Rupa Goswami was born into a brahmin family in East Bengal. He had four brothers and one sister. He and two of his brothers, Sanatan and Anupam, were pure devotees of Krishna.
Rupa and Sanatan excelled in their studies of scripture and were loved by the people for their devotional qualities. Rupa wrote books on Vedic philsophy, and Sanatan was regularly moved to tears while reciting the Shrimad Bhagavatam. These two brothers were popularly known as raja-shishta, the kings of learning. They were so well liked that they attracted the attention of the Muslim ruler, Nawab Hussein Shah.
Government Service
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The Nawab was determined to press Rupa and Sanatan into his service. He considered that with them by his side it would be easier to control the people. He ordered the brothers, "I want you as my right-hand men to help govern this state. If you don't agree, I will throw your whole family out of the country and punish the devotees very severely." To protect their family and friends, the brothers had little choice but to yield to these demands.
Being delighted at their submission, the Nawab gave them great riches. He awarded Rupa with the title Dabir Khas, the private secretary, and Sanatan was called Sakara Malik, the minister of taxes. Even though they were forced into government service, the two brothers never forgot Krishna. They longed for the day when they could meet their Lord in the form of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the saviour of the fallen.
The Reunion
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Knowing that Shri Chaitanya was living in Jagannath Puri, Rupa and Sanatan wrote many letters to Him explaining their position. They hoped and prayed that one day the all-powerful and most merciful Lord would save them from the misery of materialistic life and engage them once again in His service.
Before long their prayers were answered. Lord Chaitanya, while trav elling to Vrindavan with thousands of His followers, made a detour on the way. He stopped purposefully at Ramakeli, a short distance from where the brothers were posted. As apa and Sanatan were acting as high Muslim officials, they decided to disguise themselves as ordinary people so as not to attract attention. Taking with them their younger brother, Anupam, they hurried to Ramakeli in the dead of night. Arriving there they quickly moved through crowds of devotees. Seeing the Lord they took straw in their teeth as a sign of humility and fell before Him. Shri Chaitanya was in ecstasy. "You are My eternal servants, birth after birth," He declared, lifting and embracing them to His chest. "I am sure Lord Krishna will deliver you very soon." All the devotees were happy to see this. After the brief reunion the brothers returned home.
The Mission
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Some months later, Shri Chaitanya was returning to Jagannath Puri from His pilgrimage in Vrindavan. At that time Rupa and Anupam were able to give up their worldly responsibilities and join the Lord's sankirtan party. Sanatan was delayed, as the Nawab refused to release him from his duties. It was only after being imprisoned, and then escaping, that Sanatan was later able to join the Lord at Puri. Shortly after this, Anupam left his mortal body.
Whilst in Puri, Rupa and Sanatan Goswami directly received from Shri Chaitanya many lessons in the science of Krishna consciousness. Thus they became highly advanced and empowered devotees. The Lord entrusted them with most difficult tasks. "You brothers, please go to Vrindavan and unearth the hidden holy places, construct beautiful temples for Radha and Krishna, and write books on the devotional subjects I have taught you." In this way the two Goswamis were given their life's mission and left for Vrindavan.
The Deity in the Hill
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Getting started in Vrndavan was not so easy. Rupa and Sanatan felt that they were getting nowhere. One day, not knowing what to do for the best, they were sitting on the banks of the Yamuna River. Just then a charming young boy approached them. "Why do you look so sad?" he asked. Rupa replied, "Our mission is to build temples and to establish the worship of Radha and Krishna, but we cannot see how to start." "Follow me," the young boy beckoned. Leading them to a small hill, he explained, "Every day a cow comes here and showers her milk on this hillock. The milk seeps through the earth and feeds a beautiful Deity of Krishna that is buried within. The Deity is called Govindadev and was hidden there during one of the Muslim invasions." The boy quickly disappeared.
