Jiva Goswami: Encyclopedia - Jiva Goswami

Jiva Goswami

Jiva Goswami was one of the most prolific and important writers of the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Hinduism, and one of the famous Six Goswamis of Vrindavana. He was also the nephew of two of the chief Goswamis, Rupa Goswami (1489 – 1564 CE) and Sanatana Goswami (1488 – 1558 CE).

Jiva Goswami - His Birth and Early Years

There seems to be some controversy amongst biographers about Jiva Goswami’s birth. Some opine that he lived from 1511 – 1596 CE, while others claim that he lived from 1533 to 1618 CE.

Not much is known about Jiva Goswami’s childhood. He was born in Ramakeli in the district of Maldah, West Bengal as the son of Srivallabha Mallika (also known as Anupama), the younger brother of Rupa and Sanatana. His mothers name is unknown. He showed a strong affinity to the worship of Krishna even from his childhood and excelled in his education completing his studies in Sanskrit Vyakarana (grammar) and Kavya (poetics) within a very short period.

When he was three or four years old, his uncles resigned from their ministerial posts at the court of Alauddin Hussein Shah (ruled 1493 – 1519 CE) after their initial meeting with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486 – 1534 CE) and they decided to join his ranks as mendicants. Jiva’s father, Anupama, also met with Chaitanya at this time and followed in the footsteps of his elder brothers and proceeded to travel with Rupa to Vrindavana.

Jiva Goswami - Jiva Leaves Home

Hearing that his father and uncles had made this decision, the young Jiva desired to join them. According to the biographical work Bhakti Ratnakara of Narahari Chakravarti, Jiva had a dream of Chaitanya at this time. This gave him the impetus to leave home in order to join Chaitanya. It is unclear whether or not Jiva actually ever met Chaitanya personally.

Jiva travelled to Navadvipa in West Bengal and met with Nityananda, one of the foremost followers of Chaitanya. Nityananda took Jiva to all the holy places in Navadvipa and they circumabulated the entire area together. This marked the beginning of the Gaudiya tradition of Navadvipa parikrama (circumabulation of the the nine sections of Navadvipa). After the pilgrimage, Nityananda gave his blessings for the young Jiva to proceed towards Vrindavana.

Jiva Goswami - Jiva in Vrindavana

Jiva went on to Benares where he studied for some time under the tutalage of Madhusudana Vidyavachaspati, the brother of the famous logician and Vedantist, Vasudeva Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. Under Vidyavachaspati, Jiva mastered the six systems of Indian philosophy (Sad Darsana).

In 1535 Jiva arrived in Vrindavana where he remained under the tutalage of his uncles, Rupa and Sanatana (by this time his father Anupama had passed away). He accepted initiation from Rupa Goswami and was taught the esoteric principles of devotion to Krishna. Jiva helped to edit the books of Rupa and Sanatana and assisted them in their work in propagating Gaudiya Vaishnavism and excavating the lost holy places of Vrindavana.

Jiva Goswami - Jiva Goswami’s Contributions

After the passing of Rupa and Sanatana, Jiva Goswami became the foremost authority in the Gaudiya Vaishnava line. In 1542 Jiva established one of the most important temples in Vrindavana, the Radha-Damodara temple, installing deities of Radha and Krishna that had been personally carved by Rupa Goswami. At that time he also established the Vishva Vaishnava Raja Sabha (World Vaishnava Association) and the Rupanuga Vidyapitha, an educational facility for Gaudiya Vaishnavas to study the works of Rupa and Sanatana. His erudition and spirituality were so famous that the Moghul emperor Akbar became his ardent admirer and donated paper for his writing.

In 1558, Jiva instructed his students, Narottama Dasa, Srinivasa and Shyamananda, to go to Bengal and propagate the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy and to take with them the original manuscripts that had been written by Rupa and Sanatana.

Jiva Goswami - Achintya-bhedabheda Philosophy

It was in his Sarva-samvadini commentary to the Six Sandarbhas that Jiva Goswami first used the term Achinyta-bhedabheda to describe the philosophy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In essence, the philosophy of Achintya-bhedabheda, or inconcieveble oneness and difference, avoids the extremes of Shankara’s monistic Advaitavada and Madhva’s pure dualism (Dvaita) by interpreting the material and spiritual potencies of the Absolute as being simultaneously one and different with Him.

Jiva Goswami - Jiva Goswami’s Literary Achievments

There are about 25 literary works attributed to Jiva Goswami:

Jiva Goswami - 1-Harinamamrita Vyakarana

This work is a book on Sanskrit grammar wherein each and every word, syllable and grammatical rule is explained in relation to Krishna and his pastimes.

Jiva Goswami - 2-Sutra-malika

Sutra-malika is a grammatical work dealing with the derivation of Sanskrit words.

Jiva Goswami - 3-Dhatu-sangraha

The Dhatu-sangraha is a work on the verb roots of Sanskrit words

Jiva Goswami - 4-Radha-Krishna Archana Chandrika

Jiva Goswami - 5-Rasamrita-sesa

Jiva’s Rasamrita-sesa deals with Sanskrit composition. Jiva has based this work on the Sahitya Darpana of Visvanatha Kaviraja, but has used many examples of his own as well as examples from other Goswamis.

Jiva Goswami - 6-Madhava-mahotsava

In Madhava-mahotsava, Jiva Goswami describes the coronation ceremony of Radha when she is given the position of queen of Vrindavana.

Jiva Goswami - 7-Sankalpa-kalpadruma

Jiva Goswami explains the eight-fold daily pastimes of Radha and Krishna (asta-kaliya-lila) in the form of a prayer.

Jiva Goswami - 8-Gopala-virudavali

This is a short poem by Jiva extolling the glories of Gopala (Krishna) in 38 verses.

