Born in a
Sri Vaishnava family from the
Tamil Iyengar community of
Sriangam, and the son of
Venkatta Bhatta, Gopala Bhatta Goswami was a devotee of
Lakshmi Narayana. According to biographies such as the
Bhakti Ratnakara, Gopala Bhatta's first meeting with
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was in 1510, during Mahaprabhu's tour of South India. Although he was a youth, he was given the opportunity to meet with Chaitanya and serve him for serveral months. Such was his love for the saint that when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was about to leave, Gopala Bhatta became upset, and for Gopala Bhatta's sake, Chaitanya then agreed to stay a few more days. According to Gaudiya tradition, it was during this time that Gopala Bhatta had a spiritual vision in which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu revealed himself as an avatar of
Krishna. In the vision, Krishna then told him that in the town of
Vrindavan, he would meet with two devotees, namely
Rupa Goswami and
Sanatana Goswami, who would instruct him in the finer details of devotional service (
bhakti). When Gopala Bhatta awoke from the experience, he wanted to leave for Vrindavan at once. However Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told him to stay and serve his parents. After Chaitanya's departure, Gopal Bhatta took guidance from his uncle
Prabhodananda Sarasvati. Gopal Bhatta took care of his parents into their old age, and after they died, he then travelled to Vrindavana. There he met Rupa and Sanatana who accepted him as a brother. Gopal Bhatta later helped Sanatana compile the book
Hari Bhakti Vilasa. ==Vrindavan==