RADHARAMANA GHOSH BHAGAVATABHUSANA

He was the son of a great devotee named Krsnagovinda Ghosh of Kagojitola, who was a high ranking officer in the government, in charge of keeping records. Sri Radharamana graduated and worked for a period of time as the manager of the Zamindari Estate of Maharsi Debendranatha Thakura. Later he was appointed the private tutor of the King of Tripura, Sir Viracandra Manikya Bahadur. Gradually, by his merit, he was promoted to the private secretary of the King. Maharaja Viracandra was a great Vaisnava and lover of Lord Caitanya, and despite his kingly responsibilities he regularly practiced his sadhana and bhajan. Though Ghosh babu was not at that time a follower of Vaisnavism, for the sake of his job, because he was with the King throughout the entire day, he was obliged to observe some Vaisnava rites. The Maharaja admired him and loved him as none other in his court. There was no one equal to Radharamana in honesty, truthfulness, austerity, etc.

Ghosh accompanied the King on his frequent visits to Vrndavana, where the King lived in his own kunja and cultivated the association of Vaisnavas. Once something unusual happened which inspired Ghosh to accept Vaisnavism. At one time the Maharaja and his courtiers were sitting on the second floor of his house inside the kunja. There were many things lying about on the veranda, including a very costly shawl. Suddenly a monkey came and ran away with the shawl, climbed a tree and began playing with the shawl. Radharamana babu and others anxiously tried various ways to get the shawl back, as the King stood unconcerned on the veranda, smilingly observing the monkeys pranks. As the monkey tore the shawl into pieces, the Maharaja watched placidly, his peaceful face flooded with tears of love. The Kings courtiers returned to his room, but no one dared to ask him about the reason for his reaction.

Ghosh, however, was a little anxious and thus in the evening he asked the King for permission to speak. When permitted, he said, "Maharaja, we were all upset by the activities of that monkey, but you remained undisturbed, on the contrary it appeared from the expression on your face that the incident invoked wonderful sentiments within you. Could you please explain this?"

The Maharaja replied, "Radharamana, today the monkey has taught me a great lesson and I am indebted to it for that. One should come to Vrndavana like a mendicant, renouncing all worldly possessions. I am a worldly person, a man attached to material things, and I came to Vrndavana with mountains of material goods, the shawl being only one of those items. By destroying that shawl this great person in the form of a monkey taught me that one should never go to Sri Vrndavana with worldly goods. This lesson was a great source of joy for me and thus I shed tears of happiness." Hearing this from the Maharaja, Ghosh remained silent, yet he was so moved that great waves of emotion filled his heart and his whole body was thrilled. The Maharaja, being a very intelligent man, immediately understood Radharamana's mind and said, "Radharamana, it is the hardest task in the world to be a true Vaisnava. The instructions and initiation from a Vaisnava can only be acquired by the grace of the devotees of the Lord. The very spirit of Vaisnavism is the mood of humility, and Sri Gauranga was the embodiment of this humility. His mercy was distributed to the most fallen and suffering living entities in this world. I am a King, will He ever bestow His mercy upon me?" Saying this the King shed tears of love. Ghosh saw and heard everything but never passed any remark, then the Maharaja entered his inner room.

Sitting alone in a secluded room Ghosh considered everything the King had said and began to think in this way: "That religion which can elevate a person to the highest standard and can make a person's mind soft and humble that religion is the best of all. Thus Vaisnavism is the supreme religion and Sri Gauranga is the greatest of avatars, therefore I must become a Vaisnava and worship Sri Gauranga." In this way Radharamana accepting the path of Vaisnavism, and Maharaja Viracandra can thus be considered the guru who showed him the path.

Henceforth a wonderful change took place in Ghosh babu's life. During his stay in Sri Vrndavana he walked alone in solitude, or kept the company of Vaisnava sadhus whenever he had the opportunity. One day while walking alone he came across a renounced Vaisnava sitting under a Tamal tree reading Srimad Bhagavatam. Although there were no listeners, the Siddha Vaisnava continued reading wonderfully, adding excellent comments and explanations which displayed his scholarship and devotion. The Vaisnava addressed his reading to Lord Krsna in the form of the Tamal tree. If any listener happened to appear, he did not take notice of him. From that day Ghosh went to this spot daily and silently sitting behind the reader listened quietly and left just as silently.

Ghosh continued in this way, unseen by the reader, until one day he was caught red-handed. Siddha Mahatma saw him and affectionately called him to listen until the end of the text. That Mahatma had taken a vow to read the entire text there in seclusion. From that day Ghosh sat beside him listening with awe and reverence. Ghosh himself was a great Sanskrit scholar and had listened to Bhagavata discourses in the royal court and many other places, but he had never heard such a beautiful reading before. On the last day of the reading something miraculous happened. The trunk of the tree under which the Siddha Vaisnava was sitting suddenly split in the middle revealing the beautiful form of Syamasundar Sri Krsna, holding a flute, surrounded by a wonderful bright blue light. On seeing this Radharamana fainted and lost consciousness. What happened to the Vaisnava he did not know, but when he came to his senses he found that he was lying under the Tamal tree with his head upon the lap of that Vaisnava. He then got up shyly and offered his obeisances to the Vaisnava with profound devotion. The Vaisnava touched his head affectionately and said sweetly, "Radharamana, my Krsna has mercifully given you direct darsana. Now it is my order that you continue reading the Bhagavata to Krsna, who is non-different from the Bhagavata. Do so and you will gain the full fruits of reading the Bhagavata." Thus Ghosh continued reading the Bhagavata in his home and in the association of other devotees until the end of his life.

Those who had the good fortune of listening to him recite were amazed by the beauty of his discourses. He was able to explain every sloka of the Bhagavata, keeping fully in the line of realization of Sri Gauranga. His very intimate devotee, Dr. Satyanarayana dasa used to say that at the time of Bhagavata reading, Sri Radharamana was possessed by the spirit of Sri Jiva Gosvami and Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti. He would read two or three stanzas of Sri Caitanya Caritamrta and then closing his eyes would explain them in such a way that even the greatest agnostics doubts were dispelled and they became attracted to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. His listeners were generally few in number (5-6) and the place of reading was generally a dilapidated room or on the grass underneath some trees. In the simplest language he was able to illuminate even the most intricate and complicated philosophical problems, to the surprise of his audience who experienced unearthly transcendental emotions listening to him.

With his help, Srila Ramanarayana Vidyaratna of Behrampore was able to publish a Bengali rendition of the Bhagavata with four commentaries. Sri Radharamana Ghosh Mahasaya donated one lakh of rupees so that this book could be distributed freely. Apart from this, many other Vaisnava texts were published under his editorship, which drew the attention and respect of the Gaudiya Vaisnava community.

In his family life Ghosh was an affectionate father, ideal husband and the model of a householder, and above everything he was a true Bhagavata. He mixed freely with everyone, whether they be small or great, low born or high born, rich or poor. Although he was the embodiment of profound scholarship, he was extremely humble and devoted. When an epidemic of smallpox broke out, he contacted the disease while nursing a neighbor and entered into the abode of the Supreme Lord at a ripe old age.