Six Goswamis were the saints of the GaudiyaVaishnavism who lived in the 15th and 16th century. They lived mostly in Vrindavan and spent most of their time in the service of ChaitanyaMahaprabhu. JivaGoswami was one of them.
Profile
Some believe that jivaGoswami lived between the years 1511 and 1596 while others believe it was between 1533 and 1618. He was born in the district of Ramakeli in West Bengal to SrivallabhaMallika who was the brother of Rupa and Sanatana, two of the six Goswamis. Nothing much is known about his mother. As a little child he was extremely fond of Krishna-Balaram and held on to these deities even in his sleep. He would do pooja to them and distribute the Prasad to all his friends. In school he mastered poetry, logic, grammar, Sanskrit and he took great joy in studying SrimadBhagavatham. He studied logic, Vedanta and the six systems of Indian philosophy, Sad Darhsan from various masters. Knowing that his uncles Rupa and Santana had gone away to serve ChaitanyaMahaprabhu, he wanted to follow suit. He served his uncles and helped in editing their works. After their death JivaGoswami became the authority in GaudiyaVaishnavism and his erudition and spirituality brought him many followers. In 1596 JivaGoswami left this world and his samadhi was built in the Radha-Damodara temple in Vrindavan. Later he came to known as the rebirth of VilasaManjari who was the helper of Radha, the greatest devotee and lover of Krishna.
Philosophy Propounded
GaudiyaVaishnavism was the philosophy propounded by JivaGoswami; a philosophy which held Lord Vishnu as the supreme head and for whom Lord Vishnu’s incarnation Krishna was the object of devotion.
Work Done to Spread the Philosophy
JivaGoswami edited the works of Rupa and Santana Goswami. He travelled to Bengal to spread GaudiyaVaishnavism. In 1542 Jiva established the RadhaDamodaran temple in Vrindavan. Around the same time he established VishvaVaishnava Raja (World Vaishnava Association). RupanugaVidyapitha was an educational organization for devotees to study the works of Rupa and Sanatana. The Moghul emperor Akbar was also an admirer of JivaGoswami.
