Today is the very auspicious day of the disappearance of Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. He was one of the six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, and he made immense contributions to the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism.
Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī was born in Tamil Nadu, South India, in the Śrīraṅgam district. His father was Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa, a respected brāhmaṇa and devotee of Lord Viṣṇu.
During His South India yātrā, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stayed at Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa’s house for four months of Cāturmāsya.
At that time, Gopāla was just a five-year-old boy. He was thoroughly blessed by the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Mahaprabhu specifically instructed him not to marry. He told him to take care of his parents till they leave their bodies, and then serve His mission whole-heartedly.
No Name?
In the entire Caitanya-caritāmṛta, we do not find Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī’s name mentioned explicitly. There is only a brief mention of Mahāprabhu visiting Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa’s house, but not Gopāla’s name.
Why?
Because Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī had instructed Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī not to include his name. He did not want to be mentioned at all.
This is quite the opposite of today’s world, where people want their names everywhere, and they want to increase the number of their followers.
But Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī didn’t want his name even in a scripture as exalted as Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
Following the same mood, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, his dear disciple, composed the Ṣaḍ-Gosvāmy-aṣṭakam. He placed Gopāla Bhaṭṭa’s name at the end, understanding very well that his guru would not want his name to be glorified first.
A World Full of Names
This material world is simply a world of names, and that is the cause of our bewilderment.
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.2.3, it is mentioned:
ataḥ kavir nāmasu yāvad arthaḥ
syād apramatto vyavasāya-buddhi
We want to wear branded clothes, go to top-notch locations, work in large MNC’s and chase after different names, whether of fame, wealth, status, or luxury. This constant attachment to names entraps us in illusion.
Prabhupada writes in his Vrindavana Bhajana Verse 2,
In this māyā-saṁsāra, whom do I really love?
Where have all my loving father and mother gone to now?
And where are all my elders, who were my own folk?
Who will give me news of them, tell me who?
All that is left of this family life is a list of names.
Until one is indifferent to names, he remains bewildered by them. This world, full of names, can only cause us more and more bewilderment, but never take us closer to the shelter of Sri Hari.
The Holy Name
Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī was not attached to his own name, but he was attached to the Holy Name. His only desire was that the holy name of Kṛṣṇa be spread everywhere. He sent Śrīnivāsa Ācārya to the East to distribute the Gosvāmīs’ literatures and spread the teachings of bhakti far and wide.
It was Śrīnivāsa Ācārya who converted King Vīra Hamvira into a Vaiṣṇava and spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness across Eastern India. Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī was deeply attached to the holy name, and therefore he could propogate the glories of the Holy Name.
In the Ṣaḍ-Gosvāmy-aṣṭakam, Śrīnivāsa writes:
kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī
“Always absorbed in the congregational chanting and singing of the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they were oceans of ecstatic love.”
saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau
“They spent all their time in chanting the holy names, strictly counting their rounds and offering obeisances.”
Though it’s not clear how much Śrīnivāsa Ācārya associated with other Gosvāmīs (since Rūpa and Sanātana had already departed), he took deep shelter of Jīva Gosvāmī, his śikṣā-guru, and his dīkṣā-guru Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. Observing their moods only, he wrote the Ṣaḍ-Gosvāmy-aṣṭakam. So definitely, everything in the aṣṭakam perfectly encapsulates the mood of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī.
From Our Name to His Name
When we are attached to Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, we no longer feel any desire to glorify or preserve our own names. This is very essential in our lives.
Even the initiated names that devotees receive are meaningful only because they are connected to Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīla Prabhupāda mercifully writes, “If at the time of death the devotee can remember his own name, such as Kṛṣṇa dāsa or Govinda dāsa, he can be saved from the greatest danger. Therefore the change of names at the time of initiation is essential. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so meticulous that it gives one a good opportunity to remember Kṛṣṇa somehow or other.”
So, the journey of a sādhaka is essentially a progression through three stages:
1. Attachment to mundane names, brands, and fame.
2. Detachment from one’s own name and fame.
3. Deep attachment to the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.
Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī had no obsession for worldly names. He desired no personal recognition. Also, he had no plans to continue his family line. He only wanted the holy name of Kṛṣṇa to be glorified and distributed.
We can pray to Srila Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī that we can undergo this journey in our lives and become fully attached to the Holy Name.