The brothers were amazed, and to see if the story was true, Rupa waited behind and watched. Quite soon he saw the cow come and shower down her milk, just as the boy had described. Convinced of the boy's story, Rupa called over some local villagers and urged them to start digging. Sure enough, before long, a beautiful black Deity of Krishna was unearthed. It was Govindadey, and everyone was astounded. The news spread everywhere, and Rupa gained many followers. Among them was the powerful maharaja Man Singh, who donated vast quantities of sandstone for temple construction. The mighty emperor Akbar also lent his full support. They helped construct a magnificent seven-storey temple, which became famous as one of the finest examples of architecture in the whole of India. A century later the Muslim tyrant Aurangzeb became so inflamed with envy that he had the top parts destroyed. But even now, the remains can still be appreciated as an impressive temple, and for Vaishnavas it is a revered place of pilgrimage.
Radharani Makes Sweet Rice
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Shri Rupa and Shri Sanatan Goswami were constantly and intently ab sorbed in devotional service. When their chanting and practical duties allowed, they loved to meet for Krishna katha. Talking about Krishna and Radharani's pastimes was their life and soul. They took such delight in discussing Krishna, the hours just seemed to roll by.
One such day they met in the morning and with great enthusiasm en gaged in such conversation. The sweet pastimes of Krishna stole away their minds as they talked more and more. It was approaching late afternoon when Rupa thought to himself, "My elder brother, who is my spiritual guide, has not taken prasad today. How can I feed him?" While this thought was crossing his mind an enchanting young girl approached them with a message: "Dear holy ones, excuse me for interrupting your discussion, but my mother has noticed you've been here a long time without food or drink. She has sent me here with some rice, milk, and sugar. Please cook something to offer to Krishna and then take prasad."
The Goswamis only heard half the sweet words of the child and con tinued their discussion. Wanting to please the holy men, the girl constructed a fire nearby and prepared a delicious khir. She took it to Rupa and Sanatan. "Dear Goswamis," she said, "I've made a delicious sweet rice for you. Please offer it to Krishna and take prasad. I must go now, as my mother is waiting."
Rupa offered the preparation to Krishna and served a portion to Sanatan. Now Sanatan Goswami had at different times tasted Jagannath prasad at Puri and even relished the sacred remnants of Lord Chaitanya's meals. He was therefore familiar with the ecstasies experienced when honouring such potent prasad. But when he tasted the sweet rice that Rupa served him, he was overwhelmed with waves of rapture, as never before.
He cried out, "My dear brother, what have you done?" Rupa replied, "What do you mean? I don't understand." Sanatan continued, "What do I mean? Tell me this, Rupa. What did you desire in your heart today?" Puzzled, Rupa stared at Sanatan and innocently explained, "I only desired that you, my elder brother and guru, would be able to eat some thing." "That is exactly it," retorted Sanatan. "Because of that desire, Shrimati Radharani Herself came here and personally cooked the khir. She, like Krishna, is our worshipable Deity, and out of ignorance we have accepted service from Her. What have we done, Rupa? You must never desire like that again. Never!" They cried tears of love thinking of the kindness of Shrimati Radharani, the Queen of Vrindavan. Eating the khir, they trembled as they entered deeper and deeper ecstasies. Never before had they tasted such incredible sweet rice. Again they cried, and again they ate, until it was all finished. Then they broke the clay pot into small pieces. Bit by bit they ate it until that too was gone.
The Miraculous Kadamba Tree
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Within their lifetimes, Rupa and Sanatan Goswami, with the help of the other leading devotees of Vrindavan, established Krishna consciousness just as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had instructed. Rupa wrote huge vol umes of literature containing over 100,000 verses. The Nectar of Devotion today remains one of his most famous works. Much of his writing was done under the shade of a particular kadamba tree at Nandagram. When Rupa Goswami wrote about the grief which Radha and Krishna experienced in separation from each other, the tree would immediately shed its leaves as if crying. Yet when Rupa wrote about the great happiness the Divine Couple felt upon being united, the kadamba tree would miraculously sprout new leaves and flowers as an expression of joy.
Rupa Goswami's burial shrine is at Seva Kunj, within the courtyard of the Radha Damodar temple. He is Rupa-manjari in Krishna lila.
Shri Rupa Goswami ki jay!
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
Hare Krishna ๐
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