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By Giriraj Swami<\/strong><\/p>\n Today is the disappearance day of Srila Rupa Gosvami, a direct disciple of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu whom Mahaprabhu entrusted with the order and the power to present the science of Krishna consciousness in books. All the acharyas in our line after Rupa Gosvami are considered rupanugas<\/em>, followers of Rupa Gosvami. And much of the Krishna consciousness movement is based on Rupa Gosvami\u2019s teachings and example.<\/p>\n Rupa Gosvami and his older brother, Sanatana Gosvami, were born in a high-class brahman family in South India, but due to circumstances they were forced to engage in the service of Nawab Hussain Shah, a powerful, tyrannical ruler in East India. The brothers were so highly qualified that Sanatana Gosvami was practically the prime minister of the Nawab and Rupa Gosvami the finance minister.<\/p>\n How Rupa and Sanatana came to give up the service of the Nawab is very interesting. One year I taught The Nectar of Devotion<\/em>, Srila Prabhupada\u2019s summary study of Rupa Gosvami\u2019s Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu<\/em>, at the VIHE (Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education), and immediately after the course I rushed to Mayapur to accompany Radhanath Swami and Sacinandana Swami on parikrama<\/em> of Gauda-mandala-bhumi, the places in Bengal where Mahaprabhu enacted His pastimes. The first place we visited was Ramakeli, the capital of Nawab Hussain Shah, where Rupa and Sanatana were engaged in service and where they and their third brother, Anupama, and his son, Jiva (later Jiva Gosvami), all saw Mahaprabhu for the first time. The remains of the Nawab\u2019s palace are still there.<\/p>\n Often one specific event will be a turning point in a person\u2019s life, and so it was with Rupa Gosvami. One night, in the middle of a tumultuous storm, with rain, thunder, and lightning, he was running down a slippery path through the trees. Nearby was a cottage, and Rupa Gosvami overheard the husband and wife talking. \u201cWho could that be\u2014going out in the middle of the night in this storm?\u201d one asked. \u201cIt could only be Dabira Khasa [Rupa Gosvami\u2019s adopted Muslim name],\u201d the other replied. \u201cHe\u2019s a slave to the Nawab. Any time of day or night the Nawab calls him, he goes running.\u201d When Rupa Gosvami heard those words, he resolved to leave the Nawab\u2019s service.<\/p>\n So, he resigned. He was fabulously wealthy, as was Sanatana; he had ten thousand gold coins, which he divided in an exemplary manner, meant to be the ideal for all householders. He gave 50 percent for the service of the Lord and the devotees and 25 percent to relatives, and kept 25 percent in case of personal emergency.<\/p>\n He headed toward Vrindavan, and in the holy city of Prayag (Allahabad) he met Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who, for ten days, at Dasasvamedha-ghata, instructed him in the science of Krishna. Then he proceeded to Vrindavan.<\/p>\n Sanatana Gosvami didn\u2019t directly resign; he knew he couldn\u2019t do that. Instead, he took sick leave and stayed at home with brahmans and Vaishnavas, discussing Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em>. The Nawab became agitated: \u201cWhere is he? Why isn\u2019t he reporting for his duties?\u201d He sent his physician, but still there was no change. Finally the Nawab went personally and saw that Sanatana Gosvami didn\u2019t want to continue working for him. So he arrested him.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a long story, but eventually Sanatana escaped and Rupa and Sanatana went to Vrindavan and wrote books on Krishna consciousness, excavated the lost holy places of Krishna\u2019s pastimes, and showed devotees how to live in Vrindavan.<\/p>\n Rupa Gosvami has a very special place in our sampradaya<\/em> because he was instructed directly by the Lord. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta<\/em> (Madhya <\/em>19.1) states,<\/p>\n vrndavaniyam rasa-keli-vartam \u201cBefore the creation of this cosmic manifestation, the Lord enlightened the heart of Lord Brahma with the details of the creation and manifested the Vedic knowledge. In exactly the same way, the Lord, being anxious to revive the Vrndavana pastimes of Lord Krsna, impregnated the heart of Rupa Gosvami with spiritual potency. By this potency, Srila Rupa Gosvami could revive the activities of Krsna in Vrndavana, activities almost lost to memory. In this way, He spread Krsna consciousness throughout the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada discusses Rupa\u2019s being empowered by Mahaprabhu\u2014what was his qualification. It is very important for us to understand this principle, because we are situated in this lineage, the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya-Vaishnava-sampradaya, and we must understand our relationship with Srila Rupa Gosvami and with Srila Prabhupada and the relationship between Srila Prabhupada and Srila Rupa Gosvami.<\/p>\n ei-mata dasa-dina prayage rahiya \u201cFor ten days Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stayed at Prayaga and instructed Rupa Gosvami, empowering him with the necessary potency.\u201d (Cc Madhya<\/em> 19.135)<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada begins his purport, \u201cThis is a confirmation of the statement krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana<\/em>,\u201d referring to the following verse:<\/p>\n kali-kalera dharma-krsna-nama-sankirtana \u201cThe fundamental religious system in the Age of Kali is the chanting of the holy name of Krsna. Unless empowered by Krsna, one cannot propagate the sankirtana<\/em> movement.\u201d (Cc <\/em>Antya<\/em> 7.11) This verse clearly indicates that Srila Prabhupada was empowered by Krishna or Sri Krishna Chaitanya and thus was able to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world. The same was done by Lord Chaitanya with Rupa Gosvami face to face, heart to heart.<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada continues the purport, \u201cUnless one is specifically empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he cannot spread the Krsna consciousness movement. An empowered devotee sees and feels himself to be the lowest of men, for he knows that whatever he does is due to the inspiration given by the Lord in the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n When I first joined the Boston temple, one of the devotees there, Patita-pavana dasa, told me that Srila Prabhupada had said, \u201cWe are just like chess pieces on a board, completely under control, and as soon as the Lord moves us one square forward, immediately we think, \u2018I am God.\u2019 \u201d I\u2019ve noticed how true that is of me. If I move a little bit forward in any direction, I immediately think, \u201cOh, I\u2019m the doer. I\u2019m the controller. I\u2019m the cause.\u201d But here Srila Prabhupada describes the inner mood of a pure devotee or an empowered preacher: he considers himself completely worthless and incapable and that whatever he\u2019s able to do is actually being done by Krishna, by Krishna\u2019s causeless mercy.<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada continues,<\/p>\n \u201cThis is confirmed by Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita<\/em> (10.10):<\/p>\n tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam Sri Krsna says, \u2018To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cTo be empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one has to qualify himself. That means that one must engage twenty-four hours daily in the loving devotional service of the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n Once, a lady staying in the guesthouse of the Krishna-Balaram temple in Vrindavan was telling people that Krishna had come and spoken to her. When the devotees informed Srila Prabhupada, he replied, \u201cYes, Krishna can speak to you, but there\u2019s a qualification: tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam<\/em>\u2014one must be constantly engaged in Krishna\u2019s service (satata-yuktanam bhajatam<\/em>) with love and devotion (priti-purvakam<\/em>). Was that lady engaged fully in Krishna\u2019s service? No. Still, she was saying that Krishna spoke to her. But He will, if you have the qualification.\u201d<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada continues, \u201cThe material position of a devotee doesn\u2019t matter, because devotional service is not dependent on material considerations.\u201d This is also very important for us, because materially we are not qualified to receive such transcendental knowledge: before meeting Srila Prabhupada, most of us were fallen and sinful.<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada continues, \u201cIn his earlier life, Srila Rupa Gosvami was a government officer and a g\u00e5hastha<\/em>. He was not even a brahmacari<\/em> or sannyasi<\/em>. He associated with mlecchas<\/em> and yavanas<\/em>, but because he was always eager to serve, he was a qualified recipient for the Lord\u2019s mercy. A sincere devotee can therefore be empowered by the Lord regardless of his situation. In the preceding verse from the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu<\/em>, Srila Rupa Gosvami has described how he was personally empowered by the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n Rupa and Sanatana Gosvami had adopted the customs of Muslims; they were \u201calmost like Muslims.