Here we revisit the definition of bhakti rasa and explanations of the terms vibhāva, anubhāva, vyabhicārī and sāttvika bhāvas, but this time as given by Sri Rupa Goswami in the Bhakti rasamṛta Sindhu. Definition of bhakti rasa Sri Rupa Goswami defines bhakti rasa (2.1.5) as follows: vibhāvair anubhāvaiḥ […]
Bhakti rasa is a state of camatkāri sukham.
Continuing our discussion of rasa, we now examine vyabhicāri bhāva, which is also called sañcari bhāva. The word vyabhicāri = vi+abhi+car (car is a verbal root or dhātu meaning ‘move’). The definition of this bhāva is as follows: viśeṣeṇa abhimukhena caritam śilam yasya sa vyabhicāri: [that bhāva] which […]
On the taboo subject of rāgānugā bhakti
There is a beautiful kārikā by Śrī Śrīnāth Cakravarti which captures the principles of vraja-bhakti and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mood. We examine this kārikā below. ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeṣa tanayaḥ tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam ramyā kācit upāsanā vraja vadhu vargeṇa ya kalpitā Śrīmad Bhāgavatam pramāṇam amalam prema pumartho mahān Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhor matamidam […]
In the spiritual world, form follows function. This is true of everyone- including Kṛṣṇa’s associates
We have previously examined the concept of sādhanā bhakti and bhāva bhakti, and the difference between them. The article below explains the difference between them in less technical terms by expanding on concepts introduced in a lecture by Sri Babaji (Bhakti-rasamrta Sindhu lectures, 2017, Vrindavan). The mind of […]
There are two types of enjoyment (भुक्ति): material enjoyment and spiritual enjoyment. There are also two types of liberation (मुक्ति): freedom from material troubles, and spiritual liberation- getting completely out of the material world. None of these fit into the definition of uttamā bhakti1. Of these, we will examine […]
Rupa Goswami in his भक्तिरसामृत सिंधु has presented three divisions of उत्तमा भक्ति (uttamā bhakti): sādhanā, bhāva and prema. sādhya and sādhana are only two. Jiva Goswami and Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur have given two different explanations for why Rupa Goswami makes three divisions. Their explanations offer deeper insight into bhāva and […]
