Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami’s Disappearance Day

Giriraj Swami: Today is the auspicious disappearance day of three great acharyas in the Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradāya: Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, and Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami. We shall read about Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami from Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja’s Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. 

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, Chapter Thirteen: “Pastimes with Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa.”

TEXT 89

ethā tapana-miśra-putra raghunātha-bhaṭṭācārya
prabhure dekhite calilā chāḍi’ sarva kārya

TRANSLATION

During this time, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭācārya, the son of Tapana Miśra, gave up all his duties and left home, intending to meet Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

TEXT 90

kāśī haite calilā teṅho gauḍa-patha diyā
saṅge sevaka cale tāṅra jhāli vahiyā

TRANSLATION

Accompanied by a servant carrying his baggage, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa started from Vārāṇasī and traveled along the path leading through Bengal.

TEXT 91

pathe tāre mililā viśvāsa-rāmadāsa
viśvāsa-khānāra kāyastha teṅho rājāra viśvāsa

TRANSLATION

In Bengal he met Rāmadāsa Viśvāsa, who belonged to the kāyastha caste. He was one of the king’s secretaries.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The words viśvāsa-khānāra kāyastha indicate a secretary or clerk belonging to the kāyastha caste. Kāyasthas were usually secretaries to kings, governors or other important persons. It is said that anyone working in the government secretariat at this time was a kāyastha.

TEXT 92

sarva-śāstre pravīṇa, kāvya-prakāśa-adhyāpaka
parama-vaiṣṇava, raghunātha-upāsaka

TRANSLATION

Rāmadāsa Viśvāsa was very learned in all the revealed scriptures. He was a teacher of the famous book Kāvya-prakāśa and was known as an advanced devotee and worshiper of Raghunātha [Lord Rāmacandra].

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Commenting on the word parama-vaiṣṇava, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that anyone who desires to merge into the existence of the Lord cannot be a pure Vaiṣṇava, but because Rāmadāsa Viśvāsa was a great devotee of Lord Rāmacandra, he was almost a Vaiṣṇava. In those days, no one could distinguish between a pure Vaiṣṇava and a pseudo Vaiṣṇava. Therefore Rāmadāsa Viśvāsa was known as a Vaiṣṇava because he worshiped Lord Rāmacandra.

TEXT 93

aṣṭa-prahara rāma-nāma japena rātri-dine
sarva tyaji’ calilā jagannātha-daraśane

TRANSLATION

Rāmadāsa had renounced everything and was going to see Lord Jagannātha. While traveling, he chanted the holy name of Lord Rāma twenty-four hours a day.

TEXTS 94–102

When he met Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa on the way, he took Raghunātha’s baggage on his head and carried it.

Rāmadāsa served Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa in various ways, even massaging his legs. Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa felt some hesitation in accepting all this service.

“You are a respectable gentleman, a learned scholar and a great devotee,” Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa said. “Please do not try to serve me. Just come with me in a happy mood.”

Rāmadāsa replied, “I am a śūdra, a fallen soul. To serve a brāhmaṇa is my duty and religious principle.

“Therefore please do not be hesitant. I am your servant, and when I serve you my heart becomes jubilant.”

Thus Rāmadāsa carried the baggage of Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa and served him sincerely. He constantly chanted the holy name of Lord Rāmacandra day and night.

Traveling in this way, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa soon arrived at Jagannātha Purī. There he met Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with great delight and fell at His lotus feet.

Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa fell straight as a rod at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Then the Lord embraced him, knowing well who he was.

Raghunātha offered respectful obeisances to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu on behalf of Tapana Miśra and Candraśekhara, and the Lord also inquired about them.

TEXT 103

“bhāla ha-ila āilā, dekha ‘kamala-locana’
āji āmāra ethā karibā prasāda bhojana”

TRANSLATION

“It is very good that you have come here,” the Lord said. “Now go see the lotus-eyed Lord Jagannātha. Today you will accept prasādam here at My place.”

TEXTS 104–111

The Lord asked Govinda to arrange for Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa’s accommodations and then introduced him to all the devotees, headed by Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī.

Thus Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa lived with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continuously for eight months, and by the Lord’s mercy he felt increasing transcendental happiness every day.

He would periodically cook rice with various vegetables and invite Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his home.

Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa was an expert cook. Whatever he prepared tasted just like nectar.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would accept with great satisfaction all the food he prepared. After the Lord was satisfied, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa would eat His remnants.

When Rāmadāsa Viśvāsa met Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord did not show him any special mercy, although this was their first meeting.

Within his heart, Rāmadāsa Viśvāsa was an impersonalist who desired to merge into the existence of the Lord, and he was very proud of his learning. Since Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the omniscient Supreme Personality of Godhead, He can understand the heart of everyone, and thus He knew all these things.

Rāmadāsa Viśvāsa then took up residence in Jagannātha Purī and taught the Kāvya-prakāśa to the Paṭṭanāyaka family [the descendants of Bhavānanda Rāya].

TEXT 112

aṣṭa-māsa rahi’ prabhu bhaṭṭe vidāya dilā
‘vivāha nā kariha’ bali’ niṣedha karilā

TRANSLATION

After eight months, when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bade farewell to Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, the Lord flatly forbade him to marry. “Do not marry,” the Lord said.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Raghunātha Bhaṭṭācārya had become a greatly advanced devotee while still unmarried. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu could see this, and therefore He advised him not to begin the process of material sense gratification. Marriage is a concession for people who are unable to control their senses. Raghunātha, however, being an advanced devotee of Kṛṣṇa, naturally had no desire for sense gratification. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised him not to enter the bondage of marriage. Generally a person cannot make much advancement in spiritual consciousness if he is married. He becomes attached to his family and is prone to sense gratification. Thus his spiritual advancement is very slow or almost nil.

COMMENT

I once had the good fortune to receive a similar instruction from Srila Prabhupada. We were in Gorakhpur, and Prabhupada had received the latest issue of Back to Godhead, with an article I had written in Boston before I went to India—“The Genuine Spiritual Master.” He was pleased with the article and asked to see me. I was still quite young in Krishna consciousness, and Srila Prabhupada didn’t generally call for me. He said, “I have read your article, and it was very nice. You should write.” And he invited me to travel with him so he could train me how to write. Then he asked, “Do you ever think of getting married?” I said no. “Better to remain brahmachari,” he said, “and after some time I will give you sannyasa.” He said that the demands of the senses are like itches and that if you scratch the itches, the itching will get worse. It is better to tolerate the itches, and if you tolerate, gradually the itching will subside. The demands for eating and sleeping too—all of them—if we indulge them, they become aggravated. But if we tolerate them, they gradually subside.

TEXT 113

vṛddha mātā-pitāra yāi’ karaha sevana
vaiṣṇava-pāśa bhāgavata kara adhyayana

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said to Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, “When you return home, serve your aged father and mother, who are devotees, and try to study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a pure Vaiṣṇava who has realized God.”

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

One should note how Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, advised Raghunātha Bhaṭṭācārya to learn Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He advised him to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam not from professional men but from a real bhāgavata, a devotee. He also advised Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa to serve his mother and father because they were both Lord Caitanya’s devotees. Anyone who wishes to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must try to serve the devotees of Kṛṣṇa. As Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra peyeche kebā: “Without serving a self-realized Vaiṣṇava, no one has ever been released from the materialistic way of life.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would have never advised Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa to serve ordinary parents, but since his parents were Vaiṣṇavas, the Lord advised him to serve them.

One might ask, “Why shouldn’t ordinary parents be served?” As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.18):

gurur na sa syāt sva-jano na sa syāt
pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt
daivaṁ na tat syāt na patiś ca sa syān
na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum

“One who cannot deliver his dependent from the path of birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a relative, a father or mother, or a worshipable demigod, nor should such a person become a husband.” Everyone naturally gets a father and mother at the time of birth, but the real father and mother are those who can release their offspring from the clutches of imminent death. This is possible only for parents advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore any parents who cannot enlighten their offspring in Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be accepted as a real father and mother. The following verse from the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.200) confirms the uselessness of serving ordinary parents:

laukikī vaidikī vāpi yā kriyā kriyate mune
hari-sevānukūlaiva sa kāryā bhaktim icchatā

