Sri Rupa Sanatana’s First Meeting with Mahaprabhu in Ramakeli

Being desirous of meeting the Lord themselves, Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī left the palace in the middle of the night and came to Ramakeli. They first encountered Nityānanda Prabhu and Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who brought the two brothers into the presence of the Lord. Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī placed some grass in their mouths and wrapped cloth around their necks as a sign of humility. They fell down at the Lord’s lotus feet and, with tears in their eyes, made the following humble submission:

“We are millions of times more degraded, fallen and sinful than Jagāi and Mādhāi. We have taken a wicked birth, we have become the servants of Muslims and our activities are exactly like those of the Muslims. We constantly associate with people who are inimical toward the cows and brāhmaṇas. Due to our abominable activities, we are now bound by the neck and hands and have been thrown into a ditch filled with the excrement of evil sense enjoyment.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.1.196-198)

When the Lord heard the extreme humility of the two brothers, He became compassionate. Even so, it is clear from His response to their statement that they were not ordinary conditioned souls, but His eternal associates.

“I really had no need to come to Bengal, but I came anyway just to see the two of you. No one knows My purpose and so people ask Me why I have come to this village of Ramakeli. I am very glad that you have come to see Me. Now you can go home; do not fear anything. You have been My servants life after life, so Kṛṣṇa will deliver you very soon.” After saying this, the Lord placed His hands on the heads of Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī, and they immediately took the Lord’s lotus feet and placed them on their heads. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.1.212-6)

The Lord wished to teach that the conditioned soul is delivered by the mercy of the devotees, so He asked Nityānanda Prabhu, Haridāsa, Śrīvāsa, Gadādhara, Mukunda, Jagadānanda, Murāri, Vakreśvara and His other associates to bless the two brothers.

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Sri Sanatana Siksha

On the day a person commences his journey on the road to liberation and his material entanglement is about to start the process of termination, he meets a spiritual master. Sanātana Gosvāmī was himself an ever-liberated soul and a permanent companion of the Lord, but he showed what questions the aspiring practitioner of devotional service should ask his spiritual master on that day. He said to the Lord:

“I was born in a low family and have always associated with low class men. I am most fallen and the lowest of men. Indeed, I have fallen into the well of sinful materialism and passed my whole life there. I have no idea of what is beneficial to me and what is not. In ordinary dealings, people consider me wise, and I have also come to think of myself as such. You have mercifully delivered me from the materialistic path. Now, by the same causeless mercy, please explain to me my duty. I don’t know who I am and why the threefold miseries constantly wear me down, so how can I attain the highest good? I do not even know how to inquire about the goal of life and the process for obtaining it. Please bestow Your mercy on me and explain all these things.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.20.99-103)

Sanātana Gosvāmī’s first question was “Who am I?” This is the first question that arises in the heart of a person seeking the highest good. If one makes a mistake in assessing his true identity, then he will make errors when it comes to determining the ultimate goal of life. If one makes an error in determining the ultimate goal of life, then everything he does, every effort he makes, will be wasted. All of one’s duties, religious observations and self-interest rest upon the proper knowledge of oneself.

In His teachings to Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught that the living being’s true identity is to be Kṛṣṇa’s eternal servant. The jīva is the Lord’s taṭastha-śakti, or marginal energy, who is simultaneously one with and different from Him. The Lord taught Sanātana Gosvāmī the sādhya and the sādhana, the goal of the seeker, and the methods by which the seeker achieves his goal. Mahāprabhu summarized the three elements of His teaching as sambandha, knowledge of one’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa, abhidheya, the practice that leads to perfection or devotion to Kṛṣṇa, and the prayojana, the supreme goal of spiritual life or love for Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has explained all these matters at great length in his Caitanya Caritāmṛta, from the 20th to the 23rd chapters of the Madhya-līlā with copious quotations from scripture.

