True spiritual power flows from immersion in Krishna's love, enabling endless joyful service benefiting all souls.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Lecture on Six Gosvāmī's Śrī Śrī Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka — November 18, 1968, Los Angeles 681118LE-LOS ANGELES [81:47 Minutes] Prabhupāda: [sings] kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhi dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pūjitau śrī-caitanya-kṛpā-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bharavahantarakau vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau [I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Six Gosvāmīs, namely Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, and Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, who are always engaged in chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and dancing. They are just like the ocean of love of God, and they are popular both with the gentle and with the ruffians, because they are not envious of anyone. Whatever they do, they are all-pleasing to everyone, and they are fully blessed by Lord Caitanya. Thus they are engaged in missionary activities meant to deliver all the conditioned souls in the material universe.] [quotes] kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhi dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pūjitau śrī-caitanya-kṛpā-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bharavahantarakau vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau This is a prayer offering obeisances to the six Gosvāmīns, direct disciples of Lord Caitanya.
Vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau. The six Gosvāmīns' names are Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī... Vande rūpa-sanātana raghu-yugau. And there are two Raghus: one Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and one Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. According to whole Vedic system, there are four castes: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras.
So this Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī belong to the... Of course, a Vaiṣṇava is never śūdra, but in social standard they belonged to the kṣatriya or śūdra. Therefore he is named as dāsa Gosvāmī, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. So the six Gosvāmīns... [child making noises] [pause] Vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau. So Sanātana Gosvāmī, Rūpa Gosvāmī, and two Raghunātha Gosvāmī, and three, four, and then Jīva Gosvāmī and Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī.
Six Gosvāmīs. Practically, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu left behind Him that eight ślokas, Śikṣāṣṭaka, which you have seen. I have translated in my first volume of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. On the basis of those eight verses, the Gosvāmīns wrote literatures, volumes of books. From Vṛndāvana they were dispatched after the disappearance of the Gosvāmīns.
They left so many books, handwritten, that when they were dispatched it was a full cartload, a big cartload, you see. Just imagine how many books they wrote. They were great scholars, and many varieties of books of bhakti school, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they wrote. So these Gosvāmīns were engaged, kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana, chanting and dancing. Kīrtana means chanting, and nartana means dancing.
Kṛṣṇotkīrtana, utkīrtana. Utkīrtana means very loudly, not softly. So this loud kīrtana was inaugurated by Lord Caitanya. So this disturbance, this complaint, was current even in His own time.
When Caitanya Mahāprabhu was introducing this kīrtana system, so many brāhmaṇas of Navadvīpa, they complained to the Muhammadan magistrate—at that time the government was Muhammadan government, Pathan—to the Kazi that "This boy..." Caitanya Mahāprabhu was that time seventeen-years-, eighteen-years-old boy, but He was very popular by introducing this saṅkīrtana, Hare Kṛṣṇa chanting and dancing. And He said that simply by chanting and dancing, as we are saying, one will achieve the highest perfectional stage. So the brāhmaṇas were working as priest, they thought that their business will not go on. They prescribed so many ritualistic performances, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu was saying simply by chanting one can achieve the highest perfection. So they were disturbed, and they lodged complaint to the then magistrate, Kazi, Maulana Chand Kazi.