SRI GAUDIYA GITANJALI : SPECIAL POETRY

Srila-Jiva-Gosvami-Prabhur Sochaka
(Lament for Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu)

are mora jivana dhana, anupamera nandana,
sri-jiva gosai daya-maya
ati sucharita yanra, suni’ lage chamatkara,
parama pandita mahasaya [1]

O merciful Sri Jiva Gosai, the treasure of my life, the son of Anupama! Whoever hears about the beautiful character of this highly learned great soul will be wonderstruck.

grhe thaki anuksana, krsna-katha alapana,
tilardheka nahi yaya vrtha
atyanta udara-chitta, premete satata matta,
ksaneka na sune anya katha [2]

When he stayed at home, he always spoke about Krishna – he did not waste even half a drop of a moment. His extremely noble heart was always overflowing with divine love for the Lord, so he would not listen to any other talks even for a moment.

alpa-kale hena guna, aisvarye nahika mana,
sada chinte vrndavana yaite
ki kahiba anuraga, kari’ gosai sarva-tyaga,
yatra kaila maha anandete [3]

His nature was such from a very early age. He never bothered about any opulence and always thought about going to Vrindavan. What can I say? One day, with strong loving attachment and great joy, gosai left everything and set out on a journey.

nityananda-prabhu-sthane, sighra gela harsa-mane,
yaiya karila darasana
netre asru-yukta haiya, dharanite lotaiya,
vandilena yugala charana [4]

With a very happy heart, he quickly came to the place where Sriman Nityananda Prabhu was staying and got to meet with the Lord. Tears flowed from his eyes as he began to roll on the ground offering his obeisance at the holy lotus feet of Sri Nityananda Prabhu.

nityananda-prabhu prite, nija-pada tara mathe,
dharilena parama anande
dui bhuja dhari’ tole, sri-jive karila kole,
rupa sanatanera sambandhe [5]

Nityananda Prabhu was touched. He lovingly and joyfully placed His holy feet on Sri Jiva’s head. Then, He spread His arms and embraced Sri Jiva, remembering his relation to Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatan.

gosai ananda-mana, dainya kare punah punah,
ajna deha yai vrndavana
suni’ nityananda raya, sri-jivera pane chaya,
prema-jale bharila nayana [6]

Gosai was very happy. He humbly repeated again and again, ‘Please order me to go to Vrindavan.’ Hearing Sri Jiva’s words and glancing at him, Sri Nityananda Ray’s eyes brimmed with tears of love.

punah nityananda rama, sonari chaitanya-nama,
kahe ati madhura vachana
tomara vamse sei sthana, diyachhena ei suna,
sighra tumi yaha vrndavana [7]

Then, remembering Lord Chaitanya’s Name again, Sri Nityananda Rama spoke very sweetly, ‘I have heard that your family have been given a place there, so do not delay – go straight to Vrindavan.’

nityanandera ajna pana, chale maha-sukhi hana,
ki kahiba yaichhana gamana
sri-krsna-chaitanya bali’, kabhu dake bhuja tuli,
kabhu dake rupa sanatana [8]

Receiving Nityananda Prabhu’s order, Jiva left with a very happy heart. How am I to describe how he got there? Sometimes, he threw up his arms and called out, ‘Sri Krishna Chaitanya!’; and sometimes, he called out to Rupa and Sanatan.

chinte mane anuksana, kabe yaba vrndavana,
kabe radha-govinda dekhiba
sulalita krsna-guna, kabe ha’be darasana,
nayana parana judaiba [9]

He kept thinking in his mind, ‘When will I come to Vrindavan? When will I get to see Radha-Govinda? When will I get to see Krishna’s beauty and grace and soothe my eyes and heart?’

ei rupe pathe chale, ka’re kichhu nahi bale,
bhaksya dravya mile anayase
ati sukumara haya, kabhu duhkha na janaya,
chale matra premera avese [10]

He carried on walking like this, not speaking to anybody. He easily came across something to eat. Although he was very young, he did not feel any disturbance or trouble – he simply kept walking, overflowing with love for the Lord.

kata-dine mathurate, gelena ananda-chitte,
madhupuri karila darsana
yamunate snana kari’, vrndavana pane heri’,
avirata jharaye nayana [11]

After some days, he arrived in Mathura. He was very happy to see the city. He bathed in the Yamuna and when he looked in the direction of Vrindavan, his eyes kept running there.

tatha haite harsa-mane, pravesila vrndavane,
du’-gosaira charana vandila
dure gela mano-duhkha, haila parama sukha,
ara kata vandite narila [12]

Walking on from there, he joyfully entered Sri Vrindavan. As he offered his obeisance to the two goswamis, all sadness left his mind, and he felt extremely happy. He was beside himself, eager to offer more and more respect.

rupera ananda haila, sri-jivere krpa kaila,
sanatanera anumati peye
radha-krsna-tattva-sukhe, sukhi karaila take,
sabe harsa sri-jiva dekhiye [13]

