The Nectar of Devotion CH 28

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The Nectar of Devotion CH 28

 

A Summary Study of Srila Rupa Gosvami's Bhakti-rasamrta sindue

by

 

His Divine Grace

A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

EXISTENTIAL ECSTATIC LOVE

 

When a devotee is always intensely affected by love for Krsna in a

direct relationship with Him — or even a little apart from Him — his

status is called existential ecstatic love. The symptoms originating

from such existential ecstatic love are divided into three headings —

namely moist, burnt and dried-up.

Moist existential ecstatic love aroused in connection with Krsna is

divided into two: direct and indirect. Radharani was weaving a

garland of kunda flowers, and upon hearing the vibration of Krsna

flute, She immediately stopped Her work. This is an example of direct

moistened existential ecstatic love. Indirect moistened existential

ecstatic love is de­scribed in the following statement: Krsna who is

also called Purusot­tama, is to the eyes of mother Yasoda just like

the cloud is to the eyes of the cataki bird. When Krsna had been

brought to Mathura mother Yasoda being very anxious and angry, began

to rebuke the King of Mathura

Burnt existential ecstatic love is divided into three, and one

example is as follows: One day, mother Yasoda was dreaming that the

gigantic demon Putana was lying on the courtyard of her house, and

she im­mediately became anxious to seek out Krsna

When there are manifestations of ecstatic symptoms in the body of a

nondevotec, these are called dried-up symptoms of ecstatic love. The

nondevotees are actually materialistic, but in contact with some pure

devotee, they sometimes may manifest some symptoms of ecstasy. Devo­

tional scholars call these dried-up symptoms.

There are eight symptoms of existential ecstatic love: becoming

stunned, perspiring, standing of the hairs on the body, faltering of

the voice, trembling of the body, changing of bodily colors, shedding

of tears and devastation.

The scientific explanation of these eight symptoms is given by Rupa

Gosvami as follows. When the vital force of life is in contact with

the earth, one is stunned. When the same force comes into contact

with water, there is the shedding of tears. When the same force comes

into contact with fire, there is perspiration. When the force comes

into contact with the sky, there is complete devastation. And when

that force comes into contact with the air, there is trembling,

failing of the voice and standing of the hairs on the body.

These symptoms are sometimes manifested internally and sometimes

externally. The pure devotee always feels such symptomatic

expressions within himself, but being afraid of outsiders he does not

generally manifest them externally.

 

Becoming Stunned

 

The symptom of being stunned is caused by ecstatic tribulation, fear­

fulness, astonishment, lamentation and anger. This symptom is

exhibited by a stoppage of talking, a stoppage of movement, a feeling

of voidness and an extreme feeling of separation.

When Uddhava was describing Krsna pastimes to Vidura, he said,. "One

day the gopis became stunned when Krsna in the dress of a gar­dening

maid, entered the greenhouse and enlivened them with joking and

laughter. Then when Krsna left the greenhouse, the gopis were seeing

Krsna so ecstatically that it was as though both their minds and eyes

were following Him." These symptoms signify that although the gopis'

business was not finished, they had become stunned with ecstatic love.

Another example of being stunned took place when Krsna was sur­rounded

by various wrestlers in the sacrificial arena of Kamsa. His mother,

Devaki,* then became stunned, and her eyes dried up when she saw

Krsna among the wrestlers.

There is also an example of the astonishment of Lord Brahma It is ex­

plained in the Tenth Canto, Thirteenth Chapter, verse 56, of Srimad­

Bhagavatam, that when Brahma understood that this cowherd boy was

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*Devaki was the "natural" mother of Krsna His father being Vasudeva.

In order to pro­tect the divine baby from Devaki's brother, Kamasa

Vasudeva delivered Krsna to Nanda and mother Yasoda in Vrndavana, and

it was there that He exhibited His childhood pastimes. At sixteen

years of age He returned to Mathura (where DevakI had given birth to

Him) and vanquished Kamsa in the arena mentioned here. See the

author's Krsna as well as his Srimad-Bhagavatam, for fuller details

of these events.

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------------------------ the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself,

he became stunned. All of his sensory activities stopped when he saw

all the cowherd boys again, along with Krsna. Lord Brahma was so

stunned that he appeared to be a golden statue with four heads. Also,

when the residents of Vraja found that Krsna had lifted Govardhana

Hill with His left hand, they became stunned.

Astonishment caused by lamentation was exemplified when Krsna was

entering into the belly of the Bakasura demon and all the demigods

from higher planets became stunned with lamentation. A similar

example of becoming stunned was visible in Arjuna when he saw that

Asvatthama was attempting to release his brahmastra* at Krsna.

 

Perspiring

 

An example of perspiring because of jubilation is described in Srimad­

Bhagavatam. One gopie addressed Radharani thus: "My dear Radharani,

You are rebuking the sunshine unnecessarily, but I can understand that

You are perspiring only because of Your becoming too lusty at seeing

Krsna."

Perspiration caused by fearfulness was exhibited by Raktaka, one of

the servants of Krsna One day Krsna dressed Himself just like

Abhimanyu, the husband of Radharani. Abhimanyu did not like

Radharani's association with Krsna and therefore when Raktaka saw

Krsna in the dress of Abhimanyu and thus mistook His identity, he

began to strongly rebuke Him. As soon as Raktaka finally understood

that it was Krsna in the dress of Abhimanyu, he began perspiring.

This perspiration was caused by fearfulness.

Perspiration due to anger was exhibited by Garuda, the eagle who is

the carrier of Visnu. Once the heavenly king, Indra, was sending tor­

rents of rain over Vrndavana. Garuda was observing the incident from

above the clouds, and because of his anger, he began perspiring.

 

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