“One should perform only those activities — either worldly or prescribed by Vedic rules and regulations — which are favorable for the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

Concerning the study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu clearly advises that one avoid hearing from a non-Vaiṣṇava professional reciter. In this connection Sanātana Gosvāmī quotes a verse from the Padma Purāṇa:

avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇaṁ pūtaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam
śravaṇaṁ naiva kartavyaṁ sarpocchiṣṭaṁ yathā payaḥ

“No one should hear or take lessons from a person who is not a Vaiṣṇava. Even if he speaks about Kṛṣṇa, such a lesson should not be accepted, for it is like milk touched by the lips of a serpent.” Nowadays it is fashionable to observe Bhāgavata-saptāha and hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from persons who are anything but advanced devotees or self-realized souls. There are even many Māyāvādīs who read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to throngs of people. Many Māyāvādīs have recently begun reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Vṛndāvana, and because they can present the Bhāgavatam with word jugglery, twisting the meaning by grammatical tricks, materialistic persons who go to Vṛndāvana as a matter of spiritual fashion like to hear them. All this is clearly forbidden by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. We should note carefully that since these Māyāvādīs cannot personally know the meaning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they can never deliver others by reciting it. On the other hand, an advanced devotee of the Lord is free from material bondage. He personifies Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in life and action. Therefore we advise that anyone who wants to learn Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam must approach such a realized soul.

COMMENT

Here Lord Chaitanya gave two instructions to Raghunatha Bhattacharya. First He instructed him to go back and serve his parents, because they were Vaishnavas. Serving Vaishnavas is most important for spiritual advancement. Srila Prabhupada remarks that Lord Chaitanya would have never advised Raghunatha Bhatta to return home to serve ordinary parents, and thus Srila Prabhupada quoted the verse gurur na sa syāt sva-jano na sa syāt.

One time, in Bombay, after he had finally acquired Hare Krishna Land in Juhu, Srila Prabhupada, sitting in his room in a thatched hut nearby with Mahamsa Prabhu and me, quoted the same Bhāgavatam verse: “No one should become a spiritual master, no one should become a relative, no one should become a father, no one should become a mother, and no one should become a husband unless he can deliver his or her dependents from repeated birth and death.” And he gave some examples. He said that if the father is attacked, the duty of the son is to defend him, but that when Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva attacked Hiraṇyakaśipu, Prahlada made no effort to defend him. Rather, he glorified the attacker. But Prahlada was not at fault, because his father was not a real father—he was not helping him become liberated from the repetition of birth and death. Similarly, it is the duty of the son to obey the mother, but when Kaikeyi told Bharata to sit on the throne, he disobeyed. And he was not at fault, because Kaikeyi was not a real mother, because she was not helping him to become liberated from birth and death and to engage in devotional service. Similarly, it is the duty of the wife to obey the husband, but when the Vedic brahmans told their wives not to go to Krishna and Balarama in the forest, their wives disobeyed. And they were not at fault, because their husbands were not real husbands, because they were not helping them become Krishna conscious. Similarly, it is the duty of the disciple to obey the spiritual master, but when Sukracharya ordered Bali Maharaja not to surrender everything to Lord Vishnu and not to keep his promise to Vishnu, Bali Maharaja disobeyed him. And Bali Maharaja was not at fault, because his spiritual master was not a real spiritual master. Then Srila Prabhupada told us, “You have left your mothers and fathers, but they are not real mothers and fathers. So you have done the right thing.”

Still, we offer respect to relatives. And, of course, for the service of guru and Krishna, a devotee may also serve relatives. In any case, the presence of a pure devotee in a family liberates the entire family.

Regarding the second instruction, Lord Chaitanya told Raghunatha Bhatta to hear and learn Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a devotee. Svarupa Damodara Gosvami gave a similar instruction, that one should learn the book Bhāgavata from the person bhāgavata. 

