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Class notes from: Bhurijana prabhu and Giriraja Swami

We begin this study of Nectar of Devotion, summary study of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu of Srila Rupa Goswami, by offering our obeisances to Srila Rupa Goswami. (quotes from C.C.)

“In his book, ‘Caitanya Chandrodaya’, Kavikarna Purna, the son of Sivananda Sena, has elaborately described the meeting between Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Rupa Goswami.”

“In the course of time, the transcendental news of Krsna’s pastimes in Vrndavana, was almost lost. To enunciate explicitly those transcendental pastimes, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, at Prayaga, empowered Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatana Goswami with the nectar of His mercy to carry out this work in Vrndavana. From the very beginning Rupa Goswami was deeply attracted by the transcendental qualities of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Thus he was permanently relieved from family life. Srila Rupa Goswami and his younger brother Vallabha were blessed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Although the Lord was transcendentally situated in His transcendental eternal form at Prayaga He told Rupa Goswami about transcendental ecstatic love of Krsna. The Lord then embraced him very firmly and bestowed all His mercy upon him.”

“Indeed Srila Rupa Goswami, whose dear friend was Svarupa Damodara, was the exactly replica of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and he was very, very dear to the Lord. Being the embodiment of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s ecstatic love, Rupa Goswami was naturally very beautiful. He very carefully followed the principles enunciated by the Lord and he was a confident person to explain properly the pastimes of Lord Krsna. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu expanded His mercy to Srila Rupa Goswami just so he could render service by writing transcendental literature. The characteristics of Srila Rupa Goswami have thus been described in various places by the poet Kavikarna Purna. An account has also been given of how Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu bestowed His causeless mercy upon Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatana Goswami. Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatana Goswami were the objects of love and honor for all the greatest stalwart devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”

We are very indebted to Srila Rupa Goswami. He received knowledge directly from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, just as Lord Brahma received knowledge from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna. And then he expanded the knowledge that he received, in the form of many books, of which Srila Prabhupada chose to translate ‘Bhakti rasamrta-sindhu’, the complete science of Bhakti-yoga.

PREFACE

The book “Nectar of Devotion” is, as Srila Prabhupada’s statement, a “Summary study of Srila Rupa Goswami’s ‘Bhakti Rasamrta-sindhu'”.

The title of the book ‘Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu’ is discussed by Srila Prabhupada in the Preface with the special reference to the word ‘rasa’, because rasa is very difficult to translate into English. But Srila Prabhupada accepted the use of the word ‘mellow’ following Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, meaning ‘the sweet taste that one derives from rendering devotional service’.

[Rasa in the highest sense is actually composed of five different types of ‘bhava’ or ecstasy. When the five types of bhava combine they produce ‘rasa’. Later on, the different five types of bhava will be discussed. We can just imagine how ecstatic rasa is if it is made of the five different types of ecstasy.

One of the types of ecstasy is called ‘stayi-bhava’, which means permanent ecstasy. And this permanent ecstasy will come in one of five categories: neutrality, servitorship, friendship, parental affection and conjugal love. When a person becomes established in his eternal relationship with Krsna he is continuously feeling ecstasy in one of the five types of relationships. Then the basic continuous ecstasy becomes mixed with other types of ecstasy and their combination produces rasa. The mixture of the different types of ecstasy has been

compared to a mixture of yogurt, sugar candy, black pepper and camphor. This is exceedingly tasty.]

Bhakti-rasa means the sweet taste or flavour or mellow that comes from loving and serving Krsna. Amrta means eternal and also nectarean. Sindhu means ocean. Bhakti Rasamrta-sindhu means ‘the nectarean ocean of the mellow or sweet taste of Bhakti’, the ‘Nectar of Devotion’. The sweet taste that comes from serving Krsna with devotion. It is actually an ocean of ecstasy.

Rupa Goswami was told by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself: “I cannot describe fully this ocean of ecstasy, but by letting you taste a drop of it you will get an idea of the quality of this ‘ocean’.”

If there is an ocean of salt and one tastes one drop of it, he gets an idea of the entire ocean’s qualities, how it looks like. Similarly it is impossible to taste completely this ‘Bhakti rasamrta-sindhu’, because it is Krsna’s internal energy. But a living entity according to his ‘capacity’ can swim and dive and enjoy in this ocean.

