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Raghunath Das Goswami was one of the six Goswamis and a follower of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He spent his entire life at Radha Kund, performing his pure devotional service to Shri Shri Radha Govind. While living there, without any shelter, Shrimati Radharani and Krishna personally protected him. He performed various pastimes which show the actual mood of a pure devotee while serving the Lord.
Pastimes of Raghunath Das Goswami
Protection by Lord Krishna from a Tiger
Five hundred years ago, Vrindavan was surrounded by dense forest. Raghunath Goswami lived at Radha Kund without any shelter or kutir, completely absorbed in chanting the holy names of the Lord. While he was in deep meditation, a tiger came from the jungle to drink water from the pond, standing a couple of feet away from him. Lord Krishna personally appeared, holding a stick in His hand to protect His devotee.
Once the tiger finished drinking and went away, Lord Krishna disappeared. Sanatan Goswami, who happened to visit Raghunath Das Goswami, witnessed the whole scene. When Raghunath Das Goswami came out of meditation, Sanatan Goswami chastised him, explaining that he had come to Vrindavan to serve Krishna, not to take service from Him.
Shading by Srimati Radharani
Srila Raghunath Das Goswami used to sit out in the open and chant the holy names of the Lord daily at the bank of Radha Kund. Seeing Her unalloyed devotee engaged in Her service in the scorching heat, Srimati Radharani appeared to provide shade to him. She stood behind him, holding Her veil over his head. Because of the intense heat, Radharani began perspiring profusely, and Her perspiration dripped onto the sand, turning it muddy.
As the intensity of heat decreased and the sun was about to set, Radharani disappeared. Sanatan Goswami witnessed this divine incident and again scolded Raghunath Das Goswami, telling the whole incident and reminding their actual position as servants of Radha and Krishna. Sanatan Goswami then ordered Raghunath Das Goswami to build a bhajan kutir so that Radha and Krishna would not come again to serve him.
Rejecting the Leaf Cup from Sakhi Sthali
Raghunath Das Goswami decreased all his bodily demands, sleeping only for one and a half hours and taking only one small leaf cup of buttermilk daily. A Brajvasi named Sri Dasa used to bring a leaf cup of buttermilk to Raghunath Das Goswami every day.
One day Sri Das went to Sakhi sthali to herd his cows, which was the area of Chandravali (a rival of Radharani). While herding the cows, he saw a palash tree with large leaves, so he collected them to make leaf cups. He brought buttermilk in a leaf cup made of those leaves and offered it to Raghunath Das Goswami. The Goswami accepted the cup and inquired about the palash leaves. Sri Das replied that he had found them in Sakhi sthali while herding the cows.
When Raghunath Das Goswami heard the word Sakhi sthali, he immediately became furious and threw the cup away. He said that the followers of Radharani never accept anything from that place; seeing his devotion for Radharani, Sri Das was astonished.
His reaction was not material envy but his deep spiritual absorption in the rasa of unwavering loyalty for Srimati Radharani.
Overeating Sweet Rice while Meditating
One day, Raghunath Das Goswami became very ill with severe stomach discomfort. Sri Vitthalnath (son of Vallabhacharya) traveled from Srinathji to Govardhan with two Ayurvedic physicians to examine him. The physicians, after examining, affirmed that he was suffering from severe indigestion because of overeating sweet rice. Vitthalnath, along with assembled devotees, strongly disagreed with this diagnosis. They started arguing that he was a strict renunciate who didn't take anything more than one cup of buttermilk all day.
Raghunath Das Goswami began to laugh loudly and confirmed that the physician’s diagnosis was correct. He explained that he was fully absorbed in his eternal spiritual identity and performing manasi seva (serving while meditating) in Goloka Vrindavan. He was assisting the sakhis in preparing and offering kheer to Radha and Krishna. After the Divine Couple accepted the offering, Radharani personally gave the mahaprasad sweet rice to him. To please them and the attendants, he ate a large quantity of sweet rice in his spiritual body. Due to his deep meditation, the physical effect of overeating manifested in his earthly body.
Conclusion
Srila Raghunath Das Goswami lived the life of a renunciate who lived at Radha Kund without any shelter, slept only for one and a half hours, and ate no more than a cup of buttermilk, completely absorbed in chanting the holy names of the Lord. Raghunath Das Goswami was such an exalted devotee of Radha and Krishna that they would personally come to give him all protection. Taking complete shelter at the lotus feet of such an unalloyed devotee will make us eligible to render pure devotional service to the Lord.
