Who is Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhu?
Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhu is an eternally perfected associate of the Lord. He is jagad-guru and the emperor of the devotees. In kṛṣṇa lila he is Śrī Rupa-mañjari. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhu is also an intimate devotee of Sri Gauranga, He does not belong to the jīva-tattva and is not an ordinary living entity. Rather, he is the master of the living entities and part of the Lord’s internal energy. He is dear to the daughter of Vrsabhanu.
Śrī Rūpa Prabhu is special among the devotees of Lord Gaurasundara, and is extremely dear to Sri Gaurasundara Himself. Sri Rūpa Prabhu understood Sri Gaurasundara’s internal mood. No other follower of Gaurasundara acted as an acārya manifesting the topics of the highest supreme service. Sri Gaurasundara’s confidential internal mood is shown only to those who follow Sri Svarupa Dāmodara and Śrī Rūpa. Therefore, we are all indebted to Śrī Rūpa. As long as the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya exists, no one will deny Sri Rúpa Gosvami Prabhu’s extraordinary and matchless charity. Neither can anyone repay his debt to Sri Rúpa Prabhu, even those who surrender fully at his feet. He who dwells in the lap, on the chest, and on the head of Sri Krsna is our eternally worshipable Sri Rüpa Gosvämi Prabhu. The dust from his lotus feet is our most cherished item. His lotus feet are our only hope and shelter.
How can we attain Krsna’s service? Sri Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvämi Prabhu tells us to serve Krsna by serving Sri Rupa and Raghunatha. Our realization of the Lord’s service is determined by how we are attached of the lotus feet of Sri Rüpa Prabhu. Sri Rúpa’s followers possess all opulence. Sri Rupa is the ideal example of how to cultivate Krsna consciousness. In the ordinary historian’s vision, he was a disciple of his elder brother Sri Sanatana Gosvami, but even Sanatana Gosvami Prabhu begs Sri Rupa’s mercy, Sri Sanatana Prabhu says that those who do not aspire for Sri Rupa’s mercy will never see the beauty of service to Radha-Govinda.
When fruitive workers and impersonalists began to gather strength in their attempts to discredit devotional service, Sri Gaurasundara required a commander-in-chief who could preach the philosophy of devotional service and defeat their arguments. Sri Rupa and Sanatana were His two commanders-in-chief, and all their followers formed the Lord’s army. Sri Svarūpa Damodara Prabhu is the leader of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas, and through him all armies are recruited for defeating the opponents of bhakti.
Sri Rupa’s army has no weapon other than kirtana. Sri Gaurasundara empowered His commander-in-chief. Sri Rupa Gosvámi Prabhu to use this weapon when they were together at Prayaga; He taught him how to lead an expedition against those opposed to devotional service and how to protect oneself from bad association. By discussing the battle, we can also learn to fire at the conceptions of people opposed to bhakti. We too can learn to destroy sinful mentality, fruitive and other forms of material desire, atheism, godlessness, and any other contrary mood.