Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya disappearance day

Identity in the spiritual world

priya-narma-sakhā kaścid arjunaḥ pāṇḍavo’rjunaḥ

militvā samabhūd rāmānanda-rāyaḥ prabhoḥ priyaḥ

ato rādhā-kṛṣṇa-bhakti-prema-tattvādikaṁ kṛtī

rāmānando gauracandraṁ pratyavarṇayad anvaham

lalitety āhur eke yat tad ekenānumanyante

bhavānandaṁ prati prāha gauro yat tvaṁ pṛthā-patiḥ

gopyārjunīyayā sārdham ekībhāyāpi pāṇḍavaḥ

arjuno yad rāya-rāmānanda ity āhur uttamāḥ

arjunīyābhavat tūrṇaṁ arjuno’pi ca pāṇḍavaḥ

iti pādmottara-khaṇḍe vyaktam eva virājate

tasmād etat trayaṁ rāmānanda-rāya-mahāśayaḥ

There are two Arjunas in Kṛṣṇa lila: one is a priya-narma-sakha in Vraja, the other is one of the Pāṇḍavas. These two combined to become Mahāprabhu’s dear companion Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya. Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya was very knowledgeable in the teachings of loving devotion to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, which he described to Gauracandra on a daily basis. Some people say that Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya was Lalita Sakhi, while others do not. Mahaprabhu Himself told Bhavananda Raya that he was Pāṇḍu, the husband of Kunti and father of the Pāṇḍavas. The Pāṇḍava Arjuna also united with the gopi named Arjuniya. Thus, the most aware say that Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya combined all these three personalities. Proof of this is found in the Padma Purāṇa, where it is stated that the Pāṇḍava Arjuna became the gopi Arjuniya. [Śrī Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā 120-124]

Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya tells Mahaprabhu about Rāmānanda Rāya

Excerpt from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 7

While Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was departing, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya submitted the following at His lotus feet: “My Lord, I have one final request that I hope You will kindly fulfill. “In the town of Vidyānagara, on the bank of the Godāvarī, there is a responsible government officer named Rāmānanda Rāya. Please do not neglect him, thinking he belongs to a śūdra family engaged in material activities. It is my request that You meet him without fail.” Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya continued, “Rāmānanda Rāya is a fit person to associate with You; no other devotee can compare with him in knowledge of the transcendental mellows. He is a most learned scholar as well as an expert in devotional mellows. Actually he is most exalted, and if You talk with him, You will see how glorious he is. I could not realize when I first spoke with Rāmānanda Rāya that his topics and endeavors were all transcendentally uncommon. I made fun of him simply because he was a Vaiṣṇava.” The Bhaṭṭācārya said, “By Your mercy I can now understand the truth about Rāmānanda Rāya. In talking with him, You also will acknowledge his greatness. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s request that He meet Rāmānanda Rāya. Bidding Sārvabhauma farewell, the Lord embraced him.

Mahāprabhu meets Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya

Excerpt from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 8

After visiting the temple of Jiyaḍa-nṛsiṁha [in south India], Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the banks of the river Godāvarī, to a place known as Vidyānagara. When Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya went there to take his bath, they met. After introducing himself, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya requested Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to remain in the village for some days. Honoring his request, Caitanya Mahāprabhu stayed there in the home of some Vedic brāhmaṇas. In the evening, Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya used to come to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Rāmānanda Rāya, who was clothed in ordinary dress, offered the Lord respectful obeisances. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu questioned him on the object and process of worship and also asked him to recite verses from the Vedic literature.

First of all, Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya enunciated the system of the varṇāśrama institution. He recited various verses about karmārpaṇa, stating that everything should be dedicated to the Lord. He then spoke of detached action, knowledge mixed with devotional service, and finally the spontaneous loving service of the Lord. After hearing Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya recite some verses, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the principle of pure devotional service devoid of all kinds of speculation. After this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Rāmānanda Rāya to explain the higher platform of devotional service. Then Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya explained unalloyed devotional service, love of Godhead, and serving the Lord in the moods of pure servitude, fraternity and parental love. Finally he spoke of serving the Lord in conjugal love. He then spoke of how conjugal love can be developed in various ways. This conjugal love attains its highest perfection in Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s love for Kṛṣṇa. He next described the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the transcendental mellows of love of God. Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya then recited a verse of his own concerning the platform of ecstatic vision, technically called prema-vilāsa-vivarta. Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya also explained that all stages of conjugal love can be attained through the mercy of the residents of Vṛndāvana, especially by the mercy of the gopīs. All these subject matters were thus vividly described. Gradually Rāmānanda Rāya could understand the position of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited His real form, Rāmānanda Rāya fell unconscious. After some days, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Rāmānanda Rāya to retire from government service and come to Jagannātha Purī. These descriptions of the meetings between Rāmānanda Rāya and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are taken from the notebook of Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī.