Rupa was very pleased. Taking Sanatan’s permission, he bestowed his mercy upon Sri Jiva by surcharging him with the happiness of knowing about Radha-Krishna’s relationship and pastimes, which made Jiva very happy. Everybody was delighted to see Jiva.

sri-jivera guru-bhakti, kahite nahika sakti,
anuksana karaye sevana
go̐ ̐ sai ye ajna kare, taha yatne kare sire,
anya na janaye yara mana [14]

I have no power to describe how much devotion Sri Jiva had for his guru. He served constantly. Whatever order he received from Sri Rupa Goswami, Sri Jiva carefully placed it on his head and knew nothing else.

nityanandera ajna laiya, yaichhe aila sukhi haiya,
taichhe gosai ajna-phala paila
sarva-sastre vichaksana, nahika tanhara sama,
bahu-grantha varnana karila [15]

Receiving Nityananda Prabhu’s order brings out peculiar happiness, and Sri Jiva gladly got exactly that. Learned in all scriptures, he wrote commentaries to many scriptures – nobody could compare to him.

gunera nahika anta, ki kahiba bhakti-tattva,
rakhilena siddhanta kariya
sanatanera daya yata, taha va kahiba kata,
sri-jivera vairagya dekhiya [16]

There is no end to his beautiful qualities. What can I say? He deliberately kept only what was related to devotion. How can I describe the greatness of the mercy that Sanatan bestowed upon Jiva seeing his renunciation?

vrndavane sabe sukhi, dekhiya judaya ankhi,
jiva-gosaira charitra sudhira
ye-rupe bhajana kare, taha ke kahite pare,
sada preme pulaka sarira [17]

Seeing everybody’s happiness in Vrindavan was balm for his eyes. Jiva Goswami’s character was very firm and self-controlled. Who has the power to describe how he served Rupa? He was always so overcome with divine love that the hair on his body always kept standing on end.

vraja-pure ei mate, rahaye ullasa-chitte,
ke bujhibe tanhara asaya
du’-gosaira adarsane, ye viraha bhela mane,
taha kahibara yogya naya [18]

This is how he very happily stayed in Vrajapur. Who can understand his heart? But I have no qualification to tell what kind of separation came to him when the two goswamis disappeared.

dharanite lotaiya, kandaye akula haiya,
phutkara karaye anuksana
‘ha chaitanya’ mora prana, prabhu nityananda rama,
kotha prabhu rupa-sanatana [19]

He rolled on the ground, crying in anguish and puffing all the time, ‘O Chaitanya, my heart and soul! O Prabhu Nityananda Rama! Where are you, my masters, Rupa and Sanatan?’

dhara bahe du’nayane, na chahaye kara pane,
chitte ati asthira haila
ratre prabhu rupa asi, svapna dila kachhe basi,
tabe kichhu duhkha sambarila [20]

Torrents of tears flowing from his eyes obscured his vision – he did not look at anybody. His heart was utterly perturbed. One night, Rupa Prabhu came and sat next to him in a dream. It helped him cope with his distress.

sei-dina srinivasa, aila sri-jiva-pasa,
tanre dekhi’ harsa haila mana
narottama ta’ra pare, asiya milila tanre,
jiva-sange sadai du’jana [21]

The same day, Srinivas came to Sri Jiva – seeing him, Sri Jiva again felt some joy. After that, Narottam came and joined him. Both Srinivas and Narottam were always there with Jiva.

premera svarupa donhe, dekhiya anande rahe,
bhakti-grantha padaya sadaya
radha-krsna-lila yata, sei rase maha-matta,
ara kichhu mane nahi bhaya [22]

Seeing Srinivas and Narottam, two embodiments of divine love, Jiva felt happy again. They always read scriptures together. They were absolutely intoxicated with the nectar of Sri Radha-Krishna’s pastimes; nothing else pleased their minds.

sada govindera seva, paripati jane keba,
yaichhana piriti nahi sima
yadi haya laksa mukha, tathapi na haya sukha,
ki kahiba jivera mahima [23]

The love of those who regularly and continuously serve Lord Govinda knows no bounds. Even if I had thousands of mouths, I would not feel satisfied – how can I possibly describe Jiva’s glory?

patita adhama jane, kari’ krpa nija-gune,
yatne prema-bhakti kare dana
ara ki kahiba guna, suniya pasanda-gana, anayase paya paritrana [24]

Out of his benevolence, he bestows mercy upon lowly fallen souls and takes great care to grant them the treasure of divine love. What more can I say? Hearing about his glories, even heretics easily become delivered.

narihari-dase kaya, tarao he mahasaya,
padi’ achhe bhava-sindhu majhe
e pamare kari’ daya, deha more pada-chhaya,
tabe se dayalu nama saje [25]

Narahari Das says, ‘O great soul! Please save me! I have fallen into this ocean of material existence! Take pity on this wretch: please give me the shade of your feet, then it will stand as proof for your name “dayalu” (merciful).’

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Sri Gaudiya Gitanjali (English)
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