Mahāprabhu told Sanātana Gosvāmī that the various scriptures, in particular, the śruti, contain statements which indicate that the living being is both one with and different from the Supreme Lord. Different ācāryas have put forth a variety of doctrines explaining the relation between this oneness and distinction, named advaita-vāda, dvaita-vāda, viśiṣṭādvaita-vāda, śuddhādvaita-vāda, dvaitādvaita-vāda, etc. If one accepts the scripture, one must accept it in its entirety. This includes both types of affirmation and involves finding a way to harmonize apparent contradictions. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s solution to the problem was to establish the doctrine named acintya-bhedābheda, “inconceivable oneness and difference”. This doctrine has been favorably accepted around the world and created a revolution in theistic thinking.

Mahāprabhu concluded His teachings with a discourse on the ātmārāma verse:

ātmārāmāś ca munayo
nirgranthā apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim
itthambhūtaguṇo hariḥ

Mahāprabhu gave eighteen different explanations of this verse from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. When Sanātana Gosvāmī asked the Lord to allow Him to hear them, Mahāprabhu treated him to 61 different interpretations.

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The Holy Life of Sri Isvara Puripad

Iśvara Purī is a sannyāsa name. His name prior to taking sannyāsa is unknown. His father’s name was Śyamāsundara Ācārya. Īśvara Purī took initiation from Mādhavendra Purī, the embodiment of nectarine devotional love. Mādhavendra Purī was pleased with Īśvara Purī’s guileless, sincere and loving service and thus showered him with blessings so that he too became immersed in the ocean of love for Kṛṣṇa. If a disciple can satisfy his spiritual master, then he will be fortunate and attain all auspiciousness and all his desires will be fulfilled. On the other hand, if the guru is unhappy with a disciple, then he will only know inauspiciousness. These teachings have been highlighted in the exemplary life of Mādhavendra Purī.

Rāmacandra Purī was another of Mādhavendra Purī’s initiated disciples, but because of his arrogance, he was bereft of his guru’s grace. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja has described the incident with great beauty in the Caitanya Caritāmṛta (3.8.16-30) as follows:

Previously, when Mādhavendra Purī was showing pastimes of sickness, Rāmacandra Purī came to see him. Mādhavendra Purī was singing the Names of the Lord and crying out, “I have not attained Mathura!” Rāmacandra then began to instruct him without compunction even though he was a disciple. He said, “Remember that you are completely full of the bliss of Brahman. Why are you crying like this despite being knowledgeable of your own Brahman-nature?”

When Mādhavendra Purī heard this, he became angry and began to rebuke Rāmacandra, saying, “Get away, get away, you most sinful rascal! I am dying from the distress of not having received Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, of not having attained Mathura, and you come to add to my misery! Go wherever you like, but don’t show your face to me again! If I see you while I am dying, I will take a lower birth. I am dying from the distress of not having attained Kṛṣṇa and this lowly fool is teaching me about Brahman.”

As a result, Mādhavendra Purī withdrew his blessings from his disciple who thenceforth started to develop material desires. He became a dry philosopher without any interest in Kṛṣṇa. Not only that but he became critical of everyone and devoted himself to faultfinding.

Īśvara Purī, on the other hand, served his guru, even personally cleaning his urine and faeces. He continuously repeated the Name of Kṛṣṇa and recounted Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. Mādhavendra Purī was so pleased with Īśvara Purī that he embraced and blessed him, saying, “May you have the treasure of love for Kṛṣṇa!” From that time onward, Īśvara Purī became an ocean of love for Kṛṣṇa, while Rāmacandra Purī became a mine of insults. These two personalities thus bear witness to the results of pleasing or displeasing a great soul. Mādhavendra Purī taught this truth through them.

In this connection, Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda has written in his Anubhāṣya, “Even though Rāmacandra Purī saw his own guru suffering of separation from Kṛṣṇa, he was incapable of recognizing the transcendental nature of this transport of emotions. He judged his guru to be an ordinary man and took his mood to be mundane, the result of some material insufficiency. As a result, he tried to explain to him the value of experiencing the oneness of Brahman. Mādhavendra Purī reacted to his disciple’s stupidity and disregard for his instructions and thus stopped wishing for his welfare. He abandoned him and drove him away.”