Seminar on Madhurya Kadambini | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | Sofia, Bulgaria | Oct 13, 2025
Nistha:
So yesterday we discussed how the process of bhakti destroys the anarthas. And we go from a position of anistha, or lack of steadiness, to nistha, steadiness. So this process is described in the Srimad Bhagavatam, in the first canto. So we have a series of verses, starting with
śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi
vidhunoti suhṛt satām
Krishna, who purifies by the process of hearing and chanting, who is the benefactor of devotees who hear about him, enters the heart of the devotees and destroys their sins, and destroys their anarthas. ŚB 1.2.17
And then the next verse is,
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī
As the impediments to bhakti become generally destroyed by constant service to the devotees, and Bhagavatam, the stage of nisthita bhakti to Bhagavan, who is praised by the great sages, becomes established. So in this verse, in the last line, we have ‘bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī’, so ‘naiṣṭhikī’ bhakti is manifested. So this means steady bhakti, or the stage of nistha. The word ‘abhadra’ is used in this verse first line, also used in the previous. Krishna destroys all the ‘abhadras’, all the anarthas. And here it says, the ‘abhadra’, in the first line, ‘naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu’, the abhadras are almost completely destroyed, not completely [Laughs]. So therefore, I said here in translation, the impediments to bhakti are generally destroyed, not completely.
So, as we progress in bhakti from nistha, then, of course, the anarthas become less and less and less. But the anarthas are destroyed to the extent that we can have steady bhakti. So that steadiness in bhakti is a good stage. Previously, we described that a person at the beginning of bhakti is anisthita, not very steady. And one of his qualities is ‘ghana-tarala’, sometimes he is very intensely doing bhakti, other times he doesn’t do at all [Laughs]. This is like the rabbit up there running around [Laughs]. But the turtle won the race because he was steady [Laughs].
Okay so, this (steadiness) is described in terms of absence of different bad qualities, which cause anarthas. So that means certain anarthas are disappearing. So one is ‘laya’ – absence of sleep. So we want to sleep during kirtan, sleep during japa, sleep during a lecture [Laughs]. So, in other words, laya, or sleep, is, we could say, a reflection of tamo guna. And people affected by tamo guna and they will be sleeping more [Laughs].
Another absence is, absence of ‘vikshepa’, which literally means disturbance [Laughs]. In this case it means lack of material speculation [Laughs]. So we give speculative meanings to Krishna and his name, process of bhakti, and so many other philosophical things.
Another is absence of ‘apratipati’, which means absence of indifference. So we’re not sleepy, we’re not distracted, we don’t have vikshepa, we don’t have laya, but still, we don’t want to do bhakti [Laughs]. So we see, previously that person was ‘ghana-tarala’, sometimes he likes to do bhakti, sometimes he doesn’t want to do bhakti [Laughs].
Another one is lack of, it’s actually ‘kashaya’, sinful habits. We see that previously a person was, what, ‘vishaya-sanghara’, he gets, he’s in constant battle with the sense objects [Laughs]. So in this stage of nishtha, these things are no longer present. They may not be completely absent, but at least they’re under control.
The next one is called absence of ‘rasasvada’, which means taste of rasa [Laughs]. So in other words, if we have material taste, that is a lower stage, if we lack that material taste, that’s a higher stage. So, while we’re chanting or doing other types of bhakti, if we’re constantly distracted by material things, and that is this rasasvada manifesting.
So, as I said, at the stage of nistha, the impurities or anarthas, etc., are not completely gone, but they’re weak enough, so that they don’t cause disturbance. The other side of the devotee is that, the anarthas are less, and the attraction to performing bhakti is more. So, therefore, he can perform his bhakti, it’s not purest bhakti, because he still has anarthas, but at least he does bhakti steadily. So, we can always object, well, this is not really pure bhakti. Pure bhakti will only be in prema. So, when we talk about pure bhaktas, most people say pure bhakta means someone in prema. But, if we look in Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami gives a different definition. Any devotee following Lord Caitanya should practice pure bhakti starting from the beginning of sadhana. So, he defines pure bhakti as ‘anya-abhilasita-sunya’, etc., and then he says it has three types, sadhana, bhava, and prema. So, therefore, from the beginning of devotional service, we should practice pure bhakti in order to get to prema. But, the question remains, well, we’re not really pure, how can we call it pure bhakti [Laughs]?