Jiva Goswami - 9-Bhavartha-suchaka-champu

Jiva Goswami - 10-Gopala-tapani Upanisad commentary

The Gopala-tapani Upanisad is a minor upanisad that has relevence to Gaudiya Vaishnavas in that it extolls Krishna as the supreme god. Jiva’s commentary on this text is called the Sukha-bodhini.

Jiva Goswami - 11-Commentary on Brahma-samhita

The Brahma-samhita was discovered by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at the Adi Keshava temple in Kerala, during his travels in South India. Jiva’s commentary to this text is known as the dig-darshani.

Jiva Goswami - 12-Commentary on Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu

Jiva Goswami wrote his Durgama-sangamani commentary on Rupa Goswami’s Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu.

Jiva Goswami - 13-Commentary on Ujjvala-nilamani

Jiva wrote his Lochana-rochani commentary to Rupa Goswami’s Ujjvala-nilamani.

Jiva Goswami - 14-Commentary on Yogasara-stavaka

Jiva Goswami - 15-Agni Puranastha gayatri-bhasya

This work is a commentary on the Brahma Gayatri mantra as found in the ancient Agni Purana, chapters 216-217.

Jiva Goswami - 16-Padma Puranokta Krishna-pada-padma-chihna

This text by Jiva describes the insignia found on the feet of Krishna according to the text of the Padma Purana

Jiva Goswami - 17-Sri Radhika-kara-pada-sthita-chihna

In this short work, Jiva Goswami describes the insignia found on the hands and feet of Radha.

Jiva Goswami - 18-Laghu Vaishnava Toshani

The Laghu Vaisnava Toshani is Jiva Goswami’s commentary to the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Jiva Goswami - 19-Gopala-champu

The Gopala-champu is a poetic work written by Jiva and is divided into two parts. The first part is the Purva-champu, which has 33 chapters and describes Krishna’s life in Vrindavana. The second section, the Uttara-champu has 37 chapters and describes the pastimes of Krishna after he leaves Vrindavana and the separation the residents of Vrindavana feel in his absence.

Jiva Goswami - 20-Sad Sandarbhas Six Sandarbhas

According to Jiva Goswami himself, Gopala Bhatta Goswami had already done the preliminary work on these books but could not complete it. Jiva took the work of Gopala Bhatta and expanded it into six books wherein he systematically presents the philosophy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with scriptural evidences. Jiva also wrote an extensive auto-commentary to the Sandarbhas called Sarva-samvadini. The six Sandarbhas are as follows:

Tattva-sandarbha is a treatise on the various types of evidences (pramanas) used in Vedic philosophy. Jiva’s conclusion is that sabda (divine sound in the form of the Vedic scriptures) is the highest, and of all the scriptures, the Bhagavata Purana is the highest.

In the Bhagavata-sandarbha, Jiva Goswami makes the distinction between the impersonal aspect of Godhead (Brahman), the localized form of God within the heart of each living being (Paramatma) and the highest personal aspect of Godhead (Krishna). He also describes the spiritual realm of Krishna, the modes of material nature, the mode of pure goodness (visuddha-sattva), the importance of worshipping the deity of Krishna and the nature and qualities of the deity.

The paramatma-sandarbha describes the Supersoul (Paramatma) and how the Supersoul resides in the hearts of all beings. The differences amongst incarnations is also discussed as well as the nature of the conditioned living entity, the illusory potency (Maya), the temporal world, the theory of transformation, the various avataras of Krishna and how they respond to the desires of the Vaishnava, and how God is characterized by six particular opulences.

In his Krishna-sandarbha, Jiva gives a number of quotes from various scriptures to prove that Krishna is the supreme god. He also discusses the pastimes and qualities of Krishna as well as his avataras and functionary expansions. There is a discription of Goloka, the planet of Krishna in relation to Vrindavana in the material sphere, the associates of Krishna and their expansions and there is also a description of the Gopis and the topmost position of Radha amongst them.

Bhakti-sandarbha explains how devotion to Krishna is executed. It also discusses varnashrama-dharma(the socio-religious system established in the scriptures), the superexcellent position of devotion to Krishna 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 of Krishna’s devotees. The text also explains liberation of the soul, the position of Siva as a devotee of Krishna, how unmotivated devotion to Krishna promotes a devotee to the highest spiritual position and numerous other points concerning the performance of Vaishnava devotion.

The Priti-sandarbha is a treatise on divine love, the supreme object being Krishna. Love for God (prema) is considered by Jiva to be the highest form of liberation. Jiva goes on to make a comparative study of other types of liberation but finally concludes that Prema 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. Priti-sandarbha also discusses the distinctions between mundane lust and divine love, the various mellows found amongst the associates of Krishna, the superexcellence of Madhurya-rasa (divine conjugal love), the overlapping of different rasas, and the glories of Radha.

The Krama-sandarbha is a commentary on the 10th Canto of the Bhagavatam.

Jiva Goswami - Jiva’s Demise

Jiva Goswami passed away in 1596 CE (or 1618 according to some biographies). His samadhi (tomb) is located in the precincts of the Radha-Damdoara temple in Vrindavana.

According to followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Jiva Goswami is considered to be the incarnation of Vilasa Manjari, an eternal maidservant of Krishna.

Jiva Goswami - Bibliography

• Tirtha, Swami B.B., Sri Caitanya and His Associates, 2001, Mandala Publishing, San Francisco, ISBN:1-886069-28-X.

• Gaudiya Vaisnava Abhidhana (Bengali), Compiled by Haridasa Dasa, Haribol Kutir, Navadvipa, W.Bengal, 1957.

• Bhakti-ratnakara (Bengali), Narahari Chakravarti, Pub. By Gaudiya Mission, Kolkata, 1986.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Jiva Goswami", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki