Sri Lokanatha Dasa Gosvami was a personal associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and a great devotee of the Lord. He was a resident of a village named Talakhadi in the district of Yasohara (Jessore), in Bengal. Previously he lived in Kacanapada. His father’s name was Padmanabha, and his only sibling was a younger brother named Pragalbha. Following the orders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Lokanatha went to Vrindavana to live. He established a temple named Gokulananda. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura selected Lokanatha dasa Gosvami to be his spiritual master, and Narottama dasa Thakura was his only disciple. Because Lokanatha dasa Gosvami did not want his name mentioned in the Caitanya-Caritamrta, we do not often see it in this celebrated book. On the E.B.R. Railroad, the Yasohara station is located in Bangladesh. From the railway station one has to go by bus to the village of Sonakhali and from there to Khejura. From there one has to walk or, during the rainy season, go by boat to the village of Talakhadi. In this village there are still descendants of Lokanatha Gosvami’s younger brother. (ref. Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Madha-lila, chapter 18, verse 49)
Srila Lokanath Dasa Gosvami
In the small village of Talagari in the district of Jessore in Bengal, one of the eternal associates of Sri Krishna, one of the most blessed manjaris appeared. His name was Lokanath. Lokanath Gosvami was born to Sita and Padmanabha Chakravarty, who were very dear and favourite devotees of Sri Advaita Acharya. They were both great and unalloyed devotees of Sri Krishna and Gauranga Mahaprabhu. From Lokanath Gosvami’s earliest childhood, he had no interest or inclination for any of the pleasures of this material world. He was utterly renounced. At a very young age he left his home and went to Sri Navadvipa dhama to seek shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Lord Gauranga showered His most intimate blessings upon Lokanath Dasa Gosvami.
One day Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu approached him. Lokanath was feeling a great pain in his heart because he was anticipating that Sri Gauranga would soon renounce all of His ties in this world and accept the very, very austere position of a sannyasi. Lokanath could not bear the thought. He prayed to the Lord, “My Lord, I cannot tolerate the thought of Your beautiful blackish hair falling to the ground. It is a thought worse than death itself. I cannot tolerate the mere idea of Your beautiful golden clothing falling to the ground and Your acceptance of the drab saffron colour of a renunciate.”
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told Lokanath, “Three days from today, I will leave my wife, I will leave my mother, I will leave all of human society, and I will go to Katwa to accept sannyasa from Keshav Bharati Maharaja. After that I will roam through Sri Vrindavana dhama, which has always been My heart’s desire. Lokanath, I want you to go to Vrindavana immediately and make arrangements for My arrival.”
Lokanath Gosvami was heartbroken to hear that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was going to take sannyasa, and he would have to suffer separation from the Lord. He was accustomed to being with Gauranga Mahaprabhu every day. But we must see the Lord and spiritual master through the instructions that they give us. So Lokanath Gosvami took the dust of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet. Then he went to every Vaishnava in Navadvipa, worshiped them, prayed for their blessings, and took the dust of their lotus feet. Then he went to Vrindavana. He was the first of all the associates of Lord Sri Caitanya 1ahaprabhu to go to Vrindavana dham, several years before Rupa and Sanatana.
Separation from Lord Caitanya
After sannyasa, Lord Caitanya had every intention of going to Vrindavana. But Sri Nityananda Prabhu, knowing that Mahaprabhu’s heart was always to please His devotee, played a trick and brought return to Shantipur instead of Vrindavana. And then Saci Devi prayed to the Lord, “Please do not go to Vrindavana because I will never be able to hear anything about Your pastimes or Your welfare. The same Krishna of Vrindavana is living in Puri as Jagannatha. Please make Puri Your home.”
On the request of the intimate love of Saci Devi, Lord Caitanya went to Jagannatha Puri. After delivering Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, He decided to go on a tour of south India. Meanwhile, Lokanath Gosvami was waiting for Lord Caitanya in Vrindavana. When he heard all these stories, he became maddened and thought,“I have to find my Lord. If He is not coming to Vrindavana, I will go to south.” Unable to bear the separation from the Lord, Lokanath Gosvami began to walk in his bare feet the distance of thousands of miles to somehow meet the Lord in south India.