In 1970, when the first groups of Western devotees went to India, Srila Prabhupada instructed Gurudasa Prabhu to go to Prabhupada’s quarters at Radha-Damodar and go through all his old papers and keep only the ones that were appropriate. The ones that were not appropriate—those that pertained to his householder life—should be destroyed. Gurudasa invited me to accompany him, and when we went through Srila Prabhupada’s old papers, we found so many letters that he had written. One was to a man who had organized Bhāgavata Week in Bombay and had invited Srila Prabhupada to attend. Prabhupada had written back that the Bhāgavata should be heard from liberated souls who are free from pretentious religiosity, and not from Mayavadis, who have no access to the “great scripture” and who mislead the innocent public. He had informed the organizer, “Therefore I have not only refrained from attending the function myself but have advised many others not to attend as well.” Srila Prabhupada was so bold and forthright and fearless: abhaya.

TEXT 114

punarapi eka-bāra āsiha nīlācale”
eta bali’ kaṇṭha-mālā dilā tāṅra gale

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu concluded, “Come again to Nīlācala [Jagannātha Purī].” After saying this, the Lord put His own neck beads on Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa’s neck.

TEXTS 115–119

Then the Lord embraced him and bade him farewell. Overwhelmed with ecstatic love, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa began to cry due to imminent separation from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

After taking permission from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and all the devotees, headed by Svarūpa Dāmodara, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa returned to Vārāṇasī.

In accordance with the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he continuously rendered service to his mother and father for four years. He also regularly studied Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a self-realized Vaiṣṇava.

Then his parents died at Kāśī [Vārāṇasī], and he became detached. He therefore returned to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, giving up all relationships with his home.

As previously, Raghunātha remained continuously with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for eight months. Then the Lord gave him the following order

TEXT 120

“āmāra ājñāya, raghunātha, yāha vṛndāvane
tāhāṅ yāñā raha rūpa-sanātana-sthāne

TRANSLATION

“My dear Raghunātha, on My order go to Vṛndāvana and live there under the care of Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs.

TEXT 121

bhāgavata paḍa, sadā laha kṛṣṇa-nāma
acire karibena kṛpā kṛṣṇa bhagavān”

TRANSLATION

“In Vṛndāvana you should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra twenty-four hours a day and read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam continuously. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, will very soon bestow His mercy upon you.”

TEXT 122

eta bali’ prabhu tāṅre āliṅgana kailā
prabhura kṛpāte kṛṣṇa-preme matta hailā

TRANSLATION

After saying this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu embraced Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, and by the Lord’s mercy Raghunātha was enlivened with ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa.

TEXTS 123–125

At a festival Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had been given some unspiced betel and a garland of tulasī leaves fourteen cubits long. The garland had been worn by Lord Jagannātha.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave the garland and betel to Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, who accepted them as a worshipable Deity and preserved them very carefully.

Taking permission from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa then departed for Vṛndāvana. When he arrived there, he put himself under the care of Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs.

TEXT 126

rūpa-gosāñira sabhāya karena bhāgavata-paṭhana
bhāgavata paḍite preme āulāya tāṅra mana

TRANSLATION

When reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the company of Rūpa and Sanātana, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa would be overwhelmed with ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa.

TEXT 127

aśru, kampa, gadgada prabhura kṛpāte
netra kaṇṭha rodhe bāṣpa, nā pāre paḍite

TRANSLATION

By the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he experienced the symptoms of ecstatic love — tears, trembling and faltering of the voice. His eyes filled with tears and his throat became choked, and thus he could not recite Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

TEXTS 128–130

His voice was as sweet as a cuckoo’s, and he would recite each verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in three or four tunes. Thus his recitations were very sweet to hear.

When he recited or heard about the beauty and sweetness of Kṛṣṇa, he would be overwhelmed with ecstatic love and become oblivious to everything.

Thus Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa surrendered fully at the lotus feet of Lord Govinda, and those lotus feet became his life and soul.

COMMENT

Actually, Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami arranged for the construction of the Radha-Govinda temple in Vrindavan, which was the most beautiful and famous of all the temples in Vrindavan. So he may also give us some mercy to build a temple here.

TEXT 131

nija śiṣye kahi’ govindera mandira karāilā
vaṁśī, makara kuṇḍalādi ‘bhūṣaṇa’ kari’ dilā

TRANSLATION

Subsequently Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa ordered his disciples to construct a temple for Govinda. He prepared various ornaments for Govinda, including a flute and shark-shaped earrings. 

