Gopal Guru Goswami
miércoles, 5 de febrero de 2014
jueves, 27 de diciembre de 2012
Sri Gopal Guru Goswami Samadhi
Sriman Mahaprabhu was always very affectionate towards him and played many jokes on him. Out of affection, the lord would jokingly call him "guru" and so he became known as Gopal Guru Goswami.
Under the authority of Sri Svarupa Damodara and Raghunatha Dasa Goswami, he was instructed in the system of rasa and attained expertise in the rasik principles. At the place where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stayed at the house of Kashi Mishra, Vakreshwara Pandita later stayed.
After Sri Vakreshwara Pandit passed away, Gopal Guru Goswami stayed at that place, where he installed the deities Sri Sri Radha-Kanta. Sri Gopal Guru Goswami composed a book called Smarana-paddhati, or "The System for Remembering the Lord". This book has twenty-six chapters. Sri Dhayanachandra Goswami was a disciple of Sri Gopal Guru Goswami and an important acharya in the Gaudiya Sampradaya.
The murti of Gopala Guru in Puri is still being worshipped at Radha-Kanta Mandir and another branch of Radhakanta temple with a samadhi mandir and murti of Gopala Guru was founded near Vansivat in Vrindavana.
There are also branches of Radhakanta Mandira founded by some followers of Gopala Guru at: Vidhuban, Vrindavana; Kangali Mahaprabhu Math, Vrindavana; Arunananda Kunj, Radhakunda; Kisori Kund, Yavat; Gambhirar Matha, Koladwipa; Madhavi Devi’s Gopinatha Mandir, Bentpur.
Gopala Guru disappeared from this world on the ninth day of the bright fortnight of Kartik.
Deities in Vrindavan
From the time of Gopal Guru, Kashi Mishra’s house was known as
Radhakanta Math. During Kashi Mishra’s lifetime, there was only a single
Deity of Krishna. From the time of Gopal Guru, a Deity of Radha was
placed at Radhakanta’s left side and a Deity of Lalita on his right.
Deities of Gauranga and Nityananda were also installed. The Temple
buildings were repaired and enlarged during this time, between 1538 and
1548 AD. (In the image:Radhakantha Math Deities, Puri).
How He Got the Name Gopal Guru
Mahaprabhu overheard Gopal sharing this wisdom with the Vaishnava and was very impressed and He announced to all His Devotees that Gopal was doing the work of a guru. From that day on, the young Makaradhvaja Pandit was known as Gopal Guru. Because he both preached and practiced, he was factually acting as an acharya or guru.
It did not take long for his fame to spread through the Vaishnava
world. Abhiram Thakur had the reputation of being able to verify whether
a stone was a real Vishnushila or Shalagrama shila by paying his
obeisances to it. If not real, it would crack or turn into dust. Only a
pure Vaishnava would be able to tolerate his obeisances, otherwise they
could prove fatal. When the Vaishnavas heard that Abhiram Thakur had
come to Puri to test Gopal Guru, they were anxious for the boy due to
their affection for him. Mahaprabhu realized that everyone was troubled
and so he placed his foot on Gopal’s forehead, thus creating the
distinctive tilaka marking which is used by those in Gopal Guru’s
spiritual lineage. Gopal was still frightened and sat in the Lord’s lap
for protection. Thus Abhiram’s obeisances did him no harm.
The Service of Radhakanta Deva
Maharaj Prataparudra’s father Purushottam Deva brought several
Deities back from Kanci with him after defeating that city’s king. Among
these Deities was the murti of Radhakanta. This Deity was first placed
in a small Temple on the north-western corner of Jagannath’s Chatrabhoga
Temple, but later, Prataparudra’s guru Kashi Mishra asked to be given
the Deity for his personal service. Kashi Mishra had bequeathed
everything he possessed to Mahaprabhu as he had no children of his own.
Mahaprabhu then gave the service of Radhakanta, his Temple and the
surrounding gardens, etc., to Gopal Guru. His guru, Vakreshvara Pandit,
himself never sat on the gadi, i.e., never acted as acharya, at
Radhakanta Math. Rather, he stayed absorbed in kirtan and dancing in the
company of Mahaprabhu.
The tithi marking Mahaprabhu’s bestowal of Radhakanta’s service on
Gopal Guru is celebrated on the Shukla Dvadashi of Magh. On this day, he
also gave him the post of first acharya of the Radhakanta Math and the
occasion is marked annually by an abhishek of the present-day abbot of
the Math.
From the time of Gopal Guru, Kashi Mishra’s house was known as
Radhakanta Math. During Kashi Mishra’s lifetime, there was only a single
Deity of Krishna. From the time of Gopal Guru, a Deity of Radha was
placed at Radhakanta’s left side and a Deity of Lalita on his right.
Deities of Gauranga and Nityananda were also installed. The Temple
buildings were repaired and enlarged during this time, between 1538 and
1548 AD.
Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has written the following about Gopal
Guru Goswami: “Vakreshvara Pandit’s disciple Gopal Guru Goswami is
currently abbot of Mahaprabhu’s own math in the house of Kashi Mishra in
Purushottam. He has completely memorized the teachings of Shri Svarupa
Damodar Goswami.” (Jaiva Dharma)
Svarupa Damodar’s method of worshiping in the madhura-rasa was
spread through the world through two different lines: one through
Raghunath Das Goswami which was carried through Krishna Das Kaviraj
Goswami, the other through Vakreshvara Pandit and Gopal Guru Goswami.
Gopal Guru wrote two books on the subject, Smarana-krama-paddhati (“A
guidebook to the steps to remembering”) or Seva-smarana-paddhati (“A
guidebook to remembering and service”) and Gaura-govindarcana-paddhati
(“A guidebook to Gaura-Govinda’s Deity worship”).