So, the answer is that we have to start, and when we start, we’re not going to be in prema. But, at least we have to have a proper understanding of what that goal is. And, to attain that goal, then we have to have a certain way in which we perform our bhakti. So, from the beginning of sadhana, we have to understand this definition, ‘anya-abhilasita-sunya’. So, when we’re chanting Hare Krishna, when we’re offering flowers to the deity, we don’t pray, please give me a car, please give me a house. So, I am chanting, I am offering, in order to develop pure bhakti for Krishna. Still, we do have anarthas. But, at least our goal is this, and when we’re doing our devotional service, our goal is not to enjoy in the material world. Our desire is to develop this pure bhakti in the spiritual world. So, that’s why it’s called pure bhakti, even in sadhana, even if we do have impurities. And, if we don’t practice in this way, we don’t attain prema. So, we do pure bhakti in sadhana, pure bhakti in bhava, pure bhakti in prema.
So, in nistha stage, we have impurities, but we have a little bit more attraction for Krishna than the impurities [Laughs]. Maybe not 50%, maybe 51% for bhakti and 49% for maya [Laughs]. Of course, it could be more, it could be 60%, 40%, like this. Or maybe 80% and 20% [Laughs]. So, in any case, because there is more bhakti, a little more bhakti, we can at least not struggle with all these attractions.
So, we saw previously anarthas, and there was a diagram that Papa and Punya, they were destroyed, end of asakti, and the impurities that come because of bhakti, that is attachment to your position, whatever, that went up to, I think, ruchi or something like that. So, generally, if you get up to bhava stage, all of these things are gone. So, in bhava, there was a slight influence of aparadha, which could cause problems [Laughs]. So, that is also an anartha, there is a slight anartha is there, even in bhava. So, in any case, we are practicing pure bhakti and going through these different stages, and we are not really pure in these stages, until we really get to prema [Laughs]. So, therefore, from the beginning of bhakti, we should do pure bhakti, and therefore that person should be called a pure devotee, because he is doing pure bhakti, even he is doing sadhana. This, of course, is quite rare. To do any type of bhakti is also rare. But to do bhakti with no desire for material enjoyment, no desire for liberation, no desire for yoga siddhis, that is very rare. So, a person that comes to that stage is therefore, to be very respected, because he is very rare.
Okay, so there are different types of nistha. Steadiness of bhakti could be through the body, through the words or through the mind. So one could do the activities steadily, one could do the lecturing stuff steadily, or one can do the japa and meditation steadily. Of course, if we do all steadily, that is the best thing. When we get that steadiness in bhakti, we are able to perceive steadiness in other devotees.
This can be related with the definition of a Madhyama devotee. The definition of a Madhyama is that, he worships the Lord, he associates with devotees, he avoids demons, and he preaches to the kanisthas. But then it is also said that, this type of devotee, he associates with equal devotees. He preaches to the lower devotees, the kanisthas. But then he also recognizes superior devotees and he serves them, which means he follows and receives their instructions. In other words, the Madhyama devotee has the ability to distinguish different types of devotees. And so, to some degree, he can recognize the kanistha, the madhyama and the uttama.
We do know that association with devotees is the key to success in bhakti. Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that the key to this is to recognize these different types of devotees and then we act in different ways towards them. We distinguish those who are lower and we give good instructions to them, we associate in a friendly way with equals. We have in Nectar of instruction to give and receive gifts, to give and receive prasadam etc, to give and receive knowledge, so this is equal devotees. And for superior devotees, they give the knowledge, we receive the knowledge [Laughs]. We give the prasad, they eat the prasad [Laughs].
