HH Rādhā Govinda Dāsa Goswāmī Mahārāja

HH Rādhā Govinda Dāsa Goswāmī Mahārāja

HH Rādhā Govinda Dāsa Goswāmī Mahārāja appeared on the day of Rath Yatra Festival, The Great Charriot Festival in 1949. Just as the charriot becomes a carrier for the Lord of the Universe, Maharaj became an instrument carrying Shrimad Bhagavatam in his heart all his life and spreading it throughout the world. From childhood, he had a deep attachment for Shrimad Bhagavatam. There are incidents where he skipped school and, in seclusion, read and relished the Shrimad Bhagavatam and that too for hours. Whenever he wanted to relish Srimad Bhagavatam, he used to climb a tree on the banks of river Durgavati and place an inverted charpai on its branches to sit and read. He would relish the nectarian mellows of Srimad Bhagavatam so much that he would go on reading throughout the day.

Mahārāja came across news about Srila Prabhupada’s Krishna-bhakti preaching in America. Intrigued, he traveled to Benares to meet the renowned spiritual teacher. When Prabhupada later set out for Gorakhpur,Mahārāja followed him there, at Krishna Niketan in Gorakhpur,Mahārāja entered into a discussion with Prabhupada about the identity of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. While Mahārāja asserted that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself, Prabhupada firmly stated that He was a devotee of Krishna. Though Mahārāja initially spoke harshly, Prabhupada responded with hearty laughter. It was only when Prabhupada’s disciples arrived and offered obeisances that Mahārāja realized he was in the presence of Srila Prabhupada. Pleased with Mahārāja’s devotion, Prabhupada invited him to his room, where he continued to express his happiness with Mahārāja’s spirited defense of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s identity.

Mahārāja’s most significant contributions, perhaps, are his Bhagavat Kathas,which he has been sharing all around the world through his extensive travels. One incident that highlights Mahārāja’s connection to the Srimad-Bhagavatam occurred in Vrindavan Dham, when once Srila Prabhupada noticed that a light burning late into the night from a Brahmachari quarter’s room and he remarked, “It must be Radha Govind reading the Bhagavatam”. and indeed, when the devotees checked, they found Mahārāja engrossed in the study of Srimad Bhagavatam.

HH Rādhā Govinda Dāsa Goswāmī Mahārāja ki Jai !!!