Six Goswamis of Vrindavana
The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan were a group of devotional teachers (gurus) from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Vedic Religion who lived in India during the 15th and 16th centuries. They are closely associated with the land of Vrindavan where they spent much time in service of the Bengali saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is considered as Krishna's yuga-avatar by the Gaudiya Vaishnava lineage, who highly regard them for their extreme renunciation of physical comforts and pleasures in the practice of Bhakti Yoga, and for their philosophical presentations of the teachings of their guru, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Vrindavan
As well as producing a prolific amount of writings regarding Vaishnava philosophy and practices, the Six Goswamis also dedicated a significant amount of their time to uncovering many purportedly ancient and sacred areas of land in Vrindavan associated with Radha, Krishna and the Gopis. These sections of land are believed to be the sites wherein Radha and Krishna performed specific lilas during the previous yuga in accordance to the events recorded in the Bhagavata Purana. Although having little in the way of financial possessions themselves, the Goswamis managed to inspire the building of a number of large and ornate temples on or around these sites (dedicated to the worship of Radha and Krishna) which play a role in Vrindavan society to this day.
Members
The six members of the group were:
- The brothers Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami
- Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami
- Jiva Goswami (nephew of Rupa and Sanatana)
- Gopala Bhatta Goswami (1503–1578)
- Raghunatha dasa Goswami.
See also
References
- Six Goswamis of Vrindavan, by Steven Rosen, Folk Books, 1991. ISBN 0-9619763-2-2
