Srila Raghunath Das Goswami:
Breaking Free

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
25 October 2015

Das Goswami wanted to go to Mahaprabhu again and again, but every time Mahaprabhu told him, "Wait and see."

Then, as you know, one day Nityananda Prabhu came to Panihati with His associates and sat under a banyan tree. In the meantime, Raghunath Das Goswami asked his father for the permission to go and meet Nityananda Prabhu, and his father agreed, "OK, you can go, but take your servants with you." So, Raghunath Das Goswami came on a horse surrounded by many servants. The devotees noticed him and told Nityananda Prabhu, "Raghunath is coming!" (Raghunath was famous because his father and uncle were very rich and gave much charity to the people.)

When Raghunath Das Goswami came, Nityananda Prabhu said to him, "Ai, chora, ai!" 'Chora' means a thief. He said, "Come here, thief, come. Today I will give you punishment!" Why did He call him a thief? Because Raghunath Das Goswami first went to see Mahaprabhu—again and again he went to meet with Mahaprabhu, but he did not first come to Nityananda Prabhu. Without the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, you will not get Mahaprabhu. So, Nityananda Prabhu called him a thief because he wanted to take a roundabout zigzag route, avoiding Nityananda Prabhu and going directly to Mahaprabhu, but every time he came to Mahaprabhu, Mahaprabhu rejected him and sent him back to his home.

So, Nityananda Prabhu said, "Ai, chora, ai! Hey thief, come to Me! I will give you a punishment because you first took another road and went to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, but first come to Me!"

"Prabhu, what is Your punishment?" asked Raghunath.

"Here is your punishment. There are many Vaishnavs here, and you will feed them with chira-dadhi, flat rice and yoghurt."

Raghunath Das Goswami went to many shops, bought everything and fed all the devotees. Nityananda Prabhu called Mahaprabhu, and Mahaprabhu came there. Not everybody could see Him, but those who had the eyes, who had no dust in their eyes, could see Him.

অন্ধীভূত চক্ষু যার বিষয ধূলিতে ।
কিরূপে সে পরতত্ত্ব পাইবে দেখিতে ॥

andhibhuta chaksu yara visaya dhulite
ki rupe se para-tattva paibe dekhite

"Our eyes are blinded by the dust of the illusory environment. How can we then see the transcendental world?"

Only those who have clear eyes can see it.

So, Raghunath Das came to Nityananda Prabhu and paid dandavat at His feet. What did Nityananda Prabhu do? Nityananda Prabhu put His foot on Raghunath Das Goswami's head, "Go! Now you can go to Puri to meet with Mahaprabhu! Now all your bondage is cut and finished. Now you can go."

Then Krishna arranged something. On the Durga day all the guards were asleep, and Raghunath went with the family pujari to some place. He had eleven security guards, but when, half-asleep, they saw he was leaving with a local brahmin, they let him go. Then Raghunath told the pujari, "You go back to the house, and I will take another road." That was it.

Before that, he asked Mahaprabhu, "How will I be able to come to You? Who will give me the intelligence and give an idea how to do it?" Mahaprabhu replied,

সে ছল সেকালে কৃষ্ণ স্ফুরাবে তোমারে ।
কৃষ্ণকৃপা যাঁরে, তাঁরে কে রাখিতে পারে ॥

se chhala se-kale krsna sphurabe tomare
krsna-krpa yanre, tare ke rakhite pare

"Krishna will reveal to you how you can come. Who can stop the one who has got mercy of Krishna?"

(Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 16.241)

"It is not your problem. How your bondage with maya will be removed is My problem, not yours." And it happened—by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, Raghunath Das Goswami came to Mahaprabhu.

Seeing him, Mahaprabhu said, "Oh, Raghunath Das Goswami has come today!" He told Svarup Damodar, "I am giving this boy to you," and gave him the name Svaruper Raghu ("Svarup's Raghu"). There are many Raghunaths (Raghunath Bhatta Goswami and others), so his name became Svaruper Raghu...

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