\u201d They had Muslim\u2019s names\u2014Dabira Khasa and Sakara Mallika\u2014and their habits were like Muslims\u2019.<\/p>\n The preceding verse from the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu<\/em> (1.1.2) reads,<\/p>\n hrdi yasya preranaya pravartito \u2019ham varaka-rupo \u2019pi \u201cAlthough I am the lowest of men and have no knowledge, the inspiration to write transcendental literatures about devotional service has been mercifully bestowed upon me. Therefore I am offering my obeisances at the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has given me the chance to write these books.\u201d<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada concludes his purport:<\/p>\n \u201cHe [Rupa Gosvami] further states in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu<\/em> (1.2.187):<\/p>\n iha yasya harer dasye karmana manasa gira \u2018A person acting in the service of Krsna with his body, mind, and words is a liberated person even in the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cTo keep oneself free from material contamination and attain the Lord\u2019s favor, one must be sincerely eager to render service to the Lord. This is the only qualification necessary. As soon as one is favored by the mercy of the spiritual master and the Lord, one is immediately given all the power necessary to write books and propagate the Krsna consciousness movement without being hampered by material considerations.\u201d<\/p>\n Knowing how eager Srila Prabhupada was to render service and how he was actually always engaged in Krishna\u2019s service, we can easily see that he was most qualified to receive the Lord\u2019s empowerment.<\/p>\n Before Srila Prabhupada came to the United States, he made his residence at the Radha-Damodar temple in Vrindavan, and that temple was the location of Srila Rupa Gosvami\u2019s bhajana-kutira<\/em>, his place of devotional service, and his samadhi. And Srila Prabhupada\u2014there is a beautiful picture of him in his room at the Radha-Damodar temple looking out the lattice window at the samadhi of Rupa Gosvami\u2014was always praying to Rupa Gosvami for the mercy and the power to be able to present Krishna consciousness as ordered by his spiritual master to people in the West and all over the world. Srila Rupa Gosvami assured Srila Prabhupada that, \u201cYes, you can do this task.\u201d And Srila Prabhupada said that although devotees generally consider Radha-kunda to be the most sacred place in the universe, he considered Srila Rupa Gosvami\u2019s samadhi to be the most sacred place in the universe.<\/p>\n On an esoteric level, let us consider what we often recite:<\/p>\n om ajnana-timirandhasya sri-caitanya-mano-\u2019bhistam Sri-caitanya-mano-\u2019bhistam<\/em>, sthapitam yena bhu-tale <\/em>means that Rupa Gosvami understood the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and established that mission on earth, and svayam rupah kada mahyam, dadati sva-padantikam<\/em>: \u201cWhen will Srila Rupa Gosvami be merciful to me?\u201d That was certainly Srila Prabhupada\u2019s prayer to Srila Rupa Gosvami. In a way, Sri Rupa established Lord Chaitanya\u2019s mission on earth through his writings, but he didn\u2019t actually take the teachings outside of India. Srila Prabhupada was the one who took the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the books of the gosvamis<\/em> outside of India, throughout the world, and so he was an extension of both Lord Chaitanya\u2019s and Srila Rupa Gosvami\u2019s mercy who was given the power and the service to establish Mahaprabhu\u2019s mission on earth.<\/p>\n Our immediate predecessor acharyas are glorified as being rupanugas<\/em>. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura: namo bhaktivinodaya sac-cid-ananda-namine\/ gaura-sakti-svarupaya rupanuga-varaya te, <\/em>and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura also: madhuryojjvala-premadhya-sri-rupanuga-bhaktida<\/em>. He bestowed bhakti following in the line of Rupa Gosvami. And viruddhapasiddhanta-dhvanta-harine<\/em>\u2014he would remove any misconceptions that went against the conclusions of Srila Rupa Gosvami.<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada\u2019s books\u2014Sri<\/em> Isopanisad<\/em>, the Bhagavad-gita As It Is<\/em>, Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em>, The<\/em> Nectar of Devotion<\/em>, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta<\/em>\u2014are filled with the instructions of Lord Chaitanya to Rupa Gosvami. The Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu<\/em> (The Nectar of Devotion<\/em>) and the Upadesamrta<\/em> (The Nectar of Instruction<\/em>) are directly Rupa Gosvami\u2019s works.