So here that is the key to success is that we relate with the devotees by understanding their different natures and then we act differently [Laughs]. So we see that the person who is in Nistha, because he does have sufficient bhakti and the anarthas are under control, his mind is much clear, and he can distinguish the different levels of bhakti in different devotees. So this is also what the Madhyama does, he distinguishes different types of people. And because we make the distinctions, we treat them differently. We see, the Prema Bhakta makes no distinctions. He is beyond all of that [Laughs]. And thus he doesn’t preach [Laughs].
So, one can have steadiness in qualities. So we can be humble, respectful, friendly, merciful, treat everybody nicely, smile all the time, whatever, that’s steadiness in qualities. Some of these qualities though, may be just subtle qualities. But when we talk about nistha in bhakti, that’s not steadiness in material quality, that’s steadiness in the process of bhakti itself. So we will see Sattvic people who have no faith in Krishna, they are steady in nice qualities, but they don’t do bhakti at all, so that’s useless [Laughs].
So when we look for steadiness, we have to see steadiness in the practice of bhakti. But, by doing bhakti, all the anarthas are destroyed, so therefore we should develop all wonderful qualities. The first two qualities of bhakti are kleshagni, destroy of suffering, and subhada, development of good qualities. So, by the time we’ve got to nistha stage, this madhyama stage, both of this features of bhakti should be operating nicely. So, the qualities that develop in bhakti, the subhada, are not material qualities, they are spiritual qualities. Sattvic qualities will bind us back in the material world. Spiritual qualities are intrinsic in bhakti itself.
So, we see in the Siksastaka work, Lord Caitanya says, You be humble than the blade of grass and more tolerant than the tree, give all respect to others. So, these are not qualities you have to develop to do bhakti, they are qualities that should manifest automatically with the bhakti. In Brhad Bhagavatamrta, Sanatana Goswami says that, this humility or dainya increases as the bhakti increases. And Radha has the most dainya. So, it is some quality which manifest automatically with the development of bhakti. Ok, that finishes nistha . Should we go on to the next one?
[Conversation aside with devotee]
Ruci:
So, the bhakti creeper grows. And those first two leaves were destruction of suffering and bestowal of good qualities. But the plant grows more and more and more and gets more and more leaves. Ok. So, after nistha, where we have taste for Krishna increasing and anarthas decreasing, we get more increase of bhakti. So, the taste for bhakti becomes prominent. So in nistha, I gave the diagram its 50, 50 more or less, atleast little bit more.
So, there is little more bhakti than the anarthas, but in ruchi there is much more bhakti and less anarthas, so, therefore much easier to practice the bhakti. So, here, ruchi means taste, or it’s a taste for the process of bhakti. One can do hearing and chanting for long periods of time and there’s no fatigue in it, no tiring. And the ruchi, that taste turns into addiction. So, in material world, of course, addiction is not very good [Laughs]. We end up in tamo guna. Here, the addiction means we’re so attracted to bhakti, we cannot give it up for anything else. And the result of this, of course, is we become completely detached from everything in the material world.
So, in the beginning of bhakti, we have a lot of anarthas, we have a little faith and we begin bhakti. So, the taste is little. Bhakti Vinoda Thakura, in one of his works, says that, ruchi also is inherent in bhakti, the process of bhakti. We don’t have a taste, we don’t do it at all [Laughs]. So, there’s a taste, but it is little. So, the person at the beginning of bhakti, is like a person who has the liver disease. And sweet things, they’re distasteful, no ruchi. So, at the beginning of devotional service, practicing may be a struggle. Of course, we do it because scripture says you should do this, so we do it. But I said, why do I have to do it? I’ll follow what scripture says, but I really don’t want to do it [Laughs]. So, that is like a person who’s sick. The doctor comes and says, you have to take the sugar, because the sugar is the cure. But if he takes the sugar, it doesn’t taste good. I don’t want to eat this. But the doctor is saying, so I guess I’ll take a little bit of it [Laughs]. So because of his intelligence, he is able to follow the doctor’s orders. So similarly, the devotee has faith in the scriptures, so he will follow them, even if he is little bit discomforted with it. But by taking the sugar that person becomes cured and eventually he starts to taste the sugar and then when he tastes the sugar, he wants more of it [Laughs]. So in the same way, the devotee, following the orders of scripture, even though he doesn’t find it so comfortable, he keeps following and following and following, and then he begins to get cured of his material disease, and he develops a taste for bhakti. So, that’s why in the Nectar of instruction, it says, one has to have determination and patience [Laughs].
So, nistha is good, but ruchi is even better. There are two types of ruchi. One ruchi, a taste for bhakti, depends on excellence of material elements. So, for instance, if there is kirtan, and it’s nice, someone plays the harmonium nicely, his voice is very nice, and he plays nice, sings nice tunes, or whatever, then you’re attracted. If another person is singing, and he doesn’t play so nicely, and his voice is not good, then you’re not so attracted, that’s material attraction [Laughs]. Of course, because it is kirtan, it’s good, but if one is attracted to it in any case, because it is kirtan, that’s better. So, one is attracted to the processes of bhakti like kirtan, because of the process, not because of the way the people are doing it [Laughs]. We see some devotees, they go to these non-ISKCON lectures, people who are very skillful at speaking, but they tell nice stories and they tell many jokes, so they go, nice, nice, nice, but [Laughs] that’s not really the essence [Laughs]. So, at the stage of Ruchi, the person, of course, has great attraction for doing bhakti, and then he laments his previous material condition. He’s constantly hearing and chanting in association of devotees. He rejects material engagements, they no longer have any taste at all. And he takes refuge at the Dham like Vrindavan or Mayapur.
[Conversation aside with Devotees]
Asakti:
So, sixth chapter, Asakti. āsakti means attachment. Asakti would mean no attachment [Laughs], āsakti means attachment. Like Sanga and Asanga [Laughs]. Asakti and āsakti, longing [Laughs]. Asakti is negative [Laughs], no attachment [Laughs]. So, this stage of āsakti is like little buds, flower buds appearing finally. So, if you’re growing a plant, and then finally see little buds appearing, you get very excited [Laughs]. So, we’re finally getting some result from all of our efforts [Laughs]. So, they are called buds because what will happen to the buds? They turn into flowers. So, the flower is bhava. So, this is a stage just previous to bhava, so it’s quite similar. So, we can say it’s the bud of bhava [Laughs].
Okay, so what is the difference between ruchi and asakti? In ruchi, there was attraction to bhajana, that’s the hearing and chanting, etc and less for Krishna. In asakti, there’s a prominence of taste for Krishna, rather than the bhajana. So, it definitely is a taste in asakti, but it becomes a taste for Krishna [Laughs]. And ruchi is a taste for the hearing and chanting. And in ruchi, there’s still some effort to withdraw from material objects and concentrate on Krishna. In asakti, spontaneously, no effort and you concentrate on Krishna. This means that the distraction from anarthas is much, much less. So, in ruchi, there can be little disturbance, so you have the effort to concentrate, in asakti, you automatically concentrate. So, at this stage, there’s almost a realization of Krishna. In bhava, you actually realize Krishna. So, in asakti stage, there’s like a reflection of Krishna in the heart. So, in other words, one’s getting close to that realization. So, it’s a very positive stage.
Okay, so what are the characteristics? So, like ruchi, he’s very attracted to hearing and chanting and association of devotees. He begins to see everything in relation to attaining Krishna. There’s a description of how, in prema, everything is in relation to Krishna.
So, the gopis see the trees, and the rocks, and the rivers, and they see them all, they’re all in prema for Krishna. At asakti stage, the devotee tries to see everything in relation to how to attain Krishna. So, he’s looking at the world, and he’s wondering, is that a good way? Is this good for attaining Krishna? Is that good for attaining Krishna? So, everything is in relation to how to get to Krishna. And, he disregards the opinions of others. Because he’s at the stage of seeing everything in relation to Krishna, people will criticize. But, he disregards them all. So, he’s only trying to get closer and closer to Krishna. He has some sort of reflection of Krishna in his heart.
Bhava:
So, then we come to bhava, the flower, blossoms [Laughs]. This is also called rati. It’s also called the sthayi-bhava. So, sthayi-bhava means your basic relationship with Krishna, which is permanent. It can be Santa, Sakhya, Dasya, Vatsalya, Madhurya, etc. Okay, so here we see the first manifestation of Krishna’s form. In Asakti, there’s like a little reflection. Here is actually Krishna appears. And, we consequently get bliss. Of course, in Nectar of Devotion, there Rupa Goswami says, Yes, it is bliss. But, in comparison to the bliss of Prema, Prema is like the sun and bhava is like one little ray of the sun [Laughs]. But, the bliss in bhava, the bliss of realizing Krishna is much greater than the bliss of Brahman. So, one of the qualities in bhava, manifested in bhava is ‘moksha-laghutakrit’, that means he thinks of liberation as completely insignificant. Of course, at the stage of bhava, avidya which was the root of all the suffering – We had avidya, asmita, raga, dvesha, abhinivesha, all that is completely destroyed, the avidya, the very root of all of that is destroyed in bhava stage. So because the avidya is destroyed, you are liberated. Karmas are all gone and ahankara is gone. Vasanas are all gone. So, one is liberated, but one is more than liberated [Laughs]. So, because one has caught a vision of Krishna, that bliss is much greater than the bliss of liberation.
The other quality that manifests in bhava is ‘sudurlabha’, very, very rare. This means that bhava cannot be attained by karmis, jnanis and yogis. They cannot realize Krishna. They cannot get the bliss from that realization. But, of course, devotees can. But devotees also have to go through these stages of you know bhajana-kriya, anartha-nivrtti, nishta, ruchi, asakti, and then realization, that’s rare in that sense. So, this is a very positive stage, because there is realization of Krishna, one gets bliss.
But, there’s another stage higher, called prema. What’s the difference? There is a little anartha because of aparadha. So, therefore, there is some restriction on the realization of Krishna. Rasa does not fully develop. In prema, the rasa is fully developed. So, bhava, of course, all bhakti attracts Krishna, but bhava especially attracts Krishna. Of course, if we have prema, Krishna is even more attracted [Laughs]. So, the six qualities mentioned in Nectar of Devotion, the last one is ‘Krishna akarshini’, if you are in prema, then Krishna is really attracted. But, even at the stage of bhava, Krishna is very attracted. And, the devotee becomes more and more attracted to Krishna. So, in order to perceive Krishna, you have to have spiritual eyes, not material eyes. So, in bhava, one develops that spiritual body. So, with his eyes, spiritual eyes, he can see the sweet form of Krishna. With his nose, he can smell the sweet fragrance of Krishna’s garlands. With his ear, he can hear Krishna’s ankle bells jingling, or his flute. With his fingers, he can touch the body of Krishna. And, with his tongue, he can taste prasadam of Krishna [Laughs].
So, at the stage of bhava, then we get revelation of the spiritual body in order to perceive Krishna and serve Krishna. Now, of course, in sadhana bhakti, we have a sadhana called Raganuga sadhana. And, in Raganuga sadhana, you meditate on the body before you have it [Laughs]. So, this is what we call the Siddha Pranali. So, guru gives you a form, you meditate on the form, and you start serving Krishna in that form. It’s not your actual form yet, but it becomes your form when you attain bhava [Laughs].