Rupa Goswami, after hearing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and being empowered to do so, is going to describe this ocean of devotional service and what it consists of.

The Preface is divided into three parts:

(1) The first part gives a very short history of how the

‘Bhakti rasamrta-sindhu’ became written by Rupa Goswami. How Rupa Goswami was a very powerful sarasvati brahmin. How, after coming in contact with Mahaprabhu he left the service of the Mohammedan’s minister Hussein Shah. He had great amounts of gold and he gave up this gold when he renounced the world. He became instructed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and then he went to Vrndavana sent personally by Mahaprabhu to live there, written transcendental literature and excavate the different holy places in relation with Radha-Krsna’s pastimes. Rupa Goswami lived in many places in Vrndavana but possibly the foremost places were Radha-Damodara temple and Nandagrama in a place called teera-kadamba (more precisely in between Nandagrama and Jawat).

His purpose in writing this ‘Bhakti rasamrta-sindhu’ is to describe this ocean of devotional service. And Srila Prabhupada says that he is presenting this literature so that the devotees will become solid situated in Krsna consciousness. The entire range of Krsna conscious activities are described in this work.

There is another book, which describes in more detail the ‘madhurya rasa’ called ‘Ujjvala-nilamani’. It is a more graduated study of Bhakti rasamrta-sindhu.

“This book ‘Nectar of Devotion’ is presented for persons who are now engaged in the Krsna consciousness movement. It describes the development of Krsna consciousness. It is extremely important to learn this book thoroughly so one becomes solid situated in Krsna consciousness.”

(2) The second part of the Preface describes ‘Bhakti rasa’ in a very simple way. It compares ‘Bhakti rasa’ to mundane rasa. And describes the process of developing our Krsna consciousness, or Bhakti rasa – our loving relationship with Krsna.

The term Krsna consciousness was translated by Srila Prabhupada from the Bengali term bhakti-rasa-bhavita.

This Bhakti-rasa, or the mellow, the sweet taste that comes from serving Krsna, is so rare. It is the most rare thing in this world. It is rarer than a diamond, jewels, oil…, rarer than intelligence…, and if one finds that it is available somewhere, one should purchase it immediately at any price.

Actually there is only one price – ‘laulyam’ or greed. That greed develops as our Bhakti rasa; our taste develops; our desire to love Krsna develops. Not through millions and millions of births of pious activities can one attain this taste, the greed or Bhakti-rasa. It is so rare.

Rupa Goswami is going to describe how we can acquire and deepen our Bhakti-rasa and explain how it develops.

First he defines in this second part of the Preface, which begins at the bottom of page xii. He describes that Bhakti means devotional service or Krsna consciousness: ‘every service has some attractive feature which drives the servitor progressively on and on…’

Everyone is serving, there is no avoiding service. We must serve by nature and rasa is the taste that one gets from that service. The taste, the feeling, the mellow, as defined by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Thakura. The flavour, the mellow, the taste that one derives when he does service. In any service we do, there is a flavour, a feeling in the heart. There is flavour in the work and there a flavour in the reward. But here Srila Prabhupada points out a distinction between two different types of flavour or rasas: (1) one is Bhakti-rasa which is transcendental and (2) the other is any other rasa, mundane taste that comes from mundane service. They are completely distinct.

There is a great distinction in the sweetness because transcendental rasa is unbelievable, indescribable sweet. One can only describe it by analogies and similes and metaphors. Like in Bhagavad-gita in the 11th Chapter when Krsna exhibits His universal form to Arjuna, it says: “if one hundred thousands suns would rise in the sky at one time…”. One can get an idea of the effulgence of the universal form exhibited by Krsna. It is used something that we know to understand. We can imagine so many suns rising in the sky, so Krsna is using the ‘known’ to describe the ‘unknown’. Similarly using metaphors one can describe the sweet taste of Bhakti-rasa or Krsna consciousness. But actually it is indescribable for the material mind. [‘It is like an ocean of LSD’, Srila Prabhupada once said in the 22nd Avenue] Although one can give examples and metaphors and analogies to describe what love of Krsna is like or what the spiritual world is like, actually there is no way, at this point, that one can actually understand this sweet reality, this Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, this ocean of Bhakti-rasa, the sweet mellow or taste of devotional service. But Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Prabhupada are going to describe it as far as possible.

The first thing to understand is that it is completely different from any mundane rasa. And the simplest way to understand is that: mundane rasa is temporary and the sweet taste that one can get from some mundane service is temporary. One may lose his wife, his children, his job, his dog. It is doomed, it is temporary. But ‘amrta’ means eternal. This is the first distinction between the sweet taste derived from loving Krsna and any other flavour exhibited in the material world. That Bhakti-rasa is eternal, it is Krsna’s internal energy. This is a simple and basic difference.

Also material taste or flavour is unsatisfying. Bhakti-rasa is completely satisfying.

There is the example of the businessman. He likes his work, the taste of it. He meets with his friends, they talk about their jobs, business, etc, etc… There is a taste, a sweetness in that. But one cannot do that day after day. It does not bring further satisfaction.

Therefore the phenomena of ‘bhoga-tyaga’ is there. One does something, he derives some taste, but in order to increase that taste or keeping or getting that taste, he must renounce doing that very same thing time to time. Therefore the businessman, five days a week, he has to do something else. He goes to the countryside, the beach, he stays at home, etc, but he cannot do the same thing everyday because it is ‘bhoga-tyaga’ it is not a satisfying taste for the soul. This is the second distinction between the mundane rasa and Krsna consciousness.

Rupa Goswami laments for not having thousands of tongues and ears so he could chant and hear the names of the Lord – the proof that the taste for chanting was increasing more and more. Not boring. One can practice twenty-four hours a day devotional service because the taste is so sweet. Mundane rasa does not endure long. There is a limit of how much one can be satisfied in mundane rasa even if there is a sweet taste.[Example: how much we can eat and enjoy ice-cream? A big cup, two, three perhaps a room filled with ice-cream? Definitely not! After a certain amount it will loose its taste. The tongue will loose its ability of deriving any happiness from it.] Material pleasure is ‘capala sukha’, it is temporary, limited. And ultimately it is temporary because we are going to die. In this way Bhakti-rasa being eternally present can truly satisfy the soul, while no mundane taste that comes from service can actually satisfy us. And how to get and cultivate that Bhakti-rasa is going to be described by Srila Rupa Goswami. This 2nd section of the Preface gives the distinction between Bhakti-rasa and mundane rasa, description of Bhakti-rasa, its glories and its results. In page ‘xvi’ we read: “This eternal engagement in Bhakti-rasa can be understood by a serious student upon studying ‘The Nectar of Devotion’. Adoption of Bhakti-rasa or Krsna consciousness will immediately bring on to an auspicious life free from anxieties and will bless one with transcendental existence, thus minimizing the value of liberation.”

It is interesting to know here what brings us to Krsna. This is a descending process as Srila Prabhupada explains (page ‘xiv’ last para): “Bhakti-rasa itself is sufficient to produce a feeling of liberation, because it attracts the attention of the Supreme Lord, Krsna. Generally neophyte devotees are anxious to see Krsna or God, but God cannot be seen or known by our present materially blunt senses. The process of devotional service as it is recommended in the ‘Nectar of Devotion’ will gradually elevate one from the material condition of life to the spiritual status wherein the devotee become free, purified of all designations.

If one develops his Bhakti, his Krsna consciousness, than he will be able to attract the attention of Krsna. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta used to say: “Don’t try to see Krsna but act in such a way that Krsna will see you!”

What will attract Krsna’s attention? – One’s Bhakti, one’s devotion. And Bhakti-rasa is the sweet mellow or taste that one develops by his devotion to Lord Krsna. That is Krsna’s reciprocation – this rasa or taste with devotion. With that the devotee does his service.

How to cultivate the devotion? – this what ‘Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu’ is about – the ocean of devotional service or the sweetness of devotional service.

(3) In this last section of the Preface, Srila Prabhupada describes love and material considerations.

Ultimately Bhakti comes to the point of Prema, love of Krsna. Srila Prabhupada is going to describe that this loving propensity is very, very deep and it is natural for the living entity. But now this loving propensity is directed toward matter. Is directed toward our family, our mother, father, sisters, brothers, society, caste, countrymen, and even up to the degree of all humanity. Or even higher than that, all living entities in this world. But even to this point our loving propensity will not be satisfied unless one learns how to love Krsna. That consciousness is dormant within the living entity. Any other consciousness is artificial. And if we do love Krsna, automatically we will love all living entities, just as when we water the root of a tree, all the different parts of the tree will be watered. That works because all living entities are parts and parcels of Krsna. When one loves Krsna, automatically he loves His parts and parcels. And one sees (as explained in the Sri Isopanisad) all living entities in relation with Krsna, he sees them as His children and therefore his brothers and sisters.

Next topic is about material necessities. Because, naturally if one is thinking “yes I have to love Krsna, I cannot love those things in the material world”, then the next question is : “What about the material world, how should I deal with the material world? Should I become completely aloof, should I live in the Himalayan mountains? Should I live as a very austere babaji? Is that possible, should I be doing that?”

Here Srila Prabhupada answers those questions: “No! We don’t have to do that!” And in fact practically no body can do that – live a complete austere existence. Not with the modern materialistic culture as it is now. Rather we should understand that ‘the material comforts of life alone are not sufficient to make us happy’. And Srila Prabhupada gives the example of the USA where there is so much wealth, so much opulence…. So many people from other countries dream to go to America and also become happy, but the Americans are not so happy. If one who have something and is not happy how one who will get the same thing will be happy? That is just a dream.

Material facilities by themselves cannot make us happy. We must learn to love Krsna and develop our Bhakti-rasa – that only will make us happy.

How to deal with the material world, if we learn to love Krsna? – One may live without material discomfort but at the same time he should learn the art of loving Krsna. That is practical.

In our preaching movement we should learn how to use things in the service of Krsna and not for our sense gratification because that will not make us happy. Everything is Krsna’s and should be used in His service only. This will be explained by Rupa Goswami later on.

Summary of the Preface:

First the history of the ‘Nectar of Devotion’ was explained and it was described that the NOD is meant for the devotees of the Krsna consciousness movement, to situate them solidly in Krsna consciousness – it is the ‘Law book’.

Then Srila Prabhupada defines what Bhakti-rasa is and how it is different from mundane material rasa. How Bhakti-rasa is eternal, it satisfies fully the soul. Material taste that comes from service they do not satisfy us, they force us to leave them after some time and try something else.

But Bhakti-rasa is that thing which will satisfy the soul completely. And what is it? It is ‘love’! (That’s the last section.) It is love of Krsna. When the loving propensity that we all have is directed toward Krsna, then the soul can be happy and then he can have also the proper relationship of affection toward all living beings in the material world.

And how should we deal with the material world, the material facilities? We can live comfortably but we should understand that the material world cannot satisfy us. But we should live comfortably not artificially, without discomfort, and use everything in the material world in Krsna’s service. And thereby we can become Krsna conscious and in a very simple and easy way.

Srila Prabhupada (almost) ends his purport with: “specifically presented for persons who are now engaged in the Krsna consciousness movement.”

INTRODUCTION:

Invoking auspiciousness – ‘Sri Krsna jayate’. This is how Srila Rupa Goswami opens his book.

This Introduction is actually the beginning of Rupa Goswami’s ‘Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu’. Rupa Goswami has written this book for three reasons:

(1) The first reason – he was directly instructed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to write on pure devotional service. Mahaprabhu instructed him directly to do this service.

(2) The second reason – he wants to do the highest good for humanity. And the highest good is: engaging people in devotional service and bringing them to the platform of purity in devotional service and ultimately to the lotus feet of Sri Krsna.

(3) The third reason – he is writing this book to satisfy the thirst of the self-realized souls for Krsna consciousness. By the association of Rupa Goswami the devotees who are pure and have developed a thirst for Krsna consciousness, when they read ‘Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu’ they will feel great satisfaction in their hearts and their thirst will be satisfied.

For these three reasons Rupa Goswami is writing ‘Nectar of Devotion’ and he begins it with: ‘Sri Krsna Jayate’.

What does Rupa Goswami do and how Srila Prabhupada introduces things? He explains that Lord Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And the methodology to develop love for Krsna is the purpose of writing this book.

There are so many conceptions of what is the Supreme. Some people think that the Supreme is formless. Others think that the Supreme is God but they don’t know anything about God. Others think that the Supreme is the Paramatma. Others think that God is the controller. Others think that God is the ‘Great law-maker’. Others think that God is Visnu or Narayana… but here Rupa Goswami, following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is explaining that the ultimate conception or understanding of God is Sri Krsna. Therefore Srila Prabhupada says: ‘Lord Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead’. He is the One who is the cause of all causes. He is the reservoir of all rasas – He embodies rasa. His body is composed of rasa. He is ‘Rasaraja’. Practically His pleasure is to engage in rasa. This is what Krsna does. (the ex. of the German scholar who went to India to find out who is the Supreme Lord. After seeing the different incarnations and demigods engaged in all sorts of activities and meditations and then by seeing Krsna just playing with His flute, he concluded that Krsna is surely the Supreme Lord. He has nothing to do, just to enjoy).

There are five primary rasas or relationships one can have with Krsna: neutrality, servitorship, friendship, parenthood and conjugal. These, for a pure soul, they are eternal, they never change. And in addition there are seven secondary rasas, that come and go and add to the primary rasas. Rupa Goswami begins his book with one very nice verse:

akhila-rasamrta-murtih

prasmara-ruci-ruddha-taraka-palih

kalita-syama-lalito

radha-preyan vidhur jayati

“Let Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, be glorified! By virtue of His expanding attractive features, He subjugated the gopis named Taraka and Pali and absorbed Syama and Lalita. He is the most attractive lover of Srimati Radharani and is the reservoir of pleasure for all devotional mellows.” (CC Mad 8.142)

Krsna is the Supreme attractive form. Krsna means ‘all-attractive’. And by His universal and transcendental features He has captivated all the gopis headed by Taraka, Palika, Syama, Lalita and ultimately Srimati Radharani.

This is a very intimate information about Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All different points and aspects will be elaborately discussed and explained by Rupa Goswami.

Krsna is compared to the moon and Taraka and Palika, two gopis who are compared to the many stars in the galaxy. Just like when the moon is full, very bright, one cannot see the stars in the sky due to the luster of the moon. Similarly the luster of Sri Krsna, the transcendental attractive potency of Krsna has eclipsed the power of all the gopis and completely brought them under His control. This is Krsna.

Jiva Goswami in his ‘Sad-sandharbas’ has taken so much care and trouble to use sastric proof, specially from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, to show that it is Krsna who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He quoted so many verses from the SB to show that Krsna’s birth was not ordinary. And that Krsna is the primary name of God among so many other (secondary) names. He is the Lord of all the three worlds, and His beauty is beyond compare. He is all attractive. This is the meaning of Krsna.

From SB 10.29.40: “Dear Krsna, (the gopis are speaking) what woman from all the three worlds would not be deviated from the religious behaviour when bewildered by the sweet drawn out melody of Your flute. Your beauty makes all the three worlds auspicious. Indeed even the cows, birds, trees, and deer manifest the ecstatic symptoms of bodily hair standing on end, when they see Your beautiful form.” ‘Krsna’s beauty is without compare. He is the Supreme Lord. His spiritual body is manifested by His ‘svarupa-sakti’ or His internal potency. Krsna is the source of all avataras (krsnas tu bhagavan svayam). Krsna is the refuge of all. Everything ultimately takes shelter of Krsna. Krsna is the embodiment of all rasas. Krsna is the Creator of universes. And He is the Creator of that Maya that makes all the universes and everything within them appear real, although they are not real. Krsna reciprocates completely with His devotees.’

These were quoted by Srila Jiva Goswami to show that only the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Cause of all causes, is the only One who possesses all these qualities.

“The various groups of people on the arena regarded Krsna in different ways when He entered it with His elder brother. The wrestlers saw Krsna as a lightening bolt. The men of Mathura as the best of males. The women as Cupid in person. The cowherd men as their relative. The impious rulers as a chastiser. His parents as their child. The King of Bhojas saw Him as death. The unintelligent they saw the Supreme Lord’s universal form. The yogis saw Him as the Absolute Truth. And the Vrsnis as their Supreme worship able deity.”

Krsna alone possesses all these qualities and therefore is not an exaggeration to call Him the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Srila Prabhupada continues by saying: “Let His Lordship Sri Krsna, His grace be on us so that there may not be any hindrances in the execution of this duty of writing the ‘Nectar of Devotion’ impelled by His Divine Grace Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Prabhupada.”

