Srila Jiva Goswami | The Hare Krishna Movement

Disappearance Day of Srila Jiva Goswami

03 Jan 2014 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Jiva Goswami Tags: disappearance day of srila jiva goswami, Jiva Goswami, Lord Caitanya, philosopher, Radha-Damodara Temple, sanskrit scholar, scholar, six goswamis of vrndavan, Srila Jiva Goswami

As today marks the disappearance of Srila Jiva Goswami, who was one the Six Goswami’s of Vrndavan, we honor this day with a short biography of his life.

Srila Jiva Goswami (1513–1598)

Jiva Goswami was the nephew of Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami. He received initiation from Rupa Goswami and became the acharya (spiritual master) after Rupa and Sanatana. Jiva Goswami was a Sanskrit scholar par excellence. Some contemporary Sanskritists call him the greatest philosopher and scholar who ever lived. The youngest among the six Goswami followers of Lord Chaitanya, Jiva Goswami was also the most prolific writer. He wrote some twenty-five books, including the Sat-sandarbha, Gopala-champu, and Hari-namamrita-vyakaranam. In 1542, Sri Jiva Goswami established the worship Shri-Sri Radha-Damodara in Seva Kunja, Vrindavana. His samadhi stands in the Temple compound.

Disappearance Day of Srila Jiva Goswami

14 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Jiva Goswami, Six Goswamis, Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, disappearance of srila jiva goswami, Jiva Goswami, Srila Jiva Goswami

In honor of the disappearance day of Srila Jiva Goswami, we are posting some verses from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta that have been submitted to us by Yasodanandana Prabhu.

…Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī became the ācārya of all the Vaiṣṇavas in Bengal, Orissa and the rest of the world, and it is he who used to guide them in their devotional service. In Vṛndāvana he established the Rādhā-Dāmodara temple, where we had the opportunity to live and retire until the age of sixty-five, when we decided to come to the United States of America. When Jīva Gosvāmī was still present, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī compiled his famous Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Later, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī inspired Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura and Duḥkhī Kṛṣṇadāsa to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Bengal. Jīva Gosvāmī was informed that all the manuscripts that had been collected from Vṛndāvana and sent to Bengal for preaching purposes were plundered near Viṣṇupura, in Bengal, but later he received the information that the books had been recovered.

Srila Prabhupada at Radha Damodar Temple

28 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Radha Damodar Mandir Tags: Gurudas, krsna consciousness, Radha Damodar temple, sannyasa, Srila Jiva Goswami, Srila Prabhupada, Srila Rupa Goswami

Srila Prabhupada at Radha Damodar Temple

“I eternally reside in my rooms at the Radha Damodara Temple” [Srila Prabhupada]

His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the foremost preacher of Krsna Consciousness in the world, first came to live in Radha Damodar Temple in 1959 after accepting the sannyasa order of life. The sevaite of the temple, Sri Gaurachanda Goswami, approached Srila Prabhupada and invited him to come and live there since it was the eternal home of Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Jiva Goswami.

Srila Prabhupada took two rooms, one that acted as a kitchen, the other as a study where he would write.

In the early morning at Radha Damodar Temple, Srila Prabhupada would write and chant japa. He would then circumambulate the samadhis of Jiva Goswami and Rupa Goswami. At 10:00 he would go and take darsana of the other temples of Vrndavana, purchase vegetables and return by 11:00 to cook. Using a kerosene burner and a three-tiered cooker, he would prepare rice, dahl, potatoes, chapattis and subji. He would eat once a day and take some hot milk at night. In the afternoon he would rest for 15 minutes and resume his writing after honoring Radha Damodar Raj bhoga prasadam.

From his kitchen he would gaze out of the small window into the courtyard where Rupa Goswami’s samadhi mandir is situated. He later said that he received great inspiration from Rupa Goswami and that his plans for spreading Krsna Consciouness were formulated during his years at the Radha Damodar Temple.