<\/p>\n One year at the Ratha-yatra in Jagannatha Puri, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was dancing ecstatically, and He began to recite poetry with mundane love lyrics in which the lover was telling the beloved, \u201cYou are the same personality who stole away my heart during my youth. In our intimate relationship, I am also the same lover, yet still my mind is not happy here. I am eager to go back to that place on the bank of the Reva under the Vetasi tree. That is my desire.\u201d This was very mysterious\u2014why Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the strictest sannyasi, would be singing mundane love poetry. The only person who knew was Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, Sri Chaitanya\u2019s personal secretary.<\/p>\n After the Ratha-yatra, Rupa Gosvami went to take his bath, but before doing so he composed a verse (in those days they would write on palm leaves\u2014they didn\u2019t have paper) and placed the verse in the thatch of his hut. Later, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went to meet Rupa Gosvami, and He saw the palm leaf stuck in the thatch. The verse basically echoed the mundane love poetry He had been singing, but in relation to Radha and Krishna, to when They met in Kurukshetra at the time of an eclipse many years after Krishna had left Vrindavan. Her mood was, \u201cYou are the same Krishna, and I am the same Radha. We are meeting in the same way that we met in our youth, but instead of the chirping of birds and humming of bees in Vrindavan, with Govardhana Hill and the Yamuna River, there are crowds of people and the pounding of elephants and horses and the rattling of chariots; and instead of You being dressed as a cowherd boy with a peacock feather in Your hair and a flute in Your hand, You are dressed as a royal prince; and instead of being dressed as cowherd boys, Your associates are dressed as military men. How can We enjoy in this atmosphere?\u201d She requested Krishna to return to Vrindavan: \u201cYou should come back to Vrindavan. We can relate to You there. We are cowherd girls; You are a cowherd boy. Why are You dressed like this\u2014a military personality?\u201d<\/p>\n So, Lord Chaitanya\u2019s mood in the Ratha-yatra\u2014because transcendentally the Jagannatha temple corresponds to Kurukshetra and in the Ratha-yatra the chariot is pulled to the Gundica temple, which represents Vrindavan\u2014was the mood of Srimati Radharani dragging Krishna back to Vrindavan, and therefore He was singing that love song.<\/p>\n Rupa Gosvami wrote,<\/p>\n priyah so \u2019yam krsnah saha-cari kuru-ksetra-militas \u201cMy dear friend, now I have met My very old and dear friend Krsna on this field of Kuruksetra. I am the same Radharani, and now We are meeting together. It is very pleasant, but I would still like to go to the bank of the Yamuna beneath the trees of the forest there. I wish to hear the vibration of His sweet flute playing the fifth note within that forest of Vrndavana.\u201d (Cc Madhya<\/em> 1.76, Antya<\/em> 1.79)<\/p>\n When Lord Chaitanya read Rupa Gosvami\u2019s verse to Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, He asked him, \u201cHow could Rupa Gosvami have understood My heart?\u201d And Svarupa Damodara replied, \u201cOnly by Your mercy. There\u2019s no other way.\u201d He could understand that Lord Chaitanya had given Rupa Gosvami that mercy.<\/p>\n In his purport Srila Prabhupada relates the incident to an experience he had with his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Srila Prabhupada had written a poem for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta\u2019s Vyasa-puja, and that poem is always included in the Vyasa-puja books that we publish and offer to Srila Prabhupada. Every verse is very meaningful, but there was one in particular that his spiritual master especially appreciated:<\/p>\n Absolute is sentient And just as Lord Chaitanya asked His confidential secretary, Svarupa Damodara, \u201cHow could Rupa Gosvami have understood My mind?\u201d Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura showed Srila Prabhupada\u2019s poem to his intimate devotees. \u201cHow could I have known Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura\u2019s mind?\u201d Srila Prabhupada asks. It is, of course, a rhetorical question, but we know the answer.<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada further describes the confidential thoughts of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. What Rupa Gosvami understood was an esoteric mood of devotional service, but in his purport Srila Prabhupada explains that the confidential mood of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is that Krishna consciousness should be spread all over the world, that books should be published and distributed all over the world, and that therefore this service of preaching Krishna consciousness and publishing and distributing books is confidential service to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu following in the line of Rupa Gosvami.<\/p>\n But does this mean that we are not meant to realize those confidential mellows? No\u2014we are. That is why Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came, and that is why Srila Prabhupada came. But not in an artificial way; instead, by following the process that Srila Prabhupada gave us and adopting the mood that he exemplified\u2014of preaching, of being magnanimous. Rupa Gosvami again prayed to Lord Chaitanya, and it is this prayer that we recite whenever we recite the mangalacarana<\/em> prayers:<\/p>\n namo maha-vadanyaya Namo maha-vadanyaya<\/em>\u2014he is offering his obeisances to the most munificent incarnation of Godhead, even more merciful than Krishna. Krishna is extraordinarily merciful, but this particular form of Krishna is more magnanimous than Krishna in His original form. Namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradaya te<\/em>: because He is giving krsna-prema<\/em>. So, yes, He is giving that and we are meant to receive it, but through the proper channel and in the right way. Srila Prabhupada emphasized that mood of magnanimity and, quoting that verse, said that just as Lord Chaitanya was magnanimous, his devotees should also be magnanimous, and the leaders, the temple leaders, temple presidents, they should be magnanimous, like Lord Chaitanya.<\/p>\n His Grace Ramesvara dasa had a thought, or a realization, that the mood of the book distributor is like the mood of the gopis<\/em>, who want to bring other gopis<\/em> to Krishna. They don\u2019t want to enjoy with Krishna directly; they want to bring others to Krishna. He was saying that the mood of a sankirtana<\/em> devotee is like that\u2014he is distributing books that will bring people to Krishna. And, following the mood of Lord Chaitanya\u2019s associates, he should approach everyone, without consideration of time, place, or qualification, with the most intense anxiety imaginable, praying to be the Lord\u2019s instrument to get them to take a book that might bring them to Krishna.<\/p>\n And Srila Prabhupada approved of that thought. He wrote, \u201cThe explanation given by Ramesvara that sankirtana<\/em> is Lord Chaitanya\u2019s lila<\/em>, which he compares to the gopis<\/em> trying to engage others in Krishna\u2019s service, is the correct understanding.\u201d (Letter dated June 9, 1974) So, what we\u2019re doing\u2014or what we are meant to be doing\u2014is actually on a very high level; it is publishing books, distributing books, speaking about Krishna, bringing people to Krishna. One can do that to the extent that one is empowered. Certainly Srila Prabhupada was empowered to the highest degree, but any sincere servant of Srila Prabhupada will also be empowered, and we see that so many devotees are . . . that\u2019s a very big word, \u201cempowered,\u201d but they are empowered, they are inspired, they are enthusiastic to serve the mission. And that comes especially from that connection with Srila Prabhupada, that flow of power and mercy coming from Lord Chaitanya to Rupa Gosvami to Srila Prabhupada. So we should be worthy, we should be eager to serve, we should be consistently engaged.<\/p>\n As one gets older, the physical inconveniences increase. His Holiness Devamrita Swami visited me for a few days, and at six in the evening he would drink this concoction made of I don\u2019t even know what. One of the devotees brought that drink to Maharaja and said, \u201cThis must really be an austerity for you to drink this.\u201d And Maharaja replied, \u201cIt is service to Krishna.\u201d And he added, \u201cSrila Prabhupada said that when you are over fifty years old you have to spend more time taking care of your body.\u201d<\/p>\n As one godsister said, \u201cYou know you are aging when you go to sleep fine and wake up with a sports injury.