CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN Compassion and Anger COMPASSION When the ecstasy of devotional service produces some kind of lamentation in connection with Kṛṣṇa, it is called devotional service in compassion. The impetuses for this devotional service are Kṛṣṇa’s … Read More
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX Astonishment and Chivalry ASTONISHMENT The ecstasy of astonishment in devotional service is perceived in two ways: directly, by the experience of one’s own eyes, and indirectly, by hearing from others. When Nārada came to … Read More
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE Neutral Love of God Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī offers his respectful prayers to the eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is always so beautiful and for whom the pure devotees are always engaged in loving … Read More
DIRECT AND INDIRECT ATTRACTION FOR KṚṢṆA Transcendental pleasure derived from devotional service can be divided into two groups: direct devotional service and indirect devotional service. Direct devotional service is divided into five transcendental humors or flavors, … Read More
PARENTHOOD, OR SUPERIORITY When mother Yaśodā heard that Kṛṣṇa’s cows were being forcibly moved by the strong servants of Kaṁsa and that the tender cowherd boys were trying to protect their cows, she began to think, … Read More
FRIENDSHIP As far as friendship is concerned, those high-grade devotees who are almost like Kṛṣṇa are considered to be great authorities in the modes of friendly relations with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. On that friendly … Read More
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Additional Symptoms All the previously mentioned thirty-three symptoms of ecstatic love are called vyabhicārī, or disturbing. All these symptoms refer to apparently disturbed conditions, but even in such disturbed conditions there is acute ecstatic … Read More
SLEEPINESS Once Lord Baladeva began to talk in His sleep as follows: “O lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa, Your childhood adventures are manifest simply according to Your own will. Therefore, please immediately dispose of the stubborn pride of this … Read More
DIZZINESS Every evening at sunset Kṛṣṇa used to return from the pasturing ground where He herded cows. Sometimes when mother Yaśodā could not hear the sweet vibration of His flute she would become very anxious, and … Read More
IMPUDENCE In the Tenth Canto, fifty-second chapter, verse 41 of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Rukmiṇī addresses a letter to Kṛṣṇa as follows: “My dear unconquerable Kṛṣṇa, my marriage day is fixed for tomorrow. I request that You come to … Read More
HAUGHTINESS, RESULTING IN DISHONORABLE WORDS In the Vidagdha-mādhava, Jaṭilā, the mother-in-law of Rādhārāṇī, began to criticize Kṛṣṇa in this way: “Kṛṣṇa, You are standing here, and Rādhārāṇī, who has just been married to my son, is … Read More
EAGERNESS In the Tenth Canto, seventy-first chapter, verse 33 of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is said, “When Kṛṣṇa first came from His kingdom, Dvārakā, to Indraprastha,* the young females of the city became so eager to see Him … Read More
DEATH Once the Bakāsura demon assumed the shape of a very big duck and opened his mouth in order to swallow Kṛṣṇa and all the cowherd boys. When Kṛṣṇa was entering into the demon’s mouth, Balarāma … Read More
DISEASE When Kṛṣṇa was absent from Vṛndāvana and was staying at Mathurā, some of His friends informed Him, “Dear Kṛṣṇa, because of their separation from You, the inhabitants of Vraja are so afflicted that they appear … Read More
MADNESS Śrīla Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura prays in his book as follows: “Let Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī purify the whole world, because She has surrendered Herself completely unto Kṛṣṇa. Out of Her ecstatic love for Him, She sometimes acted just … Read More
Caro Bhakta Roberto, Hare Krishna. Nelle scritture e’ spiegato che la Suprema Personalita’ di Dio si espande in tante personalita’ quante sono le onde dell’oceano, cioe’ illimitate. Per questo lui e’ chiamato “Suprema Personalita’ di … Read More
DEGREES OF ECSTATIC SYMPTOMS Out of the many ecstatic symptoms of the body, the symptom of being stunned is especially significant. According to the degree of being stunned, the vital force within the body becomes agitated, … Read More
BELCHING Sometimes belching also becomes a symptom of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. There is evidence of this in Paurṇamāsī’s address to one crying associate of Rādhārāṇī: “My dear daughter, don’t be worried because Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is … Read More
hīna-sampradāya — belonging to a lower spiritual school; CC Adi 7.64 sampradāya-anurodhe — but for the sake of our party; CC Adi 7.136 sampradāya — parties; CC Adi 17.135 bhāratī-sampradāya — the community of the Bhāratī … Read More
SENSUAL ATTRACTION This extreme desire to serve the Lord is manifest in the transcendental land of Vraja. And it is specifically manifested among the gopīs. The gopīs’ love for Kṛṣṇa is so elevated that for our … Read More
