Chapter I

Life sketch of Jīva Gosvāmī 1

This chapter deals with the life sketch of Jīva Gosvāmī and his works.

Jīva Gosvāmī (Sanskrit: जीव गोवामी , 1511–1596 A.D.) was one of the most prolific and important philosopher-saints from the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava school of the Vedānta tradition, having produced a great number of philosophical works on the theology and practice of Bhakti yoga, Vaiṣṇava Vedānta and associated disciplines. He was a member of Six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, being the nephew of the two leading figures, Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī.

There seems to be some controversy amongst biographers about Jīva Gosvāmī’s birth. Some opine that he lived from 1511–1596 A..D., while others claim that he lived from 1533 to 1618 CE. The earlier date 1511-1596 is accepted as authentic by his follower Śrı Haridāsa Śāstri, who has enlarged Jīva’s Harināmāmṛta-Vyākaraṇa, and has added useful notes for aiding in the understanding of the grammatical rules. Little is known about Jīva Gosvāmī’s childhood. His birth-place, Rāmakeli, is situated in the district of Māldāh, West Bengal. His father was Śrīvallabha Mallika (also known as Anupama), the younger brother of Rūpa and Sanātana; his mother’s name is not known. He was strongly attracted to the worship of Kṛṣṇa and was a brilliant student during his education. He completed his studies in Sanskrit Vyākaraṇa (grammar) and Kāvya (poetics) within a very short period.

1 Ref. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Subsequently, Jīva went on to Benares where he studied and mastered the six systems

of Indian philosophy known as Ṣaḍ Darśanāḥ (ष蕍 दश셍नाः) under the tutelage of

Madhusūdana Vācaspati, the disciple of the famous logician and Vedāntist, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācharya. In 1535 Jīva arrived in Vṛndāvana where he remained under the tutelage of his uncles, Rūpa and Sanātana (by this time his father Anupama had died). He accepted initiation from Rūpa Gosvāmī and was taught the specialized knowledge relating to devotion to Kṛṣṇa. Jīva helped in editing the writings of Rūpa and Sanātana and assisted them in their work in propagating Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism and excavating the lost holy places of Vṛndāvana, which is a practice followed by devout Vaiṣṇavas.

After the demise of Rūpa and Sanātana, Jīva Gosvāmī became the foremost authority in

the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava line. In 1542 Jīva established one of the prominent and important temples in the Vṛndāvana area, the Rādhā Dāmodara temple, installing deities of Rādha and Kṛṣṇa that had been personally carved by Rūpa Gosvāmī. At that time he also established the Viśva Vaiṣṇava Rāja Sabhā (World Vaiṣṇava Association) and the Rūpānuga Vidyāpīṭha, an educational facility for Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas to study the works of Rūpa and Sanātana. His erudition and spirituality were so famous that the Moghul emperor Akbar became his ardent admirer and donated paper for his writing.

In 1558, Jīva instructed his disciples, Narottama Dāsa, Srinivāsa Ācārya and

Śyāmānanda, to go to Bengal and propagate the GauḍīyaVaiṣṇava philosophy and to take with them the original manuscripts that had been written by Rūpa and Sanātana.

Philosophy of Acintya-bhedābheda :

It was in his Sarva-samvādinī commentary to the Six Sandarbhas of Hindu philosophy that Jīva Gosvāmī first wrote of Acintya bheda-abheda, the philosophy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In essence, the philosophy of Acintya bheda-abheda, or "inconceivable oneness and difference", avoids the extremes of Śaṃkara's monistic Advaita vedānta and Madhva's pure dualism (Dvaita) by interpreting the material and 7

spiritual potencies of the Supreme Person (Bhagavān) as being simultaneously one and different from Him. Acintya bheda-abheda has also been described as “realistic advaita”.

Works of Jīva Gosvāmī :

There are about 25 literary works attributed to Jīva Gosvāmī.

1.Harināmāmṛta-Vyākaraṇa: This work is a book on Sanskrit grammar wherein each and every word, syllable and grammatical rule is explained in relation to Kṛṣṇa and his pastimes.

2.Sūtra-mālikā: a grammatical work dealing with the derivation of Sanskrit words.

3.Dhātu-saṃgraha: a work on the verb roots of Sanskrit words

4.Rādhā- Kṛṣṇa Arcanā-Candrikā

5.Rasāmṛta-śeṣa: A work dealing with Sanskrit composition. Jīva has based this work on the Sāhitya Darpaṇa of Viśvanātha Kavirājā, but has used many examples of his own as well as examples from other Gosvāmīs.

6.Mādhava-mahotsava: A work describing the coronation ceremony of Rādhā when she is given the position of Queen of Vṛndāvana.

7.Sankalpa-kalpadruma: An explanation of the eightfold daily pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa (aṣṭa-kālīya-līlā) in the form of a prayer.

8.Gopāla Vidurāvali: a short poem by Jīva extolling the glories of Gopāla (Kṛṣṇa) in 38 verses.

9.Bhāvārtha-sūcaka-campu

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10.Sukha-Bodhinī: A commentary on the Gopāla Tāpanī Upaniṣad,which has importance in GauḍīyaVaiṣṇavism,as it provides Upaniṣadic backing for the notion that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme deity.

