Becoming the speck of dust at the lotusfeet of Srila Rupa Goswami

[Paramananda das]

Dandavat pranams

Jaya Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga, Jaya Gandharvika Giridhari

Jaya Srila Prabhupada

My Gurudeva always advised me to take shelter of the lotusfeet of Srila Rupa Goswami:

adadanas trnam dantair idam yace punah punah |   srimad rupa-padambhoja-dhulh syam janma-janmani ||
Taking grass between my teeth, I pray repeatedly that I may become a speck of dust at Sri Rupa Goswami's lotus feet, birth after birth. (Raghunath Das Goswami, Muktacarita.)

Srila Raghunath das Goswami has sung:

yadiccher avasam vraja-bhuvi sa-ragam prati-janur   yuva-dvandvam tac cet paricaritum arad abhilase   svarupam sri-rupam sa-ganam iha tasyagrajam api   sphutam premna nityam smara nama tada tvam srnu manah

. O Mind, just listen to me! If you desire to reside in Vraja birth after birth, and if you desire to directly serve the divine youthful couple there with great attraction, then with intense love always remember and bow down to Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami; to Srila Rupa Gosvami and his elder brother, Srila Sanatana Gosvami; and to all their associates and followers.

samam sri-rupena smara-vivasa-radha-giribhrtor   vraje saksat-seva-labhana-vidhaye tad-gana-yujoh   tad-ijyakhya-dhyana-sravana-nati-païcamrtam idam   dhayan nitya govardhanam anudinam tvam bhaja manah

O mind, in order to attain the direct service of the two divine lovers, Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari, in the company of Their friends, every day you must constantly drink, with Sri Rupa Gosvami, the five nectars of worshiping Them, chanting Their names, meditating on Them, hearing about Them, and bowing down before Them, and every day you must worship Govardhana Hill.

 

In  Prema-vilasa Chapter 17: Shrila Narottama  das Thakura  has explained

prabhura achaye sankhya tina laksha nama;   eka laksha bhaktagane kaila kripa dana.

"Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu standard was to chant 3,00,000 names everyday. But He very mercifully awarded His devotees the process of chanting a minimum of 1,00,000 names of Krishna daily.

shri rupa kail...a laksha granthera varnana;   tathapiha karila laksha nama grahana.

"Shrila Rupa Goswami has explained and quoted from over 100,000 different scriptures. Even though he was such a great scholar and devotee he himself chanted 100,000 Holy Names daily.

dasa gosvamira ache laksha pramana;   ei mata sarva bhakta kare harinama.

"Shrila Raghunatha dasa Goswami also rigidly followed the instructions of Lord Gauranga by chanting 100,000 names daily. In this way all the devotees chanted the Holy Names of the Lord daily without exception.

gauranga shrimukhe rupe kahila vaishnave;   laksha nama sankhya kari avasya karibe.

"Lord Gauranga gave the following instructions to all the Vaishnavas Himself and also through Shrila Rupa Goswami: Please compulsorily chant 100,000 names of Krishna daily

Our Srila Prabhupada lived several years at the Samadhi of Srila Rupa Goswami ,and was blessed personally by his Gurudeva and Srila Rupa Goswami to spread KC all over the world.

What is the use of this Purusottama month if we do not worship Srila Rupa Goswami and the other Goswamis of Vrindavana and all the assocaites of Lord Gauranga?

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada ordered Srila Sridhara Swami to sing Sri Rupa Manjari pada upon leaving this world:

Sri Rupa Manjari Pada

by Srila Narottama Thakur

Sri-rupa-manjari-pada, sei mora sampada, sei mor  bhajana-pujana sei mora prana-dhana, sei mora abharana, sei mor jivanera  jivana

sei mora rasa-nidhi, sei mor vancha-siddhi, sei mor vedera dharama sei  brata, sei tapa, sei mora mantra-japa, sei mor dharama-karama

anukula habe viddhi, se-pade hoibe siddhi, nirakhibo e dui nayane se  rupa-madhuri-rasi, prana-kuvalaya-sasi, praphullita habe nisi-dine

tuya adarsana-ahi, garale jaralo dehi, ciro-dina tapita jivana ha ha  rupa koro doya, deho more pada-chaya, narottama loilo  sarana

Commentary by Srila Bhakti Rakshaka Sridhara Maharaja :

Sri-rupa-manjari-pada, sei mora sampada, sei mor bhajana-pujana- my  everything is Sri Rupa Goswami’s holy feet. We are to discuss so many  classifications and positions of rasa: santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhura.  And in madhura-rasa Radharani’s camp is special. Then again there are so many  gradations of sakhis. Then there is the class of the manjaris, the younger  girls, and they have more freedom to approach: when Radha and Govinda are in  union in a private environment, the manjaris can still approach. They have such  freedom to visit Them. If any materials of service are necessary, the sakhis  send the manjaris to that place. The sakhis do not approach there. In that way  the manjaris enjoy the best confidence. The most secret service of both can be  supplied through the manjaris. In the highest position they have free entrance,  and their leader is Rupa Manjari. She is understood to be the leader of the  whole group of younger girls, the manjaris, therefore in madhura-bhajan she is  all-in-all. This has been taught to us by Narottama Thakur. For us - and the  younger batch - she is our highest resort.

