Srimad Bhagavatam – 11.2.40 by HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj @ ISKCON Chennai on 19 Jan 2025

Text 40

एवंव्रत: स्वप्रियनामकीर्त्या
जातानुरागो द्रुतचित्त उच्चै: ।
हसत्यथो रोदिति रौति गाय-
त्युन्मादवन्नृत्यति लोकबाह्य: ॥ ४० ॥

evaṁ-vrataḥ sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā
jātānurāgo druta-citta uccaiḥ
hasaty atho roditi rauti gāyaty
unmāda-van nṛtyati loka-bāhyaḥ

Translation

By chanting the holy name of the Supreme Lord, one comes to the stage of love of Godhead. Then the devotee is fixed in his vow as an eternal servant of the Lord, and he gradually becomes very much attached to a particular name and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As his heart melts with ecstatic love, he laughs very loudly or cries or shouts. Sometimes he sings and dances like a madman, for he is indifferent to public opinion.

Purport

In this verse, pure love of God is being described. Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has described this spiritual situation as samprāpta-prema-lakṣana-bhakti-yogasya saṁsāra-dharmātītāṁ gatim, or the perfectional stage of life in which one’s devotional service to the Supreme Lord is enriched by ecstatic love. At that time, one’s spiritual duties are entirely beyond the scope of worldly affairs.

In Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 7.78), there is the following statement by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:

dhairya dharite nāri, hailāma unmatta
hāsi, kāndi, nāci, gāi, yaiche mada-matta

“While chanting the holy name of the Lord in pure ecstasy, I lose myself, and thus I laugh, cry, dance and sing just like a madman.” Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately approached His spiritual master to ask him why He had apparently become mad by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. His guru replied:

kṛṣṇa-nāma-mahā-mantrera ei ta’ svabhāva
yei jape, tāra kṛṣṇe upajaye bhāva

“It is the nature of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra that anyone who chants it immediately develops his loving ecstasy for Kṛṣṇa.” (Cc. Ādi 7.83) In this connection Śrīla Prabhupāda has commented, “These symptoms are very prominently manifest in the body of a pure devotee. Sometimes when our students of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement chant and dance, even in India people are astonished to see how these foreigners have learned to chant and dance in this ecstatic fashion. As explained by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, actually this is not due to practice, for without extra endeavor these symptoms become manifest in anyone who sincerely chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.”

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has warned us in this regard about the ungodly sahajiyās who imitate the pastimes of the Supreme Lord in an unauthorized way, neglecting the standard injunctions of Vedic scriptures, foolishly trying to take the position of Kṛṣṇa as Puruṣottama, and thus making a cheap farce of the exalted pastimes of the Lord. Their so-called ecstatic symptoms like crying, shivering and falling on the ground are not to be confused with the advanced features of devotional service described by Śrīdhara Svāmī as samprāpta-prema-lakṣaṇa-bhakti-yoga. Śrīla Prabhupāda comments in this regard, “One who has attained this bhāva stage is no longer under the clutches of the illusory energy.” Similarly, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja states:

pañcama puruṣārtha — premānandāmṛta-sindhu
mokṣādi ānanda yāra nahe eka bindu

“For a devotee who has actually developed bhāva [love of Godhead], the pleasure derived from dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa appears like a drop in the presence of the sea.” (Cc. Ādi 7.85) As already stated in the previous verse of this chapter, gāyan vilajjo vicared asaṅgaḥ: one exhibits the ecstatic symptoms of love of Godhead when he is asaṅga, free from all attachment to material sense gratification.

The word loka-bāhyaḥ in this verse indicates that a pure devotee on the platform of prema, love of Godhead, is not at all concerned with ridicule, praise, respect or criticism from ordinary people in the bodily concept of life. Kṛṣṇa is the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and when He reveals Himself to a surrendered servant, all doubt and speculation about the nature of the Absolute are vanquished forever.

In this connection Śrīpāda Madhvācārya has quoted a verse from the Varāha Purāṇa:

kecid unmāda-vad bhaktā
bāhya-liṅga-pradarśakāḥ
kecid āntara-bhaktāḥ syuḥ
kecic caivobhayātmakāḥ
mukha-prasādād dārḍhyāc ca
bhaktir jñeyā na cānyataḥ

“Some devotees of the Lord exhibit external symptoms, acting like madmen, others are introspective devotees, and still others partake of both natures. It is by one’s steadfastness and by the merciful vibrations emanating from one’s mouth that one’s devotion can be judged, not otherwise.”