When he reached south India, he found that Lord Caitanya had returned to Puri. Immediately, he began his return journey to Puri. But then he heard that from Puri, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had gone to Vrindavana. So in great anticipation and haste he travelled to Vrindavana. He was supposed to be waiting there for Lord Caitanya. When he arrived in Vrindavana, he learnt that Lord Caitanya had stayed there for two months. In Vrindavana Lord Caitanya travelled through all the 12 forests and was reunited with all of His intimate associates – the deer, the parrots, the peacocks, the trees, the creepers, and the cows of Vrindavana. Making His residence at Akrura Ghat, He would sit every day in ecstasy at the Imlitala tree on the bank of the Yamuna, meditating on the holy names of Sri Radha and Krishna. After two months, Lord Caitanya left Vrindavana and went to Prayag.
Lokanath Gosvami resolved that the next morning he would travel to Prayag. But during that night he had a wonderful dream. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared to him and instructed him, “I am always with you. Do not leave Vrindavana; stay here always throughout your life. Soon Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami will come and join you. You should become intimate friends with them.”
Appearance of Sri Sri Radha Vinod
On Lord Caitanya’s order Lokanath Gosvami remained in Vrindavana. He travelled through all the 12 forests of Vrindavana and ultimately came to the forest ofKhadiravan. In Khadiravan, there is a village called Umrao near Chatravana, and in it there is a beautiful kunda called Kishori Kunda. Bhugarbha Gosvami and Lokanath Gosvami resided there, totally immersed in solitary bhajan. They were not concerned with any material considerations of life, and were simply immersed in chanting the holy names and meditating on Krishna’s lilas and their service to the Lord.
But in Lokanath Gosvami’s heart a very deep desire awakened to worship a Deity. The Lord is within the heart of His devotee. So one day a brahmana walked right up to Lokanath Gosvami, who was sitting in seclusion on the bank of Kishori Kunda chanting the holy names. That brahmana gave him a bag and then walked away; in fact, he just disappeared. Lokanath Gosvami opened the bag and it was a beautiful Deity of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. Lokanath Gosvami was completely bewildered and thought, “Who is this brahmana? Who is this Deity?” He didn’t know what to do?
Radha Vinod, seeing the bewildered state of Sri Lokanath Gosvami, began to speak. He said, “My name is Radha Vinod. I have been in this forest for a long time, and I know of your satisfaction. I have personally come to you without any help from anyone else. I Myself came as that brahmana. Now please feed Me.”
Lokanath Gosvami could do nothing but stand motionless. His heart was overwhelmed with ecstatic love, and tears incessantly flowed from his beautiful eyes. Then, taking the order of the Lord, he gathered whatever grains and herbs he could collect. Then he prepared nice bhoga and offered it to Sri Radha Vinod. After the offering, with his own loving hands he made a bed of flowers and requested Sri Radha Vinod to kindly lay and take rest. Then with great devotion, Lokanath Gosvami began to massage the feet and legs of his beautiful Deity. His heart was filled with great attraction. Lokanath dedicated his very soul to the service of Sri Radha Vinod. He gathered some simple cloth and with his own hands, he sewed a small bag to be Sri Radha Vinod’s temple. Wherever Lokanath Gosvami went, he would carry that bag – the residence of Sri Radha Vinod – around his neck. He worshipped Him 24 hours a day.
For a long time Lokanath lived at Kishori Kunda. The residents of Umrao, knowing him to be a perfect Vaishnava saint, approached him and requested to build a nice cottage or temple for him. But Lokanath Gosvami explained that he was completely satisfied living under a tree, and he would accept no other residence. For a long time he lived in this way, and then he was invited to Vrindavana by Sri Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis. They said, “Please come and live with us in Vrindavana. Let us live here together and chant the glories of Radha Krishna and Their most munificent of all manifestations, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.” So Lokanath Gosvami came to Vrindavana and would daily, intimately associate with Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami. There he established Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda Temple. When Rupa and Sanatana left this world, the pain of separation in his heart was so great that he was constantly crying with ecstatic love and gave up the very desire to live.
