Aṣṭamy Amṛta Vṛṣṭiḥ
The Eighth Shower of Nectar
Prema – Pure Love of God
I. Prema is the fruit of the Bhakti Latā
Verse 1
From the flower of bhāva suddenly appears the fruit of prema, the final stage of the creeper of bhakti.
On this level many smooth petals suddenly appear in the form of anubhāvas (symptoms of ecstasy).
These anubhāvas are filled with the devotional processes, such as hearing and chanting, and shine brilliantly at every moment.
But what is most astonishing about the creeper of bhakti is, though its leaves, buds, flowers and fruits mature into the succeeding form, they do not give up their original forms. Together they shine in newer and newer ways.
II. Prema frees one from material attachments and binds one to Kṛṣṇa
Verse 1
Spiritual Transformation
The devotee's innumerable citta vṛtti (thoughts) were previously bound tightly by the ropes of attachment to family, relatives, house and properties.
However when prema appears, it easily frees the thoughts from all those attachments.
By its inherent power, prema transforms those material emotions into spiritually blissful elements, as if submerging them all in a deep well of transforming nectar. Similarly, all the attachments become spiritualized.
Then, with those ropes of spiritual attachment, prema binds the spiritualized emotions to the sweetness of the Lord's name, form and qualities.
Prema manifests its brilliance in this way and immediately puts all material ideals (puruṣārtha) to shame as the sun puts to shame all the constellations in the sky.
III. Symptoms of Prema
Verses 2-3
The nectar which comes from the fruit of prema has the essential quality of concentrated bliss (sāndrānanda), and its outstanding nourishing property is its power to attract Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇākarṣiṇī).
When the devotee begins to taste that nectar, he does not take heed of any obstacles.
Like a miser feverish for treasure, like a thief who has lost all sense of discretion out of absorption in his job, the devotee loses all sense of self-consciousness.
Sometimes, there is an impatience for obtaining the Lord, like a hunger which cannot be satisfied even by eating the most tasty foods day and night.
The devotee burns like the sun by that anxiety.
He is soothed only by tasting the form, qualities and sweetness of the Lord, which make a momentary appearance, like the coolness of a thousand moons.
The Paradox of Prema
The prema which exists in the devotee, the receptacle of prema, is very astonishing in that simultaneously even its slightest increase pierces the devotee like a shaft in the form of anxiety by which the devotee at every moment longs for the direct darśana of the Lord... at the same time, by the intense manifestation of that prema, that shaft is burned by the realization (sphūrti) of the form, pastimes and sweetness of the Lord.
Relishing the sweetness of the Lord's form and pastimes, the devotee is no longer able to be satisfied by momentary association with Him, and his ardent desire to attain the Lord intensifies once again.
Then his circle of friends seems as useless to him as a dry, moss-covered well, and his house is transformed into a forest of thorns. Food loses all its taste. The praises of other devotees sting like a snake bite.
Daily duties seem as painful as death, and his body becomes an unbearable burden. The consoling words of well-wishers seem like poison. The wakeful state becomes like an ocean of remorse, and sleep an intolerable agony.
His body seems like a target for the Lord's punishments, and his breath seems as useless as sowing parched grains. What previously appeared as a source of joy is now cast aside as a great misfortune. A single thought of the Lord tears his body asunder.
IV. Symptoms of Prema (Continued)
Verse 4
In due time, the magnet of prema attracts the dark-complexioned Kṛṣṇa, causing Him to appear before the eyes of His servant.
At that time, all the senses of the devotee (eyes, nose, ears, tongue, sense of touch) become the receptacles of all the auspicious qualities of Kṛṣṇa.
From tasting the extreme sweetness and ever-freshness of these qualities of the Lord, a greater longing, which at every moment increases, is born in the devotee because of his prema.
Poetic words are not adequate to describe the ocean of transcendental bliss which appears at this time.
Examples of Incomparable Happiness
A traveller on a desert path, burned by the sun's rays during the hot season, finds shelter in a cool place supplied with a hundred vessels of ice-water from a divine pool under the shade of a vast banyan tree densely tangled with branches.
