sannyāsa kari’ prabhu yabe śāntipura āilā tabe āsi’ raghunātha prabhure mililā
Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya 16.223
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came back to Śāntipura after accepting sannyāsa, Raghunātha dāsa came and met Him.
After Caitanya Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa, Raghunātha dāsa went to Advaita Ācārya’s home in Śāntipura to meet Mahāprabhu, hoping to attain His darśana and mercy. Seeing Mahāprabhu, Raghunātha dāsa fell at the Lord’s lotus feet, absorbed in ecstatic love of God. The Lord, desiring to bestow His mercy, touched him with His lotus feet.
Raghunātha’s father, Govardhana Dāsa, had much faith in Advaita Ācārya Prabhu and thus always rendered service to him. Advaita Ācārya was very happy with the family.
By Advaita Ācārya’s mercy, Raghunātha dāsa received the Lord’s remnants and was able to render service to the Lord for five or seven days, until Mahāprabhu returned to Jagannātha Purī.
After returning home, Raghunātha dāsa became mad with ecstatic love of God. He would try to run away from home again and again to go to Nīlācala to meet with Mahāprabhu, but his father kept catching him and bringing him back home.
His father employed five guards to watch him day and night, four servants to serve him, and two brāhmaṇas to cook for him. In total, eleven people were continuously keeping Raghunātha dāsa under control. Because of this he could not go to Jagannātha Purī, and was thus very unhappy.
Raghunātha Meets Mahāprabhu in Śāntipura for the Second Time
ebe yadi mahāprabhu śāntipura āilā śuniyā pitāre raghunātha nivedilā
Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya 16.231
When Raghunātha dāsa found out that Mahāprabhu had arrived at Śāntipura, he made a request to his father.
After visiting Rāma-keli, Mahāprabhu stopped His journey to Vṛndāvana and returned to Śāntipura. There, He met with Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī for the second time.
Having heard that Mahāprabhu had again come to Śāntipura, Raghunātha requested his father, “Please allow me to go see the lotus feet of the Lord. If you do not give me permission, my life will not remain within this body.” Hearing His father consented and sent many people and items along with him.
Raghunātha stayed in Mahāprabhu’s company for seven days. Although there were many people surrounding the Lord, He accepted Raghunātha into His personal service. Raghunātha began thinking day and night, “How shall I be able to become free from the hands of the guards? How can I go with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Nīlācala?”
Since Mahāprabhu is all knowing, He could understand Raghunātha’s heart and spoke the following reassuring instructions:
sthira hañā ghare yāo, nā hao vātula krame krame pāya loka bhāva-sindhu-kūla markaṭa-vairāgya nā kara loka dekhāñā yathā-yogya viṣaya bhuñja’ anāsakta hayā antare niṣṭhā kara, bāhye loka-vyavahāra acirāt kṛṣṇa tomāya karibe uddhāra
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 16.237–239
Be calm and go back home. Don’t be a madman. Step by step you will be able to cross the ocean of material existence. Don’t become a false renunciant for show only. For the present, accept the objects of the material world, without becoming attached. Within your heart, remain very faithful, while externally behaving like an ordinary man. In this way, Kṛṣṇa will soon be pleased with you and deliver you from the clutches of māyā.
"Have unflinching faith within," Mahāprabhu said, "but never display a false show of renunciation. Always avoid markaṭa-vairāgya (monkey-like renunciation), śmaśāna-vairāgya (a temporary mood that arises upon seeing the dead in a cemetery), and phalgu-vairāgya (having attachment to mundane things while displaying intense renunciation)."
The Vraja-devīs never display the love they have for Kṛṣṇa. They never say, “Just see how much bhakti I have for Kṛṣṇa.” In this way, Mahāprabhu taught Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī to follow the moods of the Vraja-devīs. These instructions of Mahāprabhu were His great mercy.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu further told Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, “When I come back to Nīlācala after seeing Vṛndāvana, at that time you can think of some trick to escape and come to Me. Kṛṣṇa will reveal to you at that time how to do this. Who can stop that person to whom Kṛṣṇa gives His mercy?”
