Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī Appearance Day

Identity in the spiritual world

anaṅga-mañjarī yāsīt sādya gopāla-bhaṭṭakaḥ

bhaṭṭa-gosvāminaṁ kecid āhuḥ śrī-guṇa-mañjarī

She who was formerly Anaṅga-mañjarī has appeared to enrich Mahāprabhu’s pastimes as Śrila Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. Some say that Gopāla Bhaṭṭa is actually Guṇa-mañjarī.

[Śrī Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā 184].

Bhajan sung for the six Gosvāmī

Sad-Gosvāmī astakam

Meeting Caitanya Mahāprabhu

From Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 10.105

Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, the forty-seventh branch, was one of the great and exalted branches of the tree. He always engaged in discourses about love of Godhead in the company of Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī. 

Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī was the son of Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa, a resident of Śrī Raṅgam. Gopāla Bhaṭṭa formerly belonged to the disciplic succession of the Rāmānujasampradāya but later became part of the Gauḍīya-sampradāya. In the year 1433 Śakābda (A.D. 1511), when Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was touring South India, He stayed for four months during the period of Cāturmāsya at the house of Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa, who then got the opportunity to serve the Lord to his heart’s content. Gopāla Bhaṭṭa also got the opportunity to serve the Lord at this time. Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī was later initiated by his uncle, the great sannyāsī Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī. Both the father and the mother of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī were extremely fortunate, for they dedicated their entire lives to the service of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. They allowed Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī to go to Vṛndāvana, and they gave up their lives thinking of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When Lord Caitanya was later informed that Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī had gone to Vṛndāvana and met Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmī, He was very pleased, and He advised Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana to accept Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī as their younger brother and take care of him. Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, out of his great affection for Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, compiled the Vaiṣṇava smṛti named Hari-bhakti-vilāsa and published it under his name. Under the instruction of Śrīla Rūpa and Sanātana, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī installed one of the seven principal Deities of Vṛndāvana, the Rādhāramaṇa Deity. The sevaits (priests) of the Rādhāramaṇa temple belong to the Gauḍīya-sampradāya. 

When Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī took permission from all the Vaiṣṇavas before writing Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī also gave him his blessings, but he requested him not to mention his name in the book. Therefore, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has mentioned Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī only very cautiously in one or two passages of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī compiled a book called Sat-kriyāsāra-dīpikā, edited the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, wrote a foreword to the Ṣaṭ-sandarbha and a commentary on the Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta.

Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī didn’t like to see Mahāprabhu as an ascetic

From Bhakti-ratnākara, First Wave

Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī lamented privately when he saw Mahāprabhu as a sannyāsī. Addressing Providence in a choked voice, he would say, “O Providence, why was I born in this distant place? Why have you forced me to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the dress of an ascetic and deprived me of observing His pastimes in Nadia? How cruel you are to allow Him the life of a sannyāsī when I long to see Him as Vrajendra-nandana, the Lord of Śrī Rādhikā.”

Lamenting in this way Gopāla Bhaṭṭa wept like a madman and breathed a heavy sigh, as hot as fire. Forgiving Providence, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa lamented that his bad fortune was his own fault. Having spent himself in lamentation, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa remained reticent, yet Gaurahari could understand the state of his mind. 

When Gopāla Bhaṭṭa fell asleep, the Lord of Navadvīpa appeared to him in a dream. Lord Gaurasundara was strolling through the streets of Navadvīpa and he was there with Him. Nityānanda and Advaita took him lovingly in their arms but when they were about to tell him something, he woke up. 

Gopāla Bhaṭṭa looked around in bewilderment and then went impatiently to find Śrī Gaura. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was delighted and revealed Himself in the form of a cowherd boy, with a blue complexion. The divine beauty remained but, in a few moments, the blue complexion turned golden. The glow of Gaurasundara’s beauty enchanted the universe. How beautiful was the hair that curled across His shoulders. His forehead was decorated by Vaiṣṇava tilaka, His eyebrows dramatically raised, and His magnificent glance stole the hearts of all the ladies. His beautiful face defeated the pride of the autumn moon and His smile showered nectar. His various ornaments, His gesture and postures were fascinating to see. The garland of mālatī flowers hanging around Nimai’s neck enchanted Gopāla Bhaṭṭa.