Mahāprabhu revealed His real form to Rāmānanda Rāya

Gradually Rāmānanda Rāya could understand the position of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One evening, after discussing the topics of Kṛṣṇa for some time, Rāmānanda Rāya caught hold of the lotus feet of the Lord and spoke as follows. “There is a variety of transcendental truths — the truth about Kṛṣṇa, the truth about Rādhārāṇī, the truth about Their loving affairs, the truth about transcendental humors, and the truth about the Lord’s pastimes. You have manifested all these transcendental truths in my heart. This is exactly the way Nārāyaṇa educated Lord Brahmā. Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “The Supersoul within everyone’s heart speaks not externally but from within. He instructs the devotees in all respects, and that is His way of instruction.” Rāmānanda Rāya then said that he had but one doubt within his heart, and he petitioned the Lord, “Please be merciful upon me and just remove my doubt.” Rāmānanda Rāya then told Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “At first I saw You appear like a sannyāsī, but now I am seeing You as Śyāmasundara, the cowherd boy. I now see You appearing like a golden doll, and Your entire body appears covered by a golden luster. I see that You are holding a flute to Your mouth, and Your lotus eyes are moving very restlessly due to various ecstasies. I actually see You in this way, and this is very wonderful. My Lord, please tell me without duplicity what is causing this.

Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “You have a deep love for Kṛṣṇa, and one who has such deep ecstatic love for the Lord naturally sees things in such a way. Please take this from Me to be certain. A devotee advanced on the spiritual platform sees everything movable and inert as the Supreme Lord. For him, everything he sees here and there is but a manifestation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The mahā-bhāgavata, the advanced devotee, certainly sees everything mobile and immobile, but he does not exactly see their forms. Rather, everywhere he immediately sees manifest the form of the Supreme Lord.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “ A person advanced in devotional service sees within everything the soul of souls, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Consequently he always sees the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the cause of all causes and understands that all things are situated in Him. The plants, creepers and trees were full of fruits and flowers due to ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, being so full, they were bowing down. They were inspired by such deep love for Kṛṣṇa that they were constantly pouring showers of honey. In this way the gopīs saw all the forests of Vṛndāvana.” Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “My dear Rāya, you are an advanced devotee and are always filled with ecstatic love for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Therefore whatever you see — anywhere and everywhere — simply awakens your Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “My dear Lord, please give up all these serious talks. Please do not conceal Your real form from me. My dear Lord, I can understand that You have assumed the ecstasy and bodily complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. By accepting this, You are tasting Your own personal transcendental humor and have therefore appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. My dear Lord, You have descended in this incarnation of Lord Caitanya for Your own personal reasons. You have come to taste Your own spiritual bliss, and at the same time You are transforming the whole world by spreading the ecstasy of love of Godhead. My dear Lord, by Your causeless mercy You have appeared before me to grant me liberation. Now You are playing in a duplicitous way. What is the reason for this behavior?”

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all pleasure, and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the personification of ecstatic love of Godhead. These two forms had combined as one in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This being the case, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu revealed His real form to Rāmānanda Rāya. Upon seeing this form, Rāmānanda Rāya lost consciousness in transcendental bliss. Unable to remain standing, he fell to the ground. When Rāmānanda Rāya fell to the ground unconscious, Caitanya Mahāprabhu touched his hand, and he immediately regained consciousness. But when he saw Lord Caitanya in the dress of a sannyāsī, he was struck with wonder. After embracing Rāmānanda Rāya, the Lord pacified him, informing him, “But for you, no one has ever seen this form.”

Lessons from the life of Rāmānanda Rāya

1. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya's plea to Mahāprabhu to meet Rāmānanda Rāya, despite the latter's birth in a śūdra family, underscores the transcendence of social and caste distinctions in the realm of spiritual enlightenment. This interaction teaches that genuine spiritual wisdom and devotion are not confined to any social class and that true seekers should be recognized for their spiritual merit rather than their social standing.

2. The discussions between Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya culminate in the explanation of the highest form of devotional relationship, that of conjugal love, as exemplified by the love of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī for Kṛṣṇa. This illustrates the concept of prema, or divine love, which reaches its zenith in the intimate, loving exchanges between the devotee and the divine, going beyond formal worship to a personal, loving relationship.

3. Mahāprabhu’s revelation of His divine form to Rāmānanda Rāya teaches about the intimate nature of divine experiences bestowed upon advanced devotees. Spiritual truths and visions are revealed to those who are deeply devoted and surrendered, emphasizing the personal and experiential aspect of divine realization.