Om Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj
Translated from a Bengali article originally published in Śrī Gauḍīya Darśan, Volume 2, Issue 1, 12 August 1956
Śrī Gadādhar Goswāmī is the highest amongst Śrī Gauraṅga’s intimate associates. As Śrī Rādhikā’s position is, in comparison to all, undisputedly the highest in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s madhura-līlā, so the special audārya-madhura-rasa in Śrī Paṇḍit Goswāmī’s character is the object of the greatest attraction for Śrī Gaurāṅga in comparison to all present within Śrī Gaura-Kṛṣṇa’s audārya-līlā and His service in audārya-madhura-rasa. The great souls see Śrī Rādhā within Paṇḍit Gadādhar.
Paṇḍit Gadādhar’s appearance is during the summer on Amāvasyā (the new moon) in Jyaiṣṭha, and his disappearance is one month later on Amāvasyā in Āṣāḍh. Paṇḍit Goswāmī’s life is a special offering of silent and complete self-sacrifice to his beloved. Only those who can taste unprecedented joy by appreciating the wonder within the ornament of contradiction in seeing the bag of a beggar on Lakṣmī Devī’s shoulder are fit to appreciate the extraordinary glory of Śrīmat Paṇḍit Goswāmī’s unprecedented personality. From his childhood, he was very simple, quiet, modest, courteous, devoted to the Lord and the brāhmaṇs, and affectionate to friends. Although he is gentle, he is timid; although he is a surrendered soul, he feels offensive; although he is fully realised, he feels inexperienced; and although he is a leader, he is a submissive servant. His attachment to his Lord Śrī Gaurāṅga is such that even the glances of Gaurasundar’s ordinary followers make him hesitant and timid. His mad absorption in his Guru, Śrī Gaura, made him forget his mantra for worship. Even a little faith in Śrī Gaurāṅga attracts his heart from afar, so much so that, as an expression of affection, he accepts insults as praise from anyone who has such attraction. Śrī Paṇḍit Goswāmī’s character is, in gist, like the neglected figure of one who has given away all his wealth and willingly accepted the garb of a beggar.
