As we saw in a previous article, the eight stages of prīti are classified according to the saṁskāras they create in the devotee’s citta. Here, I examine Anuccheda 84 of the Prīti Sandarbha where Śrī Jīva Goswami explains that each successive stage of prīti derives from and builds on the previous one. As always, I will reproduce Babaji’s translations. The first stage is called rati —

tatrollāsa-mātrādhikya-vyañjikā prītiḥ ratiḥ yasyāṁ jātāyāṁ tad-eka-tātparyam anyatra tucchatva-buddhiś ca jāyate|

Here [in the hierarchy of prīti’s manifestations], that prīti which exhibits a simple excess of elation (ullāsa-mātrādhikya) is called rati. Upon its arising, the devotee’s one and only aim (eka-tātparya) is exclusively intent on Bhagavān, and the recognition is also engendered within the devotee of the insignificance of everything else.

This is the first stage, also called bhāva. This bhāva is a specific type of saṁskāra in the citta as discussed previously. Śrī Jīva Goswami explains that this rati itself is of different flavors, according to the degree of mamatva. Mamatva is the concept in a devotee that Bhagavān belongs to them. I will take this topic up in an upcoming article.

Addition of an additional saṁskāra, that of mamatā or possession, to the state of rati, promotes prīti to the stage of prema —

mamatātiśayāvirbhāvena samṛddhā prītiḥ premā | yasmin jāte tat-prīti-bhaṅga-hetavo yadīyam udyamaṁ svarūpaṁ vā na glapayitum īśate |

When prīti is enriched by the appearance of an overwhelming sense that the object of love is “mine” (mamatā), it is called prema. Upon its arising, the presence of factors that would ordinarily cause a disruption of prīti can erode neither prīti’s diligence (udyama) nor its essential nature (svarūpa).

Śānta-bhaktas, or jñāni bhaktas as Śrī Jīva calls them, cannot reach the stage of prema, because they lack the self-concept or abhimāna that Bhagavān belongs to them in some specific way. As such, upon reaching rati, they remain there. That is, the saṁskāras in their citta cannot go beyond the stage of rati and become prema. Śrī Jīva Goswami demonstrates in latter anucchedas that the prīti of the residents of Dwārakā who consider Bhagavān as their guardian (pālya-bhaktas), can go upto the stage of prema.

Adding the saṁskāra of visrambha promotes prema to the stage of praṇaya. Babaji explains visrambha as follows:

priyajanena saha svasyābheda-mananam — The word visrambha is defined as a heartfelt feeling of nondistinction between oneself and one’s beloved.

When this saṁskāra is added to prema, prīti rises upto the stage of praṇaya —

atha visrambhātiśayātmakaḥ premā praṇayaḥ, yasmin jāte sambhramādi-yogyatāyām api tad-abhāvaḥ |

Next, prema that is endowed in its essential constitution with an exceptional degree of confidence and intimacy (visrambha) in regard to love’s object [Bhagavān] is called praṇaya. Upon its arising, there is a complete absence of awe and reverence (sambhrama) toward the beloved even in circumstances that would normally warrant such feelings.

Śrī Jīva Goswami gives the example of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa carrying Śrīdāma on His back (Anuccheda 86). Śrīdāmā had no inhibitions allowing Him to do so. In his commentary on this part, Babaji cites the Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1.4.25 —

sakhā śuddha-sakhye kare skandhe ārohaṇa tumi kon baḍa loka tumi āmi sama

My companions, who are naturally endowed with pure intimate friendship, sometimes climb on My back and exclaim, “What makes You think You are so great? You and I are equals.”

Next is the saṁskāra of māna. In this, there is an addition of the saṁskāra of the self-concept of being extremely dear to Bhagavān to praṇaya —

priyatvātiśayābhimānena kauṭilyābhāsa-pūrvaka-bhāva-vaicitrīṁ dadhat praṇayo mānaḥ, yasmin jāte śrī-bhagavān api tat-praṇaya-kopāt prema-mayaṁ bhayaṁ bhajate |

When, due to the lover’s estimation of herself (abhimāna) as exceedingly dear to, or fond of, the beloved (priyatvātiśayena), praṇaya assumes a curious array of emotional responses (bhāva-vaicitrī) and is tinged with a semblance of crookedness (kauṭilya), it is called māna. Upon its arising, even Śrī Bhagavān becomes apprehensive out of love due to the devotee’s loving anger.

An example of māna is when a gopī became angry in the rāsa-līlā at Bhagavān when He disappeared. When He returned to the midst of the gopīs, this gopī expressed her anger —

ekā bhru-kuṭim ābadhya prema-saṁrambha-vihvalā ghnantīvaikṣat kaṭākṣepaiḥ sandaṣṭa-daśana-cchadā

Māna is illustrated in the following statement of Śrī Śuka:
One gopī, being agitated with anger out of love, glared at Kṛṣṇa as if to smite Him with her piercing sidelong glances, while raising her eyebrows and biting her lower lip. (sb 10.32.6)

I will discuss the remaining stages of sneha, rāga, anurāga, and mahābhāva in the next article.