Who is Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī's dīkṣā-guru?
The following is an excerpt from Śrī Śrī Vraja-dhāma o Śrī Gosvāmī-gaṇa (Dvitīya, Tṛtīya Khaṇḍa), published 1961, by one Śrī Govardhana Dāsa. The text appears to be very well researched and compiled. Its opening pages feature testimonials of its excellent quality and adherence to proper siddhānta from many a renowned scholar, including Śrī Sakhī-caraṇa Rāya, the respected disciple of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. This, I hope, lends some credibility to the revelation disclosed herein.
There is good reason for us to believe that the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, is Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda’s disciple, for he has written as follows in one of his couplets: “jāhāra sādhana-rīti kahite camatkāra | sei raghunātha dāsa prabhu je āmāra || – That Raghunātha Dāsa, whose practice of sādhana is most wondrous to speak of, is my master.”
Furthermore, at the end of every chapter of Śrī Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, he has written: “śrī rūpa-raghunātha pade kari āśa | caitanya-caritāmṛta kahe kṛṣṇadāsa – I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, aspiring for the feet of Śrī Rūpa and Raghunātha, narrate these nectareous accounts of Lord Caitanya.”
But which Raghunātha would this be? Is Śrī Raghunātha Dāsa or Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa the dīkṣā-gurudeva of Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī? Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmipāda has settled this question in the “Śrīmad Raghunātha-Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmyaṣṭakam” he wrote, as follows:
mahyaṁ sva-padāśrayaṁ karuṇayā datvā punas-tat-kṣaṇāt,
śrīmad-rūpa-padāravindam-atulaṁ mamārpitaṁ svāśrayāt |
nityānanda-kṛpā-balena yam ahaṁ prāpya prakṛṣṭo ’bhavaṁ
taṁ śrīmad-raghunātha-bhaṭṭam-aniśaṁ premnā bhaje sāgraham ||
“He mercifully granted me shelter at his feet and then, at that instant, offered me at the matchless feet of my refuge Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmī. It was on the strength of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu’s mercy that I attained his shelter and became blessed. I worship that Śrīmad Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī day and night with utmost love and urgency.”
The statement “mahyaṁ sva-padāśrayaṁ karuṇayā datvā” in this verse implies the topic of dīkṣā. In the next verse, he says:
yaḥ ko ’pi prapaṭhed-idaṁ mama guroḥ prītyaṣṭakaṁ pratyahaṁ,
śrī-rūpaḥ sva-padāravindam-atulaṁ datvā punas-tat-kṣaṇāt |
tasmai śrī vraja-kānane vraja-yuva-dvandvasya sevāmṛtaṁ
samyag yacchati sāgrahaṁ priyataraṁ nānyad yato bho namaḥ ||
“Those who daily recite this aṣṭaka dedicated to my guru with love will find that Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī instantly grants them his matchless lotus feet and eagerly bestows upon them the nectar of service in Vṛndāvana to the Divine Couple of Vraja, which is an attainment so precious and dear that it simply cannot be rivalled.”
These statements provide clear evidence that Śrīla Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmipāda is indeed Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmipāda’s śrī gurudeva, the one who granted him dīkṣā-mantras.
Another doubt is this: Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī himself has written: “ei chaya guru śikṣā-guru je āmāra – these six gurus are my śikṣā-gurus.” As Śrīla Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmipāda is also among “these six gurus”, this perhaps proves that he is but Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī’s śikṣā-guru. If that is the case, then who is Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī’s dīkṣā-guru? In the first chapter of the Ādi-līlā section of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī writes: “nityānanda rāya prabhura svarūpa prakāśa | tā̃ra pādapadma vando jā̃ra mui dāsa || – Nityānanda Rāya is the manifestation of the Lord’s own self. I venerate his feet, for I am His servant.”
From this couplet, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda has outlined the conclusion that Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu Himself is Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī’s dīkṣā-guru. Now we must consider the situation. Śrīman Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrīla Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, and Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī cannot, all three of them together, be the dīkṣā-mantra-dātā śrī gurudeva of Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī. This is extremely true, a resolute truth. Still, in one way, without committing any offense, we can safely agree that, as stated in śāstra, dīkṣā-guru and śikṣā-guru are non-different.
“Guru-rūpe kṛṣṇa kṛpā karena bhakta-gaṇe –
Kṛṣṇa shows mercy to the devotees in the form of śrī guru.”
"śākṣād-haritvena samasta śāstrair
uktas-tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ
kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya
vande guroḥ śrī caraṇāravindam"
From this verse composed by Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī, we know that although to the disciple, śrī gurudeva is Śrī Bhagavān Himself, he is Śrī Bhagavān’s beloved (āśraya-vigraha). And Śrī Bhagavān is the viṣaya-vigraha.
Śrīman Nityānanda Prabhu is the form of Bhagavān (śrī bhagavad-vigraha) and is non-different from Bhagavān (śrī bhagavad-abhinna). And since both dīkṣā-guru and śikṣā-guru are śrī bhagavat-pradātā (those who grant us Śrī Bhagavān), they too are non-different in soul (abhinnātmā) [from each other and from Bhagavān]. Effectively, Śrīla Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī is, as clearly stated by Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī, his dīkṣā-guru, and Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda is his śikṣā-guru, while Śrīman Nityānanda Prabhu, as the granter of prema for Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, is his śrī bhagavad-guru. There is no point in debating this point any further.
Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda ki jaya!
Śrīla Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī ki jaya!
Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī ki jaya!