Nityānanda Prabhu, Advaita Ācārya, and the other bhaktas became very happy upon seeing Raghunātha. They gave him profuse blessings; he thus became the recipient of their mercy.
In this way, Mahāprabhu sent Raghunātha dāsa back home, where he began practicing everything he had heard.
Upon returning home, Raghunātha dāsa gave up his external renunciation and madness, and began performing his duties in a detached manner. This greatly pleased Raghunātha dāsa’s parents and they slackened their watch on him.
Even though Raghunātha was performing the duties of an ordinary family man, he was inwardly completely renounced. He followed Mahāprabhu’s instructions. He did not show his renunciation outwardly. Seeing the change in Raghunātha after Mahāprabhu’s darśana, His father thought, “Mahāprabhu has given very good instructions to Raghunātha.”
In the meantime, Raghunātha would secretly absorb himself in harināma, while constantly remembering Mahāprabhu and His associates.
Raghunātha dāsa Attempts to Escape
nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanuṁ svām
Kathā Upaniṣad 1.2.23
The Supreme Lord cannot be reached by lecturing, by intellect, or by studying many scriptures. Rather, he alone can achieve the Supreme Lord upon whom the Lord chooses to bestow his mercy. To him the Lord reveals His own true, personal form.
When news of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s return from Vṛndāvana reached Raghunātha dāsa, he made efforts to go to the lotus feet of the Lord.
Meanwhile, soldiers of the Muslim king, headed by a tax officer, arrived in Saptagrāma to arrest Raghunātha dāsa’s father and uncle. Hiraṇya dāsa had made an agreement to collect taxes on behalf of the government and deliver three quarters of his collection to the king. Due to this agreement, the old Muslim tax collector lost his post and had become very inimical.
Although his father and uncle were collecting twenty lakh rupees on behalf of the government, they were only giving twelve lakhs instead of fifteen. Therefore, the tax collector sent a report to the king and brought soldiers to arrest them. Govardhana dāsa and Hiraṇya dāsa had left in advance, having been warned of the soldier’s imminent arrival, for their capture would have led to severe punishment. Unable to find Hiraṇya and Govardhana, the tax official arrested Raghunātha.
After the arrest, the Muslim began chastising Raghunātha dāsa, telling him, “Tell me where your father and his elder brother are, otherwise I will punish you.” He began doing this every day and sometimes, becoming frustrated, he would go to beat Raghunātha. But seeing Raghunātha’s saintly face, his anger would subside and he would refrain from harming him.
The tax officer was somewhat afraid of Raghunātha dāsa because Raghunātha belonged to an aristocratic kāyastha family, and therefore he would only verbally chastise him.
Speaking sweet words, Raghunātha dāsa said, “My father, uncle, and yourself live harmoniously with great happiness because you consider yourselves to be like brothers. All brothers fight now and again about one thing or another. Sometimes they will fight, and sometimes they are affectionate towards each other. Therefore, at the end of the day, even though you are now fighting, I am sure you three brothers will soon be sitting together in one place in peace.
“I am their child—so I am your child as well. Why do you want to chastise me? You should care for me; not punish me, because you are my maintainer. You are not ordinary. You know all scriptures and are almost a saint. Don’t worry, soon my father and uncle will repay the money.”
Hearing Raghunātha dāsa’s sweet words, the Muslim tax collector’s heart melted and tears began flowing down his beard. He said, “From today, you are my son. I will find some means or other to release you.”
The tax collector spoke to the Ujir (minister) and had Raghunātha released. With affection he told Raghunātha, “Your father’s elder brother (Hiraṇya) is not very intelligent. He has kept 800,000 coins for himself, but part of that is my share. Therefore, make some arrangement for me to meet your uncle to reconcile this problem. Whatever he deems fit to give me I will accept. I will depend on him.”
