Gopal Bhatt Goswami

Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami, one of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan was a foremost disciple of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami was born in 1503 AD as the son of Sri Vyenkatta Bhatt, a Ramanuji brahmana resident of Srirangam in South India.

During his travels in southern India, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to the famed Sriranga Kshetra which has the famous temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu as Sri Ranganath. When Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu entered the temple and began chanting Hare Krishna kirtan, he mesmerized the devotees in the temple.

Mahaprabhu’s divine form was wonderful to behold, and his bodily radiance was dazzling. From his lotus eyes poured torrents of tears of Krishna-prema. The brahmanas wondered, “Is he a god? Is such a manifestation of ecstasy possible in a human?”

Again and again exhorting everyone to chant the holy name, saying, “Haribol! Haribol!” Mahaprabhu fell before the deity like a tree that had been cut down.

Sri Vyenkatta Bhatt, detecting in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu the signs of a Mahapurush could not contain himself as he saw the Lord performing sankirtan. Pushing his way through the crowd, he joined the kirtan party and lost himself in dancing and singing the holy name with the Lord.

When Mahaprabhu regained his external consciousness somewhat and had steadied himself, Vyenkatta fell at his lotus feet and asked the Lord for his mercy. The Lord lifted him into His embrace saying, “Krishna! Krishna!” At that time, Sri Vyenkatta invited the Lord to stay with him in his home during the four months of the rainy season.

In 1511, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stayed at the house of Vyenkatta Bhat for four monthst. Vyenkatta had a young son named Gopal. At the time of Mahaprabhu’s visit, he was only 8 years old. When the little boy offered his respects at the feet of Sri Chaitanya, the Lord picked him up and held him on his lap and affectionately embraced the boy. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to call the child and give him the remnants of His prasad. By giving him His prasad in this manner, He blessed Gopal Bhatt Acharya to become a great devotee in the future.

the Lord spent the four months of the rainy season at the home of the Bhatt, discussing many things about Krishna and His pastimes. After this, he bid farewell. Gopal Bhatt fainted at the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord comforted little Gopal saying, “Now you must serve at the home of your mother and father. Later, you will come to Vrindavan. There you will constantly hear and glorify the holy name of Sri Krishna.” In this way, after instructing the whole family, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went on his way.

Within a short time, Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami learned Sanskrit grammar, poetry, rhetoric and became expert in all the scriptures, beginning with the Vedanta sutra. His uncle, Sripad Prabodhananda Saraswati instructed him extensively in the different bhakti-shastras.

After he had been blessed by having darshan of the lotus feet of Sri Gauranga, Gopal Bhatt Goswami’s mind was always absorbed in thoughts of the Lord’s lotus feet. He began thinking, “When will I again obtain a vision of the Lord?”

In this way, the years passed. Eventually his aged mother and father called Gopal Bhatt to their side and said, “Boy, after we pass away, you must go to Vrindavan and take shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.” After his parents’ demise, Gopal Bhatt went to Vrindvan, always remembering the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu.

When Gopal Bhatt arrived in Vrindavan, he found that Srila Rupa Goswami was preparing to send messages with some devotees from Vrindavan to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Puri. Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana Goswamis already knew that Gopal Bhatt would be coming to Vrindavan. Sri Rupa and Sanatana greeted him and treated him like a brother. From that time on, their lifelong friendship began.

When the messengers arrived in Puri, Mahaprabhu was happy to hear that Gopal Bhatt had gone to Vrindavan. He sent the messenger back to Rupa Goswami with his kaupin and outer garments of the babaji order, to be given to Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami as symbols of his renunciation.

Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami accepted the loincloth and dress of a sanyasi with great happiness, considering it to the Lord’s mercy and prasad. In this way he would pass his nights at different kundas, and spent all his time studying the shastra and writing.

After some time, Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami went on a pilgrimage to various holy places. He halted in a town called Devavandya Gram in Saharanpur near Hardwar. There he was received with great delight by the residents. One day, he was on his way to the house of a devotee near the edge of the town.