Then Srila Prabhupada offers his obeisances to the lotus feet of Srila Rupa Goswami and his own guru-maharaja for their inspiration in his compilation of the ‘Nectar of Devotion’. Then he offers obeisances to Lord Sri Caitanya. All this is done to create auspiciousness and to explain the purpose of his book. (2nd and 3rd para.page ‘xix’)

Then he explains Rupa Goswami’s offering of obeisances to his spiritual master Sanatana Goswami.

Sanatana has two meanings: one meaning is: “to Sanatana Goswami’s pleasure to whom Rupa Goswami dedicates his book.’ Another meaning is: ‘for the One who possesses a Sanatana or eternal body – that is Sri Krsna.’

Then, after offering obeisances to guru and Krsna, Srila Prabhupada offers his obeisances to the Vaisnavas, the acaryas. (page ‘xix’, 4th para., until “The sharks who dwell in the ocean do not care for the rivers which are gliding down to it.”)

The devotees, the great teachers, are like sharks for three reasons: (1) sharks only live in the ocean, they don’t go into the rivers which means the different paths (karma misra-bhakti, jnana misra-bhakti). The great devotees they don’t care for these rivers that merge into the ocean. They just live unto the ocean and taste that which is available in the ocean, they don’t go up unto the rivers. (2) They swim in the ocean and (3) they enjoy unlimited scope for their activities. That is the ocean or sindhu of bhakti-rasa. The great acaryas don’t care at all for the rivers of liberation, they are completely satisfied in the ocean of bhakti-rasa.

And the rivers that have been discarded are the different types of liberation. One of those, the sahujya-mukti, is completely discarded by all Vaisnavas. And the other four other kinds of liberation are also disregarded by the great Vaisnavas acaryas. They are only interested in bhakti-rasa.

Next Srila Rupa Goswami prays to his spiritual master, Sanatana Goswami to protect his ‘Bhakti rasamrta-sindhu’ from two things: (1) the argumentative logicians who unnecessarily meddle in the science of service to the Lord. He compares their argu ments and logic to volcanic eruptions in the midst of the ocean. In the midst of the ocean, volcanic eruptions can do very little harm and similarly (2) those who are against devotional service to the Lord and who put foward many philosophical theses about the ultimate transcendental realization cannot disturb this great ocean of devotional service. The two things from which devotional service must be protected are: this logic – nyaya or taraka and another is mimhamsa philosophy. Purva mimhamsa is karma kanda. There are so many sastric quotes that give stress to karma mim hamsa and Rupa Goswami don’t want those people who suport that to interfere in his bhakti-rasa. Uttara mimhamsa is Vedanta-sutra and impersonalist philosophy.

In the beginning of the sandharbas, Jiva Goswami says that anyone who reads these books for any other purpose rather than the achievement of pure devotional service: “I’ll curse them!” Those who are not devotees should not meddle in these books.

In the beginning of the 3rd para. page ‘xx’, Rupa Goswami, although he is such a great scholar, he considers himself ajna, without knowledge. This is to set the example of how a preacher should be thinking and work. He should work in a very humble spirit. And Srila Prabhupada very sweetly explains: “That should be the atitude” (3rd para. page ‘xx’) That should be the mood of a preacher.

After Rupa Goswami had offered his obeisances and explained the purpose of his book, now he is going to describe the contents of the book. He begins his explanation (beginning of page “xxi”) of what pure devotional service is, because this whole book is about uttama bhakti, pure devotional service. But what pure devotional service is he is going to describe and define in one mantra, one sloka.

But just before that he is going to explain the entire con tents of the book. This Bhakti rasamrta-sindhu is divided into four parts and as the ocean is divided into North, South, East and West, beginning with the Eastern Side this Bhakti rasamrta-sindhu is divided into four parts: (1) Eastern Side, (2) Southern Side, (3) Western Side and (4) Northern Side. (see page 409 NOD)

1. The Eastern Side deals with bhagavad-bhakti-bheda (varie ties of devotional service). Practically speaking there is a ladder given in this side. There are four waves of this Eastern Side:

a) A general description of devotional service (chap 1 to 5 in NOD) – samanya-bhakti. This is a general description of what is devotional service and the stages of pure devotional service. Then there is a description of the three steps of the ladder.

b) Sadhana-bhakti, practice (from sraddha to ruci). This step is divided into two sub-divisions: vaidhiand raganuga.

c) Bhava-bhakti, and,

d) Prema-bhakti. Both are perfect pure, siddha-bhakti, pure devotional service, uttama-bhakti (from bhava to prema)

2. The Southern Side. In this division there are five differ ent parts – the five elements of rasa. Rupa Goswami is going to describe the ingredients or elements of rasa:(1) vibhava, (2) anubhava, (3) sattvika-bhava,(4) vyabhicari-bhava and (5) sthayi- bhava. This last one is the main ingredient. These ingredients are there when one is in the platform of bhava or prema.

