The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Vṛndāvana, India, on August 17, 2005

 

[At 6:30 am, on Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Disappearance Day, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja took about two-hundred devotees to Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana Gauḍīya Maṭha for the darśana of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Vinoda-bihārī. Along with all those devotees in the form of a kīrtana party, he then went to Śrī Rādhā-Dāmodara temple. Everyone present circumambulated the temple, first visiting the samādhis of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, and then, led by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja, offering ārati at the puṣpasamādhi of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura while singing Śrī Prabhupāda-padma-stavakaḥ.

After that, they all went to the samādhi of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, where Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja led them in the performance of ārati and then showered them with the nectarean glorification of Rūpa Gosvāmī and his unique contribution. After that, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja led them in the worship of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s place of bhajana.

In the evening, there were about four hundred devotees present at Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana Gauḍīya Maṭha. Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja had invited a panel of Mathurā devotee scholars, and after they each glorified Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja himself spoke.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja expressed his appreciation of the wisdom shared by the various speakers, and he illuminated their main points. He especially appreciated Bhūti Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī’s explanation. Simultaneously summarizing and expanding on the Gosvāmī’s words, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja explained that all the commentaries and writings of Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī and Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura were all manifest by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s mercy. Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī gave us Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s aṣṭa-kālīya-līlā (daily pastimes) in the form of Govinda-līlāmṛta, and Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura gave it in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta. All of their work was inspired by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, in whom they took shelter.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja explained how Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī gave Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s tax pastimes in the form of his book, Dānakelikaumudī, and that inspired Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī to write his own Dānakelicintāmaṇi.]

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Whatever Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura wrote was inspired by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. He wrote the commentary of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu in the form of his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu-bindhu. He wrote Prema-sampuṭa and Camatkāra-candrikā. Without Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, the other ācāryas could not have given the world what they did. Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra and Śrīmatī Rādhikā are merciful, and Lalitā and Viśākhā are merciful, but without Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s mercy, we would not be able to get their mercy. Without Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, no one would have known what Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to give and what He came to taste – mādanākhya-mahābhāva. Our entire disciplic succession comes from Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, and the whole universe gets from him the root of all moods and philosophy of bhakti-rasa.

(Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja then glorified the discussion of Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa Caturvedī and expanded on one of Caturvedī’s important points – his expression of Śrī Vithalācārya’s song, Śrī Rādhā-prārthanā.)

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja:

kṛpayati yadi rādhā bādhitāśeṣa-bādhā
kim apara-viśiṣṭaṁ puṣṭi-maryādayor me
yadi vadati ca kiñcit smera-hāsodita-śrīr
dvija-vara-maṇi-paṅktyā mukti-śuktyā tadā kim

Śrī Rādhā-prārthanā (1)

[“If Śrī Rādhā is merciful to me, then unlimited obstacles [to my devotion] will be removed. There will be nothing superior for me to attain because I will have received the excellence offered by the paths of both vaidhī and rāga. And if She speaks something while smiling gently, thereby revealing the brilliance of the rows of Her beautiful pearl-like teeth, what significance will the oyster of liberation have?”]

Where did Śrī Vithilācārya get this idea? He got it from his association with Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, who received his ultimate realizations from Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

śyāmasundara śikhaṇḍa-śekhara
smera-hāsa muralī-manohara
rādhikā-rasika māṁ kṛpā-nidhe
sva-priyā-caraṇa-kiṅkarīṁ kuru

Śrī Rādhā-prārthanā (2)

[“O Śyāmasundara! O You whose head is adorned with peacock feathers, whose face is graced with a laughing smile, whose muralī flute enchants the mind, and who are most expert in relishing rasa with Śrīmatī Rādhikā. O ocean of mercy, please make me a kiṅkarī (maidservant) at the feet of Your beloved.”]

We are so fortunate because now Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s disciplic succession is here, and we have come to it.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has given us Śrī Upadeśāmṛta. From there, we learn not to criticize. We learn only to criticize our mind.”

kṛṣṇeti yasya giri taṁ manasādriyeta
dīkṣāsti cet praṇatibhiś ca bhajantam īśam
śuśrūṣayā bhajana-vijñam ananyam anya-
nindādi-śūnya-hṛdam īpsita-saṅga-labdhyā

Upadeśāmṛta (5)

[“One should mentally honour the devotee who chants the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, one should offer humble obeisances to the devotee who has undergone spiritual initiation [dīkṣā] and is engaged in worshipping the Deity, and one should associate with and faithfully serve that pure devotee who is advanced in undeviated devotional service and whose heart is completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others.”]

We should surrender our entire lives to one who is nindā-śūnya, who never commits any offences. This is all explained by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, whose culmination verse in this book is:

tan-nāma-rūpa-caritādi-sukīrtanānu-
smṛtyoḥ krameṇa rasanā-manasī niyojya
tiṣṭhan vraje tad-anurāgi-janānugāmī
kālaṁ nayed akhilam ity upadeśa-sāram

Upadeśāmṛta (8)

[“The essence of all advice is that one should utilize one’s full time – twenty-four hours a day – in nicely chanting and remembering the Lord’s divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby gradually engaging one’s tongue and mind. In this way one should reside in Vraja [Goloka Vṛndāvana-dhāma] and serve Kṛṣṇa under the guidance of devotees. One should follow in the footsteps of the Lord’s beloved devotees, who are deeply attached to His devotional service.”]

All Gauḍīya ācāryas fall at Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s lotus feet and take shelter there. I pray to his lotus feet that he will give all of you his mercy.

Tomorrow is Baladeva Pūrṇimā, and we will meet again — my thanks to all who have come here.

Source: Purebhakti.com

Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org and/or Bhaktiart.net
Unless indicated differently, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)

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