In the Orissan language a small separate room situated on Temple
grounds is given the name gambhira. Bhaktivinoda Thakur has written, “In
the customary architecture of a Temple in Orissa, the Deity room itself
has a verandah (alinda) facing it. Facing the verandah is a paved and
covered area known as the dalana. A small room within this area is given
the name gambhira.” The Gambhira at Kashi Mishra’s house marks the
place where Mahaprabhu performed his meditation and where he slept. From
the time of Gopal Guru, Mahaprabhu’s wooden shoes and a quilt which was
made either by Svarupa Damodar Goswami or Jagadananda Pandit are kept
and worshiped in the Gambhira. There is also a waterpot made of clay
from the Vraja area which was formerly used by Mahaprabhu. There is also
a wooden waterpot which was put there in later times.
From Bhakti-ratnakara we learn that Narottama Das Thakur met Gopal Guru when he visited Puri.
Narottama visited the house of Kashi Mishra where he met Gopal Guru… Gopal Guru became emotional and embraced Narottama Das.
(Bhakti-ratnakara 8.382, 389)
Miraculous Events at Gopal Guru’s Death
A few legends of miraculous events are told about Gopal Guru. When
he started to grow old, he turned the responsibility for the Radhakanta
Math over to his disciple Dhyanachandra. When Gopal Guru died not long
after, his successor was overcome with grief. He took his guru’s body to
the Svarga-dvara (“The gate to heaven”) on the seafront. In the
meantime, some representatives of a government department blocked off
the Temple, claiming that the transferal had been done without
ministerial sanction. When Dhyanachandra heard that this was going on,
he fell at the lotus feet of his guru’s body, tears flowing from his
eyes. Though Gopal Guru’s body was on the funeral pyre, the prayers of
his dear disciple reached him and he was resuscitated, chanting the Holy
Names in sankirtan.
As soon as the government representatives heard of this event, they
became fearful and abandoned their effort to take over the Temple. Gopal
Guru returned to the Temple and make a properly legal transfer of
ownership to his disciple and disappeared some time later on the Karttik
Shukla Navami.
A year after Gopal Guru disappeared, when some Devotees who had made
the trip to Puri for the Rathayatra returned to Vraja, they were amazed
to see Gopal Guru sitting chanting japa under a Pakuria tree in
Vamshi-bata. They sent the message to Dhyanachandra in Puri and he
immediately hurried to Vrindavan to see his guru. He fell down at his
feet and begged to be allowed to stay in Vraja, even though Gopal Guru
told him to go back to Puri and take care of his responsibilities.
Finally Gopal told Dhyanachandra, “If you feel such separation from me
that you are unable to tolerate it, then have an image of me made out of
a neem tree and place it in front of the altar room of the Temple and
worship it.” This is what was done and the statue of Gopal Guru Goswami
is worshiped at the Radhakanta Math to this day.
Radhakanta Matha is located in a neighbourhood called Bali Sahi, in the
town of Puri in Odisha, famous for the Jagannath temple and as one of
the four Dhams (Chaturdham) of India. This Matha is also known as Gaura
Gambhira or Gambhira Matha and is considered a holy and revered place
by the Vaishnavas, particularly the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, for its long
association with Sri Chaitanya during the early part of the 16th century
A.D.
Gopal Guru Goswami’s Suchaka Kirtan
The following kirtan is sung on Gopal Guru’s disappearance day.
are mora gopala guru bhakati kalapa taru
makaradhvaja nama janhara
shri krishna caitanya janke gopala baliye dake
dekhi shishu caritra udara
gaurangera seva-rase sadai anande bhase
gora binu nahi jane an
tileka na dekhi janre dhairaja dharite nare
gora jena gopalera pran
gopala shishura prati shiksa dila eka riti
prabhu premaveshe dhuli dhuli
kahe sabe are are aji haite gopalere
dakiba gopala guru bali
gopale karuna dekhi sabara sajala ankhi
sukhera samudra uchalila
sabe kahe anupama shri gopala guru nama
prabhu datta jagate vyapila
gopalera guru-bhakti kahite nahika shakti
sadai prasanna vakreshvara
mahamatta nija-gite nahika upama dite
sarva cittakarsha kalevara
dekhila sakala thani emana dayalu nai
keba na jagate yasha ghoshe
sabe kaila prema-patra haila vaïcita matra
narahari nija karma doshe
1. Oh Gopal Guru, you are my devotional desire tree. Your name was
previously Makaradhvaja, but Shri Krishna Chaitanya called you Gopal
because your behavior as a child reminded him of Gopal Krishna.
2. You were always absorbed in the joy of serving Gauranga; indeed
you knew nothing other than Him. You could not tolerate being separated
from the Lord for even a moment; it was as if Gora was Gopal’s very
life.
3. One day, Gopal taught some devotional practices to a child. The
Lord was so ecstatic that he said to everyone, from today on, I will
call Gopal, “guru”.
4. Tears filled the Devotees’ eyes when they saw how merciful the
Lord was to Gopal; it was as though the ocean of joy was overflowing.
Everyone said that the name Gopal Guru was extraordinary, and as it was
given by the Lord, it soon spread throughout the world.
5. I am incapable of describing Gopal’s devotion to his guru,
Vakreshvara, who was always satisfied with him. No one can compare to
Gopal Guru who was always intoxicated in singing his own devotional
songs and whose appearance was attractive to everyone.
6. Everyone recognized that there was no one as merciful as he. Who
in the world did not sing his glories? He made everyone worthy of loving
ecstasy, only I, Narahari, have been deprived because of my own
misdeeds.
[Excerpted from "Shri Chaitanya: His Life & Associates" by Shrila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj]
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