prāpañcikatayā buddhyā
hari sambandhi vastunaḥ
mumukṣubhi parityāgo
vairāgyaṁ phalgu kathyate

‘Phalgu-vairāgya’ is defined as the rejection of something which is related to the Lord in the understanding that it is something material. The seekers of liberation are engaged in such renunciation.

In other words, it is a mistake to renounce something which is favorable to the service of Lord Krishna, thinking it to be an ordinary material sense object.

anāsaktasya viṣayān
yathārham upayuñjataḥ
nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa sambandhe
yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate

‘Yukta-vairāgya’ is defined as the attitude of one who is detached from the objects of the senses, but uses them only inasmuch as they have utility in the service of Lord Krishna.

Hence, devoid of selfish attachment, and endowed with the ability to see things in relation to the Lord, all sense objects are then directly perceived as being Lord Madhava Himself. Taking Mahāprabhu’s instruction close to heart, Raghunath Das Gosvāmī returned home and gave up his desire to renounce material life in madness and instead engaged in his various duties with a sense of detachment. When his parents saw Raghunath Das Gosvāmī abandon all the external signs of renunciation, they were delighted and they began to think that there was no necessity for such a tight guarding around their son.

In those days, there was an officer of the king with the title ‘Chaudhuri’, or, the present day nāyeb, who acted as an intermediary between the king and the zamindars. He collected taxes from the landowners and received a commission of 25% on them. Hiranya Majumdar, however, paid his taxes directly to the Shah, with whom he had a special agreement and thus cut out the middleman. On an income of 2,000,000 rupees, Hiranya was paying only 1,200,000 rather than 1,500,000. Since the Chaudhuri was losing a large amount of commission, he became an enemy to the Majumdars.

Ever since returning from his meeting with Mahāprabhu, Raghunath Das Gosvāmī was practicing yukta-vairāgya in accordance with the Lord’s instructions. However, when he heard that Mahāprabhu had returned from Vrindavan, he started making preparations to join Him in Puri. At that time, Muslim Chaudhuri had started making complaints to the Shah about Hiranya Majumdar, out of rage of being cheated of his percentage of the tax revenue. Fearful of arrest, Hiranya and Govardhan Majumdars went into hiding.

When the minister came to investigate Chaudhuri's complaints, he arrested Raghunath Das, since his father and uncle were not present. The Chaudhuri came daily to rebuke and threaten Raghunath Das Gosvāmī, asking him to reveal their whereabouts. Finally, he decided to have Raghunath Das Gosvāmī beaten, but when he saw his calm, lotus-like face, he was unable to continue. In fact, though he verbally chastised him> Chaudhuri was afraid to cause him any real harm, because Raghunath Das Gosvāmī belonged to an influential family of the kayastha class. He knew that the kayasthas were intelligent and could plot against him, causing him worse problems.

Raghunath Das Gosvāmī himself was looking for a way to extricate himself from the situation, and spoke to Chaudhuri in a sweet voice: “My father and uncle are like your brothers. The behavior of brothers is difficult to understand-sometimes they fight amongst themselves, and sometimes they are loving to each other. Today you are arguing, but tomorrow, I am sure that you will reconcile with each other. I am your son as much as I am my father’s and therefore you are my protector. It is not right for one such as yourself to punish his dependent. I need to say no more, for you know the scriptures and are practically a living saint, a pir.”

Chaudhuri was affected by Raghunath Das Gosvāmī’s sweet words and began to cry as he was overcome by affection for him. He said, “From now on, I consider you to be my son. I will find an excuse to have you freed today. Have your uncle meet with me and make arrangements, so that I can get my share of the revenues.”

Thus, Raghunath Das Gosvāmī was able to appease the Chaudhuri by his sweet and diplomatic behavior and bring the dispute between him and his uncle to an end. In the meantime, Raghunath Das Gosvāmī’s father was making arrangements for his son’s marriage to an extremely beautiful girl, in order to ensure his commitment to the family.

A year later, Raghunath Das Gosvāmī once again became anxious to see Mahāprabhu and repeatedly ran away from home to go to Puri. Each time, he was caught by his father and brought back home. Raghunath Das Gosvāmī’s mother thought that her son was going mad and told her husband to tie him with ropes. Govardhan responded in defeated tones:

“He has as much wealth as Indra, the king of the gods, and his wife is as beautiful as the heavenly courtesans. If these things have not been able to capture his mind, then how will mere ropes be able to do so? The father who gives life to a child cannot interfere with the effects of his previous life’s actions. Śrī Chaitanya Candra has given His blessings to this boy. Who can keep prisoner one who has been made mad by Lord Chaitanya Mahāprabhu?”
(Chaitanya Charitamrita 3.6.39-41)

While Raghunath Das was devising a plan for how he would be delivered from his entanglements, he heard that Nityananda Prabhu had made an auspicious appearance in the town of Panihati. Thinking that Nityananda Prabhu was the deliverer of the most fallen and that by his mercy he would surely be able to find his freedom, he went across the Ganges to Panihati where he found the Lord sitting under a tree on an elevated seat, surrounded by His associates. As soon as Raghunath Das Gosvāmī saw Him from a distance, he fell like a stick. The merciful Lord Nityananda Prabhu immediately had him brought close to Him and placed His feet on his head. Understanding the deep-rooted desires of Raghunath Das Gosvāmī’s heart, arranged for him to perform a service to the Vaiṣṇavas so that he could realize his cherished objective.

