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Topic: Glories of Srila Raghunath Das Goswami Date:  13th February 2024 Speaker: HG Krsna Bhakt Prabhu HG Padmamali Prabhuji: PAMHO. We haveHG Krsna Bhakt Prabhuji fortoday’s japa talk on an important topic. HG Krsna Bhakt Prabhu: Tomorrow is Vasant Panchami andwe will celebrate a lot of appearances and disappearances of a lot of Acharyas and also tithis. We have started the Vasant Panchami series from the past two days. We will discuss about one very revered amongst the six goswamis, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami’s pastimes today. One’s life success is dependent upon karma, dharma and vairagya. Raghunath Goswami appeared in 1470 in Krishnapurwhich is today known as Hooghly. His father was a big business and his name was Goverdhan Majumdarand his uncle’s name was Hiranya Majumdar. His wealth and income was huge. It is believed that he has a boat full of gold coins.He was the king’s tax collector. He used to give 20 lakh tax in gold coins at that time which was very high. He had shakti, money, administration etc. Being his son, Raghunath Goswami could have enjoyed these things but he was a saintly person who had no interest in worldly things. CC Madhya 6.254 vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga- śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-śarīra-dhārī kṛpāmbudhir yas tam ahaṁ prapadye Translation “Let me take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who has descended in the form of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to teach us real knowledge, His devotional service and detachment from whatever does not foster Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He has descended because He is an ocean of transcendental mercy. Let me surrender unto His lotus feet. His life is a lesson for all of us. After having so much, his goal was to attain the lotus feet of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He had the association of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Haridas Thakur in his childhood which increased his detachment. One time when Raghunath Das Goswami went to Jagannath Puri leaving his home to meet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he told him to return and said that a time will come when he will get his association. He then went home that time. He used to always leave his home. His parents as they was very wealthy had security guards so that he doesn’t run away. Just like today’s parents don’t like when children spent more time with Brahmacharis. So, to get rid of this problem, they married him to a beautiful wife and so everyone thought he will be engrossed in household life but still he used to run away. So they used to tie him with a rope so that he doesn’t run away. They thought this is the best way to stop him from meeting Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He had money like Indra, Apsara like wifebut when ropes like this could not bind him then what about this mere rope. He had the blessings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhuhimself that’s ehu he was not attracted to these material things in life. CC Antya 6.220 mahāprabhura bhakta-gaṇera vairāgya pradhāna yāhā dekhi’ prīta hana gaura-bhagavān Translation Renunciation is the basic principle sustaining the lives of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s devotees. Seeing this renunciation, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is extremely satisfied. He ran away and knew that if he will follow the usual way to Jagannath Puri, then he will be caught by soldiers. So, he chose a forest way which was tough. He met Svaroop Damodar Goswami and inunder his guidance he stayed with him in Jagannath Puri. His parents tried to bring him back but they failed so they used to send him Rs. 400 every month for his maintenance. But he used this money to feed Vaishnavas and devotees of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. That time the value of Rs. 400 was huge in 1450s. So after 2 years when he thought that this money is not good as it was collected from tax which usually no one wants to give. That’s why he stopped taking that and started begging on Singha door of Jagannath Puri temple. He was son of such a weralthy person still he started begging. After sometime he used to think that he was so fallen and that he had Vaishya Vritti and he used to think that he has become a Vaishya by asking people to give him food based on their dressing. So he left that as well. He used to survive on buttermilk for the whole day. But then again after sometime he thought that this buttermilk had a lot of butter, so he also stopped having that. Then he used to collect the Jagannath Prasad which was not even suitable for cows and animals that he used to have after cleaning it. So, this was his level of renunciation. He left his father’s money, begging on Singha door, buttermilk and now he is having this prasadam. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took that  prasadam from his hand and started eating that. This is how we can understand that how Chaitanya Mahaprabhu can be merciful towards his devotees. Knowledge and renunciation is difficult to come unless we increase our devotion. If we are strongly engaged in the devotional services then we will remain fixed in Krsna Consciousness. Till the time our bhakti is a show off then it is not good. There are four signs that we are getting the mercy of the Lord. First is Seva bhaav increases and we become successful in service in the attitude of service and by the mercy of Guru. The second sign is that we help other devotees to get Krsna Kripa and we don’t gossip about them. Third is when we get Krsna Kripa then we have more responsibilities. Fourth is that when we serve the Lord then the Lord gives us tough service to glorify us. So that  people speak about that devotee. Those who have nothing, they speak about each other and criticise other people. Just like Kunti Maharani suffered a lot from her childhood but she always wanted to have more difficulties so that she doesn’t forget Krsna. So many things happened like Laxshaya Garha pastime, disrobing of Draupadi, Krsna protecting Parikshit Maharaj in the womb of Uttara, Krsna saved Bheem when he was poisoned by Kaurvas, when Krsna saved the Pandavas from different warriors assembled in the Kurukshetra warbut still she was always in prayerful mood. If we would have been in her place he would have asked Lord to stop these things in our lives. Even after facing so many difficulties, Kunti Maharani says: ŚB 1.8.25 vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat tatra tatra jagad-guro bhavato darśanaṁ yat syād apunar bhava-darśanam Translation I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths. Give us problems one after another so that we remember you and have your darshans. Oce we have your darshan we will be freed from the cycle of birth and death. Krsna selects a person whomhe loves and gives them tough situationsto test them. He is trying to teach us through these tough situations and they never leave his lotus feet. So we can see that although Raghunath Goswami hasd everything with him still he was begging to meet his daily needs. He came to Jagannath Puri to fix his mind in the lotus feet of Krsna. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu comes when Vairagya comes in him and he starts eating that Prasadam which is even unfit for animals to consume. So to attain Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy we need to have renunciation in life. So when Raghunath Goswami came from Saptagiri to Panihati, everyone informed Nityanand Prabhu that Raghunath Goswami came.Then Nityanand Prabhu asked for him and called him a thief.Everyone was thinking that how he can be a thief? Then Nityanand Prabhu who is Balrama himself an expansion of Adi-sesha, who is the Adi-Guru, said that Krsna’s service is Guru’s wealth and without Guru’s permission he has stolen Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy and that’s why he is a thief. He directly went to have the mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu without the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu.He wants to override me. Then Raghunath Goswami asked him that how can he serve him. So only desire to serve is not important and service is successful when we serve through the right medium. The sequence is Vaishnava seva, Guru seva and then Bhagavat seva. This is only: Sri Gurvastakam by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto 'pi dhyāyan stuvaḿs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaḿ vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam (Text 8) Translation By the mercy of the spiritual master one receives the benediction of Krsna. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement. Therefore, I should always remember and praise the spiritual master. At least three times a day I should offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master. Sometimes we just do Guru’s service.Guru service means serving the disciples of Guru. According  to VaishnavaSadachar we should worship them as our Shiksha Guru. We should worship Shiksha Guru is Diksha Guru and Diksha Guru as Krsna. sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam( Text 7) Translation The spiritual master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord, because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Sri Hari [Krsna] It is written in all the literatures to serve Guru like God. Raghunath Goswami was asked by Nityanand Prabhu to feed chipped rice with curd to all the Vaishanavas. He was from a very wealthy Goswami and he had three or four servant help him and to cook and three or four servant to hold his coins but Nityanand Prabhu asked him to prepare chipped rice with curd and not to construct temples. The consciousness behind seva is important. Then everyone started selling chipped rice with curd. How much they were buying all was sold instantly. So, Panihati was filled with devotees.Since there was no space, so many devotees sat in their boats and when still no space was left, then stood in the  river and enjoyed the feast. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared seeing his service and then Nityanand Prabhu started feeding him. Panihati festival is celebrated every year. This happens two days after Nirjala Ekadashi which is full of Tapasya and then there is feast on this day. So this is Danda Utsav because Raghunath Goswami didn’t follow the medium to attaining the mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In 1543-44 went to Vrindavan on the instruction of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Radhakunda. NOI 9 vaikuṇṭhāj janito varā madhu-purī tatrāpi rāsotsavād vṛndāraṇyam udāra-pāṇi-ramaṇāt tatrāpi govardhanaḥ rādhā-kuṇḍam ihāpi gokula-pateḥ premāmṛtāplāvanāt kuryād asya virājato giri-taṭe sevāṁ vivekī na kaḥ Translation The holy place known as Mathurā is spiritually superior to Vaikuṇṭha, the transcendental world, because the Lord appeared there. Superior to Mathurā-purī is the transcendental forest of Vṛndāvana because of Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā pastimes. And superior to the forest of Vṛndāvana is Govardhana Hill, for it was raised by the divine hand of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and was the site of His various loving pastimes. And, above all, the superexcellent Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa stands supreme, for it is overflooded with the ambrosial nectarean prema of the Lord of Gokula, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Where, then, is that intelligent Person who is unwilling to serve this divine Rādhā-kuṇḍa, which is situated at the foot of Govardhana Hill? In the Nectar of Instruction Rupa Goswami mentions that the best place on this Earth is Mathura, even from that twelve forests of Vrindavan are important were he performed his childhood pastimes, then Giriraj which he lifted for seven days and then is Radhakund. The love which Krsna has for Radharani, same it is there in Radhakunda. So the best place in this entire world is Sri Radhakunda. So he started his bhajan on Radhakunda. Radhakunda and Shyamkunda were appearing as small lakes and although he wanted to make it nicely but he didn’t have money to do so. So no work could be done on that. So once a Seth was going to Badrikashram and it is said that Badrika deity himself came in his dream and asked him to give all his money to Raghunath Goswami so that he can construct the Radhakund and Shyamkund. He became very happy.  So when Radhakund was made in square shape, so trees came in between and there were five trees and these were actually the five pandavas who appeared in the dream of Raghunath Goswami one day before the construction began and they asked them to not cut them as they wanted to participate in the pastimes of Radha and Krsna. That’s why Radhakund and Shyamkund are in zig-zag shape. Raghunath Goswami is from Srimati Radhrani’s team in Goloka. So Radharani didn’t like when Krsna meets Chandravali. She hates Chandravali. Once someone served buttermilk to Raghunath Goswami in Palash leaf cup which came from the village of Chandravali so he threw that cup as he was from the party of Radharani. So he didn’t wanted to touch anything which came from her village. So one day Sanatana Goswami saw that  Radharani herself gave her cloth to save him form heat while he was chanting. So, Santana Goswami told him this and requested him not to give service to Radharani. But  Raghunath Goswami still didn’t even made a hut for him. Once a lion came to Radhakund to drink water so to protect him, Krsna stood there with a stick so that his sadhana was not disturbed. At that time Radhakund was different than now. So then again Santana Goswami warned him and he was instructed to make a hut. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu  gave him a shila to do Parikrama seeing his devotion. He said this will be your Aaradhya from now. CC Antya 6.294 prabhu kahe, — “ei śilā kṛṣṇera vigraha iṅhāra sevā kara tumi kariyā āgraha Translation Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed Raghunātha dāsa, “This stone is the transcendental form of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Worship the stone with great eagerness.” Chaitanya Mahaprabhu  gave him shila that this is Krsna himself. Every Goswami had different deities of Radha Krsna, Santana Goswami has deity of Sri Radha Madan Mohan but Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave him a shila to worship. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said that he appeared in the form of stone which was worshipped by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself for three years. He gave him Goverdhan shila and sai he is the form of Krsna only. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya that in the opinion of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the govardhana-śilā, the stone from Govardhana Hill, was directly the form of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Mahārāja Nanda. The Lord used the stone for three years, and then in the heart of Raghunātha dāsa the Lord awakened devotional service to the stone. The Lord then gave the stone to Raghunātha dāsa, accepting him as one of His most confidential servants.However, some envious people conclude that because Raghunātha dāsa had not taken birth in the family of a brāhmaṇa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not give him the right to worship the Deity directly but instead gave him a stone from Govardhana. This kind of thought is nārakī, or hellish. As stated in the Padma Purāṇa, arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matir vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhir viṣṇor vā vaiṣṇsnavānāṁ kali-mala-mathane pāda-tīrthe ’mbu-buddhiḥ śrī-viṣṇor nāmni mantre sakala-kaluṣa-he śabda-sāmānya-buddhir viṣṇau sarveśvareśe tad-itara- sama-dhīr yasya vā nārakī saḥ Translation One who thinks the Deity in the temple to be made of wood or stone, who thinks of the spiritual master in the disciplic succession as an ordinary man, who thinks the Vaiṣṇava in the Acyuta-gotra to belong to a certain caste or creed or who thinks of caraṇāmṛta or Ganges water as ordinary water is taken to be a resident of hell.” If one thinks that the worshipable śālagrāma-śilā is a mere stone, that the spiritual master is an ordinary human being or that a pure Vaiṣṇava preaching the bhakti cult all over the world is a member of a particular caste or material division of society, he is considered a nārakī, a candidate for hellish life. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed that the govardhana-śilā, the stone taken from Govardhana, is nondifferent from the body of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He indirectly advised such foolish persons that one should not be envious of a Vaiṣṇava who belongs to a different caste or sect. One should accept a Vaiṣṇava as transcendental. In this way one can be saved; otherwise, one is surely awaiting a hellish life. Goverdhan says that Shailoasmi which means that there is no difference between this shila and Giriraj. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu worshipped it himself.Once Raghunath das Goswami was offering Lord in his mind. So when he offered Kheer to Krsna and Krsna asked him to have kheer, he said that he only has buttermilk. But when Krsna insisted saying that he has made so nice kheer and he fed him the kheer which he offered. All this is mental offering while he is taking rest. After sometime he had fever and when in this new spread in Jatipura so then  Vitthalanath Goswami  called his doctor.When the doctor did the  Nadi pariksha and said that he had eaten kheer and that’s why he is suffering. So Vitthalanand Goswami said that from the past twenty years I have seen that he is only having one cup buttermilk. Then how is this possible?So the doctor gave him a medicine to vomit and  then he vomited. Then Raghunath Goswami narrated the pastime and said that he didn’t expected that it affect his physical body.So this was his service.What we can learn from his pastimes is that first we we need to develop good loving environment for devotees. Second is to think positivity in all situations and  third he used to pay dandvat for all devotes we just one dandvat. He used to pay thousand dandvat to Giriraj, thousand to devotees and thousand to Vaishnavas everyday. And we pay only one dandvat to all. Fourth is to maintain good relations with devotees. When we do Adan and Padan is important to perform service for Krsna .Then that is nice. When we serve deeply then we will go deep in Bhakti. We will not float in bhakti. Those fishes which swim in deep waters then we can skip from birds who can pick those who swim on the surface. Similarly if we are deep in bhakti, then we will be protected from Maya. He disappeared in 1586 and his samdhi is on Radhakund near Kundeshwara Mahdev temple. Song by Bhakti Vinod Thakur rādhā-kunḍa-taṭa-kuñja-kuṭīr govardhana-parvata, jāmuna-tīr He performs seva in Goloka as Rati Manjari. He is Radharani’s sakhi. When we go to Vrindavan so we should pray in his lotus feet that wecan also renounce everything for Krsna and leave our material desires. Then only he can attain Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy. So we should beg for his mercy. Srila Raghunath Goswami ki Jay! Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!            

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