Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 19.228

apanare 'palaka' jnana, krishne 'palya'-jnana

'cari' gune vatsalya rasa -- amrita-samana

SYNONYMS

apanare -- unto himself; palaka jnana -- the notion of a caretaker; krishne -- in Lord Krishna; palya -- as object of protection; jnana -- notion; cari -- four; gune -- in qualities; vatsalya rasa -- the mellow of parental love; amrita-samana -- like nectar.

TRANSLATION

"On the platform of parental love, the devotee considers himself the Lord's maintainer. Thus the Lord is the object of maintenance, like a son, and therefore this mellow is full of the qualities of four rasas -- santa-rasa, dasya-rasa, fraternity and parental love. This is more transcendental nectar.

PURPORT

In his Amrita-pravaha-bhashya, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura gives us a short summary of this complicated description of the different rasas. He states that by becoming firmly fixed in the Lord's service, one is devoid of all material desires. These are the two transcendental qualities on the santa-rasa platform. Just as sound vibration is found in all the material elements, these two qualities of santa-rasa are spread throughout all the other transcendental mellows, which are known as dasya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vatsalya-rasa and madhura-rasa. Although in santa-rasa there is attachment for Krishna in awe and veneration -- since the two valuable transcendental qualities of this rasa are attachment for Krishna and detachment from material desires -- nonetheless the sense of intimacy is lacking. The reason for this is that in santa-rasa attachment for impersonal Brahman and localized Paramatma is prominent. In other words, the sense of intimacy by which one thinks of Krishna as one's only shelter and friend is absent in santa-rasa because one accepts Krishna as the impersonal Parambrahma or localized Paramatma. This understanding is based on the speculative knowledge of the jnani. However, when this knowledge is further developed, one is convinced that the Paramatma, the Supreme Lord, is the master and that the living entity is His eternal servant. One then attains the platform of dasya-rasa. In dasya-rasa the Lord is accepted with awe and veneration. Thus the active service that is absent in santa-rasa becomes prominent in dasya-rasa. In other words, in dasya-rasa the qualities of santa-rasa are present, and service also becomes predominantly visible. Similarly, when this same rasa is developed into fraternity (sakhya-rasa), a friendly intimacy is added. There is no awe or veneration in sakhya-rasa. Therefore sakhya-rasa is invested with the qualities of three rasas -- santa, dasya and sakhya. Similarly, on the platform of parental love, the qualities of santa-rasa, dasya-rasa and sakhya-rasa are fully developed in another form -- the sense of maintaining the Lord. Therefore on the platform of parental love there exists a combination of the qualities of four transcendental mellows -- santa, dasya, sakhya and parenthood. The mellow of parenthood puts the devotee in the position of a maintainer. Indeed, without formality the devotee takes the position of maintainer and regards the Lord as the object of maintenance. Thus on the platform of parental love the qualities of four transcendental mellows of love of Krishna are present.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness