(4/7) Srila Rupa Goswami's Deity

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Disappearance of Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu
Nabadwip, 27 August 2015, part 4

You have been going to Vrindavan with me for five years – have you been going there only to eat and go sightseeing? Can you not remember the name of Maharaj staying at Kadam Khandi? There is a sannyasi there who always shows some drama when we go there...

Did you understand what I said in Bengali? Today one of the devotees told me, 'Oh, Acharya Maharaj is making Westerners learn Bengali.' Yes, I speak Bengali so that they can learn some Bengali; otherwise, they stay in Bengal for five or ten years and do not learn a single piece of the language... My mother tongue is also Bengali, but when I am talking to foreign devotees, I speak English. I speak to those who cannot understand Bengali in English, and as I speak English more and more, I have now become fluent in it. Gurudev did not go to school – he only finished primary school, up to grade four. I am also at the level of grade four. I am also studying, learning some English. Practice makes perfect.

So, Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu stayed mostly in Vrindavan. Do you remember the name of the place where he stayed? [A Western devotee suggests an answer.] That was Srila Sanatan Goswami: he stayed on the bank of the Manasa-ganga and at the temple Sri Sri Radha-Madan-mohan. Where did Srila Rupa Goswami stay? [A Bengali devotee suggests the temple of Sri Sri Radha-Damodar.] Yes. Our temple in Vrindavan is right next to Sri Sri Radha-Damodar temple, we share the same wall; this is where Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu always stayed, this is where his bhajan-kutir was. Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj also stayed there. You have been staying in India for five or ten years, but you do not know these things. Srila Rupa Goswami was Sri Sri Radha-Damodar's pujari, and when Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu later came and started to stay with him, he took over and started serving as the pujari. From there, Srila Rupa Goswami would go to do his service. Whom did he serve? Do you remember? [A devotee suggests Sri Sri Radha-Damodar.] That was where he stayed and served, but what was his Deity whom he served? [A devotee suggests Sri Sri Radha-Govinda.] Yes.

There are three main Deities: Govinda, Gopinath and Madan-mohan. Our Deity here is Govinda, Madan-mohan is at Dum Dum Park, Kolkata, and Gopinath is in Hapaniya and Bamunpara. 'Ei tina thakura gaudiyake kariyachhena atmasat (এই তিন ঠাকুর গৌড়ীয়াকে করিয়াছেন আত্মসাৎ). These three Deities have hijacked Gaudiya Vaishnavs' hearts' (Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, 1.1.19). Govinda was served by Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu, Madan-mohan was served by Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhu, and Gopinath was served by Sri Madhu Pandit.

So, Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu stayed at the temple of Sri Sri Radha-Damodar, but from there he would go to serve Sri Sri Radha-Govinda. The old big temple where Sri Sri Radha-Govinda stayed was broken by Muslim people. We always come there and sit down to speak some Hari-katha: sometimes we come and clean the temple, and then chant some kirtan there. In particular, we sing the song 'Jaya Yasoda-nandana Krsna Gopala Govinda.' Every year I sing it there. There is always much pigeon stool at the temple, so when we come there, clean the place and sit there. Every year we go to Vrindavan for parikrama, I come there singing 'Jaya Yasoda-nandana Krsna Gopala Govinda'...

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 21 Mb
Length: 43 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Sri Rupa Goswami's Longing Heart
2) Sri Rupa Goswami's Coming to Mahaprabhu
3) Unfortunate Fortune
4) Srila Rupa Goswami's Deity
5) 'Who Is That Boy?'
6) Gauri Das Pandit's Attachment
7) Gauri Das Pandit's Chastisement