(5/7) 'Who Is That Boy?'

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Disappearance of Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu
Nabadwip, 27 August 2015, part 5

One time, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu happened to commit a vaishnav-aparadh. To whom? Some devotees say that it was Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami, but it is not so. Gurudev said not, and what he says is correct. It was Sri Vallabha Acharya.

One day, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu was hand-fanning Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu... Speaking in a mundane way, what is the relationship between Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu and Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu? He was Srila Rupa Goswami's nephew, the son of his younger brother, Anupam; he came from his house in Bangladesh to stay with Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu. There were three brothers, Anupam, Rupa and Sanatan; Anupam had a son, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu. Later, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu took initiation from Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu. So, based on their material blood relation, they are uncle and nephew, but actually they are a guru and a disciple. That day, as a disciple, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu was hand-fanning his guru while Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu was writing some slokas. At that time, Sri Vallabha Acharya came to see Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu and, seeing some sloka he had written, he pointed out a mistake in it. Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu considered Sri Vallabha Acharya senior, his guru, so he simply said, 'All right, I will correct it.' But when Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu heard it, his heart, mind, everything inside him was not happy with what had been said to his guru. He felt firmly, 'My guru is correct.' Still, he did not say anything in front of them.

Later, when Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu went to the Yamuna to take a bath and bring some water to the temple for Srila Rupa Goswami's bathing. (The Yamuna is a little far from the temple now, but at that time, the river was close by.) Actually, he spent twenty-two and a half hours a day serving his guru and only one and a half hours on sleeping, eating, bathroom, etc. You may wonder how one person can do so much, but it is possible. He did everything – he worshipped the Deities, he cooked, he did all aratis and offered all bhoga, and he also personally served his guru. He did everything himself. Where there is a will, there is a way – if you want to do something, you can always find a way to do it. So, when Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu came to the Yamuna later, he suddenly met Sri Vallabha Acharya there. At that time, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu explained to him the meaning of the sloka he had corrected.

Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu was an excellent scholar in all the scriptures on logic, so when he heard what Sri Vallabha Acharya had told Srila Rupa Goswami, he was unhappy. So, when they met, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu asked him, 'Can you explain to me what was wrong with that verse? There was nothing wrong with it!' Then, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu explained to him the meaning of that verse, and Sri Vallabha Acharya was very pleased.

The next day, Sri Vallabha Acharya came to Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu again and asked him, 'Who is that boy?'

'He is my nephew and disciple. Why?' Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu replied.

'Oh, take good care of this boy! He can become a great scholar in the future!'

'How come? What has happened?'

'I told you yesterday that your verse was wrong, but it was my mistake. What you wrote is actually correct. That boy has taught me its right meaning.'

When Sri Vallabha Acharya left, Srila Rupa Goswami chastised Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, 'He told me something for my own benefit, why could you not tolerate it? He is like a guru to me. He may not be my direct guru, but he is my guru-varga. He told me something for my benefit, to help me, but you could not take it – you had to go and teach him! You have no qualification to stay in Vrindavan! Go back to your home...'

Sometimes, I tell some devotees, 'Go back to your home!' It is not like I am bad – even Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu did that. It is a simple matter...

When Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu told Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu to go back to his home in Bangladesh, he accepted it, 'All right, it is the order of my guru, so I will do it.' He walked a little in the direction of Bangladesh and stayed in a broken temple he came across nearby. There, he began to fast ‒ he ate nothing and cried incessantly. All the villagers noticed him and a rumour started, 'Oh, that young boy is crying so much and fasting!'

One day, Srila Sanatan Goswami was passing that area, and one of the villagers told him, 'Prabhu, there is one boy staying nearby. Like you, he has a sikha, tilaks and is dressed in a dhoti. He is staying alone over there and does not eat anything.' Srila Sananta Goswami went to see the boy, and when he came to the temple, he saw that it was Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, 'Oh, this is Jiva, my nephew!' He brought him back to the temple of Sri Sri Radha-Damodar and chastised Srila Rupa Goswami, 'He is a small boy, why are you being so harsh to him?' Then, he gave some nourishment to Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu, and Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu was happy again, too.

Today is the disappearance day of this Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu. We pray to him, 'Wherever you are staying now, Prabhu, please give us some mercy. Please engage us in some service to your associates in this world.' This is our prayer on this day.

Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu stayed at his family house for only twenty-two years, and he lived in Vrindavan during fifty-one years.

Jay Sri Rupa Goswami Prabhu ki jay.

— : • : —

{ 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