An elephant caught in a forest fire without escape is finally bathed by unlimited water from a bank of rain clouds.
A person afflicted by mortal disease and craving satisfaction, drinks the nectar, tastes its exquisite sweetness, and experiences unbounded bliss.
This cannot be compared...
V. The Lord reciprocates with the Devotee
Verses 5-6
Vision of Beauty (Saundarya)
First, to the eyes of the devotee who is frozen in ecstasy, the Lord reveals His beauty. Struck by the sweetness of this beauty, all the senses of the devotee, including his mind, turn into sight, and the devotee beholds the Lord with all his senses and mind. Unable to cope with the overwhelming ecstasy — tears, trembling, and stupor — the devotee falls senseless.
Fragrance (Saurabhya)
To bring him to consciousness, the Lord then reveals to him His fragrance, upon smelling which all the senses of the devotee, including the mind, turn into smell. He then loses consciousness for a second time.
Sonorous Voice (Sausvarya)
Suddenly, he hears the voice of the Lord: 'My dear devotee, I am completely in your power. Please, do not worry. Let association with Me satisfy all your desires.' Thus the Lord reveals His sweet-sounding voice to the devotee. As soon as the sound of Krishna's voice reaches his ear, all his senses turn into hearing and he loses his senses for the third time.
Touch & Youthfulness (Saukaumarya)
Then the Lord, depending on the devotee's rasa, mercifully touches him with His feet, hands, chest, giving him the feeling of the tender youthful softness of His body.
To those who are in relation to the Lord as servants, He places His lotus feet on their heads;
Those who feel friendly love for the Lord feel Him take their hands in His.
To those who are attached to Him with parental love, He wipes away the tears with His palm,
Those who experience conjugal love for the Lord, He presses them to His heart, embracing them with His long arms.
Then the devotee's senses all take on the sense of touch and the devotee faints for a fourth time in a deep swoon.
Taste (Madhurya)
The Lord again returns the devotee to his senses, letting him enjoy the nectar taste of His lips. However, the Lord reveals this quality not to everyone, but only to those devotees who are in a relationship of conjugal love with Him. At this time, all the senses of the devotee begin to experience the nectar taste and he loses consciousness for the fifth time.
This blissful unconsciousness is so deep that the Lord can only bring the devotee to his senses by gifting him with His audarya, generosity. Audarya is the state in which all the qualities of the Lord (His beauty, the fragrance of His body, the sound of His voice, touch and taste) become simultaneously available to the different senses of the devotee.
VI. Prema creates turmoil in the heart
Verse 6
At this moment, prema, obeying the desire of the Lord, reaches its highest point, and the desire of the devotee intensifies proportionately. Like a powerful moon that agitates the ocean, prema sets the ocean of bliss in motion. Creating hundreds of waves on its surface, it generates an almost destructive clash of simultaneously arising emotions in the devotee's heart.
At the same time, prema reigns on the throne of his mind and manifests its special power, granting the devotee the ability to simultaneously enjoy a multitude of tastes. One should not think that the inexorable thirst of the mind can cause a mixing of different tastes, resulting in the devotee being unable to enjoy their fullness.
On the contrary, all the senses, having attained an inconceivable, amazing, and supernatural ability to perform the functions of all other senses, much more fully perceive the sweetness of the Lord's beauty, His pleasant voice, and His other qualities. This inconceivable state of prema goes beyond the boundaries of mundane logic.
acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā
na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet
prakṛtibhyaḥ paraṁ yac ca
tad acintyasya lakṣaṇam
"One should not try to understand the inconceivable (acintya) by mundane logic, for the very concept of acintya indicates that which is beyond material nature." (Mahabharata, Bhishma-parva 5.22)
VII. The Lord bestows His Kṛpā Śakti to the Devotee
Verse 7
The devotee tries to experience the sweet tastes of the Lord's beauty, fragrance, sound, touch, taste and audārya all at once like the cātaka bird who tries to catch all the raindrops in his beak.
