Raghunatha dasa Goswami (1494–1586), Dasa Goswami, was a disciples of the Śrī Yadunandan-ācārya (see Vilāpa Kusumānjali, verse 4, Caitanya-Caritāmṛta Ādi chapter 12 and Antya 6) one of the apostle of the Vaishnava saint, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the primary six of which were collectively known as the

Six Goswamis of Vrindavan The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan were a group of devotional teachers (gurus) from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism who lived in India during the 15th and 16th centuries. They are closely associated with the land of Vrindavan where they spe ...

. Together the Six Goswamis established the philosophical writings and records which became the theological basis of the

Gaudiya Vaishnava Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meanin ...

tradition. Among the six, Raghunatha dasa was renowned for his qualities of

simplicity Simplicity is the state or quality of being simple. Something easy to understand or explain seems simple, in contrast to something complicated. Alternatively, as Herbert A. Simon suggests, something is simple or complex depending on the way we ch ...

and

renunciation Renunciation (or renouncing) is the act of rejecting something, especially if it is something that the renunciant has previously enjoyed or endorsed. In religion, renunciation often indicates an abandonment of pursuit of material comforts, in t ...

Background

Born as the son of a wealthy landowner Govardhana Dasa from

Saptagram Saptagram (Bengali: সপ্তগ্রাম; colloquially called ''Satgaon'') was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in t ...

Sen, Sukumar (1991, reprint 2007). ''Bangala Sahityer Itihas'', Vol.I, , Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, , pp.244-50 in

Hooghly District Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli''. The district is named after the Hooghly River. The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsura (''C ...

of present-day

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, Raghunatha dasa is said to have showed a particular disinterest in everyday pleasures and an interest in more religious pursuits from a relatively young age. This was much to the displeasure of his parents, who eventually took to hiring guards in order to prevent Raghunatha dasa from leaving the family home with the aim of having a simpler life elsewhere. Eventually Raghunatha dasa escaped their home and made a journey to

Jagannath Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

where he met his

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna ...

Panihati Chida Dahi Festival

A major event that Raghunath Das Goswami organized was the Chida-Dahi festival at

Panihati Panihati is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is close to Kolkata and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). History There is a legen ...

. Raghunath was visiting Panihati to meet Lord Nitai, who is incarnation of Baladeva, and his associates. Nitai requested him to feed chida-dahi (curd mixed with chipped rice) to all the devotees who were present there. Raghunath arranged for the ingredients from the neighboring villages, and helped by his associates, prepared two kinds of chida-dahi. One contained chipped rice mixed with curd, sugar and bananas; the other contained chipped rice mixed with condensed milk, sugar,

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...

, and edible camphor. Then the preparations were served out, and everybody enjoyed it.

Regulated lifestyle

According to accounts in the

Chaitanya Charitamrta The ''Chaitanya Charitamrita'' (; bn, চৈতন্যচরিতামৃত, Côitônyôcôritamṛtô), composed by Krishnadasa Kaviraja in 1557, is written in Bengali with a great number of Sanskrit verses in its devotional, poetic const ...

, written by Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, Raghunatha dasa led a life of extreme devotional practice, spending more than twenty-two hours out of every twenty-four chanting the

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna may refer to: * International Society for Krishna Consciousness The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known Colloquialism, colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnav ...

Maha mantra, and eating and sleeping for less than an hour and a half per day, and on some days that also was reduced. His clothes included a simple torn cloth and a patchwork scarf. In this connection Raghunatha dasa is quoted to have said: :''"If one's heart has been cleansed by perfect knowledge and one has understood Krishna, the Supreme Brahman, he then gains everything. Why should such a person act like a debauchee by trying very carefully to maintain his material body?"'' Raghunatha Dasa Goswami served Chaitanya mahaprabhu for sixteen years at Jagannatha Puri. Afte which he went to

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

in c.1543-44, where he lived for many years at a

sacred lake Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. T ...

known as ''Radha-kunda''. His bhajana-kutir, or place of worship, still exists there and is visited by many pilgrims to this day.

Main works

References

External links