Nectar of Devotion
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Thirty-two
Symptoms of Continuous Love
The continuous ecstasy of love can remain like a powerful king, subduing all temporary manifestations of love as well as any opposing elements of anger. It can be exhibited directly or indirectly, and thus ecstatic love can be described as direct or indirect. These symptoms of ecstatic love are possible only when one is fully situated in a transcendental position. Direct ecstatic love can be divided into two groups—namely, selfish and selfless.
When noncontradictory symptoms of ecstatic love are distinctly manifest, any contradictory symptoms create a sense of abomination. Contradictory ecstatic love is called selfish. That ecstatic love which can adjust all contradictory or noncontradictory symptoms is called direct selfless love. These selfless symptoms can again be divided into five groups: neutrality, servitude, fraternity, parenthood and conjugal love. Such ecstatic love assumes a particular mode in contact with different objects of love.
Neutrality
Neutrality can be further subdivided into general, transparent and peaceful. An attraction for Krsna by the people in general or by children cannot take any specific or satisfactory position. It can be manifest sometimes in trembling of the body and changing of the color of the eyes (to red, white, etc.), although there is no symptom of any particular affection.
One old man was told by a young man, “Just see how this child—only three years old—is so jubilant! Simply by seeing Krsna he is running so swiftly, making a tumultuous sound. Just see!” This is an instance of neutral ecstatic love in the heart of a child, without any specific subdivision.
Due to the different types of attraction for Krsna, there are different varieties of devotees. Their symptoms are manifested transparently, just like jewels. It is said that a great devotee brahmana would sometimes address the Supreme Personality of Godhead as master and sometimes joke with the Lord, using different kinds of familiar words. Sometimes he would protect the Lord with a filial affection, sometimes he would cry out to the Lord, addressing the Lord as his beloved, and sometimes he would meditate on the Lord as the Supersoul. This means that the brahmana expressed his ecstatic loving symptoms in different ways at different times. But in each instance, because of ecstatic love, the brahmana merged himself in the ocean of happiness and became situated in pure love. Thus he was a transparent medium, like a jewel that shows reality in varying colors according to its own nature.
When the great sage Narada was glorifying the pastimes of the Lord with his vina, the four Kumaras, headed by Sanaka, although merged in the impersonal conception of Brahman, were trembling all over. Another devotee once exclaimed, “Although I can achieve liberation simply by serving the devotees, my mind is still very much anxious to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose bodily complexion is just like a dark cloud.” When a devotee is so anxious to contact the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that can also be accepted as a symptom of neutral love.
Pure and Mixed Flavors
Generally, a devotee of Lord Krsna may be placed into one of three groups. One group consists of those who are completely dependent on the merciful affection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, another group consists of devotees who are dealing with Krsna on friendly terms, and the third group consists of those who are dealing with Krsna as His superiors, with parental affection. These three classes of devotees gradually develop different relationships of transcendental mellow with the Personality of Godhead. When the attraction for Krsna is based on only one particular humor, that humor is called kevala, or the pure state. One in this pure state of devotional service gradually develops the desire to follow in the footsteps of an eternal associate of Krsna, e.g., to follow in the footsteps of Rasala, the personal attendant of Krsna in Goloka Vrndavana, or to follow Krsna’s friends, like Sridama and Sudama, or to follow Nanda and Yasoda, devotees in parenthood. Ecstatic love for Krsna is never manifested directly with Krsna Himself. The devotee has to follow in the footsteps of the eternal associates of Krsna in Goloka Vrndavana.
When transcendental humors in relationship with Krsna become mixed (e.g., when the relationships with Krsna in friendship, servitorship and parental love become mixed together), the result is called mixed humor or flavor. Such mixed transcendental flavors are manifested by such devotees as Uddhava, Bhima and Mukhara, the personal attendant of mother Yasoda. Although devotional humors are sometimes found in mixtures, a particular humor is always found to be a prominent and constant factor. That prominent humor is to be accepted as the devotee’s main relationship with Krsna. For example, Uddhava is in relationship with Krsna as a friend, but in Uddhava’s character a trace of servitude to Krsna is also visible. Such friendship is called friendship in reverence. The friendship typified by Sridama and Sudama, however, is the standard of friendship without any tinge of reverence.
Subordinate Ecstatic Love
The devotees who always think of Krsna as a superior are in subordinate ecstatic love. To such a devotee the concept of inferiority to the Lord is very prominent, and he rarely takes interest in any other kind of transcendental loving humor with the Lord.
In the Mukunda-mala-stotra, compiled by King Kulasekhara, one of the prayers says, “My dear Lord, You are the deliverer of living entities from the hellish condition of materialistic life, but that does not matter to me. Whether I am elevated to the heavenly platform or remain on this earthly planet or am dispatched to some hellish planet, that does not matter at all to me. My only prayer is that at the time of my death I may simply remember Your two beautiful feet, which are just like lotus flowers fructifying during the autumn season.”
Friendship
As far as friendship is concerned, those high-grade devotees who are almost like Krsna are considered to be great authorities in the modes of friendly relations with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. On that friendly platform there are different kinds of laughing and joking conversations. An example of such a friendly relationship with Krsna is described in Srimad-Bhagavatam when Krsna was once thinking, “Today, while I was engaged in tending the cows in the pasturing ground of Vrndavana, I went to collect some flowers in a beautiful garden. At that time My friends, the cowherd boys, were unhappy even to tolerate a two-minute separation from Me. And when they found Me, there was competition between us as to who would touch the other first with the flowers we had in hand.”
One friend criticized Krsna thus: “My dear Damodara, although You have been defeated by Sridama and have become sufficiently minimized in strength, by a false expression of strength You have somehow covered Your shameful condition of defeat.”
Parenthood, or Superiority
When mother Yasoda heard that Krsna’s cows were being forcibly moved by the strong servants of Kamsa and that the tender cowherd boys were trying to protect their cows, she began to think, “How can I protect these poor boys from the invasion of Kamsa’s servants?” This is an instance of a superior attitude in a devotee.
As soon as mother Yasoda found her son Krsna returning from the pasturing ground, she immediately began to pat Him, touching her fingers to the cheeks of the Lord.
Conjugal Love
Above even the humor of love between Krsna and His parents is the relationship of conjugal love. The Lord and the young gopis exhibit this in different ways—glancing, moving the eyebrows, speaking very sweet words and exchanging smiles.
There is a statement in Govinda-vilasa to this effect: “Srimati Radharani was looking for Krsna very anxiously and almost disappointedly.” When there is such an indirect expression of conjugal love, there is smiling, astonishment, enthusiasm, lamentation, anger, dread and sometimes ghastliness. These seven exchanges of conjugal love form another state of ecstatic love.
In a direct relationship of conjugal love, there is laughter, astonishment, chivalry, lamentation, anger and dread, but there is no ghastliness. These expressions are considered to be great reservoirs of pleasure. When these seven kinds of ecstatic loving exchanges are manifested, they attain the status of steadiness by which the taste of conjugal love expands.