Then the Lord, seeing that all cannot find room in His devotee, considers, "Why am I holding so many wonderful qualities within My self."
To let the devotee also partake of them all, the Lord manifests His kṛpā śakti (also called anugraha), the superintendent of all the śaktis, by which the devotee becomes attractive even to the Lord.
Forms of Kṛpā Śakti
This śakti is situated like an empress in the middle of a lotus whose eight petals are the eight śaktis (vimalā, utkarṣiṇī, jñāna, kriyā, yoga, prahvī, satyā, and īśānī).
This anugraha decorates itself in the eyes of the Lord and appears in different forms as vātsalya (affection) in relation to His devotees in the mood of servant, etc. (dāsa, sakhā, etc.). In some cases it appears as kāruṇya (compassion).
When it appears in relation to the devotees in conjugal mood it is known as citta-viddrāviṇī ākarṣiṇī śakti (which melts the heart of Kṛṣṇa and attracts Him). Sometimes according to the different moods of the different devotees it is known by other names also.
By this kṛpā-śakti, the all-pervading element of the Lord's free will influences the heart and causes great astonishment even in those realized souls who are fully self-satisfied ātmārāmas.
By this energy, the one quality called bhakta vātsalya (affection for His devotees), like an emperor, rules over all auspicious, spiritual qualities such as satya, śauca, dayā and tapas mentioned in the First Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.
VIII. The Lord and the devotee become conquered by each other
Verses 8-10
The shastras list 18 main faults that are foreign to the Supreme Lord: illusion, laziness, a tendency to commit errors, cruelty, unrestrainable lust, fickleness, arrogance, envy, violence, sadness, fatigue, deceitfulness, anger, passion, fear, confusion, partiality, and dependency on others.
Although these qualities are completely absent in the Lord, by the desire of bhakta-vatsalya they may manifest from time to time in His various avatars, such as Rama and Krishna.
Under the influence of bhakta-vatsalya, all these faults bring immense joy to the devotees and are valued in their eyes as the Lord's unsurpassed virtues.
Wishing to enjoy the fullness of all the qualities of the Lord and each of them individually, the devotee strives again and again to experience their taste. To his extraordinary surprise, each time their sweetness only increases, and the devotee reaches more and more elevated spheres of inconceivable experiences.
His heart melts from a deep realization of bhakta-vatsalya, the Lord's love for His devotees. The Lord, revealing His charming nature, addresses him with these words:
"O best of My devotees, for many lives you have given up the desire for a wife, home, and wealth to reach Me. For Me, you endured suffering caused by cold, wind, hunger, thirst, and pain. Wandering in search of alms, you patiently bore the countless reproaches and abuse of worldly people."
"I have nothing that could be a worthy reward for your sacrifices. Therefore, I will forever remain your debtor. I will not offer you the post of ruler of the Earth, the throne of the King of Heaven, and mystic powers, for they are of no use to you. How can I pay you back with this?"
"Can one reward a person with grass and straw, which are a treat for cows? Although I am unconquerable, today you have won a complete victory over Me. From now on, I take shelter under the shade of the tree of your amazing qualities and gentle disposition."
Having heard the sweet, love-filled words of the Lord, the devotee replies:
"O Lord, O my master! Ocean of mercy! You have cast Your glance upon me, who was being tormented by the monster of endless suffering in the terrifying whirlpool of births and deaths."
"O Lord, transcendental to all material worlds, appearing to me in the form of a spiritual master, You have destroyed my ignorance and lust. Your darshan for me was the Sudarshana Chakra, which pierced this terrible monster and freed me from its clenched jaws. To fulfill my desire to serve Your lotus feet, You placed the syllables of Your mantra in my ears."
"Having destroyed my suffering, You purified me with constant hearing, chanting, and remembering of Your magnificent qualities and name. Through association with devotees dear to You, You taught me to devotedly serve You. I, a fool, the lowest of the low, have not dedicated a single day of my life to serving You."
"Such a selfish egoist as I deserves the most severe punishment. But instead of punishment, You forced me to drink the sweetest nectar of Your darshan. O great master, when with Your lotus lips You say that You have become my debtor, I am overcome with embarrassment. I do not know what I should do."
"Will I have the audacity to ask You for forgiveness for all my offenses? How many were there: five, seven, eight, a thousand or a million? I am sure there are many billions of them. So let the consequences of all the sins I have committed — severe and long-standing, already manifested or ready to manifest — remain with me."
"Previously, I crudely compared the dark color of Your skin to a rain cloud, a blue lotus, and a sapphire. I compared Your radiant face to the moon, and Your tender feet to newly sprouted leaves. But now, seeing Your true beauty, I realized that by using these foolish comparisons, I was offending You."
"I was trying to compare a tiny mustard seed to the golden mountain Meru, a chickpea to the wish-fulfilling stone (chintamani), a jackal to a lion, a tiny mosquito to Garuda. I was proud that I was glorifying You, Lord, and my worthless poetry won the recognition of ordinary people."
"But now, when I have for a moment seen with my own eyes the splendor of Your form, I am ashamed. My comparisons are like the teeth of a mad cow trying to defile the wish-fulfilling tree of Your beauty. But she will never succeed."
Thus the devotee eloquently glorifies the Lord, and the Lord, unusually pleased with him, reveals to him everything related to their special rasa.
The Revelation of the Divine Abode
To devotees who are in a relationship of lovers with the Lord, He reveals Sri Vrindavana-dhama; His loving pastimes; the wish-fulfilling tree; the maha-yoga-pitha; the foremost of all His beloveds, the daughter of Vrishabhanu; her friends, led by Lalita and her maidservants, the manjaris; His friends, led by Subal and His cows; the Yamuna River; Govardhan Hill; Nandishwara Hill and the forests of Vrindavana.
Then He shows him Nanda, Yashoda and all His brothers, friends, servants and residents of Vrindavana.
Having revealed to the devotee all this splendor of rasa, the Lord makes him plunge into a constantly rising wave of bliss... and then unexpectedly disappears, taking with Him everything that surrounded Him.
IX. The devotee laments after the disappearance of the Lord
Verse 11
Recovering consciousness after some moments, the devotee, anxious to see the Lord again, opens his eyes, and not seeing the Lord, he begins crying.
"Was I merely dreaming? No, no, I was not dreaming, because I have neither drowsiness, nor any contamination in my eyes from sleep."
"Was it some hallucination? No, for a hallucination could never give real bliss."
"Or was it from some defect in the mind? No, because all the symptoms of unsteady mind are absent."
"Was it the fulfillment of some material desire? No, no material fancy could ever approach what I have seen."
"Was it a momentary meeting with the Lord? No, because it is completely different from all previous visions of the Lord that I remember."
In this way, the devotee remains in uncertainty. Lying upon the dusty earth, he prays constantly for the same experience. Not obtaining it, he laments, weeps, rolls on the ground, wounds his own body, faints, recovers, stands, sits, runs about, and wails like a madman.
Sometimes he remains silent like a sage and sometimes, like a social outcast, he fails to perform his daily obligatory duties. Like a person possessed by spirits, he talks incoherently.
Unto a devotee friend who is miserable because of his misery, he explains what he has experienced. The friend explains, "That was, by good fortune, a direct meeting with the Lord." Satisfied with that explanation, he becomes happy.
Then again he laments, 'No longer do I have that association.'
'Was it a shower of mercy from some great devotee of the Lord upon this unlucky soul? Or was it by mere chance, or was it the result of some past honest endeavor? Or perhaps it was simply the causeless mercy of the Lord.'
'By some indescribable fortune I have attained the Lord, but then, because of a grave offense, I have lost Him again.'
'Without life, without intelligence, I cannot ascertain the truth.'
'Where shall I go? What shall I do and how? Whom to ask? I am completely vacant, without soul, without shelter, scorched by a conflagration.'
'The three worlds seem to be devouring me. Giving up this worldly association, I will live in solitude for some time.'