Okay, so this stage, because one has developed the spiritual body and sees Krishna, the material body becomes almost lifeless. All spiritual qualities manifest. One develops possessiveness of Krishna. Because of his absorption in Krishna, from a material point of view, he looks crazy. In the definition in Nectar of Devotion, bhava is described as possessiveness, but then when we get to prema, it is intense possessiveness of Krishna. So, in other words, bhava and prema are quite similar, but prema is more intense. Sometimes, bhava is called the bud of prema.
Okay so, there’s two types of bhava. If you do vaidhi bhakti, you develop realization of, it could be of Krishna or Vishnu whatever. That bhava is a little weaker and not so spontaneous. And the reason is, we will see Krishna as a powerful, Godly figure. If we practice Raganuga sadhana and we realize Krishna, that bhava will be stronger and more spontaneous. We get more intense bliss. And that’s because we don’t see Krishna as Supreme Lord, we see him as a friend. In either case, either through vaidhi sadhana or Raganuga sadhana, you can come to bhava and you can also come to prema, you realize Krishna, either way. Only difference is, if you have prema realization from vaidhi, it will be less intense.
So, we have various tastes in bhava. We have santa, dasya, etc. So, these are not called rasas, they are called santa-rati or sthayi bhava or whatever. When they combine with other elements, that is vibhava, vyabhichari bhava, anubhava, etc., then they become santa-rasa, dasya-rasa, etc. So, in bhava state, there is some combination, but we get the full combination of all five elements with the sthayi bhava in prema, so then it becomes rasa. In prema, we get all five elements manifesting.
Okay so, anyway, you could develop santa-bhava or dasya-bhava, etc. So, in comparison to santa, dasya is a little sweeter so it is compared to grape juice. Sakhya is sweeter, so it is compared to sugarcane juice. Vatsalya rasa is sweeter, its like jackfruit juice. And Madhurya rasa is the sweetest, it’s like mango juice [Laughs].
So, as I said, there is the elements that combine with the bhava. So Bhava means the sthayi bhava. But the other elements are vibhava, sattvika bhava, and anubhava and vyabhichari bhava. So because we have realization of Krishna, we do have to have a vibhava, we are the devotee, Krishna is the object, that’s vibhava [Laughs]. Sattvika bhavas are involuntary symptoms like crying and fainting and shivering and whatever. Anubhavas are conscious activities like making garlands, cooking for Krishna, bathing Krishna, playing with Krishna, joking with Krishna, etc. Vyabhichari bhavas are temporary emotions like worry, fear, anger, etc. they arise and disappear. So they all combine together and that produces rasa.
Okay, so actually there are five primary rasas. That’s the mixture with the sthayi bhava. And some of the vyabhichari bhavas when they become a little more prominent become secondary rasas [Laughs]. So actually the Lord himself is rasa. All forms of the Lord are rasa.
So whether it is Rama or Vishnu they are all considered to be rasa. But Krishna is rasa itself. He is the most complete manifestation of rasa, as the ocean is the personification of all water. So in bhava there is some rasa there, some of the elements are manifest, it’s a little bit weak. So it is the preliminary experience, its the bud of Prema. [Laughs]
[Conversation aside with devotee]
Prema:
OK Prema. So the flower then turns into a fruit. Interestingly enough, so the fruit develops everything else is present. So we get the leaves, we get the buds, we get the flowers also, everything is also nicely there [Laughs]. So why is it called the fruit? In Bhava there was bliss, in Prema there is ‘sandrananda’, intense concentrated bliss. And though Bhava attracts Krishna, Prema really attracts Krishna [Laughs]. So these two qualities are the unique qualities of Prema. There is great possessiveness of Krishna, Bhava has possessiveness, but there is intense possessiveness of Krishna in Prema.
