Radhanath Swami on Raghunath Das Goswami

When Lord Caitanya was living in Puri, a sannyasi of the name Sankarananda Saraswati came from Vrindavan and offered Lord Caitanya two gifts, a Govardhan shila and a gunja mala. Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami explains how that Govardhan shila was always wet, drenched by the tears of Lord Caitanya. The Lord kept that shila for three years and later on seeing the renunciation and devotion of Raghunath Das Goswami, handed over the shila and gunja mala to him. As Raghunath Das Goswami would worship the Govardhan shila and the gunja mala he would think that Lord has given him eternal shelter at Govardhan hill and the lotus feet of

Srimati Radharani.

Raghunath Das Goswami was from a very wealthy background but he gave up everything to be with Lord Caitanya and serve in the humble mood of a servant. His renunciation was exemplary. He would take the rice rejected by the cows, wash it and eat it. One day Lord Caitanya forcibly grabbed and ate that rice. The Lord declared that He had never tasted any Prasad like the one he had just eaten. Mahaprabhu bhakta gane vairagya pradhan.

Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami says that renunciation is the basic principle that sustains the true devotees of Lord Caitanya.

Ragunatha