Srila Lokanatha Gosvami

śrīmad-rādhā-vinodaika-sevā-sampat-samanvitam
padmanābhātmajaṁ śrīmal-lokanātha-prabhuṁ bhaje

"I worship the lotus feet of Srila Lokanatha Prabhu, the son of Sri Padmanabha. He is a storehouse of singleminded service to the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha-Vinoda."

Lokanatha Gosvami's own pranama-mantra, composed for him by his disciple, Narottama Dasa Thakura (Bhakti-ratnakara 1.297).

Srila Lokanatha Gosvami is remembered as one of the earliest devotees Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sent toward Vrindavana. He is also remembered as the one who lived most apart from others. He avoided name and fame so completely that he asked Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami to leave him out of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita. He would not accept a house or a temple. Instead he wandered the forests of Vraja, carrying a Deity of Radha-Vinoda in a cloth bag around his neck. For decades he refused every request to accept a disciple. He broke that vow only once, for Narottama Dasa Thakura. This was after Narottama spent nearly a year secretly cleaning the place where Lokanatha relieved himself each night.

One devotional account gives 1483 CE as the year Lokanatha Gosvami appeared. But it gives this date only in a short summary of dates. The same book's detailed chapter on his life does not repeat it, and no other source confirms it. So the entry "Year not recorded" above is the more careful and better-supported statement (see Birth and Early Life).

An Elder Among the Vraja Goswamis #

Every source agrees on one point: Lokanatha Gosvami was among the very first of Mahaprabhu's followers to settle permanently in Vrindavana. Traditional accounts say that he gave up his household life around Shaka 1431 (roughly 1509-1510 CE) to find Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at Nabadwipa. This was only days before the Lord Himself accepted sannyasa. Mahaprabhu embraced him, told him to go to Vrindavana at once, and promised they would meet again there. Lokanatha spent years trying to see that promise fulfilled. His search took him across South India and back, before he finally settled into steady bhajana in Vraja (see Arrival in Vrindavana). Later Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami and Gopala Bhatta Goswami arrived one by one to join him. By then Lokanatha was already settled there. Several sources note that he was old enough to be called the elder of that circle of Goswamis. Yet his name is not included in the formal group later called the Six Goswamis. Rupa and Sanatana had not yet even begun their own careful study of Vraja's geography when Lokanatha gave them his personal notes on the holy places of the region. Tradition says these notes helped the two brothers identify and establish many of the pastime-sites that later pilgrims would visit (see Arrival in Vrindavana).

Family and a Lifelong Companion #

Lokanatha's father, Padmanabha, was a devoted follower of Advaita Acharya. His mother was Sita Devi. His only younger brother, Pragalbha Bhattacharya, stayed behind in Talakhadi, where Pragalbha's descendants were still living generations later. But Lokanatha's closest lifelong companion was not his brother. It was Bhugarbha Gosvami, a relative (his paternal uncle, by one account). Bhugarbha went with him on the long walk to Vrindavana. The two remained so close that the Bhakti-ratnakara says they "only had different bodies; in spirit they were one." Bhugarbha had taken initiation from Gadadhara Pandit. Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika identifies his eternal identity in Krishna's pastimes as Prema-manjari. In the same way, it identifies Lokanatha's own identity there as Lila-manjari. Most sources give this name, though at least one gives it slightly differently.

Kavi Karnapura names both friends together in one verse of the Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika:

bhūgarbha ṭhakkurasyāsīt pūrvākhyā prema mañjarī
lokanāthākhya gosvāmī śrī līlā mañjarī purā

"Bhugarbha Thakura was the incarnation of Prema-manjari. Lokanatha Gosvami was the incarnation of Lila-manjari." (Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika 187)

A Name Withheld From History #

Above all, Lokanatha almost completely refused any kind of recognition. He is described as a *viviktananda* Vaishnava (one who delights in solitude). He is said to have forbidden Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami to write about him at all while Krishnadasa was composing Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita. Krishnadasa honored the request. So Lokanatha's name appears directly in that text only once. It comes in a single verse that describes a visit by Rupa Goswami, in his old age, to see a Deity of Gopala at Mathura (see The Vow of No Fame for the verse itself and Srila Prabhupada's purport on it). Sanatana Goswami was less bound by that vow, and he did name Lokanatha, with clear respect, in the opening verses of his own Hari-bhakti-vilasa.

Radha-Vinoda and a Life Without a Roof #

While wandering through the twelve forests of Vraja, Lokanatha came to Kishori-kunda near the village of Umarao. Tradition says that Krishna Himself appeared there and gave him a Deity called Radha-Vinoda. The local Vrajavasis wanted to build him a hut or a temple, but Lokanatha would not accept it. Instead he sewed a cloth bag, hung the small Deity around his neck, and carried Radha-Vinoda through the forests of Vraja for the rest of his life. This is still remembered as one of the most powerful examples of renunciation in Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition (see The Radha-Vinoda Deity).

The Guru Who Did Not Want a Disciple #

Lokanatha did not want disciples either. For most of his life in Vraja he accepted no one. That changed only because of Narottama Dasa Thakura. Narottama would not give up. Instead, for close to a year he secretly cleaned the forest ground where Lokanatha passed stool each night. Lokanatha was moved by this devotion, which asked for nothing in return. So he agreed and initiated Narottama, his only recorded disciple, on the full-moon day of Shravana (see Initiating Narottama Dasa Thakura). The story is told from Narottama's side in the fuller account of his discipleship under Lokanatha Gosvami.

Legacy #

Lokanatha Gosvami disappeared from this world in old age, still absorbed in his solitary worship of Radha-Vinoda. The sources truly disagree about the year, the month and even the exact place of his departure (see Disappearance and Legacy). But there is no doubt about what he left behind. He left one disciple, who went on to help unite Gaudiya Vaishnavism at the Kheturi festival. He left a Deity who is still worshiped today. And he left a standard of renunciation. Later acharyas in this same lineage, down through Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Srila Prabhupada, continued to hold up this standard as an example of what it means to want nothing for oneself.