One definition of Prema is that, the greed for Krishna overcomes all obstacles. If Krishna appears for a moment, one gets great greed for Krishna. And when he disappears, one gets more longing. And this in Prema, Krishna will appear in all of the senses. First he reveals himself to the eye, then he reveals himself to the nose, then you can hear him [Laughs] with the ears, then he may touch the devotee [Laughs] and finally taste may be there by kissing in Madhurya Rasa. So one after the other he reveals himself to the different senses. And then simultaneously he reveals himself to all the senses, that’s called Audarya. And then he bestows Kripa Shakti, he gives us mercy so the devotee can experience all of these qualities at once.
Within Prema there are two types of Prema, Meeting and Separation. So in Meeting, the devotee experiences highest bliss and in Separation, the devotee feels the greatest pain. Of course, this is not material pain, it is part of bliss [Laughs] because it is part of Prema. So the devotee can develop Prema in this body but then this body is also like an obstacle. He cannot fully experience Prema in the body. So, at a certain point, by the will of the Lord, he gives up that material body and assist Krsna in spiritual body in spiritual world.
So at this stage, near the end of the book, Vishvanath Chakravarthi outlines these different stages from Sraddha all the way to Prema. And it is compared to, of course to planting the seed, and then the leaves grow up, and then we get the bud, then we get the flower, then we get the fruit. In the spiritual world, that Prema can manifest even more intensely. So of course and as we go through these different stages, there is more and more bliss. So there is something called Sneha, Maan, Pranaya, Raga, Anuraga and Mahabhava, more and more intense. This also corresponds to the different Rasas. In Madhurya Rasa one can experience in Vrndavana, Mahabhava. Other devotees in Vatsalya can come up to Raga. Those in Sakhya may come to Pranaya and those in Dasya will have Prema [Laughs]. As I said the human body is not suitable to experience all of these. So therefore the Lord arranges for the devotee to leave the material body and just to exist in the spiritual body in the spiritual world.
So one more point, at the end of this work Vishvanath Chakravarti analyzes everything in terms of attachment. So in the material world we have ahankara, we have possessiveness, we think of I and mine. And we end up bound up in the material world. If we destroy the Ahankara, we get liberation. So in Bhakti we don’t destroy Ahankara, we keep Ahankara not the false Ahankara, not the material Ahankara. So we identify ourselves I am a servant of Krishna, we are attached to Krishna and the devotees. So that sense of I, there is also an attachment not attachment to material things, attachment to Krishna [Laughs]. So instead of getting bondage, we get Prema.
Ok, so these are the first column of the stages of Bhakti, the second is attachment to matter, the third column is attachment to Krishna [Laughs]. So when we begin Bhakti with Shraddha very attached to matter, just a slight attachment to Krishna [Laughs]. When we get to Sadhusanga, a little more attachment to Krishna. And as we go through Bhajana-kriya we get a little bit of attachment to Krishna. Our attachment to matter is still quite strong. As we go through anartha-nivritti attachment to matter becomes a little less. When we get to Nishtha, then it is like equal, equal [Laughs] attachment to matter, attachment to Krishna [Laughs]. When we get to Ruchi, little bit of attachment to matter and we got very great attachment to Krishna. When we get to Asakti, just a trace of attachment to matter and real full attachment to Krishna. When we get to bhava, very very very slight traces there of attachment to matter and very profound attachment to Krishna. And in Prema, no attachment to matter at all, no ahankara and nothing and complete attachment to Krishna [Laughs]. So in other words, as we develop Bhakti, the attachment to matter decreases, decreases and decreases and attachment to Krishna increases, increases and increases.
He ends this work by also analyzing meditation – concentration on Krishna. So during Bhajana-kriya, we can just temporarily think of Krishna [Laughs]. When we get to Nishtha still there is material disturbances. In Ruchi, we can concentrate for longer. In Asakti, very very deep meditation. In Bhava, then Krishna appears, he appears internally. In Prema, He appears externally [Laughs].
Devotees : Hare Krishna. Thank you. HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki Jai !!! HDG AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ki Jai!!!