Humility and Empowerment – Rupa Goswami
[Antya 1]
When Sri Caitanya reached Jagannatha Puri, the Bengali Vaisnavas immediately journeyed there to see Him. The party was headed by Shivananda Sena, who compassionately brought along a stray dog on the journey. Rupa Goswami also travelled to Puri, but was delayed due to his brother’s death. Upon arrival, the Goswami stayed with Haridas Thakur, anticipating a second meeting with Sri Caitanya where he would receive instructions on a drama that he was writing about Krishna’s pastimes.
Sri Caitanya daily visited Haridas Thakur and became overjoyed to see that Rupa Goswami had arrived in Puri. The next day, Sri Caitanya introduced Rupa to all the Vaisnavas, imploring devotees like Advaita Acharya and Nityananda Prabhu to bestow choice blessings upon the young renunciant. Regarding the dramas, Sri Caitanya instructed Rupa not to mix Krishna’s Dwaraka pastimes with the Vrindavana pastimes, and the Goswami thus divided the scripts.
After witnessing Sri Caitanya’s ecstatic outpouring at the annual Rathayatra, Rupa composed a verse which captured the Lord’s innermost feelings. When Sri Caitanya saw the verse He became overwhelmed and lovingly slapped Rupa Goswami for his literary craftsmanship. Rupa had been especially empowered to capture and convey the esoteric truths hidden within Sri Caitanya’s heart, and he thus became known as the rasacarya, the spotless authority on divine mellows.
Rupa Goswami scribed two separate dramas to narrate the pastimes of Krishna in Vrindavana and Dvaraka, naming them Vidagdha-madhava and Lalita-madhava respectively. One day, while writing Vidagdha-madhava, Sri Caitanya read one of the verses and became exceedingly happy. When He returned the next day with His associates, Rupa and Haridas lovingly hosted them and humbly sat at their feet. Sri Caitanya glorified the writing of Rupa and encouraged him to read his exquisite compositions, but the humble Goswami was hesitant. As they repeatedly insisted, Rupa finally acquiesced and began reciting selected verses, feeling himself to be an insignificant glow-worm in comparison to the exalted and effulgent sun-like Vaisnavas.
Rupa Goswami thus remained with Sri Caitanya for ten months. Fully equipped and empowered, he returned to Vrindavana to spearhead the sankirtan movement.
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