Gopāla Bhaṭṭa fell at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and again looked at His face with expectation, but the Lord had reassumed His form as a sannyāsī. Mahāprabhu pacified Gopāla Bhaṭṭa and gave him direct instructions. He ordered him to go to Vṛndāvana as soon as possible because there, he would meet two valuable jewels – Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmī.

It is said that Mahāprabhu had such affection for Gopāla Bhaṭṭa that he sent him his own belt and Kaupīna as well as a wooden seat he had used. These items are still worshiped in the Rādhāramaṇa temple by the current sevakas.

Pastimes in Vṛndāvana

From Bhakti-ratnākara, First Wave

Rādhāramaṇa Deity manifests by the desire of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī When Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī was visiting the pilgrimage centers of northern India, he found a śālagrāma-śilā on the banks of the Gaṇḍakī River. He took the worship able stone form and carried it with him wherever he went, attending to it as Vrajendranandana Krishna Himself. One day he thought that he would like to worship the Lord in a deity form so that he could expand his service. On the very next day, he found that the śālagrāma-śilā had transformed itself into Rādhāramaṇa to fulfill the wish of his devotee. This deity stands alone without any form of Rādhā standing by His side. Instead, as a symbol of Rādhārāṇī, a silver crown is placed on his left side.

The story is also told in the following way. It is said that Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī used to daily worship twelve śālagrāma-śilā. He developed a desire to serve the Lord in the form of a deity, thinking that in this way he would be able to worship him in a much better way. The Lord within his heart knew his feelings. Through a rich merchant, he was provided with many beautiful items used in the worship of the deity, such as ornaments and clothes, sent to him. Gopāla Bhaṭṭa began to worry that all these beautiful objects would be wasted because there was no way that he could use them unless he had a deity in human form. That night, he put the śālagrāma-śilā to rest and in the morning, he saw that one of them had been transformed into the Rādhāramaṇa deity.

Disciples of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī

Amongst his disciples were Śrīnivāsa Ācārya and Śrī Gopīnātha Pūjārī. The following story is told about Gopīnātha Pūjārī becoming Gopāla Bhaṭṭa’s disciple. One day, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa went to visit the town of Sāharanpur, not far from Haridwāra. On that occasion, a simple, devoted brāhmaṇa engaged in his service in a most unpretentious manner. He had no children, but desired to have a son. Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī knew the desire of the brāhmaṇa and blessed him that he would have a devotionally minded male child. The brāhmaṇa promised When Gopāla Bhaṭṭa that he would give him his first son to be his servant and disciple. This son was Gopīnātha Pūjārī.

Lessons from the Life of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī

1. One of the symptoms of one who is progressing in bhakti is that he thinks he is unqualified. Out of humility, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī didn’t want his name to be mentioned in Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī’s Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Premā and humility go hand in hand in bhakti.

2. All advancement in spiritual practice is based on desire. In advanced stages one’s desire increases. As stated in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 8.70,

kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ

krīyatāṁ yadi kuto ’pi labhyate

tatra laulyam api mūlyam ekalaṁ

janma-koṭi-sukṛtair na labhyate

“Pure devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be had even by pious activity in hundreds and thousands of lives. It can be attained only by paying one price — that is, intense greed to obtain it. If it is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay.”

An intense desire to attain devotional service is what distinguishes advanced devotees from less advanced devotees. It’s the only price for advancing in

devotional service. Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī’s desire to worship the Lord in a deity form was so intense that Kṛṣṇa manifested Himself as Rādhāramaṇa deity.