Parishads: Srila Bhugarba Goswami

Lokanatha Goswami was known as Lila Manjari in Krishna lila.
(Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika 187)

Lokanatha is considered to be Mahaprabhu’s direct disciple and associate. Prior to coming to Nabadwip, he lived in the village of Talakharii in Jessore district in what is now Bangla Desh. Prior to that, he lived in Kacna Paria. His father’s name was Padmanabha Chakravarti and his mother Sita Devi. The Bhakti-ratnakara quotes an old verse which confirms this:

shrimad-radha-vinodaika-seva-sampat-samanvitam
padmanabhatmajam shrimal-lokanatha-prabhum bhaje

The descendants of Lokanatha’s brother, Pragalbha Bhattacharya are still living in Talakharii. Bhugarbha Goswami was Lokanatha’s closest friend and constant companion. He was Prema Manjari in Vraja.
(Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika 187).

bhugarbha-thakkurasyasit purvakhya prema-maïjari

According to the Sadhana-dipika, Bhugarbha was Lokanatha’s paternal uncle. The Shakha-nirnayamrita adds the following comments on Bhugarbha Goswami:

gosvaminam ca bhugarbham bhugarbhottham suvishrutam
sada mahashayam vande krishna-prema-pradam prabhum
shrila-govinda-devasya seva-sukha-vilasinam
dayalum premadam svaccham nityam ananda-vigraham

Bhugarbha Goswami’s initiating guru was Gadadhara Pandit Goswami. He is therefore considered to be Gadadhara’s branch. Sri Bhagavata Das, a fellow disciple of Srila Gadadhara Pandit Goswami, was also a close friend.

Bhugarbha and Bhagavata Das are branches of Gadadhara Pandit, both of whom went to live in Vrindavan.
(Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi, 12.81)

Though he had come to Vrindavan on Mahaprabhu’s order, he constantly felt intense separation from the Lord, shedding copious tears in his desire to see him again. When he got the news that Mahaprabhu had taken sannyas and then gone to Puri and thence to the South on pilgrimage, Lokanatha hurried to Southern India in order to join him. When he arrived in the South, he heard that Mahaprabhu was no longer there, but had gone to Vrindavan. Lokanatha immediately set off for Vrindavan, hoping to see the Lord there, but by the time he arrived, he heard that the Lord was now in Prayag. Lokanatha was disappointed, but still determined to see the Lord and decided to set off again for Prayag.

This time, however, Mahaprabhu appeared to him in a dream and told him to stop running around and remain in Vrindavan and do his bhajana. Not long afterwards, Rupa, Sanatan, Gopal Bhatta Goswamis and others of the Lord’s associates started coming to live in Braj. Their association cheered him immensely.

When Rupa was getting old and unable to walk all the way to Govardhana, he missed being able to see Gopal. When this desire became strong, Gopal came to stay at the house of Vitthaleshvara in Mathura, ostensibly out of fear of Muslim iconoclasts, but actually to show mercy to Rupa Goswami. The deity stayed there for a month, during which time Rupa came for his darshan with Lokanatha and other Gaudiya Vaishnavas. The extent to which Bhugarbha Goswami was dear to Lokanatha is described in Bhakti-ratnakara:

Lokanatha’s affection for Bhugarbha was well known everywhere. They only had different bodies, in spirit they were one.
(Bhakti-ratnakara 1.317)

Gopal Bhatta Goswami was extremely compassionate. Bhugarbha and Lokanatha are a goldmine of virtues.
(Bhakti-ratnakara 6.510)

Lokanatha Goswami worshiped Radha and Krishna in a state of separation, increasing the intensity of his renunciation. He was afraid of the slightest amount of fame. Thus he forbad Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami to write anything about him in the Chaitanya Charitamrita, with the result that only his name can be found mentioned there. Sanatan Goswami has also mentioned his name in the mangalacarana to the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, as well as in that to the Vaishnava-toshani commentary to the tenth canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam.

