Commencing our Rūpa-śikṣā program

Eighty-two years ago today on Akṣaya-tṛtīyā, my Paramgurudeva, Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja, along with his god-brothers Śrī Abhayacaraṇa Bhaktivedānta Prabhu (Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda), Śrī Nṛsiṁhānanda Brahmacārī and Śrī Sajjana-sevaka Brahmacārī (Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja), founded Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti. Today is also the first day of Satya-yuga, the day the road to Śrī Badrī-nārāyaṇa is opened, and the beginning of Śrī Candana Yātrā festival in Śrī Jagannātha Purī.

My Gurudeva, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, said, “anyone who will begin anything on this day, that endeavor will be successful. Akṣaya means ‘not perishable.’ “ (6 May, 2000 Hawaii)

So on this most auspicious day we are beginning our first program here on Vine of Devotion: the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī (Rūpa-śikṣā). My Śrīla Gurudeva spoke on this topic numerous times in different countries. It was extremely dear to his heart. I pray that this program will please him because that will be its only true success.

It’s been a busy week and I only started making today’s video, erm, today. Luckily, I just now managed to finish before the day is over. Whew. I am an absolute beginner at this and I'm a little shy to be posting such an amateur video. I'm hoping that with time and practice, I'll be able to produce better content. For now, please bear with me as I figure out this whole YouTube thing. 😬

If you don’t have time to watch, then you can still commence the program today by reciting these two verses from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya-līlā 19.1, 135):

vṛndāvanīyāṁ rasa-keli-vārtāṁ
kālena luptāṁ nija-śaktim utkaḥ
sañcārya rūpe vyatanot punaḥ sa
prabhur vidhau prāg iva loka-sṛṣṭim

At the beginning of creation, by making His own potency flow through the heart of Brahmā, Śrī Bhagavān created and expanded the worlds. In the same way, by eagerly making His own potency flow through the heart of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu again expounded and spread throughout the world the playful rasa-laden topics of Vraja, which had been forgotten over time.

ei-mata daśa dina prayāge rahiyā
In this way, for ten days Śrīman Mahāprabhu stayed at Prayāga [and]

śrī-rūpe śikṣā dilô śakti sañcāriyā
instructed Rūpa Gosvāmī, thus infusing him with power.

You don’t need to memorize either of these. The verse we’ll get for memorization will be posted on YouTube, Thursday (and here on Friday).

Tomorrow I will post two more videos: one in which I’ll read some glories of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī from my Gurudeva’s edition of Mādhurya-kadambinī and another in which I’ll read about the events leading up to Rūpa-śikṣa from Śrīla Bhakti Ballabha Tīrtha Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s Śrī Caitanya & His Associates.

That’s all for now.

I am very grateful for your participation.  Jaya Śrī Rādhe!

Aspiring to please Śrīla Gurudeva and the Vaiṣṇavas,

-Madhukar das