{"id":352,"date":"2008-10-13T10:11:42","date_gmt":"2008-10-13T15:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/2008\/10\/13\/nine-symptoms-of-advanced-bhakti\/"},"modified":"2008-10-13T10:11:42","modified_gmt":"2008-10-13T15:11:42","slug":"nine-symptoms-of-advanced-bhakti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/2008\/10\/13\/nine-symptoms-of-advanced-bhakti\/","title":{"rendered":"Nine Symptoms of Advanced Bhakti"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rupa<\/a><\/p>\n

suddha-sattva-viseshatma
\nprema-suryamsu-samya-bhak
\nrucibhis citta-masrinya-
\nkrid asau bhava ucyate<\/strong><\/p>\n

“‘When bhakti is executed on the transcendental platform of pure goodness (suddha-sattva), it is like a sun-ray of love for Krishna. At such a time, bhakti causes the heart to be softened by various tastes, and one is then situated in bhava (ecstatic emotion).\u201d Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu<\/em> (1.3.1)<\/p>\n

kshantir avyartha-kalatvam
\nviraktir mana-sunyata
\nasa-bandhah samutkantha
\nnama-gane sada rucih
\nasaktis tad-gunakhyane
\npritis tad-vasati-sthale
\nity-adayo ‘nubhavah syur
\njata-bhavankure jane<\/strong><\/p>\n

“When the seed of ecstatic emotion for Krishna fructifies, the following nine symptoms manifest in one’s behavior: forbearance, concern that time should not be wasted, detachment, absence of false prestige, hope, eagerness, a taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord, attachment to descriptions of the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and affection for those places where the Lord resides — that is, a temple or a holy place like Vrindavana. These are all called anubhava (subordinate signs of ecstatic emotion). They are visible in a person in whose heart the seed of love of God has begun to fructify.\u201d Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu<\/em> (1.3.25-26)<\/p>\n

\n

Rupa Goswami<\/a>\u2019s Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu<\/em> is one of the foundational texts in the Chaitanya-vaishnava<\/a> lineage of bhakti-yoga. It is an assimilation of the teachings that Rupa Goswami received from Sri Chaitanya in a ten day discussion held on the bank of the Ganga<\/a> at Dasasvamedha-ghata in Pryaga<\/a>. Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu<\/em> elaborates on the nature, practices and gradations of bhakti as well as the components of bhakti-rasa<\/em> (the experience of pure devotion).<\/p>\n

The above verses discuss bhava<\/em> (devotional ecstacy), the eighth of nine stages of advancement in bhakti, culminating in prema<\/em> (pure love of God). Bhava<\/em> is seen as the preliminary, budding stage or sprout of prema<\/em>. Verse 1.3.1 reveals both the primary and secondary characteristics of bhava<\/em>. The primary characteristic is suddha-sattva-viseshatma<\/em>, one\u2019s heart, or one could say one\u2019s consciousness, becomes influenced by the touch of suddha-sattva<\/em> (pure goodness), which is the direct influence of the Lord\u2019s potency. This implies that one is no longer held under the sway of the gunas<\/em><\/a> (sattva, rajas, and tamas<\/em>). The secondary characteristic of bhava<\/em> is the softening of the heart which gives rise to various devotional tastes or experiences. One who is situated on the stage of bhava<\/em> will be easily moved by devotional stimulus such as kirtan<\/em><\/a>, hearing the recitation of devotional texts, ect.<\/p>\n

Verses 1.3.25-26 reveal nine symptoms which can been seen in the character of one who has achieved the stage of bhava<\/em>. These symptoms are seen as excellent criterion for determining advancement in bhakti, as opposed to other types of displays which may be easily imitated.<\/p>\n

Kshanti:<\/strong> perseverance. Remaining tolerant and patient, even amid disturbance.
\nAvyartha-kalatvam:<\/strong> utilization of time. Refers to constant engagement in devotional seva<\/em> (service).
\nVirakti:<\/strong> detachment. Completely indifference to the objects of sense gratification.
\nMana-shunyata:<\/strong> absence of false prestige or pridelessness. To feel humble, free from the longing for being shown respect.
\nAsha-bandha:<\/strong> hope. To be always certain that Krishna will bestow His mercy on oneself.
\nSamutkanta:<\/strong> An intense eagerness to achieve or ardent desire for attaining one’s desired supreme object (prema).
\nNama-gane sada ruci:<\/strong> Thirst arising out of affection for constantly chanting the Lord\u2019s holy names.
\nAsaktis tad-gunakhyane:<\/strong> A natural attachment to describe the Lord’s most sweet qualities, pastimes and so on.
\nPritis tad-vasati-sthale:<\/strong> The desire to reside in the places of the Lord’s pastimes such as Vrindavana.<\/p>\n

Kaustubha das<\/p>\n

Rupa Goswami <\/a>(1489-1564 CE) is a teacher, poet, and philosopher from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Bhakti-yoga. Along with his brother <\/em>Sanatana Go<\/em><\/a>swami<\/a> he was considered the leader of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan<\/a> – a highly influential group of acetic disciples of the Vaishnava saint\/avatar, Sri Chaitanya<\/a>. Rupa Goswami wrote a number of important books in Sanskrit on bhakti philosophy, poetics, drama and dramaturgy. He is also credited with uncovering various holy places associated with the life of Krishna in Vrindavan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

suddha-sattva-viseshatma prema-suryamsu-samya-bhak rucibhis citta-masrinya- krid asau bhava ucyate “‘When bhakti is executed on the transcendental platform of pure goodness (suddha-sattva), it is like a sun-ray of love for Krishna. At such a time, bhakti causes the heart to be softened by various tastes, and one is then situated in bhava (ecstatic emotion).\u201d Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.3.1)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[15,16,46],"class_list":["post-352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weblog","tag-bhakti","tag-bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu","tag-rupa-goswami"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}