vrindavana-priyan vande shri-govinda-padashritan
shrimat-kashishvaram lokanatham shri-krishnadasakam

The Lord knows the desires of his devotees and feels himself obliged to fulfill them. He came personally to give Lokanatha a deity, telling him that its name was Radhavinoda before disappearing. Lokanatha was astonished to see the deity and then filled with anxiety at the thought that the Lord himself had come and gone. But Radhavinoda cast his sweet glance on Lokanatha and said to him, “I live here on the banks of Kishori Kund in the village of Umarao. I saw your eagerness to serve me and so I came here myself. Who else would have brought me to you? I am very hungry. Quickly prepare something for me to eat.”

When he heard these words, tears began to flow from Lokanatha’s eyes. He quickly started cooking for Radhavinoda and then made an offering which the deity ate with great satisfaction. He then made him a bed of flowers upon which he placed him, fanned him with branches and joyfully massaged his feet. Lokanatha devoted himself in body, mind and soul to Radhavinoda.

He wondered where he would keep the deity, and decided to make a large bag which became Radhavinoda’s temple. He kept his worshipable Lord constantly close to his heart like a necklace. This attracted the people of Braj to Lokanatha and they wanted to built a house for him and his deity, but he refused. He was so renounced that he accepted nothing other than what he absolutely needed for the deity’s service.

Upon his arrival in Braj, Narottama met Rupa, Sanatan and Lokanatha. He received Lokanatha’s special mercy, for he became his one and only disciple. Lokanatha was extremely renounced and had made a vow not to take any disciples. Narottama Das too made a vow - to take initiation from no one other than Lokanatha. Narottama repeatedly asked Lokanatha to give him initiation, but Lokanatha was firm in his refusal. In order to win his favor, Narottama went in the middle of the night to clean the place he used as a toilet. Lokanatha was so surprised to see that the place was being kept clean by someone that he became curious to to find out who it was. One evening, he went and hid there, chanting japa the entire night in wait for the anonymous benefactor.

At midnight, he saw someone engaged in cleaning the place and asked him who he was. When he found out that Narottama, the son of a raja, was engaged in doing such a filthy task, he felt embarrassed and asked him what his purpose was in doing it. Narottama immediately began to cry. He fell at Lokanatha’s feet and said, “My life is useless unless I obtain your mercy.” When Lokanatha saw Narottama’s humility and pain, his resolve to never give anyone initiation softened and gave him the mantras.

This is a perfect example of how one can win over the worshipable deity through honest and selfless service. Narottama Das took initiation from Lokanatha on the full moon day of the month of Shravan. Lokanatha and Narottama engaged in this pastime to show the value of selfless and sincere service to the entire world, but especially to the people of northern Bengal. Lokanatha was a very renounced Vaishnava, but he saw in Narottama someone who not only had a cultured background, but an enthusiasm and taste for dealing with people. As a result, he asked him to go back to his homeland to preach Krishna consciousness.

When one has taken full shelter of the Supreme Lord and is situated on the transcendental platform in full service to the Lord, then he usually has no enthusiasm for engaging in activities for the welfare of people on the bodily platform. When a devotee goes against this principle, such activities increase in prestige. On the order of his spiritual master, Narottama returned to northern Bengal and began to preach pure devotional service and thus delivered the people of that country.

In his collection of songs known as Prarthana, Narottama Das Thakur has written:

After suffering much sadness, O Lord, you brought me to Braj, pulling me by the rope of mercy which you had tied around my neck. Maya and fate forced me back into the well of material existence by cutting loose that rope of mercy.

Lokanatha Goswami left this world somewhere around 1510 Shaka (1588-9 AD) in the month of Asharh, on the eighth day of the dark moon. His samadhi tomb is found in the Radha Gokulananda temple in Vrindavan. His Radhavinoda deity is also being served in the same temple.

[Excerpted from "Sri Chaitanya: His Life & Associates" by Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj]