Raghunatha dasa goswami – biography 3

Raghunatha meaning

Aug 24, admin Our Acharyas 0. Here is a brief account on the life of Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami who was one of the intimate disciples of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami is an eternally liberated associate of Lord Krishna who appeared to join the Lord when He descended over five hundred years ago as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Though he was the son of a very rich landlord belonging to the Kayastha community; Raghunatha dasa had no interest in things of this world. His sole desire was to gain the association of Lord Chaitanya and dedicate himself to His service. Once when he met Lord Chaitanya at Shantipura, the Lord persuaded him to return home and assured that Krishna would deliver him soon from the clutches of maya.

Somehow Raghunatha was able to escape their vigilance with the help of Yadunandana Acharya, his official initiator spiritual master, and he made his way to Jagannatha Puri to serve Lord Chaitanya. This incident took place in the year AD. After an arduous journey of twelve days without proper food or accommodation, Raghunatha dasa reached Jagannatha Puri.

Soro goswami

He would stand at the Simha-dvara gate and eat only whatever he could gather by alms. Later he lived by taking alms from various chatras, or free food distribution centres. Thereafter, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami used to eat rejected food that he had collected and washed. His strict regulative principles were exactly like the lines on a stone.

Raghunatha dasa spent more than twenty-two hours out of every twenty-four chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and remembering the lotus feet of the Lord. He ate and slept for less than an hour and a half, and on some days that too was impossible. Topics concerning his renunciation are wonderful.