happiness from / rasa / mellow / taste

In the Tantra-sastra Lord Siva speaks to his wife, Sati, in this way: "My dear wife, a person who has surrendered himself at the lotus feet of Govinda and who has thus developed pure Krsna consciousness can be very easily awarded all the perfections desired by the impersonalists; and beyond this, he can enjoy the happiness achieved by the pure devotees."    (More...)

It has been seen that great mayavadi (impersonalist) sannyasis-very highly educated and almost realized souls-may sometimes take to political activities or to social welfare activities. The reason is that they actually do not derive any ultimate transcendental happiness in the impersonal understanding and therefore must come down to the material platform and take to such mundane affairs. There are many instances, especially in India, where these mayavadi sannyasis descend to the material platform again. But a person who is fully in Krsna consciousness will never return to any sort of material platform. However alluring and attracting they may be, he always knows that no material welfare activities can be compared with the spiritual activity of Krsna consciousness.    (More...)

In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya it is stated that Prahlada Maharaj, a great devotee of the Lord, prayed to Nrsimhadeva (the half-lion half-man incarnation), as follows: "My dear Lord, I repeatedly pray unto Your lotus feet that I may simply be stronger in devotional service. I simply pray that my Krsna consciousness may be more strong and steady, because happiness derived out of Krsna consciousness and devotional service is so powerful that with it one can have all the other perfections of religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and even the attainment of liberation from material existence."    (More...)

Actually, a pure devotee does not aspire after any of these perfections because the happiness derived from devotional service in Krsna consciousness is so transcendental and so unlimited that no other happiness can be compared with it. It is said that even one drop of happiness in Krsna consciousness stands beyond comparison with an ocean of happiness derived from any other activity. Thus, any person who has developed even a little quantity of pure devotional service can very easily kick out all the other kinds of happiness derived from religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and liberation.    (More...)

There was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya known as Kholaveca Sridhara, who was a very poor man. He was doing a small business selling cups made from the leaves of plantain trees, and his income was almost nothing. Still, he was spending fifty percent of his small income on the worship of the Ganges, and with the other fifty percent he was somehow living. Lord Caitanya once revealed Himself to this confidential devotee, Kholaveca Sridhara, and offered him any opulence that he liked. But Sridhara informed the Lord that he did not want any material opulence. He was quite happy in his present position and wanted only to gain unflinching faith and devotion unto the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. That is the position of the pure devotees. If they can be engaged twenty-four hours each day in devotional service they do not want anything else, not even the happiness of liberation or of becoming one with the supreme.    (More...)

In the Narada-pancaratra it is also said that any person who has developed even a small amount of devotional service doesn't care a fig for any kind of happiness derived from religiousness, economic development, sense gratification, or the five kinds of liberation. Any kind of happiness derived from religiousness, economic development, liberation or sense gratification cannot even dare to enter into the heart of a pure devotee. It is stated that as the personal attendants and maidservants of a queen follow the queen with all respect and obeisances, similarly the joys of religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and liberation follow the devotional service of the Lord. In other words, a pure devotee does not lack any kind of happiness derived from any source. He does not want anything but service to Krsna, but even if he should have another desire, the Lord fulfills this without the devotee's asking.    (More...)

In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya Prahlada Maharaj, while satisfying Lord Nrsimhadeva by his prayers, says: "My dear Lord of the universe, I am feeling transcendental pleasure in Your presence and have become merged in the ocean of happiness. I now consider the happiness of brahmananda to be no more than the water in the impression left by a cow's hoof in the earth, compared to this ocean of bliss." Similarly, it is confirmed in the Bhavartha-dipika, Sridhara Svami's commentary on the Srimad-Bhagavatam: "My dear Lord, some of the fortunate persons who are swimming in the ocean of Your nectar of devotion, and who are relishing the nectar of the narration of Your pastimes, certainly know ecstasies which immediately minimize the value of the happiness derived from religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. Such a transcendental devotee regards any kind of happiness other than devotional service as no better than straw in the street."    (More...)

The word rasa, used in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, is understood by different persons differently because the exact English equivalent is very difficult to find. But as we have seen our spiritual master translate this word rasa into "mellow," we shall follow in his footsteps and also translate the word in that way.    (More...)