Raghunātha dāsa arranged a meeting between his uncle and the tax collector and peace was established.
In this way, one year passed, but the next year Raghunātha again desired to leave home. One night he got up and ran away, but his father caught him in a far away place and brought him back. Now that Mahāprabhu had returned to Nīlācala Purī, He was the constant object of Raghunātha’s remembrance.
No longer able to tolerate his separation from the Lord, Raghunātha began to repeatedly run away from home, to try and meet Him—but every time he was caught and brought back. His parents stationed many guards around to watch him, but still he would find ways to escape. However, he was always found and brought home after one or two days. His mother finally said to Govardhana Dāsa, “Raghunātha has become mad. You should bind him with some rope until his intelligence returns.”
But Govardhana Dāsa replied in a sad voice, “It is impossible to bind Raghunātha with any rope from this world. His heart has already been bound to Mahāprabhu, and Mahāprabhu’s prema-dharma has made him mad. Therefore, the love of his parents, his most beautiful wife, comparable to a heavenly goddess, kingly splendor and riches, is all insignificant to him.”
The insignificant ropes of material attachments and family cannot bind a person who has received or who has intense greed for pure love. Those who have Mahāprabhu’s mercy cannot be bound by anything in this world.
Haridāsa Ṭhākura had been regularly visiting Raghunātha dāsa’s home and conveying Mahāprabhu’s instructions to him. But this ended when Haridāsa Ṭhākura left to stay in Jagannātha Purī. Advaita Ācārya, Śivananda Sena, Rāghava Paṇḍita, and the other devotees of Gauḍa-deśa would annually go to Purī for the Ratha-yātrā festival, and they would spend the four months of Cāturmāsya in the Lord’s company. But Raghunātha Dāsa could not take even a step outside of his home because he was so heavily guarded. He would pray day and night, “When will I be able to leave everything and go to Mahāprabhu?”
Meeting Nityānanda Prabhu at Pānihāṭi
raghunātha-dāsa nityānanda-pāśe gelā ciḍā-dadhi-mahotsava tāhāṅi karilā
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya 1.283
Raghunātha dāsa went to see Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, who ordered him to arrange a festival of chipped rice and yogurt.
One day, on Mahāprabhu’s order, Nityānanda Prabhu and His associates visited the village of Pānihāṭi, on the eastern banks of the Gaṅgā. The Lord had appeared to make the radiant love of the Vrajavāsīs available to everyone. Even those considered low-natured, like the gold merchants, and people of all castes were accepted and received prema-bhakti from Nityānanda Prabhu.
At Pānihāṭi, Nityānanda Prabhu would stay in the home of Rāghava Paṇḍita. Hearing about Nityānanda Prabhu’s arrival, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī considered something in his mind and being eager for Nityānanda Prabhu’s darśana, he asked his father for permission to go to Pānihāṭi.
“You may go,” his father replied. “I will send guards and servants with you. As well as sufficient funds so that you can arrange to serve the devotees.”
After giving him many gold coins, Raghunātha’s father told him, “Return with the blessings and mercy of the Vaiṣṇavas.”
Nityānanda Prabhu stayed for three months in that area, performing nāma-saṅkīrtana with a large assembly of associates on both sides of the Gaṅgā. He went to Varāha-nagara, Patha-bāḍi, Pānihāṭi, and Khardaha. He also visited the birthplace of Śrī Īśvara Purī, Kumāra-haṭṭa, and the pāda-pīṭha of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī.
Nityānanda Prabhu began a huge saṅkīrtana movement on the order of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. For months the devotees and associates of Nityānanda Prabhu were engaged completely in saṅkīrtana, forgetting everything else. Nityānanda Prabhu invited līlā-śakti there and arranged for all the jīvas to benefit from her mercy. He made the devotees so intoxicated with the bliss of nāma-saṅkīrtana that everyone forgot about food and water completely.
