Epitome

Any devotee who has not “studied” the life and precepts of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana is not a candidate for higher mercy. A person who wishes to seriously follow the life of Sriman Mahaprabhu has to first seek the divine permission of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana by studying their life and teachings. Only one who is qualified thus can approach Sri Nityananda Prabhu first and through Him, Sriman Mahaprabhu. That is first a student of Gaudiya Vaishnavism should understand sadhaka tattva and gain entrance into Guru Tattva and then through Guru Tattva enter Ishvara tattva. By painstakingly following this path, there will be guarantee of the “Prayojana” or success in achieving the highest goal in this very life-time. There are many institutions attached to the Parampara, that although revere the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana, do not propagate their glories to the fullest extent. This is not favourable to the development of deep Bhakti.

When one looks at the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana, one will realize that each Goswami was unique in characteristic and represented the epitome of various facets of Bhakti. A person who takes shelter under the Goswamis of Vrindavana will be blessed by the Angels of Bhakti that are represented by the Six Goswamis themselves.

Srila Sanatana Goswami is the foremost of the Goswamis and he represents the beginning of Bhakti, the Acarya of the Sambandha Tattva. He established the doctrine of Vaidhi Bhakti amongst the followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. His foremost work in this regard was Sri Hari Bhakti Vilasa which delineated with unparalleled precision, the aspects of Godhead and the various processes enjoined within the scriptures to propitiate Him, the path of Rules and Regulation. Srila Sanatana Goswami thus represents the Epitome of Sadhana Bhakti, the path of regulated devotional service. He is Labanga manjari in Krishna Leela.

Srila Rupa Goswami, the younger brother of Srila Sanatana Goswami, Acarya of the Abhidheya tattva; represents the feature of devotional service performed under the mood of the Ragatmika devotees, the perfected devotees of Sri Krishna in His divine leela. Thus Srila Rupa Goswami is the father of Raganuga Bhakti, the path of spontaneous devotional service. His greatest contribution has been Ujjvala Nilamani and Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu which talks about the inner moods of the associates of the Lord. There are innumerable works of Srila Rupa Goswami which talk of the unknown moods of the denizens of Goloka. He introduced for the first time, the word “manjari” which means the pre-adolescent handmaids of Srimati Radhika. He also introduced the manjari bhava sadhana by which one can attain eternal service at the feet of Srimati Radharani. Thus Srila Rupa Goswami represents the Epitome of Bhava Bhakti, the path of spontaneous devotional service. Srila Rupa Goswami is Rupa Manjari in the Krishna leela, the head of all the hand-maidservants of Srimati Radhika.

Srila Raghunatha Dasa Goswami is the Acarya of the Prayojana Tattva. The life of Srila Dasa Goswami is the perfect example of a Raganuga devotee of the highest possible calibre. His works like Stavavali and Vilapa Kusumanjali exposes His burning and unquenchable desire for service at the feet of Sriman Mahaprabhu and Srimati Radharani. Dasa Goswami is the highest possible representation of the Bhakti tattva in the annals of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Having spent forty years on the banks of Sri Radha Kunda, having offered his body and his entire being at the feet of His Praneswari (Goddess of one’s life), Srimati Radharani; Srila Dasa Goswami is the Epitome of Atma Nivedana, the path of Self-Surrender and the path of Prema Bhakti. He is Tulasi/Rati manjari in Krishna Leela and a close assistant of Rupa manjari.

Srila Gopala Bhatta Goswami is an eternal associate of Sriman Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Even during his childhood days, he was fortunate to have had the association of Sriman Mahaprabhu when the latter stayed at the former’s father’s residence at Srirangam during Mahaprabhu’s south visit. Gopala Bhatta Goswami was the only Acarya during that time of Rupa and Sanatana who gave Hari Nama and Deeksha to people from the outside world. Srila Rupa and Sanatana considered themselves unworthy of giving anybody Deeksha at that time being too humble and having worked as servants to Nawab Hussein Shah prior to surrendering themselves completely at the feet of Sriman Mahaprabhu. Srila Gopala Bhatta Goswami thus represents the epitome of the Guru Parampara. Srila Srinivasa Acarya, who is the reincarnation of the Prema Shakti of Sriman Mahaprabhu, received his Deeksha from Srila Gopala Bhatta Goswami. Srila Gopala Bhatta Goswami is Guna manjari in Krishna Leela.

Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami was the son of the ardent devotee of Sriman Mahaprabhu named Tapana Mishra. Srila Raghunatha Bhatta was personally blessed by Sriman Mahaprabhu as a child and he joined Srila Rupa and Sanatana at Vrindavana and undertook personal training from them. He was so attached to Srila Rupa and Sanatana that he could not survive a moment of separation from them. Srila Raghunatha Bhatta was a Bhagavata Acarya and he spent his time reading and explaining the Srimad Bhagavatam to the people of Vraja. He had simply no time left to write books or do any other activity other than devoting himself to the study and exposition of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Thus Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami is the epitome of devotion to the Srimad Bhagavatam. He disappeared from the material world within a month after Rupa and Sanatana left this world. He is Rasa manjari in the Krishna Leela.

 Srila Jiva Goswami was the youngest member of the spiritual family of the Six Goswamis and he was the direct nephew of Srila Rupa and Sanatana and the sun of their youngest brother Anupama. After the demise of his father Anupama, he was brought up in Vraja under the loving and disciplined care of the two brothers Rupa and Sanatana. Srila Jiva was a vociferous proponent of the Gaudiya thought and he authored many books. His style was an amalgamation of Rupa, Sanatana and Raghunatha dasa Goswami. His books, especially the Sata Sandarbha (six aspects of divinity) are a doorway to Gaudiya Vaishnavism especially with regard to the modern scientific approach. He explains the phenomenon of God and Bhakti in a way that will appeal to the most atheistic population. He was a logician and a committed proponent of Gaudiya Vaishnavism par excellence. He was the guide to the next generation of devotees and devotees like Narottama Thakura Mahasaya, Srinivasa Acarya, Ramachandra Pandita and Shyamananda Prabhu were trained under Jiva Goswami. Jiva Goswami authored the book Madhava Mahotsava which described the divine coronation of Srimati Radhika as the Queen of Vraja in Chattravana, modern day Chata. Sri Jiva is the epitome of the philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism itself. He is Vilasa manjari in Krishna Leela.