Sei mora sampada- my wealth is there in her feet. Sei mor  bhajana-pujana - my worship and service is also in her. Sei mora  prana-dhana, sei mora abharana- the very wealth and gist of my life is  there; and the ornaments of my life, if any there may be, that is within her  grace. Sei mor jivanera jivana- indeed, the very life of my life, if  there is anything, that is also her. I am for her pleasure.

Sei mora rasa-nidhi - if there is anything, the source of any and all  desirable ecstasy is only to be found there. The mine, source, and fountainhead  of all rasa is there in her feet. Sei mora vancha-siddhi - and if I am to  expect any other fulfilment in life, that is also there in her feet. Sei mor  vedera dharama- if any duty is recommended by the Vedas for me, I would  like that such duty be at her feet.

Sei brata, sei tapa - if at all there is any desired accumulation from  any penance or observance of vows, that is also to be found there - sei mora  mantra-japa - and the continuous repetition of a mantra in japa all ends  there: all things have only one end in my case, and that is that they all meet  in different phases in the feet of Rupa Manjari. If she is satisfied then the  variegated nature of all sorts of my devotional practices are satisfied. Sei  mor dharama-karama- and any of my conceptions of duty or activity of any  phases or form all have one end and meet in one point: the holy feet of Rupa  Manjari.

Anukula habe viddhi, se-pade hoibe siddhi - I only pray to the  controller who is at the root of all these arrangements of affairs in this  world, "Please connect me there. Oh Absolute Manager, may you grant my prayer  that all my tendencies may go to attain her favour. Nirakhibo e dui  nayane- and it will be so very intense and concrete as if I can see it with  these eyes. It will not be vague, abstract, or imagination, but I want the most  concrete realisation by the grace of the Absolute Manager."

Se rupa-madhuri-rasi, prana-kuvalaya-sasi - what sort of high class  beauty is there in her holy feet! I want to jump. Let my heart be a lotus. There  are two classes of lotus: the white lotus came from the sun and the red from the  moon. The kuvalaya is a mixture of the two. The lustre of her body will feed me  day and night as the life of my life which is compared to a kuvalaya. The  kuvalaya is fed and nourished by the lustre of the moon, and her holy feet are  the moon, and my very vitality is likened to the lotus. May the lustre of her  beauty maintain and nourish my heart of hearts. Praphullita habe  nisi-dine- and the lotus of my heart will grow by that ray, and dance.

Tuya adarsana-ahi - this is my prayer, but what is my present  condition? My present condition is in the negative side, my Mistress. My present  position is such that without having a sight of you, Your Grace, my heart will  burn into ashes. That is my present position. Garale jaralo dehi - this  is just like the poison of a cobra which produces pain within my heart. I have  been bitten by a snake, and what is that snake? It is that I am not getting any  direct contact with you, Your Grace. The serpent’s poison has captured my heart  and I am going to die. Ciro-dina tapita jivana- and this is not a sudden  thing, but from the beginning I have been suffering this sort of pain of  separation from such a beautiful and hopeful life of fulfilment.

Ha ha rupa koro doya, deho more pada-chaya, narottama loilo sarana- but I have now reached the extreme position and for the last time I am begging  for your favour; otherwise I am going to be finished.

This was composed by Narottama Thakur in praise of Srila Rupa Goswami. In  this way he has given us light of the higher quarter of bhajan life. This  sampradaya is named as the Rupanuga-sampradaya, and our Guru-parampara and all  these things are adjusted according to that. He wrote many songs and they are of  very substantive firmament, very ecstatic, and of deep faith.

This is Sri Rupa Manjari Pada sung by Srila Gurudeva:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8yXFTprPEc

and his lecture at Srila Rupa Goswamis samadhi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg4jACDQzB4

śrī-caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭaḿ sthāpitaḿ yena bhū-tale

svayaḿ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaḿ dadāti sva-padāntikam

“When will Srīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, who has  established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus  feet?.”

I was looking for the chanting of Sri Rupa Manjari pada by Srila Prabhupada on line but could not find it,so I apologize for that.

My Gurudeva told me I should become most eager to read the books of Srila Rupa Goswami:

http://kksongs.org/authors/list/rupa.html

However I am still on Nectar of instruction with Srila Prabhupadas purports and His Nectar of Devotion.

Stavamala and other books I sometimes read, but when will the day come when I will get the mercy of Srila Rupa Goswami by the grace of Srila Prabhupada my Gurudeva and the vaisnavas? When will I be abel to chant suddha nama and become blessed with vaisnava seva and Guruseva.

Only when Srila Rupa Goswami recommends us to Radha Krsna via the disciplic succesion will our life become perfect

Jaya Srila Rupa goswami ki jaya

vaisnava das anu das

Paramananda das