Oh lotus-faced Lord, You are possessed of streams of nectar, bedecked with fragrant garlands which scent all the forests, attracting swarms of vibrating bees! Just for a moment may I serve Your Lordship again? Having once tasted Your sweetness, I cannot aspire for anything else.
He begins to roll on the ground, breathe heavily, faint, and lose his mind.
Suddenly seeing the Lord everywhere, he rejoices, embraces, laughs, dances and sings, and when the Lord disappears again, he becomes killed with remorse, and weeps.
Behaving in this way, he withdraws his very life symptoms and he loses awareness of whether he has a body or not.
Then, not aware that his material body has passed to the elements, he understands only that his desired Lord, the ocean of mercy, has manifested Himself.
Engaging him in service, He is leading him to His own house. Thus the devotee reaches the final goal.
X. Scriptural Proofs for the symptoms of the various stages of Bhakti
Verse 12
ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo 'tha bhajana-kriyā |
tato 'nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ ||
tathāsaktis tato bhāvas tataḥ premābhyudañcati |
sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ prādurbhāvaḥ bhavet kramaḥ ||
- Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu -
First, there is association with devotees, by which one gains faith (ādau śraddhā). Then, one associates with the devotees (tataḥ sādhu saṅgaḥ) to learn the scriptures, and then practices bhakti (atha bhajana-kriyā). The anarthas are then destroyed (tato anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt). Steady bhakti without confusion follows (tato niṣṭhā). Desire for the Lord (ruci) appears (rucis tataḥ). This is followed by spontaneous desire for the Lord (āsakti) (tathā āsaktiḥ). This becomes bhāva (tato bhāvaḥ) and then prema (tataḥ prema abhyudañcati). This is the progression (ayaṁ kramaḥ bhavet) for manifesting prema (premṇaḥ prādurbhāvaḥ) for those performing sādhana-bhakti (sādhakānām). (BRS)
The Progression
1. Śraddhā
Faith.
2. Sādhu-saṅga
Association with devotees.
3. Bhajana-kriyā
Performance of devotional service.
4. Anartha-nivṛtti
Removal of unwanted qualities.
5. Niṣṭhā
Attainment of steadiness.
6. Ruci
Appearance of taste.
7. Āsakti
Loving attachment.
8. Bhāva & Prema
The stage preceding love, and pure love of God.
This is the progression for manifesting prema for those performing sādhana-bhakti.
Advanced Stages Note
The stages of devotion mentioned in this verse have been described as they are.
Sneha, māna, praṇaya, rāga, anurāga, and mahābhāva, successively specialized tastes, are progressively higher fruits on the creeper of bhakti.
Because the material body of the devotee cannot tolerate the friction of extremes of all those tastes, they are not manifested in his body.
Thus these tastes have not been described here. Ruci, asakti, bhava and prema, which can be experienced, have already been described.
Scriptural Proofs
In this connection, the scriptures provide a mass of philosophical definitions and theses which were not supplied in the course of the main description because it might have obstructed the integrity of the description of the internal symptoms of the aforementioned tastes. Those who wish to become acquainted with them may read them below:
Ruci
tasmiṁs tadā labdha-rucer mahā-mate priya-śravasy askhalitā matir mama
"O great sage (mahā-mate), as soon as I got a taste (tasmiṁs tadā labdha-rucer) of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (priya-śravasy), my attention to hear of the Lord was unflinching (askhalitā matir mama)." (SB 1.5.27)
Āsakti
guṇeṣu saktaṁ bandhāya rataṁ vā puṁsi muktaye
