Krishna consciousness is based on an ancient spiritual tradition with far reaching roots into the past. 
 There are many spiritual luminaries in this tradition which can light up our own path by their teachings, examples and personal relationships with the Lord.

In the following two articles which have been nicely prepared by Heike, we present two of these great souls.

 
Vaisnava Saints 

Rupa Goswami

Srila Rupa Goswami was one of the principal followers of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and is considered as the perhaps most outstanding of the famous Six Gosvamis in Vrndavana.

Through him and his elder brother, Sanatana Gosvami, Lord Chaitanya disseminated the essentials of His teachings.

Krsnadas Kaviraj Gosvami, the author of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, writes: “Through the mercy of Sanatana I have learned the devotional doctrines, while by the grace of Rupa I have been able to discover the extensiveness of the divine aesthetics of devotion.” (Cc Adi, 5, 203)

Rupa and Sanatana’s ancestry, the Sarasvati brahmana clan, originates in Southern India, Karnataka, but the family migrated to Navahatta, a place near the Ganga in the late 14^th century. Finally, Kumar deva, their father, migrated to Jessore in East Bengal. Kumar deva and Ratikari deva gave birth to 6 children, amongst them Amara, Santosh and Anupama (later their names were changed by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu into Sanatana, Rupa and Vallabha).

It is difficult to determine with certainty the date of their births and place of study as the sources vary. Many scholars assert that Rupa was born in 1489, but other sources state that his birth was much earlier, in 1465. At Sakurma near Gauda, the former state capital of Bengal, Rupa, his older brother Sanatana and his younger brother Anupama received their first education from a pandit named Ramabhadra Vanivilasa and were sent for higher education to Navadvipa. There they studied nyaya, rhetorics under the famous logician Vasudeva Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya and his younger brother Madhusudana Vidyavacaspati and Sanskrit. To accomplish a successful wordly life, they were also sent to Saptagram to study Arabi and Farasi by their grandfather Mukunda deva, who is said to have held a high office in the kingdom, as these languages were the official language in the governmental work.

Famous for their learnedness in scriptural knowledge and intelligence, Rupa and his elder brother Sanatana were coerced by the Nawab Hussain Shah of Bengal to work in his occupational government. To avert imminent religious persecution of the whole Vaisnava community by the Shah on their behalf, Rupa agreed to cooperate and became the chief secretary (sometimes refered also as prime minister) (dabir khas) of the Muslim Government, Sanatana the state revenue minister (sakara mallika).

Although they enjoyed great worldly prestige and wealth while being conscribed in their political duties, they lived as devotees of Lord Krsna. They had their residence at Ramakeli, a small village near the capital city (at present, Ramakeli is located in Maldah district in West Bengal) built as a hidden replica of Vrndavan, maintained brahmana guests and pandits arriving from many places, continued to study the shastras and meditated on the pastimes of Lord Krsna. In this period, Rupa Gosvami wrote several books on Vedic philosophy including the “Hamsaduta” (“The Swan Messenger”). At this time, he was already vastly renowned for his learning and devotion.

Having heard of the pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Rupa and Sanatana longingly sent many letters to Him, praying for His darshan and also hoping that Lord Chaitanya could probably solve their dilemma. Mahaprabhu finally responded with one letter pointing out, that the time had not yet come: “As a woman who is attached to another man makes a show of being devoted to her husband, so should you, while being internally attached to the lotus feet of Lord Krsna, externally make a show of your wordly duties”.

 Finally, in 1514, Rupa and Sanatana for the first time met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who was travelling towards Vrndavan specificially via Ramakeli. With great humility they surrendered to the Lord, comparing themselves to the most fallen souls Jagai and Madhai. Lord Chaitanya happily recognised them as His eternal servants and consoled them that Lord Krsna would deliver them soon from their predicament. It was during this encounter, that Lord Chaitanya changed their worldly names (Santosha, Amara and Anupama) into Rupa, Sanatana and Vallabha.