TEXT 132

grāmya-vārtā nā śune, nā kahe jihvāya
kṛṣṇa-kathā-pūjādite aṣṭa-prahara yāya

TRANSLATION

Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa would neither hear nor speak about anything of the material world. He would simply discuss Kṛṣṇa and worship the Lord day and night.

TEXT 133

vaiṣṇavera nindya-karma nāhi pāḍe kāṇe
sabe kṛṣṇa bhajana kare, — ei-mātra jāne

TRANSLATION

He would not listen to blasphemy of a Vaiṣṇava, nor would he listen to talk of a Vaiṣṇava’s misbehavior. He knew only that everyone was engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service; he did not understand anything else.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa never did anything harmful to a Vaiṣṇava. In other words, he was never inattentive in the service of the Lord, nor did he ever violate the rules and regulations of a pure Vaiṣṇava. It is the duty of a Vaiṣṇava ācārya to prevent his disciples and followers from violating the principles of Vaiṣṇava behavior. He should always advise them to strictly follow the regulative principles, which will protect them from falling down. Although a Vaiṣṇava preacher may sometimes criticize others, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa avoided this. Even if another Vaiṣṇava was actually at fault, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa would not criticize him; he saw only that everyone was engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service. That is the position of a mahā-bhāgavata. Actually, even if one is serving māyā, in a higher sense he is also a servant of Kṛṣṇa. Because māyā is the servant of Kṛṣṇa, anyone serving māyā serves Kṛṣṇa indirectly. Therefore it is said:

keha māne, keha nā māne, saba tāṅra dāsa
ye nā māne, tāra haya sei pāpe nāśa

“Some accept Him, whereas others do not, yet everyone is His servant. One who does not accept Him, however, will be ruined by his sinful activities.” (Cc. Ādi 6.85)

COMMENT 

Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami “would not listen to blasphemy of a Vaishnava, nor would he listen to talk of a Vaishnava’s misbehavior. He knew only that everyone was engaged in Krishna’s service.” Yet in the purport, Srila Prabhupada comments that the Vaishnava acharya has to train his disciples according to the regulative principles and that if he sees that they are violating principles of Vaishnava behavior, he has to correct them. Even if the spiritual master is a mahā-bhāgavata, when he acts as spiritual master and takes the responsibility to train disciples, he must discriminate between proper and improper behavior. And if the disciples are behaving improperly, he must point out the defects and correct them.

When Srila Prabhupada first met his guru maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he thought that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was simply criticizing—criticizing the fruitive workers, criticizing the mental speculators, criticizing the impersonalists. But Prabhupada remarked that later he realized that what his guru maharaja had been saying was actually correct. Sadhu also means “to cut.” The sadhu must cut people’s false attachments, and therefore he may have to criticize—not out of envy or malice, as we may criticize, but only for the sake of cutting people’s false attachments and bringing them to the proper standards of devotional service.

Once, in Indore, Srila Prabhupada was strongly criticizing some popular religious figures. One of the gentlemen in the room became very upset and said, “You should not criticize. You should see everyone equally, as ātmā, and you should not criticize.” Srila Prabhupada replied, “That is a very high stage, sama-darśinaḥ.” A mahā-bhāgavata doesn’t criticize anyone, because he sees everyone is already serving Krishna. Then Prabhupada discussed the verse (Gītā 5.18) paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ: 

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

“The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater.”

Prabhupada said that a learned brahman is supposed to be virtuous and that a dog is supposed to be sinful. So to see a brahman and a dog equally means that one doesn’t distinguish between pious and sinful activities; one sees that everyone is serving Krishna. “But,” Srila Prabhupada said, “I am not on that stage. I say that because you don’t surrender to Krishna, you are sinful.”

So even the uttamā Vaishnava, when he preaches, has to act as a madhyam Vaishnava and point out faults and correct them. But if one is not in a position to actually instruct others for their benefit, he should act like Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami. He should avoid material talks in general and blasphemy of Vaishnavas in particular, and he should remain absorbed in his service to Krishna.