Nityānanda Prabhu, accompanied by His associates, arrived in Pānihāṭi early in the morning. He sat on the bank of the Gaṅgā and kīrtana continued all the while. There, on the riverbank, He thought of pulina-bhojana, breakfast with Kṛṣṇa and the sakhās on the banks of the Yamunā. He remembered how Kṛṣṇa enters the forests of Vraja with the calves and how His sakhās play many musical instruments. Baladeva Prabhu walks in the front of the party and is followed by the elder sakhās and the one or two year-old calves. Next come Kṛṣṇa’s priya-sakhās, and then more calves. Then come the other groups. In this way five groups of sakhās accompany Kṛṣṇa to the forest.
The sakhīs and mañjarīs, some hidden in the forest and some on the roofs of their homes, watch Kṛṣṇa leaving Nanda Bhavana. Some gopīs stand on the edge of the path with gifts for Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa takes flowers from one gopī, sweets from another, a drink from another, and teases another gopī.
While going along, the sakhās are singing and playing on flutes, horns, and other instruments. That kīrtana is so enchanting. The playful calves are dancing with the sakhās. No one feels any lethargy. Where there is no kīrtana, there is lethargy. Without kīrtana, people cannot have strength. Devoid of that nectar, they will appear practically dead. In that place where kīrtana-rasa is prevalent, the heart of the people that go there will be filled with the divine nectar of Vraja, and their souls will be nourished and vitalized. Vraja’s saṅkīrtana-rasa is manifest during Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s cowgrazing pastimes, or goṣṭha-līlā.
That morning, Nityānanda Prabhu began this goṣṭha-līlā-kīrtana and the bhaktas all danced in bliss. As this was going on, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī arrived. Nityānanda Prabhu knew who he is. He knew that before Kṛṣṇa goes to the forest, the gopīs prepare everything for His refreshment in the groves of Vraja.
Sometimes Kṛṣṇa has His morning meal before going on go-cāraṇa, and sometimes, if there is no time, He takes breakfast with Him and He and His friends eat on the bank of the Yamunā under the banyan trees. From Vaṁśī-vaṭa until Bhāṇḍīravaṭa, the foliage of the banyan trees spread, making a beautiful canopy for Kṛṣṇa to pass under. The sakhās climb and play on the branches, which span the breadth of the Yamunā. Kṛṣṇa and the sakhās enjoy breakfast in great festivity. They eat, play, and tease each other. Madhumaṅgala is especially teased. Madhumaṅgala acts in a way to encourage this knowingly, accepting this role to further please Kṛṣṇa and the sakhās. The sakhās thus enjoy hāsya-rasa, laughter and joking.
Nityānanda Prabhu, who was more effulgent than millions of suns, was sitting on a large rock under a tree on the bank of the Gaṅgā, absorbed in this pulina-bhojana, surrounded by His associates. Seeing this scene, Raghunātha dāsa was astonished and he offered his prostrated obeisance from a distance.
A servant of Nityānanda Prabhu pointed out, “There is Raghunātha dāsa offering praṇāma to you.” Hearing this, Nityānanda Prabhu said, “A thief has come to show himself.”
Nityānanda Prabhu called Raghunātha forward, saying, “Come, come. Today I will punish you!” At first, Raghunātha did not go near the Lord, but Nityānanda Prabhu then brought him closeby with his attractive force, and placed His lotus feet on his head.
kautukī nityānanda sahaje dayāmaya raghunāthe kahe kichu hañā sadaya
Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya 6.49
Nityānanda Prabhu is naturally very merciful and humorous. Being merciful, He spoke to Raghunātha dāsa.
Nityānanda Prabhu said, “Thief, I have caught you now! I shall punish you. Why are you hiding? I will not allow you to hide any longer! Now, arrange to feed everyone present varieties of yogurt and flat rice. This is your punishment. You have brought such sweet things from Vraja-maṇḍala, but you are hiding them. Now I give you permission. Begin your distribution at once! ”
[Excerpted from the Bhakta Bandhav Publication “Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Rāgātmikā Vrajavāsī & prayojana Ācārya“]