 Shortly after, Rupa resigned from the service of the Nawab and there is a story related to this final momentum:

One stormy, rainy night, winds were blowing and thunder was in the clouds. Rupa, who had rested in his residence at Ramakeli, was called by the Shah to come immediately to his palace in Gauda. While being carried in his palanquin through the darkness, splashing water and mud, he heard the conversation between a washerman and his wife in their house as they wondered about the origin of the splashing sound: “Who is this unfortunate man going about at night, when the elements are in fury and not even an owl or a jackal is coming out of its nest or hideout?“ the washerman asked. “Who could it be, except a dog, or a thief or a slave of the king?”, the washer-woman replied.

Pierced into his innermost heart, Rupa immediately decided to renounce after having settled the problem of the Hussain Shah. After his return from Gauda that night, he discussed the arrangements to follow with his brother Sanatana.

Rupa distributed his wealth (two parts for the Vaisnava community and Brahmanas, one part for his relatives and one part for personal emergencies) and sent out messengers to find out the present sojourn of Lord Chaitanya in order to meet Him.

Sanatana however, could not immediately extricate himself from his responsibilities to the Nawab, but feigned illness to be able to stay at home and recite the Srimad Bhagavatam, which he was attracted to from his early days. After some time, the suspicious Nawab learned about this trick and imprisoned Sanatana, as he fearlessly declined to return to his political duties.

 Meanwhile Rupa, accompanied by his brother Vallabha, met Lord Chaitanya for the second time, who was on His way back from Vrndavan to Puri, at the holy city of Prayag (modern day Allahabad), where they saw Him in the temple Bindumadhava dancing and singing kirtan in a state of ecstasy with thousands of people. Srila Rupa Gosvami realized the fact that Lord Krsna Himself came into this world to taste the spiritual love of His greatest devotees, and, as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Krsna Himself experienced the rasa, which is in the heart of Srimati Radharani:

 namo maha-vadanyaya
krsna-prema-pradaya te
krsnaya krsna-Chaitanya-namne
gaura-tvise namaha

 “O most munificient incarnation! You are Krsna Himself appearing as Sri Krsna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden colour of Srimati Radharani, and You are widely distributing pure love of Krsna. We offer our respectful obeisances to you”.

 This prayer was spoken by Rupa Gosvami upon the second encounter with Lord Chaitanya.

Then, for ten successive days at the Dasasvamedha Ghat at the River Ganges, Rupa and Vallabha received all the esoteric teachings of the Gaudiya Vaisnava theology from Lord Chaitanya, especially the knowledge of the eternal soul and the essential principals of bhakti, how to grow and protect the creeper of bhakti (bhakti-lata) and finally about bhakti-rasa. Later, in his years in Vrndavan, Rupa Gosvami has widely elaborated on these topics in his bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, which is counted as one of his most important works.

 krsnatattva-bhaktitattva-rasatattva-pranta
saba sikhaila prabhu bhagavata-siddhanta (Cc Madya, 19, 115)

 “Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught Srila Rupa Gosvami the ultimate limit of truth about Lord Krsna, the truth about devotional service and the truth about the transcendental mellows consummating in conjugal love between Radha and Krsna. Finally, he told Rupa Gosvami about the ultimate conclusions of Srimad-Bhagavatam.”

 Giving Rupa Gosvami just one drop of the ocean of rasa, that was sufficient to inundate millions upon millions of universes, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu imparted confidental instructions to Rupa Gosvami and also empowered him with the ability to distribute those instructions widely.

 vrndavaniyam rasa-kelivartam
kalena luptam nija-saktim utkah
sancarya rupe vyatanot punah sa 
prabhor vidhau prag iva loka-srstim (Cc Madhya, 19, 1)

 „Just as the Lord enlightened the heart of Lord Brahma with the details of the creation and thus made the creation of the cosmos possible, so did Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu eagerly impregnate the heart of Rupa Gosvami with spiritual potency so that he could revive Krsna’s Vrndavan pastimes which had almost been lost to memory”

 Rupa Gosvami, who was extremely dear to Lord Chaitanya, was specificially entrusted to carry out the fourfold tasks:

1) to re-locate and preserve the lost holy places of Vrndavana,
2) to install Deities of the Lord and to arrange for Their opulent worship,
3) to systemize Gaudiya Vaisnava theology and write literatures on bhakti, and
4) to teach the rules of devotional life.