“Like a thief, you don’t come near Me, but simply try to run away. Now that I have caught you, I shall punish you. I want you to feed all My followers chipped rice and yogurt.” When he heard Nityananda Prabhu’s command, Raghunath’s mind was filled with joy.
(Chaitanya Charitamrita 3.6.50-1)

The festival, which Nityananda Prabhu ordered Raghunath Das Gosvāmī to put on, is still celebrated as the ‘Panihati Chira-dadhi Mahotsava’. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu Himself and His non-different manifestation Nityananda Prabhu celebrated the festival along with Their associates, eating on the banks of the Ganges just as though They were cowherd boys on the banks of the Yamuna River. Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu, Their associates, numerous Brahmins and countless men and women enjoyed a feast of milk and chipped rice and yogurt and chipped rice. The opportunity to serve the Lord and His devotees in this way was something that could not come about except for some great fortune.

On the following day, Raghunath Das Gosvāmī distressfully asked Nityananda Prabhu through Raghava Pandit, how he could gain freedom from his material entanglements and find the association of Mahāprabhu? Like an ocean of mercy, Nityananda Prabhu placed His feet on Raghunath Das Gosvāmī’s head and said,

“You arranged this feast on the banks of the river and Mahāprabhu was merciful to you and came here Himself to enjoy it. He blessed you by accepting the offering of chipped rice and yogurt. Then, after watching the devotees’ dancing, He took prasad in the evening. Lord Gauranga came here just to deliver you and now He has removed any impediments, which remained. He will turn you over to Svarupa Damodar and make you His confidential servant, He will keep you by His side. Go home now and forget your worries. You will soon be able to go to the Lord without any difficulties.”
(Chaitanya Charitamrita 3.6.139-143)

After discussing with Raghava Pandit, Raghunath Das Gosvāmī gave a large sum of money as dakṣiṇā (“honorarium”) to be paid to Nityananda Prabhu and His associates. He felt as though his life had been fulfilled after receiving Nityananda Prabhu’s blessings. Upon returning to his house, he never again entered the inner quarters, but remained outside where he slept in the Durga Maṇḍapa. Nevertheless, there were always guards posted near him to prevent him from running away.

Though Raghunath Das Gosvāmī knew that the devotees from Bengal were preparing their annual trip to Puri, he was afraid of joining them, because he knew that he would easily be caught. One day, at the end of the night, Yadunandana Acharya came to Raghunath Das Gosvāmī and told him that a disciple who performed the puja had abandoned his service and needed to be persuaded to take it up again as there was no replacement.

Raghunath Das Gosvāmī accompanied his guru, while all the guards were still sleeping. After walking away with Yadunandana Acharya, however, Raghunath Das Gosvāmī told him to return to his home, saying that he would go alone to the disciple’s house and convince him to come and perform his duties. He told him not to worry and bid him goodbye. With no guards or servants around him, Raghunath Das Gosvāmī realized that he had a golden opportunity to make his escape.

Meditating on Mahāprabhu’s lotus feet, he started to walk toward the east. He avoided the main roads for fear of being caught and even the smaller ones that ran through the villages. Despite the difficult route through the jungle, he walked thirty miles on the very first day, finally taking a rest in a milkman’s cowshed that evening. The milkman saw that he had not eaten for the entire day and gave him some milk.

When Govardhan Majumdar heard that his son had run away, he immediately sent a group of ten servants with a letter for Shivananda Sen, who was already on his way to Puri with the devotees, telling him to send Raghunath back. They caught up with the group of pilgrims, but were disappointed to find that Raghunath was not with them. Meanwhile, Raghunath Das Gosvāmī was walking at great speed towards Puri, completely oblivious to his fatigue and hunger.

Raghunath Das Gosvāmī arrived in Puri after only twelve days, having stopped to eat only three times along the way and resting only infrequently. He came upon Mahāprabhu, who was sitting with Svarupa Damodar, and paid his obeisances to the Lord from a distance. Mukunda Datta informed the Lord that Raghunath had arrived and was paying his obeisances. The Lord told him to approach and Raghunath Das fell at His feet. The Lord embraced him, His heart melting with compassion for the exhausted young man. He said, “Nothing is more powerful than Krishna’s mercy. It has dragged you out of the deep latrine pit of sense gratification.”
(Chaitanya Charitamrita 3.6.193)

Raghunath Das Gosvāmī answered the Lord mentally, thinking, “I know nothing about Krishna. I believe that it was You who pulled me out of that hole.”