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has given a very nice example to illustrate ecstatic laughing and other symptoms of love of Godhead: “‘Oh, that thief Kṛṣṇa, the son of Yaśodā, has entered the house to steal the fresh butter. Grab Him! Keep Him away!’ Hearing these menacing words spoken by the elderly gopī Jaratī, Kṛṣṇa immediately prepares to leave the house. The devotee to whom this transcendental pastime is revealed laughs in ecstasy. But suddenly he can no longer see Kṛṣṇa. He then cries in great lamentation, ‘Oh! I achieved the greatest fortune in the world, and now it has suddenly slipped from my hands!’ Thus the devotee cries loudly,

‘O my Lord! Where are You? Give me Your answer!’ The Lord answers, ‘My dear devotee, I heard your loud complaint, and so I have again come before you.’ Upon seeing Lord Kṛṣṇa again, the devotee begins to sing, ‘Today my life has become perfect.’ Thus overwhelmed with transcendental bliss, he begins to dance like a madman.”

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura also notes that the word druta-cittaḥ or “with a melted heart,” indicates that one’s heart, melted by the fire of anxiety to see the Lord, becomes like Jambūnadī, a river of roseapple juice. The ācārya further points out, nāma-kīrtanasya sarvotkarṣam: the present and previous verse clearly distinguish the exalted position of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ, chanting and hearing the name and glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also emphasized this by quoting:

harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā

“In this Age of Kali there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative for spiritual progress but the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.” In his purports to Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 7.76), Śrīla Prabhupāda has given an elaborate explanation of this verse.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura recommends that we study the following verse in this connection:

parivadatu jano yathā tathā vā
nanu mukharo na vayaṁ vicārayāmaḥ
hari-rasa-madirā-madāti-mattā
bhuvi viluṭhāmo naṭāmo nirviśāmaḥ

“Let the garrulous populace say whatever they like; we shall pay them no regard. Thoroughly maddened by the ecstasy of the intoxicating beverage of love for Kṛṣṇa, we shall enjoy life running about, rolling on the ground and dancing in ecstasy.” (Padyāvalī 73)

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:

So this verse describes ecstasy or bhāva stage.  Rūpa Gosvāmī describes three stages of Bhakti in Nectar devotion. So the first stage is Sadhana Bhakti. It has two types. One is Vaidhi Sadhana, the other is Rāgānugā Sadhana. The next stage is called bhāva. And that’s where ecstatic symptoms as described in this verse begin to manifest.

When bhāva becomes mature, it is called Prema. So Prema and bhāva are related to each other. bhāva is sometimes called the sprout of Prema. And in both states, these ecstatic symptoms will manifest. But these symptoms will manifest more intensely in Prema. So in other words, the attraction to Krishna and the experience of Krishna becomes more intense in Prema.

As a result of the bliss of the experience with Krishna, one exhibits various symptoms. So these symptoms are spontaneous, we can say involuntary. One doesn’t consciously do them. So many of these are called sattvika-bhāvas. So of course, there are eight famous sattvika-bhāvas. So though they are not something that we think about doing, they’re also part of rasa.

So rasa is a combination of sattvika-bhāvas along with anubhāvas, vyabhachari Bhāvas, sthāyi-bhāva and vibhāva. So if you don’t have any sattvika-bhāvas, you don’t have rasa [Laughs]. But we cannot think, well I’ll start crying and shivering etc, then I’ll get rasa. That doesn’t work. So we’ll find in the scriptures like Bhagavatam and other literatures and in the past times that many of these symptoms – sattvika-bhāvas manifest. So that indicates their level of advancement there in bhāva or Prema.

So some people of course will try to imitate that. What is the purpose of imitation? Then people will think, “oh ! this person is in bhāva and Prema !”. So that type of imitation is condemned by the Gosvāmīs. It is an imitation in order to get fame and profit.  So nevertheless, as we see, there is an emphasis upon these symptoms. So they are part of rasa and part of Prema.

Of course all these activities mentioned here are not sattvika-bhāvas. So for instance dancing is not a Sattvika bhāva. It’s more related to a conscious activity. So we call it anubhāva. So the devotee, of course doing Sadhana Bhakti also does dancing and singing etc. So we do this, this is not an imitation of bhāva or Prema, it’s part of Sadhana itself. However, there’s also a little bit of a difference with a person who has bhāva and Prema. As Sadhana Bhakti, we do these activities as angas of Bhakti and they’re largely external. By doing those activities the internal bhāva or the sthāyi-bhāva manifests gradually.

When that sthāyi-bhāva actually manifests that’s called the bhāva stage. So the sthāyi-bhāva is not an activity, it’s an emotion. We experience a certain relationship with Krishna. It may be santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya or madhurya. By the external activities of hearing and chanting etc. gradually this sthāyi-bhāva / bhāva stage will manifest. So when the sthāyi-bhāva manifests, Krishna also manifests! And when Krishna manifests pastimes also manifest ! So this of course means that one can see Krishna, one can hear Krishna, one can talk to Krishna etc. This means one has developed a spiritual body. We cannot see the Lord with material eyes. So bhāva stage means of course sthāyi-bhāva develops and spiritual body develops.