11.Dig-Darśinī Ṭīkā on Brahma Saṃhitā: This is Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī's commentary on the text Brahma Saṃhitā,which was discovered by Caitanya Mahāprabhu at the Ādi Keśava

Temple at Tiruvattaru.

12.Commentary on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: Jīva Gosvāmī wrote his Durgama-sangamāni commentary on Rūpa Gosvāmī's Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.

13.Locana-rocanī: A commentary on Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī's Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi

14.Yogasāra-Stavaka-Ṭīkā

15.Agni Purāṇastha gāyatrī-bhāṣya: A commentary on the Brahma Gāyatrī mantra as found in the ancient Agni Purāṇa, chapters 216-217.

16.Padma Purāṇokta Kṛṣṇa-pāda-padma-cihna: This text by Jīva describes the insignia found on the feet of Kṛṣṇa according to the text of the Padma Purāṇa.

17.Śrī Rādhikā-kara-pāda-sthita-cihna: In this short work, Jīva Gosvāmī describes the insignia found on the hands and feet of Rādhā.

18.Laghu Vaiṣṇava Toṣaṇī : The Laghu Vaiṣṇava Toṣaṇī is Jīva Gosvāmī's commentary on the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

19.Gopāla-Campū: The Gopāla-Campū is a poetic work written by Jīva and is divided into two parts. The first part is the Pūrva-Campū, which has 33 chapters and describes Kṛṣṇa's life in Vṛndāvana. The second section, the Uttara-Campū has 37 chapters and describes the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa after he leaves Vṛndāvana, and the separation the residents of Vṛndāvana feel in his absence.

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20. Ṣaṭ-Sandarbhas (Six Sandarbhas); According to Jīva Gosvāmī himself, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī had already done the preliminary work on these books but could not complete it. Jīva took up the work of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa and expanded it into six books wherein he systematically presents the philosophy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu with scriptural evidences. Jīva also wrote an extensive auto-commentary on the Sandarbhas called Sarva-Samvādinī. The six Sandarbhas are as follows:

(a)Tattva-Sandarbha: Tattva sandarbha is a treatise on the various types of evidences (pramāṇas) used in Vedic philosophy. Jīva's conclusion is that śabda (divine sound in the form of the Vedic scriptures) is the highest; and of all the scriptures, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa is the highest.

(b)Bhāgavata Sandarbha: In the Bhāgavata-Sandarbha, Jīva Gosvāmī makes the distinction between the impersonal aspect of Godhead (Brahman), the localized form of God within the heart of each living being (Paramātmā) and the highest personal aspect of Godhead (Kṛṣṇa or Bhagavān). He also describes the spiritual realm of Kṛṣṇa, the modes of material nature, the mode of pure goodness (viśuddha-sattva), the importance of worshipping the deity of Kṛṣṇa and the nature and qualities of the deity.

(c) Paramātma Sandarbha: The Paramātma Sandarbha describes the characteristics of the Paramātmā (the supersoul),and how He resides in all living entities in the universe.This work also discusses the nature of the materially conditioned living entities, the phenomenal material world, the illusory potency (Māyā ),the theory of transformation, the various avatāras of Kṛṣṇa, how Kṛṣṇa reciprocates with his devotees and how Kṛṣṇa

is characterised by the six particular opulences (भगs).

(d) Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: In his Kṛṣṇa-Sandarbha, Jīva gives a number of quotes from various scriptures to prove that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme God. He also discusses the pastimes and qualities of Kṛṣṇa as well as his avatāras and functionary expansions. There is a description of Goloka, the planet of Kṛṣṇa in relation to Vṛndāvana in the material

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sphere, the associates of Kṛṣṇa and their expansions (�वतार), and there is also a description of the Gopīs and the topmost position of Rādhā amongst them.

(e) Bhakti Sandarbha: Bhakti-Sandarbha explains how devotion to Kṛṣṇa is executed. It also discusses Varṇāshrama dharma (the socio-religious system established in the scriptures), the super-excellent position of devotion to Kṛṣṇa as compared to other conceptions such as yoga, and the worship of minor deities of the Hindu pantheon as being futile in comparison to the worship by the devotees of Kṛṣṇa. The text also explains liberation of the soul, the position of Lord Śiva as a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, how unmotivated devotion to Kṛṣṇa promotes a devotee to the highest spiritual position and numerous other points concerning the performance of Vaiṣṇava devotion.

(f ) Prīti Sandarbha: The Prīti- Sandarbha is a treatise on divine love, the supreme object being Kṛṣṇa. Love for God (prema) is considered by Jīva to be the highest form of liberation. Jīva goes on to make a comparative study of other types of liberation but finally concludes that Prema Bhakti is topmost. There is also a discussion on how to attain Prema, how to awaken it, and the symptoms of one who has attained it. Prīti- Sandarbha also discusses the distinctions between mundane lust and divine love, the various characteristics found amongst the associates of Kṛṣṇa, the super-excellence of Mādhurya-rasa (divine conjugal love), the overlapping of different rasas, and the glories of Rādhā

(g) Krama Sandarbha: The Krama-Sandarbha is a commentary on the 10th Canto of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

(h) Sarva-Samvadinī: A commentary on the Ṣaṭ-Sandarbha.

Jiva's demise

Jīva Gosvāmī died in 1596 A.D.. His tomb is located in the precincts of the Rādhā- Damodara temple in Vṛndāvana.

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