 Lord Chaitanya requested Rupa and Vallabha to come to Jagannatha Puri and to join Him at the annual Ratha-yatra festival, but before, they should visit Vrndavan. After a one month’s stay in Vrndavan, on their way bound to Puri, Vallabha left his body on the banks of the Ganga.

During the Ratha-yatra festival, when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was singing and dancing before the cart of Lord Jagannath, He repeatedly recited a poem, which refered to the secret meeting of a hero and a heroine of the phenomenal world before marriage. No one could understand what Mahaprabhu had in mind.

Rupa Gosvami proved to have understood the Lord’s esoteric teachings of rasa by responding with a mystical verse filled with deep devotion to Krsna (Cc Madhya, 1, 76). For this composition he has been attributed with the honour of being that person who has expressed Sri Chaitanya-mano-´bhistam, the innermost heart’s desire of Lord Chaitanya.

 In Puri, Lord Chaitanya also enjoyed with great delight the recitation of the early drafts of Rupa’s Vidagdha Madhava, which portrays the intimate pastimes of Radha and Krsna in Vrndavan. One of these verses is as follows:

Srimati Radharani thought: “Since I have heard the name of a person called Krsna, I have practically lost all My good sense. Then, there is another person who plays His flute in such a way that, after I hear the vibration, intense madness arises in My heart. Then again, there is still another person to whom My mind becomes attached when I see His beautiful luster in His picture. Therefore, I must be greatly condemned, for I have become simultaneously attached to three persons. Because of this, I think that it would be better for Me to die.” (Cc Antya, 1, 142)

 Rupa had written the basic outline of this drama, after his 2^nd meeting with Mahaprabhu in Prayag, when he was instructed with the rasa theory by Lord Chaitanya Himself. The Vidagdha Madhava and the Lalita Madhava (completed in 1532 and 1546) are regarded as the most revered Sanskrit dramas in the Gaudiya Vaisnava canon, and consequently, Rupa is considered as the rasaraja, the king of rasa.

 After having resided ten month at Puri with Mahaprabhu from whom he received further instructions, Rupa Gosvami returned to Vrndavana to fulfil his mission. There, he finally was reunited with his brother Sanatana Gosvami.

 Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami lived a life with a serious spirit of renunciation.

Wandering through the forests of Vrndavan, they did not have fixed residences, halding each night under a different tree, ate scarce food and wore torn quilts. In renunciation from the world, they rendered service to the Lord almost 24 hours a day, chanted the Lord’s holy name, danced, discussed the pastimes of Lord Krsna, remembered Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and wrote transcendental literatures about devotional service, burning dried leaves in the night to have some light. It is said, that they slept only two hours a day, sometimes not at all.

 Rupa Gosvami successfully carried out his fourfold mandate given by Lord Chaitanya. By inner vision, he located and many holy places associated with the pastimes of Lord Krsna and rediscovered the deity Sri Govinda.

Govinda, one of the main deities of Vrindavana was not yet found.

One day, Rupa Gosvami was sitting on the banks of the Yamuna, lamenting that they hadn’t been able to carry out Mahaprabhu’s instruction. Meditating on how to relocate the deity of Govinda who had been installed by Sri Krsna’s grandson Vajranabha, suddenly a beautiful young boy approached him and asked him about the reason for his devastation.

Rupa Gosvami explained it to him. Then the boy led him to a small hill, Gomatila, and

said: “Everyday a cow comes to the top of this hill and pours down her milk there. You will find what you are looking for inside the hill.”

The next morning Rupa indeed could see the beautiful cow atop the hillock, pouring freely milk from her udders to nourish the earthened deity, and he requested the Vrijabasis to excavate the site. Thus, the all enchanting form of Sri Govinda appeared.