What do we do in that spiritual body? Do we just look at Krishna? No! the body is there to serve Krishna. So therefore, we begin to have pastimes with Krishna. And through that experience, then we will get these sattvika-bhāvas. But in serving Krishna, in our spiritual body in bhāva we are doing hearing, chanting, dancing etc. Same as what we do in Sadhana. But different because this is now part of rasa.

As a result of bhāva, we have a spiritual body. So we are singing and dancing in our spiritual body. However we may still have a material body. And we may do the same activities in the material body. But it is not the same as doing it in Sadhana. Because in Sadhana, we don’t have a spiritual body, we have not seen Krishna. And the sthāyi-bhāva has not developed. So therefore, the external activities are quite similar. In Sadhana, we do hearing and chanting. And in Bhāva and Prema, we do hearing and chanting, dancing etc.

So in bhāva and Prema, the quality of those external activities will be different. All those activities will be inspired by our sthāyi-bhāva. In Sadhana Bhakti we’re doing those activities to develop that sthāyi-bhāva [Laughs]. In Bhāva stage we’re doing the activities as a result of the sthāyi-bhāva [Laughs]. 

In any case, the activities of bhāva cannot be imitated. In the nectar of devotion Rupa Goswami describes this imitation. And he criticizes it. There are two types of imitation. One is conscious imitation for one’s own material purposes. So that is completely rejected. The other is, not done for any material profit. But when one is not on the bhāva stages one may show ecstatic symptoms like crying or fainting. So people who are very emotional may have such symptoms. So that is not heavily criticized. But at the same time we should distinguish that from the actual symptoms in bhāva and Prema.

So in the commentary here on the purport, it is mentioned how the heart melts. Becomes like Jambūnadī [Laughs]. It is translated as a river. I think actually it means a river of gold – liquid gold. So the heart melts, it becomes like – gold, molten gold. So this is another symptom of bhāva. The heart begins to soften. This of course is not the material heart or the mind. It refers to one’s emotional state in Prema. So in relation to Krishna, one develops very strong emotions.

Another symptom that develops is possessiveness. So in bhāva stage one develops some mamatha or thinking Krishna is mine. It means great attachment to Krishna. So the softening of the heart and the possessiveness are there, in bhāva. In Prema, they’re also there, but more intense! The melting is complete. Melting of the heart is complete. And the possessiveness or attachment to Krishna is extreme. So that is the difference between bhāva and Prema.

So though bhāva is a very exalted state, it is also distinguished from Prema. What’s the distinction? Distinction is that, in bhāva, one is not completely pure. In Prema one is completely pure. No anarthas. So because of the impurity, slight impurity in bhāva, these symptoms and the feelings are less intense. But bhāva will naturally lead to Prema. Not because of practice, because there’s no Sadhana. But the experience in bhāva naturally increases till it becomes Prema. And the slight impurities disappear. So that’s the difference between bhāva and Prema.

So because bhāva stage is exalted, it has a little impurity, you can also fall from bhāva. The usual cause would be offense. So that shows the seriousness of offense even in bhāva one can be affected by offense. If the offense is strong, then one could lose the bhāva. If it is weak, one can weaken the bhāva. The offense may not even be in this life, it could be in a previous life. So that was the case of Bharat. He was in bhāva stage, but he fell. So, he fell because of offense in a previous life. So that shows the seriousness of offense.

In general, of course bhāva is rare so Krishna takes care of that devotee even if he falls. Krishna is attracted to all devotees. Even to mixed devotees like Gajendra. So if one has attained bhāva then of course the Lord is very attracted. So even though Bharat fell from his position and became a deer, next life he got Prema. So the Lord makes some arrangement for the devotee.

Okay any question?

Q & A

1) Maharaj, You’re explaining this different kind of bhāva, vibhāva, sattvika-bhāva, vybahchari-bhāva etc. Is it necessary that, all the bhāvas has to manifest simultaneously ? Then only, it will nourish the  sthāyi-bhāva ? Like in Caitanya Caritamrta example is given that, to make halwa, you need sugar, you need this, all the ingredients, one is missing and there will be problem with this halwa. So that’s why, question is that, is it is necessary that everything has to manifest simultaneously then only it will become the bhāva?  

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: [Laughs] So, do you need all the ingredients – the five ingredients to make bhāva ? like anubhāvas and vyabhachari Bhāvas and sattvic Bhāvas vibhāva etc ?