3. The Western Side. The five primary rasas, mukhya bhakti- rasa: (1) neutrality, (2) servitorship, (3) friendship, (4) parental and (5) conjugal. These are the five different ways one can relate with Krsna and based on that on,

4. The Northern Side, gauna-bhakti-rasa, indirect loving relationships are described. There are seven additional rasas that come and go: (1) laughing, (2) astonishment, (3) chivalry, (4) anger, (5) compassion, (6) dread and (7) ghastliness.

Then which things go together or not go together (compatible and incompatible mixing of mellows). And at last, rasabhasa or perverted expression of mellows.

All this is a very complete and perfect description of rasa, the ocean of the sweet taste of purely relating with Krsna. The basis of this is pure devotional service.

For the rest of the Introduction, Srila Prabhupada has given Rupa Goswami’s explanation in one sloka of what is pure devotion al service. Then there is a second verse that is from the Narada Pancaratrawhich is used as reference by Srila Rupa Goswami.

The second part of the Introduction is simply an explanation of this verse:

anyabhilasita-sunyam

jnana-karmady-anavrtam

anukulyena krsnanu-

silanam bhaktir uttama

“When first-class devotional service develops, one must be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic philosophy, and fruitive action. The devotee must constantly serve Krsna favorably, as Krsna desires.”

And the other verse has practically the same meaning:

sarvopadhi- vinirmuktam

tat-paratvena nirmalam

hrisikena hrsikesa

sevanam bhaktir ucyate

“Bhakti or devotional service means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme Lord, there are two side effects: (1) one is freedom from all material designations and (2) simply by being employed in the service of the Lord one’s senses are purified.”

Let us analize the word for word meanings:

Anyabhilasita- sunyam, without desires other than those for the service of Lord Krsna, or without material desires (such as those for meat-eating, illicit sex, gambling, and addiction to intoxicants, etc.). Jnana, by the knowledge of the philosophy of the monist Mayavadis. Here jnana does not refer to perfect knowl edge in devotional service. Karma, by fruitive activities. Adi, by artificially practicing detachment, by the mechanical practice of yoga, by studying the Sankhya philosophy and so on. Anavrtam, uncovered. Anukulyena, favorable. Krsna-anusilanam, cultivation of service in relationship to Krsna. Bhaktir-uttama, first class devotional service.

And next we will analize the words of the second verse.

Sarva-upadhi, all designations. Vinirmuktam, free from all

desires or designations. Tat-paratvena, to be devoted to God. Nirmalam, being pure. Hrsikena, with the senses. Hrsikesa, of the Master of the senses. Sevanam, to serve. Bhaktih ucyate, this is called devotional service.

The verse ‘anyabhilasita sunyam…’ is in one sense the es sence of the entire ‘Bhakti rasamrta-sindhu’, because in this verse Rupa Goswami is defining pure devotional service. Rupa Goswami says that in order to have any discussion of Bhakti one first needs a definition and in the 11th verse (of BRS) he gives the definition. The 11th verse is called the ‘paribhasa-sutra’, or the verse which governs all the other verses in the all book or the verse which explains all the other verses in the all book. Like in Brahma-samhita the paribhasa-sutra is the first verse, isvarah parama krsna/ sac-cit-ananda- vigraha….

Most of the Introduction is devoted to explaining the 11th verse and in the rest of the book he is going to expand what happens in this ocean of the ‘Nectar of Devotion’. The ‘entry fee’ is pure devotional service. Obviously one has to learn clearly what is pure devotional service and what is not pure devotional service. Rupa Goswami has kindly given us his defini tion right in the beginning of his book, and he will expand this throughout the entire book. This is uttama-bhakti or love of Krsna of the highest quality – pure.

There are two parts of the definition of pure bhakti in this verse:

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