The Bhagavad-gītā (17.15) confirms,

nudvega-karaṁ vākyaṁ
satyaṁ priya-hitaṁ ca yat
svādhyāyābhyasanaṁ caiva
vāṅ-mayaṁ tapa ucyate

“Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature.”

And Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport, “One should not speak in such a way as to agitate the minds of others. Of course, when a teacher speaks, he can speak the truth for the instruction of his students, but such a teacher should not speak to those who are not his students if he will agitate their minds. This is penance as far as talking is concerned. Besides that, one should not talk nonsense. The process of speaking in spiritual circles is to say something upheld by the scriptures. One should at once quote from scriptural authority to back up what he is saying. At the same time, such talk should be very pleasurable to the ear. By such discussions, one may derive the highest benefit and elevate human society. There is a limitless stock of Vedic literature, and one should study this. This is called penance of speech.”

One of the divine qualities mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā (16.1–3) is apaiśunam, “aversion to faultfinding.” There Srila Prabhupada comments, “Apaiśunam means that one should not find fault with others or correct them unnecessarily. Of course to call a thief a thief is not faultfinding, but to call an honest person a thief is very much offensive for one who is making advancement in spiritual life.”

TEXT 134

mahāprabhura datta mālā mananera kāle
prasāda-kaḍāra saha bāndhi lena gale

TRANSLATION

When Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī was absorbed in remembrance of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he would take the tulasī garland and the prasādam of Lord Jagannātha given to him by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, bind them together and wear them on his neck.

TEXT 135

mahāprabhura kṛpāya kṛṣṇa-prema anargala
ei ta’ kahiluṅ tāte caitanya-kṛpā-phala

TRANSLATION

Thus I have described the powerful mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, by which Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī remained constantly overwhelmed with ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa.

TEXTS 136–137

In this chapter I have spoken about. . . how Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī achieved ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa by the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

TEXT 138

ye ei-sakala kathā śune śraddhā kari’
tāṅre kṛṣṇa-prema-dhana dena gaurahari

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu [Gaurahari] bestows ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa upon anyone who hears all these topics with faith and love.

TEXT 139

śrī-rūpa-raghunātha-pade yāra āśa
caitanya-caritāmṛta kahe kṛṣṇadāsa

TRANSLATION

Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Antya-līlā, thirteenth chapter, describing. . . Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī’s achieving love of Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENT

Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: In this country there are bhāgavata kathās, and sometimes people invite us to do a kathā also. Should we accept the invitation to go and chant or speak?

Giriraj Swami: We should be careful, because we are quite well established in Mauritius now. We should rather hold our own programs and invite people to our programs. When Srila Prabhupada first returned to India, he accepted invitations to the Vedanta Sammelan in Amritsar and the Gītā-jayantī Mahotsava in Indore because people did not know us. And by his attending such programs, people came to know us. But as soon as we became established, Prabhupada stopped accepting such invitations. In fact, when I went to Madras, one man, Mr. Ratnam Iyer, had his own organization, called Astika Samaj, and he offered to take full responsibility to arrange Srila Prabhupada’s program in Madras, but in the end he didn’t really help, because ultimately he was a Mayavadi. He didn’t actually like us. When I informed Srila Prabhupada in a letter, Prabhupada wrote back that it is never good to have to depend on others for our preaching: “I am not surprised that Mr. Ratnam Iyer has decided to cancel the program you were planning. I was not eager to accept his proposal in the beginning, because it has been our experience that it is never good to have to depend upon others for our preaching.” We should make our own arrangements.

People sometimes invite us just to decorate their program, to attract people, and to get our stamp of approval—they try to use us for their own purposes. But we may not actually approve of their program, so we must be careful. Once, Guru-Gauranga Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada’s disciple who was based in Switzerland, arranged for His Divine Grace to meet the head of the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) in Geneva. Srila Prabhupada was so intelligent and perceptive that when he agreed to meet the person, he said that no photos should be allowed. And he explained to us that the W.H.O. was trying to introduce birth control in Third World countries and considered India to be difficult because people in India understood contraceptive methods and abortion to be sinful. “So they will want to take my photo and use it to make propaganda that I approve of the World Health Organization’s program.” And that is actually what happened: at the end of the meeting, they wanted to have their photos taken with Srila Prabhupada. Because we are authorized, people want to use us to gain credibility for their programs. But we may not actually approve of their programs. So we should be careful how we associate with them and how we are perceived to be associated with them.

