Śrī Kavi Karṇapūra glorifies Rūpa Gosvāmī:
priya-svarūpe dayita-svarūpe prema-svarūpe sahajābhirūpenijānurūpe prabhur eka-rūpe tatāna-rūpe sva-vilāsa-rūpe
Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭakam 9.39
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī is priya and dayitā, extremely dear and beloved to Śrīman Mahāprabhu. Because he is beloved to Śrīmatī Rādhikā, he is also beloved to Mahāprabhu. Priya-svarūpa refers to Kṛṣṇa’s svarūpa and dayita-svarūpa refers to Rādhārānī’s svarūpa. Prema-svarūpe sahajābhirūpe—Śrī Rūpa-mañjarī is
the prema-mayī-mūrti of Rādhārānī, the embodiment of Her love. She arranges everything for the service of Rādhārānī, so one who receives the mercy of Rūpa naturally receives the mercy of Śrīmatījī. Prabhur eka-rūpe—Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī is so close to Mahāprabhu that he is like the second form of the Lord. Sva-vilāsa-rupe—one who takes shelter of Rūpa Gosvāmī can achieve vraja-rasa and vraja-sevā. He is also vilāsa-rūpa in the sense that he manifests rasa-sāstra, the storehouse of transcendental nectar. All of Mahāprabhu’s love and mercy, moreover, the love of Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, Lalitā, Viśākhā, and the sakhīs and mañjarīs is preserved in the books of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī appeared in this world from Vraja-dhāma to fulfill the desire of Mahāprabhu by distributing vraja-prema and the mood of the mañjarīs. He taught that the highest form of spiritual practice is anurāgamayī-bhakti: devotion towards Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa imbued with spontaneous and powerful loving attachment, and attraction towards Them with the desire to pleasurably serve Them. He described the sweet pastimes of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in such a wonderful way that hearing or reading evokes greed to gain acceptance into the Divine Couple’s inner circle of loving servitors. Upon the awakening of spiritual greed, people naturally lose taste for earthly infatuations.
One who remembers and follows the instructions of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, taking shelter of his lotus feet, will certainly achieve spiritual perfection, or anurāgamayī-sevā in eternal Vraja. He can thus be a Rupānuga-Vaiṣṇava. Fortunate souls can perceive the specialty of Rūpa Gosvāmī and the pricelessness of his teachings. One who approaches Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī through prayer and by adopting his method of spiritual practice will understand and be empowered by Mahāprabhu’s karuṇā-śakti, mercy potency.
Our Guru-varga is in the line of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. We cannot understand Mahāprabhu’s true movement without coming under the guidance of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Therefore, we pray:
ādadānas tṛṇaṁ dantair idaṁ yāce punaḥ punaḥśrīmad rūpa-padāmbhoja dhūliḥ syāṁ janma-janmani
Taking a straw between my teeth, I pray again and again, ‘When will I become the dust of the lotus feet of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda so that I may serve him birth after birth.’