The particular loving mood or attitude relished in the exchange of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead is called rasa, or mellow. The different types of rasa, when combined together, help one to taste the mellow of devotional service in the highest degree of transcendental ecstasy. Such a position, although entirely transcendental to our experience, will be explained in this section as far as possible, following in the footsteps of Srila Rūpa Gosvami.    (More...)

Without relishing some sort of mellow or loving mood in one's activities, no one can continue to perform such activities. Similarly, in the transcendental life of Krsna consciousness and devotional service there must be some mellow or specific taste from the service. Generally this mellow is experienced by chanting, hearing, worshiping in the temple and being engaged in the service of the Lord. So when a person feels transcendental bliss, that is called "relishing the mellow." To be more clear, we may understand that the various feelings of happiness derived from discharging devotional service may be termed the "mellows" of devotional service.    (More...)

This relishing of transcendental mellow in discharging devotional service cannot be experienced by all classes of men because this sweet loving mood is developed only from one's previous life's activities, or by the association of unalloyed devotees. As explained above, association with pure devotees is the beginning of faith in devotional service. Only by developing such faith in the association of a pure devotee, or by having in one's previous life executed devotional activities, can one actually relish the mellow of devotional service. In other words, this transcendental bliss is not to be enjoyed by any common man unless he is so extraordinarily fortunate as to be in association with devotees or to be continuing his previous birth's devotional activities.    (More...)

The gradual process of development to the stage of devotional service is explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, First Canto: "The beginning is to hear about Lord Krsna in the association of devotees who have themselves cleansed their hearts by association. Hearing about the transcendental activities of the Lord will result in one's feeling transcendental bliss always." It is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita that for one who has actually come to the spiritual platform, the first symptom visible will be that he is always joyful. This joyous life is attained by one's reaction to reading the Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam, or else from associating with persons who are very interested in the spiritual life of Krsna consciousness-specifically those who have made the determination to achieve the favor of Govinda by being engaged in transcendental loving service at His lotus feet. Being encouraged by such a feeling, one who is constantly engaged in discharging the regulative principles of devotional service in such a way as to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead develops two principles of compelling force, which come under the heading of vibhava. Thus one enjoys transcendental bliss.    (More...)

There are several origins or causes for this compulsive love of Krsna, such as Krsna Himself, the devotees of Krsna, Krsna's playing on the flute, etc. The effect is sometimes loving and sometimes stunted.    (More...)

There are eight transcendental symptoms found in the body during ecstasy, and all of them are possible only by a mixture of the above-mentioned five ecstatic divisions. Without some mixture of these five ecstatic principles, one cannot relish transcendental bliss. The cause or basis for relishing transcendental mellow is exactly what we mean by vibhava. This vibhava is divided into two-namely, basic and impetuous. In the Agni Purana the description of vibhava is given as follows: "The basis from which ecstatic love is born is called vibhava, which is divided into two-basic and impetuous." In other words, there are two kinds of ecstatic love. The object of basic ecstatic love is Krsna and His devotee. Lord Krsna is the object of basic ecstatic love, and His pure devotee, a reservoir of such love, is the object of impetuous ecstatic love. Impetuous ecstatic love, then, is that love which develops when one sees an object which reminds him of Krsna.    (More...)

Lord Krsna, who is the possessor of inconceivable potencies and qualities of transcendental knowledge and bliss, is the basic cause of ecstatic love. Lord Krsna also becomes the reservoir (impetus) of ecstatic love by His different incarnations and expansions. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam there is a statement in connection with the brahma-vimohana-lila, which demonstrates something of this impetuous feature of ecstatic love. When Brahma was deluded by Krsna, who expanded Himself into so many cowherd boys, calves and cows, Krsna's elder brother, Sri Baladeva (a direct expansion of Krsna Himself), felt astonishment and said, "How wonderful it is that my ecstatic love for Krsna is again being attracted to so many cowherd boys, calves and cows!" He was struck with wonder by thinking in this way. This is one of the examples in which Krsna Himself becomes the object and reservoir of ecstatic love in the impetuous aspect.    (More...)