Initiating Srila Narottama das Thakura
It was at that time that Srila Narottama das Thakur came to Vrindavana. Seeing the great purity of the service of Sri Lokanath Gosvami, he chose within his heart of hearts Lokanath Gosvami to be his spiritual master. Lokanath Gosvami had never accepted disciples and had no intention to do so. But Narottama das continued to serve Lokanath with humility and sincere devotion. Lokanath Gosvami explained to him, before taking initiation you have to chant the holy names of Radha and Krishna with strict vows for at least one year. In this way, he was trying to postpone the inevitable.
Meanwhile, Narottama absorbed himself in chanting the holy names and would do every type of menial service. Twenty-four hours a day, he was serving either the instructions or the personal body of Lokanath Gosvami. At night, Narottama would secretly go to that place near the banks of the Yamuna in the forest where Lokanath Maharaja would respond to nature. Narottama would clean that place with his own hands. Upon seeing that each day everything was so clean and fresh with new water in vessels right in that forest, Lokanath Gosvami was amazed. He could not understand who was doing that. So one night he hid in the bushes to see who was performing that service. When he saw Narottama, he was struck with wonder. With his heart overwhelmingly filled with love, he cried out,“Narottama! You are a son of a king, you are a prince, you are so learned, and you are so great. Why? Why are you cleaning stool and urine with your own hands? Why are you doing like this?”
Narottama replied, “I have renounced all of the luxuries of this illusory world, and I have received the supreme treasure, the ultimate fortune of my life – this humble, menial service unto your lotus feet.” Lokanath Gosvami’s heart melted from the great humility of Narottama das, and then he gave him initiation. When he gave him initiation, Lokanath Gosvami took Narottama das Thakur before the beautiful Deities of Sri Radha Vinod, and offered the life of Narottama das at Their lotus feet. He prayed with great devotion, begging Radha Vinod, “Please accept this devotee’s life of devotion. On this day he is Your property.”
Every day we sing the beautiful songs of Sri Narottama das Thakur – sri guru charana padma. In that song, he praises Lokanath Gosvami as his spiritual master, and we too follow in his footsteps. Narottama das Thakur received the mercy of this most wonderful and merciful Deity – the self-manifesting Deity of Radha Vinod – by the grace of Lokanath Gosvami.
Prayers to Sri Sri Radha Vinod
We are so fortunate that we are also offering our own lives at the lotus feet of Sri Radha Vinod. So let us offer our prayers and understand what is the supreme goal of life-to be the servant of the servant of the servant of Sri Sri Radha Vinod, and to chant Their names with great helpless devotion: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare | Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare ||
Their Lordships Sri Vinodi Lal Ji, beloved Deity of Srila Lokanath Dasa Gosvami
Sri Vinodi Lal Ji Temple
This temple is difficult to find as locals don’t know its location. Temple is very close (100 meter walkable distance) from Sri Damodara Ji temple i.e. Choti Choppad and Badi Choppad ke bich ki red light par. Please ask auto-rickshaw to take you to this location. It is on shop no. 295. Climb on the staircases and you will reach the temple.
Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda Temple of Srila Lokanath Gosvami at Sri Vrindavana Dhama
Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda Temple of Srila Lokanath Gosvami at Sri Vrindavana Dhama
Sri Mahaprabhu Ji worshipped by Srila Narottama Das Thakura, Sri Radha Vinod Ji worshipped by Srila Lokanath Gosvami, Sri Radha Vijay Govinda Ji worshipped by Srila Baladev Vidhyabhusan, Sri Gokulananda Ji worshiped by Srila Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakura and Sri Giriraj Ji with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s thumb-print of Srila Raghunath Das Gosvami
Sri Mahaprabhu Ji worshipped by Srila Narottama Das Thakura, Sri Radha Vinod Ji worshipped by Srila Lokanath Gosvami, Sri Radha Vijay Govinda Ji worshipped by Srila Baladev Vidhyabhusan, Sri Gokulananda Ji worshiped by Srila Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakura and Sri Giriraj Ji with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s thumb-print of Srila Raghunath Das Gosvami