\u201d I guess it is Srila Prabhupada\u2019s mercy that toward the end of our japa<\/em> period in the temple today I saw His Grace Rabindranatha Prabhu pick up some of the flowers that were left on that table from yesterday\u2019s Jhulana-yatra. Like me and others among us, he is getting up there in age, and I could tell that those aches and pains and creaking bones were there, and I was really touched that he picked up the flowers himself. \u201cWow,\u201d I thought, \u201cwe are so blessed to have him here.\u201d And I was thinking about the other older devotees\u2014and of myself. Even though the body becomes problematic, I thought, we should stay as long as we can and help these new devotees\u2014because of that direct touch we had with Srila Prabhupada and how we had imbibed that mood of being ready to do anything for him. It depends on the supreme will, but I felt that we should stay as long as we can and do as much as we can, because what Prabhupada gave us is so precious and we want it to be preserved and passed on.<\/p>\n There is one particularly beautiful verse that describes Rupa Gosvami\u2014Act 9, verse 29 of Caitanya-candrodaya-nataka<\/em> by Sri Kavi-karnapur. The content is beautiful, and the Sanskrit is beautiful. And, maybe as a coincidence, or as an encouragement for me to read the verse, I just met a devotee whose name, Priya Svarupa dasa (which I\u2019d never heard before), comes from it .<\/p>\n priya-svarupe dayita-svarupe \u201cSrila Rupa Gosvami, whose dear friend was Svarupa Damodara, was the exact replica of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and he was very, very dear to the Lord. Being the embodiment of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu\u2019s ecstatic love, Rupa Gosvami was naturally very beautiful. He very carefully followed the principles enunciated by the Lord, and he was a competent person to explain properly the pastimes of Lord Krsna. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu expanded His mercy to Srila Rupa Gosvami just so he could render service by writing transcendental literatures.\u201d<\/p>\n So, that is our line. Srila Prabhupada was also very beautiful. Once, in the beginning, before ISKCON was founded, he and a few new boys accepted an invitation to Dr. Mishra\u2019s Ananda Ashram in upstate New York. There, Howard (later Hayagriva dasa) had a dream:<\/p>\n \u201cJust before morning, I dream. I dream of devotees clustered about a beautiful golden youth. To see him is to be captivated. His transcendental body radiates an absolute beauty unseen in the world. Stunned, I inquire, \u2018Who is he?\u2019 \u2018Don\u2019t you know?\u2019 someone says. \u2018That\u2019s the Swami.\u2019 I look carefully, but see no resemblance. The youth appears around eighteen, straight out of Vaikuntha [the spiritual world]. \u2018If that\u2019s Swamiji,\u2019 I wonder to myself, \u201cwhy doesn\u2019t he come to earth like that?\u201d A voice somewhere inside me answers: \u2018People would follow me for my beauty, not for my teachings.\u2019 \u201d (Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta<\/em> 2.2)<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!<\/em> Any questions or comments?<\/p>\n Amarendra dasa: I think you are bringing this to another level. These were vicious persons who persecuted and committed many atrocities against the Vaishnavas in Bengal especially. How is it that Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis ended up in the service of persons who were so offensive to the Vaishnavas?<\/p>\n Giriraj Swami: That is an excellent question. In fact, I have faith in the process of Srimad-Bhagavatam<\/em> class\u2014that if I miss something in the class someone in the audience will raise a question to bring out the point. And I was tempted to mention it but then thought that if we went into all the details of the history there would be so much to say.<\/p>\n So, if the Nawab was such a horrible tyrant, persecuting and torturing Hindus, how could Rupa and Sanatana serve him? Well, the history is that the Nawab could see that they were extremely qualified but did not want to serve him, so he threatened them that if they didn\u2019t agree to come into his court, into his government, he would kill every Hindu in the state. That\u2019s how bad he was\u2014he could have done it\u2014and so to avoid his wrath, Rupa and Sanatana reluctantly agreed to engage in his service.<\/p>\n Srila Prabhupada has told another story that illustrates why a good person might sometimes serve a bad person. Once, an Indian gentleman complained to Srila Prabhupada in Mayapur that Prabhupada\u2019s disciples were giving preferential treatment to rich people, and Prabhupada replied by telling the story of a poor but chaste and faithful wife whose husband wanted to spend the night with a famous prostitute. The prostitute was so expensive, however, that there was no way the husband could have afforded her, so the wife became a servant of the prostitute, and eventually the prostitute was so pleased with her service that she asked, \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d And the wife told the prostitute about her husband. So, one might say that the wife was foolish to serve the prostitute so that her husband could enjoy with the prostitute, but the wife was doing it to please her husband. Srila Prabhupada made the point that sometimes we may have to serve low-class people\u2014that you can serve someone not for the sake of serving that person per se but for the sake of pleasing Krishna. And so I guess that could apply to Rupa and Sanatana when they were serving the Nawab Hussain Shah.<\/p>\n Devotee: Srila Prabhupada gave us Srila Rupa Gosvami\u2019s Nectar of Devotion<\/em>. It came out of India for the first time through Srila Prabhupada. What is the history of the book, and how did it come from Srila Rupa Gosvami through Srila Prabhupada all those years later? How was it protected? Where did it go? How did Srila Prabhupada do that book to give it to us?<\/p>\n Giriraj Swami: If you read Lord Chaitanya\u2019s instructions to Rupa Gosvami, they contain the basic teachings of the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu<\/em>, and Rupa Gosvami elaborated on them. Originally the books were written on palm leaves. Some of those original or early manuscripts are preserved\u2014you can see them\u2014and the center of all of those writings was Vrindavan. That\u2019s where the Six Gosvamis were, and that\u2019s where Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami was, but then, after Mahaprabhu and many of His associates left, Jiva Gosvami became the leader of the Vaishnavas in Vrindavan and ordered that the books should be copied, because they were only in Vrindavan. He sent Narottama dasa Thakura, Srinivasa Acharya, and Syamananda Prabhu\u2014very stalwart devotees\u2014and they took the manuscripts by bullock cart to Bengal, but on the way they were plundered by dacoits who were actually agents of the king. It was a terrible situation, but then Srinivasa Acharya preached to the king, and the king became a Vaishnava and they got all the manuscripts back. And so we consider that this was the first traveling sankirtana<\/em> party\u2014Narottama and Srinivasa and Syamananda Prabhu taking the manuscripts by bullock cart.<\/p>\n Some of the original manuscripts have been preserved and passed down. And when printing presses came into use, one of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura\u2019s main services\u2014he did so many services\u2014was to get old manuscripts and publish them in authorized editions; that was part of his mission. And Srila Prabhupada did his summary study\u2014The Nectar of Devotion<\/em>.<\/p>\n Devotee: Sometimes when we present books to people who are not trained up or don\u2019t have faith in any particular religious group, they ask, \u201cWho wrote the books?\u201d It is sometimes hard to explain to them the value of the authors, and I was thinking that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu\u2019s personal associates were not just any ordinary living beings.<\/p>\n Giriraj Swami: As Srila Prabhupada says here, unless you are empowered by Lord Chaitanya you cannot write transcendental literature, and he and our predecessor acharyas were empowered. So these are not ordinary books. Srutakirti Prabhu, who was Prabhupada\u2019s personal servant for many years, mentioned that he had the privilege of seeing Srila Prabhupada when Prabhupada was not on the stage as a world preacher or manager of a worldwide movement, but when he was alone, without anyone to see what he was doing, and he would often read his own books. How many authors read their own books? They write them, and then they are done with them and move on to the next book or the next activity. But Srila Prabhupada\u2019s books are transcendental.<\/p>\n Once, when Srutakirti Prabhu went into Srila Prabhupada\u2019s room, Prabhupada was reading Krsna<\/em> book. \u201cHe had a blissful smile on his face,\u201d Srutakirti later remembered. \u201cHe looked directly into my eyes and said, \u2018This Krsna<\/em> book is so wonderful; everything is in this book. If you read this one book, you can become Krishna conscious. You don\u2019t even have to read the whole book\u2014just one story.\u2019 Then he said, \u2018You don\u2019t even have to read the whole chapter\u2014just one page!\u2019 Then, \u2018You don\u2019t even have to read the whole page\u2014just one line!\u2019 And then he said, \u2018You don\u2019t even have to read the whole line\u2014just one word, because Krishna is in every word!\u2019 \u201d He said similar things to Srutakirti about the Bhagavad-gita As It Is <\/em>and The Nectar of Devotion<\/em>\u2014\u201cThis book is so nice. Everything is in this book. You don\u2019t have to read so many books. If you just read this one book you can become Krishna conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n And Srila Prabhupada told Nanda Kumar Prabhu, who also served as his personal servant, \u201cYou know, when I read my books it\u2019s hard to believe I wrote them. I learn something every time I read them. Actually, I didn\u2019t write them\u2014Krishna wrote them.\u201d<\/p>\n So, yes, these books are alive; they are Krishna and the parampara<\/em>. When you read them, you are associating with Krishna and the parampara<\/em>. It is not ordinary ink on paper. And by touching Krishna and His devotees, your life is transformed. We see it; every day there are stories.<\/p>\n Rambhoru dasi: I just wanted to offer my appreciation for your bringing up self-care and taking care of one\u2019s health as service to Krishna. Just a little side note to the younger devotees to take care of themselves, because by the time you get to sixty you can remember that your body is falling apart, and Srila Prabhupada said that taking care of your health is almost as important as chanting because without that you can\u2019t chant and serve. When your health is gone you lose everything. So don\u2019t wait until you are sixty and you are falling apart to start taking care of yourself. It is part of our responsibility as devotees. Thank you so much.<\/p>\n Giriraj Swami: That\u2019s true. Thank you. In the mood of taking care of our bodies in Krishna\u2019s service, we will end the class and honor prasada<\/em> before it gets too late.<\/p>\n Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.<\/p>\n[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Srila Rupa Gosvami\u2019s disappearance day, August 18, 2013, Los Angeles]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How Rupa and Sanatana came to give up the service of the Nawab is very interesting. One year I taught The Nectar of Devotion, Srila Prabhupada\u2019s summary study of Rupa Gosvami\u2019s Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, at the VIHE (Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education), and immediately after the course I rushed to Mayapur to accompany Radhanath Swami and Sacinandana Swami on parikrama of Gauda-mandala-bhumi, the places in Bengal where Mahaprabhu enacted His pastimes. The first place we visited was Ramakeli, the capital of Nawab Hussain Shah, where Rupa and Sanatana were engaged in service and where they and their third brother, Anupama, and his son, Jiva (later Jiva Gosvami), all saw Mahaprabhu for the first time. The remains of the Nawab\u2019s palace are still there. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=77388"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77407,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77388\/revisions\/77407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=77388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=77388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=77388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/em> kalena luptam nija-saktim utkah
<\/em>sancarya rupe vyatanot punah sa
<\/em> prabhur vidhau prag iva loka-srstim<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>sri-rupe siksa dila sakti sancariya<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>tasya hareh pada-kamalam vande caitanya-devasya<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>nikhilasv apy avasthasu jivan-muktah sa ucyate<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em> jnananjana-salakaya
<\/em>caksur unmilitam yena
\n<\/em> tasmai sri-gurave namah<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em> sthapitam yena bhu-tale
<\/em>svayam rupah kada mahyam
<\/em> dadati sva-padantikam<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em> tathaham sa radha tad idam ubhayoh sangama-sukham
<\/em>tathapy antah-khelan-madhura-murali-pancama-juse
<\/em> mano me kalindi-pulina-vipinaya sprhayati<\/em><\/p>\n
Thou hast proved.
Impersonal calamity
Thou hast moved.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em> krsna-prema-pradaya te
<\/em>krsnaya krsna-caitanya-
<\/em> namne gaura-tvise namah<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em> prema-svarupe sahajabhirupe
<\/em>nijanurupe prabhur eka-rupe
<\/em> tatana rupe sva-vilasa-rupe<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/4DN6nWC.jpg)
By Giriraj Swami<\/strong><\/p>\n