Govinda deva is so charmingly beautiful that Rupa felt compelled to warn those, who want to go and see Him with the following sloka:

 “smeram bhangitraya parichita sachi vistirna drishtim
vamsinyastadhara kishalayamujjvalam chandrakena/
govindakhyam haritanumitah keshitirthopakanthe ma
prekshishthastava yadi sakhe bandhu-sangeastirangah //

 Dear friend! If you want to enjoy life with your relations and friends, do not see the Sri Vigraha of Sri Hari called Govinda Deva in Keshi-tirtha, Who stands there smiling in a thrice bent pose with a peacock feather as His crown, Who has big side-long eyes and on Whose lips rests the sweet flute, for if you see Him once, you would forget your kith and kin and everyone else.” (Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu 1,2,239)

 Rupa Gosvami started to built a temple for Govinda deva (completed as a seven-storey architectonical monument with the insisting support of Raja Mansingh, in 1590, who convinced the ruler king Akbar to give permission to use the red stone of Eastern Rajasthan, which had been reserved for royal architecture).

During a Muslim invasion in the early 18^th century, the temple was partly destroyed, but before the Deity, for protection, was moved to Jaipur.

 One of the other places associated to Rupa’s pastimes is called Ter Kadamba, near Nandagrama. Here, Srimati Radharani came in disguise to bring the ingredients for sweet rice which empty-handed Rupa intended to cook for Sanatana. When Sanatana tasted the sweet rice, he showed symptoms of ecstasy. Tracing back the story of how the ingredients were collected, Sanatana forbad Rupa to ever cook sweet rice again. He did not want Radha to take any trouble on his behalf, because this would disrupt the relationship between the served and the servitor.

 Rupa Gosvami is spiritually identical with Rupa Manjari, who serves selflessly under the direction of Radha’s dear friend, the gopi Lalita.

Those, who follow in the line of Rupa Gosvami with Srimati Radharani as their object of love and being dedicated servants to Her, are called “Rupanugas”.

 Rupa’s literary contributions are indispensable for the Gaudiya Vaisnavism. He compiled many books, foremost the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, the essence of Mahaprabhu’s teachings, describing the gradations of bhakti from its lowest stage of sraddha (spiritual faith) up to its highest level of maha-bhava (ultimate ecstasy in love of Godhead)

Further books on philosophy, drama and poetry written by Rupa Gosvami are:

• Ujjvala-nilamani (the Sapphire of Divine Love)
• Uddhava-sandesa (News of Uddhava)
• Hamsa-dutam (The Swan messenger)
• Lalita-madhava & Vidagdha-madhava (The Playful Madhava & The Mischievious Madhava)
• Stavamala (The Flower Garland of Prayers)
• Sri Radha-Krsna ganoddesa-dipika (A Lamp to see the Associates of Radha-Krsna)
• Danakeli-kaumudi (The Lotus-like Tax Pastimes)
• Mathura-mahatmya (The Glories of Mathura)
• Laghu-bhagavatamrta (A Summary of Nectar about Godhead)
• Sri Krsna-janma-tithi-vidhi (How to Worship Krsna during the Festival of Janmastami)
• Nataka-candrika (The Illumanating Moon of Dramatics)
• Upadesamrta (The Nectar of Instruction)

 In his last days, Rupa Gosvami gave all his manuscripts to Jiva Gosvami, requesting him to write the commentaries.

Srila Rupa Gosvami lived in Vrndavana for almost 50 years until he passed away in 1564 on Sravan Dvadasi Pavitra. Jiva Gosvami placed the transcendental body of Rupa Gosvami in his samadhi (memorial tomb), situated in the courtyard of the Radha-Damodara temple, where Rupa Gosvami also performed his bhajana at the end of his life.

 Srila Prabhupada, who spent his first six sannyasa years at the Radha-Damodara temple (from 1959 to 1965), absorbed the mood, mercy and mission of Sri Rupa Gosvami and Sri Jiva Gosvami. There, he was provided with strength and tremendous inspiration as he could daily face the samadhi of Rupa Gosvami before he came to the Western world to fulfil the mission of his spiritual master.