Madhya-līlāChapter 19: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 19.180

ei saba kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasera sthāyibhāva

sthāyibhāve mile yadi vibhāva, anubhāva

SYNONYMS

ei saba — all these; kṛṣṇa-bhakti — of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa; rasera — of the mellows; sthāyi-bhāva — continuous existence of ecstasy; sthāyi-bhāvein this continuous existence of ecstasy; mile — one meets; yadi — if; vibhāva — special ecstasy; anubhāva — subecstasy.

TRANSLATION

"All these stages combined are called sthāyibhāva, or continuous love of Godhead in devotional service. In addition to these stages, there are vibhāva and anubhāva.

PURPORT

Attachment for Kṛṣṇa never wanes; it increases more and more as one attains different stages. All the stages together are called sthāyibhāva, or continuous existence of ecstasy. The nine forms of devotional service are śravaṇaḿ kīrtanaḿ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaḿ pāda-sevanam arcanaḿ vandanaḿ dāsyaḿ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam [SB 7.5.23]. When continuous love of Godhead is mixed with the processes of devotional service, it is called vibhāva, anubhāva, sāttvika and vyabhicārī. The devotee thus enjoys a variety of transcendental bliss. In his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura states that anubhāva can be divided into thirteen categories: (1) dancing, (2) rolling on the ground, (3) singing, (4) yelling, (5) jumping, (6) making loud noises, (7) yawning, (8) heavy breathing, (9) not caring for public opinion, (10) discharging saliva, (11) roaring laughter, (12) unsteadiness and (13) hiccuping. These are the symptoms of anubhāva. Thus the transcendental mellows are experienced in different stages. Similarly, there are many other forms of expression that have been analytically studied by the Gosvāmīs. In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Rūpa Gosvāmī gives each and every symptom a particular name.

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