"The state in which the consciousness of the living entity is attracted by the three modes of material nature is called conditional life (guṇeṣu saktaṁ bandhāya). But when that same consciousness is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is situated in the consciousness of liberation (rataṁ vā puṁsi muktaye)." (SB 3.25.15)
Bhāva
priya-śravasy aṅga mamābhavad ratiḥ
"Thus listening attentively, my taste for hearing of the Personality of Godhead increased at every step (priya-śravasy aṅga mamābhavad ratiḥ)." (SB 1.5.26)
Prema
premātibhara-nirbhinna-pulakāṅgo 'tinirvṛtaḥ | ānanda-samplave līno nāpaśyam ubhayaṁ mune
"My limbs covered in distinct goose bumps (nirbhinna-pulakāṅgo) out of excessive prema (premātibhara), filled with delight (atinirvṛtaḥ), I fainted out of bliss (ānanda-samplave līno), and could not see myself or the Lord (nāpaśyam ubhayaṁ mune)." (SB 1.6.17)
Symptoms of the Stages
Symptoms of Ruci
tā ye pibanty avitṛṣṇo nṛpa gāḍha-karṇais tān na spṛśanty aśana-tṛḍ-bhaya-śoka-mohāḥ
"Those who drink (ye pibanty) that nectar (tā) with firm ears (gāḍha-karṇaih), with constant thirst (avitṛṣṇo), O King (nṛpa), will not be touched (na spṛśanty) by hunger, thirst, fear, lamentation and illusion (aśana-tṛḍ-bhaya-śoka-mohāḥ)." (SB 4.29.40)
Symptoms of Āsakti
śṛṇvan su-bhadrāṇi rathāṅga-pāṇer janmāni karmāṇi ca yāni loke | gītāni nāmāni tad-arthakāni gāyan vilajjo vicared asaṅgaḥ
"Hearing (śṛṇvan) about the all-auspicious (su-bhadrāṇi) appearances and activities of Kṛṣṇa (rathāṅga-pāṇer janmāni karmāṇi ca) which are glorified in this world (yāni loke gītāni) and chanting His names describing those activities (nāmāni tad-arthakāni gāyan), being free from attachment (asaṅgaḥ), a person should wander throughout the world without shame (vilajjo vicared)." (SB 11.2.39)
Symptoms of Bhāva
yathā bhrāmyaty ayo brahman svayam ākarṣa-sannidhau | tathā me bhidyate cetaś cakra-pāṇer yadṛcchayā
"O brāhmaṇa (brahman)! As iron moves (bhrāmyaty yathā ayah) automatically (svayam) toward the magnet (ākarṣa-sannidhau), my consciousness (cetaḥ tathā me), being transformed (bhidyate) by His will (yadṛcchayā), is attracted to Viṣṇu, who carries a disc in His hand (cakra-pāṇeh)." (SB 7.5.14)
Symptoms of Prema
evaṁ-vrataḥ sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā jātānurāgo druta-citta uccaiḥ | hasaty atho roditi rauti gāyaty unmāda-van nṛtyati loka-bāhyaḥ
"Regulated with such devotion (evaṁ-vrataḥ), chanting the name of his dear Kṛṣṇa (sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā), he develops prema (jātānurāgo). His heart melts (druta-citta) and he laughs loudly (uccaiḥ hasaty), weeps, wails and sings (atho roditi rauti gāyaty). He dances like a madman (unmāda-van nṛtyati) without regard for the public (loka-bāhyaḥ)." (SB 11.2.40)
Direct Experience of the Lord
Momentary Vision of the Lord
pragāyataḥ sva-vīryāṇi tīrtha-pādaḥ priya-śravāḥ | āhūta iva me śīghraṁ darśanaṁ yāti cetasi
"The Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa (tīrtha-pādaḥ), whose glories and activities are pleasing to hear (priya-śravāḥ), at once appears on the seat of my heart (śīghraṁ me cetasi darśanaṁ yāti), as if called for (āhūta iva), as soon as I begin to chant His holy activities (pragāyataḥ sva-vīryāṇi)." (SB 1.6.33)
Association of the Lord
paśyanti te me rucirāṇy amba santaḥ prasanna-vaktrāruṇa-locanāni | rūpāṇi divyāni vara-pradāni sākaṁ vācaṁ spṛhaṇīyāṁ vadanti
"O My mother (amba), My devotees always see (te santaḥ paśyanti) the smiling face (prasanna-vaktra) of My form, with eyes like the rising morning sun (me rucirāṇy aruṇa-locanāni). They like to see My various transcendental forms (rūpāṇi divyāni), which are all benevolent (vara-pradāni), and they also talk (vadanti) favorably (spṛhaṇīyāṁ vācaṁ) with Me (sākaṁ)." (SB 3.25.35)
