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Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
[Madhya-līlā, Ch. 9]
PURPORT
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura remarks that in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya —up to the advent of His Holiness Śrīpāda Lakṣmīpati Tīrtha— only Lord Kṛṣṇa was worshiped. After Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī, worship of both Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa was established. For this reason Śrī Mādhavendra Purī is accepted as the root of worship in ecstatic love. Unless one is connected to the disciplic succession of Mādhavendra Purī, there is no possibility of awakening the symptoms of ecstatic love. The word  gosāñi  is significant in this connection. The spiritual master who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of God-head and has no business other than the Lord's service is called the best of the  paramaharṅsas . A  paramaharṅsa  has no program for sense gratification; he is interested only in satisfying the senses of the Lord. One who has control of the senses in this way is called a  gosāñi  or a  gosvāmī , master of the senses. The senses cannot be controlled unless one is engaged in the service of the Lord; therefore the bona fide spiritual master, who has full control over his senses, engages twenty-four hours a day in the Lord's service. He can therefore be addressed as  gosāñi  or  gosvāmī . The title  gosvāmī  cannot be inherited but can be given only to a bona fide spiritual master.
There were six great Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana—Śrīla Rūpa, Sanātana, Bhaṭṭa Raghunātha, Śrī Jīva, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa and Dāsa Raghunātha—and none of them inherited the title of  gosvāmī . All the Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana were bona fide spiritual masters situated on the highest platform of devotional service, and for that reason they were called  gosvāmīs . All the temples of Vṛndāvana were certainly started by the six Gosvāmīs. Later the worship in the temples was entrusted to some householder disciples of the Gosvāmīs, and since then the hereditary title of  gosvāmī  has been used. However, only one who is a bona fide spiritual master expanding the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and who is in full control of his senses can be addressed as a  gosvāmī . Unfortunately, the hereditary process is going on; therefore at the present moment, in most cases the title is being misused due to ignorance of the word's etymology.
TEXT 290
এত বলি’ প্রভুকে উঠাঞা কৈল আলিঙ্গন । গলাগলি করি’ দুঁহে করেন ক্রম্দন ॥ ২৯০ ॥
eta bali’ prabhuke uṭhāñā kaila āliṅgana galāgali kari’ duṅhe karena krandana
SYNONYMS
eta bali’—saying this; prabhuke—Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; uṭhāñā—getting up; kaila—did; āliṅgana—embracing; galāgali—shoulder to shoulder; kari’—doing; duṅhe—both of them; karena—do; krandana—crying.