about how great a devotee Prahlad Maharaj was, for him Lord Narasimha had appeared from the pillar. But how unfortunate I am that Lord does not appear even from these Shaligram rocks. He cursed himself and went to sleep at night. But Lord had already heard his prayer. In the morning, when Gopal Bhatt Goswami returned after taking bath in Yamuna and started lighting the lamp in the temple, he saw that the Damodar rock had opened from the middle and the beautiful deities of Radha Raman had emerged from it. This is the glory of devotion of Gopal Bhatta Goswami. Seeing their devotion, Lord himself tore the Shaligram stone and appeared in the form of a deities. Even today we can see this idol in Vrindavan. After this incident, the glory of devotion of Gopal Bhatta Goswami spread throughout Vrindavan. Gopal Bhatta Goswami told all this incident to Rupa Goswami and Sanatan Goswami etc. and asked them to name and install those deities. Sanatan Goswami said that this is Radha Raman. He is inseparable from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and has incarnated himself in the form of deities on your prayer. After that Gopal Bhatt Goswami himself started serving him. After his departure, his disciple Damodar started serving him. Gopala Bhatta Goswami had visited Ganduki River only once, apart from this he had never left Vrindavan. Srinivas Acharya has written in Shad Goswami Ashtak. Śrī Śrī Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka, Verse 1&2: kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pūjitau śrī-caitanya-kṛpā-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bhārāvahantārakau vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau Translation: I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Six Gosvāmīs, namely Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, and Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, who are always engaged in chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and dancing. They are just like the ocean of love of God, and they are popular both with the gentle and with the ruffians, because they are not envious of anyone. Whatever they do, they are allpleasing to everyone, and they are fully blessed by Lord Caitanya. Thus they are engaged in missionary activities meant to deliver all the conditioned souls in the material universe. nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau tri-bhuvane mānyau śaraṇyākarau rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāravinda-bhajanānandena mattālikau vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau Translation: I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who are very expert in scrutinizingly studying all the revealed scriptures with the aim of establishing eternal religious principles for the benefit of all human beings. Thus they are honored all over the three worlds and they are worth taking shelter of because they are absorbed in the mood of the gopis and are engaged in the transcendental loving service of Radha and Krsna. Gopal Bhatt Goswami wrote devotional texts and revealed the Dham. Because he was a Brahmin, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu authorized him to give initiation. Rupa Goswami did not accept any disciples. Sanatana Goswami accepted Jiva Goswami because he was his nephew, apart from him he did not accept any disciples. In the Gaudiya Vaishnav sect, the lineage started moving forward from the disciples of Raghunath Bhatt and Gopala Bhatt. Sanatana Goswami composed Hari Bhakti Vilas. It is because of the devotion of Gopal Bhatt Goswami that even today we are able to see the deities of Radha Raman. This was the result of his devotion and prayers. The rest of the deities are carved but these deities themselves were incarnated. Gopal Bhatt Goswami propagated and spread Braj Bhakti. He initiated many devotees into the Gaudiya tradition. He entered the spiritual world after doing his patimes for 75 years. His samadhi is in the Radha Raman temple in Vrindavan. He is Lord's personal councilors and servants. Wherever we are sitting today, we will pay homage at his feet, “O Srila Gopala Bhatta Goswami! the devotion you had towards your Spiritual master Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the devotion you had in your devotion that shila broke itself and obtained deities, the knowledge you had of scriptures, the way you conducted yourself, the way you preached, that we can never think even in our dreams because we are very sinful. But if by your grace we can attain even one millionth part of your great qualities and influence, then this life will be successful.” All Glories to Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Pada! It is the disappearance day of Sri Ram Chandra Kaviraj. Shri Ram Chandra Kaviraj was also Manjari in Lord’s pastimes. He appeared in Bengal and was the son of Chiranjeev Sen. He had received initiation from Srinivas Acharya. He was such a high-ranking devotee that Narottam Das Thakura prays to him in his hymns. Srī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu doyā koro more by Narottama Das Thakur: doyā koro śrī-ācārya prabhu śrīnivāsa rāmacandra-sańga māge narottama-dāsa Translation: O Srinivasa Acarya, successor to the six Gosvamis! Please be merciful to me. Narottama dasa always desires the company of Ramacandra Cakravarti. I pray for the company of Ram Chandra Kaviraj. Narottam Das Thakur is such an Acharya who was named by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu even before his birth. For whom he treasured his true love for Lord. Narottam Das Thakur writes in his bhajan. (hari) haraye namah krsna yadavaya namah, Verse 4,5: śrī-rūpa sanātana bhaṭṭa-raghunātha śrī-jīva gopāla-bhaṭṭa dāsa-raghunātha ei chay gosāir kori caraṇa vandan jāhā hoite bighna-nāś abhīṣṭa-pūraṇ Translation: All glories to Srila Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami and Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami, to Srila Jiva Goswami, Gopala Bhatta Goswami, and Raghunatha Dasa Goswami! I bow to the feet of these six Goswamis. By their grace, our obstacles can be destroyed and all desires are fulfilled. If we worship the lotus feet of these six Goswamis with devotion, all our obstacles will be destroyed and our wish will be fulfilled. If we want to progress in devotion and remove our sins then this is the only way. Only by their grace and discussion will our heart be saved from calamities. On today's special day, we will pay our respects and pay our obeisance at his lotus feet so that we can receive devotional service. All Glories to Srila Gopal Bhatt Goswami Pada! All Glories to Sri Sri Radha Raman! All Glories to Srila Ram Chandra Kaviraj!

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