Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pūjitau
nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau
And now, Chapter 20: Transcendental Mellow.
lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau tri-bhuvane mānyau śaraṇyākarau nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau
In this second division of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu the author offers his respectful obeisances
unto "Sanātana." This Sanātana can be interpreted as either Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself or as Sanātana
Gosvāmī, the elder brother and spiritual master of Rūpa Gosvāmī. In the case where "Sanātana"
is accepted to mean Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the obeisances are offered to Kṛṣṇa because He is naturally
so beautiful and because He is the killer of the demon Agha. If it is interpreted to
mean Sanātana Gosvāmī, then it is because he is so greatly favored by Rūpa Gosvāmī,
being always served by him, and because he is the annihilator of all kinds of sinful
activities. In this division of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu the author wants to describe the general symptoms
of the transcendental mellow (loving mood) of discharging devotional service.
In this division of Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu there are five general topics: (1) vibhava--special
symptoms or causes of ecstasy, (2) anubhava--subsequent ecstasy, (3) sattvika-bhava--constitutional
or existential ecstasy, (4) vyabhicari-bhava--aggressive ecstasy and (5) sthayi-bhava--fervent or continuous
ecstasy. The word rasa, used in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu,
is understood by different persons differently because the exact English equivalent is very
difficult to find. But as we have seen our spiritual master translate this word rasa
into "mellow," we shall follow in his footsteps and also translate the word in that way.
The particular loving mood or attitude relished in the exchange of love with the Supreme Personality
of Godhead is called rasa, or mellow. The different types of rasa, when combined together,
help one to taste the mellow of devotional service in the highest degree of transcendental
ecstasy. Such a position, although entirely transcendental to our experience, will be
explained in this section as far as possible, following in the footsteps of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
Without relishing some sort of mellow, or loving mood, in one's activities, no one can
continue to perform such activities. Similarly, in the transcendental life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness
and devotional service there must be some mellow, or specific taste, from the service.
Generally this mellow is experienced by chanting, hearing, worshiping in the temple and being
engaged in the service of the Lord. So when a person feels transcendental bliss; that
is called "relishing the mellow." To be more clear, we may understand that the various
feelings of happiness derived from discharging devotional service may be termed the "mellows"
of devotional service. This relishing of transcendental mellow in
discharging devotional service cannot be experienced by all classes of men, because this sweet
loving mood is developed only from one's previous life's activities or by the association of
unalloyed devotees. As explained above, association with pure devotees is the beginning of faith
in devotional service. Only by developing such faith in the association of a pure devotee,
or by having in one's previous life executed devotional activities, can one actually relish
the mellow of devotional service. In other words, this transcendental bliss is not to
be enjoyed by any common man unless he is so extraordinarily fortunate as to be in association
with devotees or to be continuing his previous birth's devotional activities.
The gradual process of development to the stage of devotional service is explained in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto: "The beginning is to hear about Lord Kṛṣṇa in the association
of devotees who have themselves cleansed their hearts by association. Hearing about the transcendental
activities of the Lord will result in one's feeling transcendental bliss always." It is
also explained in Bhagavad-gītā that for one who has actually come to the spiritual platform,
the first symptom visible will be that he is always joyful. This joyous life is attained
by one's reaction to reading Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or else from associating
with persons who are very interested in the spiritual life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness--specifically
those who have made the determination to achieve the favor of Govinda by being engaged in transcendental
loving service at His lotus feet. Being encouraged by such a feeling, one who is constantly engaged
in discharging the regulative principles of devotional service in such a way as to please
the Supreme Personality of Godhead develops two principles of compelling force, which
come under the heading of vibhāva. Thus one enjoys transcendental bliss.
There are several origins or causes for this compulsive love of Kṛṣṇa, such as Kṛṣṇa Himself,
the devotees of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa's playing on the flute. The effect is sometimes loving
and sometimes stunted. There are eight transcendental symptoms found
in the body during ecstasy, and all of them are possible only by a mixture of the above--mentioned
five ecstatic divisions. Without some mixture of these five ecstatic principles, one cannot
relish transcendental bliss. The cause or basis for relishing transcendental mellow
is exactly what we mean by vibhāva. This vibhāva is divided into two--namely, basic and impelling,
or impetus--giving. In the Agni Purāṇa the description of vibhāva is given as follows:
"The basis from which ecstatic love is born is called vibhāva, which is divided into two-basic
and impelling." In other words, there are two kinds of ecstatic love. The object of
basic ecstatic love is Kṛṣṇa and His devotee. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the object of basic ecstatic
love, and His pure devotee, a reservoir of such love, is the object of impelling ecstatic
love. Impelling ecstatic love, then, is that love which develops when one sees an object
which reminds him of Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is the possessor of inconceivable
potencies and qualities of transcendental knowledge and bliss, is the basic cause of
ecstatic love. Lord Kṛṣṇa also becomes the reservoir (impetus) of ecstatic love by His
different incarnations and expansions. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is a statement in
connection with the brahma-vimohana-līlā which demonstrates something of this impelling or
impetus--giving feature of ecstatic love. When Brahmā was deluded by Kṛṣṇa, who expanded
Himself into so many cowherd boys, calves and cows, Kṛṣṇa's elder brother, Śrī Baladeva
(a direct expansion of Kṛṣṇa Himself), felt astonishment and said, "How wonderful it is
that My ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa is again being attracted to so many cowherd boys, calves
and cows!" He was struck with wonder by thinking in this way. This is one of the examples in
which Kṛṣṇa Himself becomes the object and reservoir of ecstatic love in the impelling
aspect.