Krsnacandra dasa: Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave different instructions to Raghunatha Bhatta at different times. First He instructed him to serve his devotee parents and to study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a realized devotee, and then He told him to go to Vrindavan and chant Hare Krishna and take shelter of Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami. The spiritual master gives instructions to his disciples according to time, place, and circumstances, and so the spiritual master may change his instruction.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that is true. Once, on a morning walk on Juhu Beach, Srila Prabhupada was discussing surrender, and he was pointing out various defects in supposed surrender. One defect is that the disciple will receive an instruction from the spiritual master, and later, when the spiritual master gives a different instruction, the disciple will object: “But previously you told me such-and-such.” Srila Prabhupada said that surrender means you accept the latest instruction, the immediate instruction. Once, when he gave an instruction to a disciple and then later gave him a different instruction, the disciple said, “Srila Prabhupada, previously you told me that, and now you are telling me this.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “If you accepted my authority then, why don’t you accept it now?” So, we have to be careful not to pick and choose what instruction we like and what instruction we don’t like.

Mukta-purusa dasa: Lord Chaitanya advised that one hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a realized soul. But how can ordinary people know who is a realized soul? Sometimes professional reciters speak very ornamentally, and they are attractive to ordinary people. 

Giriraj Swami: First we must know the constitutional position of the living entity. Jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’’: the living entity’s constitutional position is to be an eternal servant of Krishna. One who is acting as an eternal servant of Krishna—in other words, one who is a devotee—is self-realized. He has realized that he is the eternal servant of Krishna. 

How can ordinary people know who is self-realized? They have to be educated. Either in person or from books, they have to hear from devotees to be educated in the science of self-realization. Someone who is choosing where to study, in which university, will make inquiries, and only after careful consideration will he or she decide which university to attend. He or she will inquire: What is the reputation of the school? Who are the professors? What are the results of the graduates? And that’s just for a few years of academic education. So, if we take so much care to decide where to go for a few years of academic education, how much more care we should take to decide where we go for spiritual education, which will guide us in our eternal spiritual life. We have to inquire and learn.

But many people are not actually serious or sincere; they just want to make a show that they are very pious, very religious. And they may want to be entertained. If someone is sincere and serious, he or she will try to understand the science of spiritual life from devotees. And ultimately one will come to the conclusion that one must learn from devotees.

We take knowledge from Krishna and Krishna’s representatives, and because we take knowledge from Krishna, we know that the knowledge is perfect and we don’t need to go to anyone else for knowledge. In one talk, Srila Prabhupada related how his disciple Achyutananda Prabhu had gone to distribute books at the ashram of a well-known Mayavadi sannyasi who gave Bhāgavata-saptāhas, and when one of the sannyasi’s disciples had canvassed him, “Why don’t you ask some question to Swamiji?” Achyutananda had replied, “I have nothing to question from your Swamiji.” Prabhupada continued, “So, actually bring any so-called yogi, swami, or incarnation and our student will challenge him: he does not know anything. We have got such a nice book of knowledge, Bhagavad-gītā.” Srila Prabhupada was very happy, very proud. Because we are getting knowledge from Krishna and Krishna’s representatives in disciplic succession, we don’t have anything to learn from anyone else.

Devotee: What happens to the relationship between spiritual master and disciple after death?

Giriraj Swami: In principle, the relationship between the spiritual master and the disciple is eternal. If the disciple is not completely successful in his or her attempt to go back to Godhead at the end of this life, he or she gets the chance to continue the process of devotional service in the next life and to follow the same instructions that he or she received from the spiritual master in this life. So service to the spiritual master is eternal. And the spiritual master will arrange to guide the sincere disciple until he or she is completely successful and goes back home, back to Godhead.

Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami ki jaya!
Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami ki jaya!
Sri Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami ki jaya!