Vrndavan Vrndavan Highest ParadiseHighest Paradiseon Earthon Earth

Here:Krishna reveled in pastimes of love. His

flute maddened the animate &inanimate with the bliss of divine love

Brahma wanted to roll in the dustMany a saint realized the supreme goal

of life

Deserted Forest After

• Restored by Krishna’s grandson,Bajranabha

• History repeated itself

• Tapana Misra met Lord Chaitanya inRampur, who told him to go toVanarasi, where R.B. was born in 1505.

• Met again in 1511 When Lord Chaitanyawas passing thru to Vrndavan, tookR.B. (a boy of 8 years) on his lap, &instructed Tapana Misra for 10 days.

Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami wasknown as the "kirtan acarya". While livingbriefly in Jagannatha Puri he satisfiedLord Caitanya with his nectarean cooking,humble service attitude and his excellentkirtan performance. Following LordCaitanya's request , Raghunatha Bhattamoved to Vrndavana and became anintimate friend of Srila Rupa Gosvamiwhom he pleased by reciting each verse ofthe Srimad Bhagvatam in three differentsweet-sounding and melodious tunes. "Henever talked nonsense or worldly matters,but always engaged in hearing aboutKrsna twenty-four hours a day.

Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami never caredto hear blasphemy of a vaisnava. Even whenthere were points to be criticized, he used to saythat since all the Vaisnavas were engaged in theservice of the lord, he did not mind their faults."(CC Adi 10.158p.) Srila Raghunatha BhattaGosvami dedicated himself to the service ofRadha-Govindaji in Vrndavana. He lived in SriVrndavana-dham for forty-five years engaged inthe service of Radha-Govinda and reciting theSrimad Bhagvatam. Lord Caitanya specificallyinstructed Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami topreach about the unparalleled significance andglories of the Srimad Bhagvatam.

Visited Puri twice & stayed8 months each time.Mahaprabhu gave him ownKunti mala 1st time andnext time tulasi garland &sent him to Vrndavan

• Raghunatha was trained in Bhagavatamand flooded area with Bhagavatam katha(discoursing & singing beautifully theverses)

• Wrote no books, always in smaranan &kirtana, nor ever talked ill of anyone

• Was so close to Sanatan & Rupa diedsame year, 1554

Man Singh wasRaghunathaBhatta’sdisciple, openedGovindajiTemple in 1590

Prabodhananda Saraswati

• Brother of Venkatta Bhatta & uncle ofGopal Bhatta from Sri Rangam

• Favorite companion of Mahaprabhu• Spent the 4 months with Mahaprabhu

in Sri Rangam & came to Puri later• Cared not for vaidhi (rules) bhakti

but was raganuga

"He was full of love for the devotees,and was also very austere andrenounced. His handsome form wasvery pleasing to see, and he was alsoa learned poet and scholar. No onecould compare with him in the arts ofsinging, dancing, and playingmusical instruments."

"Everyone who heard his eloquent speechbecame filled with happiness. These are theincomparable glories of PrabodhanandaSarasvati." After Lord Caitanya left SouthIndia and returned to Jagannatha Puri inOrissa, Prabodhananda Sarasvati becamerapt in always remembering Him within hisheart. Prabodhananda left his home inRanga-ksetra and travelled to SriVrndavana, where he stayed in the forest ofKamyavana, and where he was soon met byhis nephew Gopala Bhatta Gosvami.

WorksChaitanya Candamrta - beforeappearance of Lord Chaitanya, it wasnot possible for any jiva to reach theshore of Radha Prema, which evenLakshmi & Brahma covet

• Vrndavana mahimamrta• Sangita madhava gitikavya• Ascarya rasa prabanda• Sri Stuti vyakhya• Sri Kamabija kamagayatri vyakhya• Sri Navadvipa satakam• Sri Gitagovinda vyakhya• Gopla tapini tika• Radharasa sudhanidhi

Gopla Bhatta Goswami• Born in 1500 in family of Sri Dravida

Brahmins, son of Venkatta Bhatta, abrahmana priest of Srirangam Temple inTamil Nadu.His uncle Prabhodananda Sarasvati alsobecame his spiritual master.In 1511 Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visitedSrirangam a danced in ecstasy beforeLord Ranganath...

At age of 11 got LordChaitanya in his home for 4months - laid out the plans forhis future life

• Chaitanya instructed Venkatta thatLakshmi cannot approach Krishnacause of aisvarya, must approachwith vraja bhava, who do not knowKrishna as God. Lakshmi had thebody of a goddess & tried to attainKrishna in the same body.

• Gopis asked Narayan “Where isKrishna?”

• Gopal not only great scholar butexpert in poetry, dance, & music.

• When his parents died, he went toVrndavan

• ...After some time studying in VrindavanGopal Bhatta made a trip to Nepal. Oneday when he was taking bath in Kali-Gandakini river, he dipped his kamandaluinto the water and 12 silas mysteriouslyentered his water pot…3 X

• ...Once he intensely desired to decoratehis salagram, seat Him on a swing andserve Him as other devotees can. "If onlyHe had arms and legs like a Deity," hethought...1542.

• Radha Raman was Chaitanya, no Radhaby side, combined Radha Krishna

RadhaRaman

manifestfrom

Shila in1542

Theappearanceplace of theSri RadhaRaman Deityis next to thetemple -besidesGopalBhatta'ssamadhi.

Other Deities wentto Jaipur, butRadharaman neverleft Vrindavan. Thefires for cooking inthe temple kitchenhave been burningcontinuously forover 435 years,since the Deity wasinstalled. This is sono foreignelements, such asmatches, are usedfor ignitionpurposes.

Radha RamanTemple wasnot attackedbyAurangzeb'ssoldiersbecause theymistakenlythought it tobe justresidentialquarter.

The standard of worship at samadhi andtemple is exemplary and Srila Prabhupadawanted his disciples to learn Deity worship

from local pujaris.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's kaupina(cloth) and asana (seat), which GopalBhatta Goswami brought fromJagannath Puri, are also in thistemple. They are brought out to beseen by the public three or fourtimes a year. The asana is blackwood and is about 30 cm (12") by 25cm (10").

Diksha• Raghunatha Bhatta gave diksha to

those from eastern side (Gauda) &Gopal Bhatta to those from westernside.

• Gave hereditary worship of RadhaRaman to Damodar Goswami, whocame from Gandaki & married

• Other prominet disciple wasSrinivasacharya

Works• Passed away in 1586, at ago of 85• Hari Bhakti Vilasa, rituals & practices

(1541)• Satasamdarbha, systematized by

Jiva• Satkriyasara dipika• Samsakara dipika• Krsnaballabha

The End