In the afternoon, there was a great storm. Gopal Bhatt took shelter in the house of a brahmana who was a great devotee of Lord Krishna. He saw to the needs of Sri Bhatt Goswami with great care. Sripad Gopal Bhatt Goswami was very happy. The brahmana had no son. Gopal Bhatt blessed him, saying, “May you have a son who is a great devotee of Krishna.” The brahmana then said, “I shall give you my first son to engage in the service of Krishna as you see fit.”

After spending some time in Hardwar, he went further north into Nepal and to the Gandaki river where he retrieved twelve shalagram shilas from the river. He used to keep them in a cloth bag hung round his neck.

Sri Gopal Bhatt intensely wished to reunited with his Guru,Lord Chaitanya and at several occasions he made a journey by foot to the place where the Lord was expected to have been residing. But everytime Sri Gopal Bhatt would arrive at his destination after months of walking,Lord Chaitanya would have already left for another place. Before his longing for meeting Lord Chaitanya would fulfill the news of Sri Gauranga’s disappearance in Puri left him in a state of intense separation from his beloved Gurudev.

One day on Narsingh Chaturdashi in Sri Vrindavan while Sri Gopal Bhatt was serving his Shaligram shilas and doing Paath of the chapter depicting appearance of Lord Narsimha from a pillar for the sake of his devotee,Sri Gopal bhatt was overwhelmed with the intense sepation from Lord Chaitanya and prayed,”If Lord Narsimha can appear from a pillar for his devotee why not Sri Gaurang Mahaprabhu,who is Krishna himself, not manifest from these Shaligram shilas for me? ” Thinking this he entered into samadhi.

When Sri Gopal Bhatt emerged from samadhi and opened his eyes,He saw one of the 12 shaligram shilas,the Damodar shila, had crackled like an eggshell and a beautiful ‘Lalit Tribhang’ form (bent from 3 places) of Lord Krishna had self-manifested from it.

The beautiful form of Krishna had teeth which were visible sometimes sometimes not, had palm creases and would look live and ever new whenever looked upon.

Sri Gopal Bhatt deduced that the self manifested deity was indeed “Jagrit” and must not be considered an idol but live instead.

Lord Chaitanya had once promised to come to Vrindavan to overlook the works of Sri Gopal Bhatt but he never came. The Goswamis of Vrindavan agreed that Lord Chaitanya had fulfilled his promise by coming to Vrindavan in form of this deity.

After Sri Gopal bhatt informed them, Sri Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis, as well as the other Vaishnavas and Goswamis quickly went and saw the world-enchanting beauty of the deity as tears of divine love flowed from their eyes. In the year 1599 on the full moon day of Vaishakha, this sweet deity of Krishna became manifest. The Goswamis named this deity, “Sri Radharamana deva.”

Almost ten years later one day, Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami went to take his noon bath in the Yamuna and returned to his kutir to perform his bhajan. From a distance he saw a young boy sitting at the door of his hut.

When the boy saw Sri Bhatt Goswami he arose and offered his obeisances at the Goswami’s feet. Sri Gopal Bhatt asked him, “Who are you?” The boy said, “I am from Devavandya Gram in Saharanpur. I have come from there.”

Bhatt Goswami said, “Who is your father? Why have you come to me?” The boy said, “My father has sent me here to engage in your service. My name is Gopinatha.” Gopal Bhatt then remembered the boy’s father in Saharanpur, in which the brahmana said he would give the Goswami his son to engage in the service of the Lord. After this time, Sri Gopinatha served Sri Bhatt Goswami with great attention.

Subsequently that boy became known as Sri Gopinatha Goswami. He remained a brahmachari and served the Radharamana deity up until his death.

Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami served his beloved Radharamana deity lovingly, remembering the words and teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. While serving in this way, the eyes of Gopal Bhatt would often filled with tears of divine love that flowed like gushing streams.

Whereupon Sri Radharamana bestowed upon Sri Bhatt Goswami a divine vision of Sri Gauranga Himself. The Bhakti Ratnakara 4th Taranga says, “When Sri Bhatt Goswami was overwhelmed by Krishna-prema, Sri Radharamana revealed himself as Sri Gauranga deva.”