Well, definitely you need vibhāva, which means Krishna and a devotee. If you don’t have a devotee, there’s no bhāva, there’s no Krishna [Laughs]. And you have to establish that emotional relationship which is the sthāyi-bhāva [Laughs]. So very necessary – both of these things. In one sense, that is sufficient, you get a nice feeling of bliss, yeah, you have a relationship – nice.

But rasa means more tasty. So one gets more taste from the relationship through serving and doing activities talking to Krishna, getting response from Krishna that type of thing. So when there’s past times and there are anubhāvas – activities we do in the past times necessary and then there are the emotions related to that called the vyabhichari-bhāvas. So it’s not just happiness, there are various mixtures within the happiness, like worry, fear, whatever – anxiety, so many things, so these add a little taste to the rasa. If it’s not there it’s just a little bland.

When the vyabhichari Bhāvas become intense and of course they’re based upon the sthayi bhāva, then we’ll get sattvika-bhāvas. And of course the sattvika-bhāva, you don’t think about them, they just naturally happen. But of course, at a particular moment, all these things may not be there, but just like the sattvika-bhāvas may not be there at a particular point in time, but all the other factors generally will be there.

2) Will the offense carry forward in next life, how do we get over that offense from previous life?

So offenses are more difficult to get rid of, than sinful activities. The effect of the offense can last a long time. So of course, Bhakti is kleshagini – it destroys all suffering. So it destroys karmas and desires and impressions all this. However, these will be destroyed within Bhakti – some very quickly and by asakti stage – most all those karmas etc.

What is left in bhāva stage will be – ahankara, which has burned up in bhāva itself and a little bit of aparadha. That’s there, so how do we get rid of the aparadha? Of course one way is experience it [Laughs]. You get rid of the sin, by experiencing the suffering [Laughs], that way. Now, of course Bhakti will destroy not only sinful reactions, and sins and desires and ahankara, it will also destroy aparadha, but much slower. So all we can do against the aparadhas is – we don’t even know about them from previous lifetime is, continue the process of Bhakti!

3) It is a nature of Krishna that, if devotee does something, he take it very big way – he expand it. But here, all the devotees are serving the Supreme Lord, somehow or other if they commit offense, why this committed offense is coming as a big way than the service ?

So offenses become serious when they are intentional. The nature of offense which makes it different from sin, is that is directed – its animosity – directed towards Supreme Lord, devotees and Bhakti. Whereas sin is animosity towards another living entity, so it’s not directly Krishna or devotee / whatever. So because they are directly opposed to Krishna, Bhakti and the devotee, then obviously they will affect devotion  [Laughs].

So Krishna says, even if you’re the most sinful person, I don’t care really [Laughs]. Because that is not directly hostility towards the Lord. But offenses are actually directed towards Supreme Lord and devotees. So therefore, it become serious. So they tend to destroy Bhakti itself. The only remedy is, Bhakti itself ! Because, Bhakti gets weaker / destroyed, you don’t do Bhakti [Laughs], so therefore that’s why it’s serious [Laughs]. So the serious effect of aparadha is – concerning Bhakti. Bhakti gets destroyed, that’s the bad part of it. So normal sinful activity will not do that.  Of course, if we do aparadha, we also get sinful reaction for that [Laughs], so we get double effects [Laughs]! In that sense, more serious.

Devotee: But devotee do simultaneously service also?

HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, if you do aparadha, then you want to do less service [Laughs]. Now the only remedy of course, that one commits is to do service but it’s difficult, because there’s less attraction to Krishna. And so, it may take a long time to recover from that. But if one is intelligent, like taking the medicine the doctor tells to take you, take it even if you don’t like it, so a person if he agrees to do that, even if he doesn’t want to do Bhakti, he’ll still do it [Laughs], then gradually he gets cured.

4) Thank you so much for a wonderful class and for answering these questions very nicely. So in the previous question, when you answered, you said that, sinful activity primarily means – affecting other living entities or not the Lord or his associates or the literatures or anything directly. So I was just thinking about that – could you explain a bit more about that? For example, gambling not necessarily affects anyone or illicit sex doesn’t really or doesn’t involve hurting other people. I may be wrong here, but I was just thinking, how it is affecting other living entities? Meat eating, I can understand that, it directly involves affecting another living entity, what about other sinful activities?  

In general, that sinful activities involve violence against other living entities. But it can involve violence against ourself also [Laughs] ! So suicide is a sin. So then activities which are detrimental to your well-being are also considered sinful ! And thus some activities – not just drinking or gambling and things like that, but in the varna ashram system just not doing your duties properly is a sin. You don’t do your sandhya vandana three times a day, it’s a sin. Because it damages your position in sattva or whatever [Laughs]. Of course indirectly when we get our self damaged to gambling or drinking or whatever, then because of our bad mentality, we’re bound to commit violence against other living entities [Laughs].

Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam Ki.. Jai ! Srila Prabhupad Ki.. Jai !!