The Devotee's Reaction to Association with the Lord
tair darśanīyāvayavair udāra-vilāsa-hāsekṣita-vāma-sūktaiḥ | hṛtātmano hṛta-prāṇāṁś ca bhaktir anicchato me gatim aṇvīṁ prayuṅkte
"Upon seeing the charming forms of the Lord (taiḥ darśanīya avayavaiḥ), His liberal pastimes, smiles and glances (udāra-vilāsa hāsa īkṣita), and hearing His very pleasing words (vāma-sūktaiḥ), the pure devotee almost loses all other consciousness (hṛta ātmanaḥ hṛta prāṇān). His senses are freed from all other engagements, and he becomes absorbed in devotional service. Thus in spite of his unwillingness (anicchataḥ), he attains liberation without separate endeavor (me bhaktiḥ aṇvīṁ gatim prayuṅkte)." (SB 3.25.36)
Actions of the Devotee in this State
dehaṁ ca naśvara-avasthitam utthitaṁ vā siddho na paśyati yato 'dhyagamat svarūpam | daivād apetam atha daiva-vaśād upetaṁ vāso yathā parikṛtaṁ madirā-madāndhaḥ
"Just as a drunken man does not notice if he is wearing his coat or shirt, similarly, one who is perfect in self-realization and who has achieved his eternal identity does not see whether the temporary body is sitting or standing. Indeed, if by God's will the body is finished or if by God's will he obtains a new body, he does not notice." (SB 11.13.36)
XI. False & True Ego
Verses 13-14
Transformation of Identity
Ahantā (consciousness of I) and mamatā (consciousness of mine). By jñāna these two are destroyed and liberation is attained.
The Old Ego
By directing these two towards body (I am this body), house (this is my house), etc. bondage results.
The New Ego (Prema)
I am the follower of the Lord. I am the servant of the Lord. The Lord with His associates, an ocean of sweetness with His form, qualities and pastimes is to be served by me.
If one thinks in this way, identifying oneself as the Lord's servant and making the Lord along with His associates the object of one's possession, it is called prema. Prema is in this way distinct from both bondage and liberation, and is properly called the crown jewel of all human goals.
The Sequence of Prema Development
Material Consciousness
The devotee thinks: 'I do not wish to give up enjoyment in the material world, but this does not prevent me from serving the Lord.'
Faith (Śraddhā)
When a tiny grain of faith is born, one thinks of becoming a Vaishnava. Consciousness is slightly spiritualized, becoming capable of devotional service (bhakta-adhikāra).
Association (Sādhu-saṅga)
Spiritualization becomes deeper, though consciousness is still predominantly under the power of material energy.
Unsteady Practice (Aniṣṭhitā)
Simultaneously with the appearance of spiritual qualities, material qualities manifest in full force.
Steadiness (Niṣṭhā)
Spiritualization becomes all-encompassing, and the influence of material qualities weakens to some extent.
Taste (Ruci)
Consciousness is almost completely spiritualized; material aspects (I and mine) recede into the background.
Attachment (Āsakti)
Spiritual qualities manifest in full force, and material ones only rarely.
Ecstasy (Bhāva)
Spiritual nature reaches absolute development; material aspects remain only as a shadow (ābhāsa). Like waking from sleep.
Pure Love (Prema)
Spiritual aspects become extraordinarily strong, and material contamination disappears without a trace.
Meditation Intensity Progression
The intensity of meditation progresses as follows:
XII. Conclusion
Verse 14
mādhurya-vāridheḥ kṛṣṇa-
caitanyād uddhṛtaiḥ rasaiḥ |
iyaṃ dhinotu mādhurya
mayī kādambinī jagat ||
The cloud bank has lifted the rasa from the ocean of sweetness personified, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. May the sweet bank of clouds satisfy the thirsty world by distributing that rasa.