English

LAMENTATION When one is unsuccessful in achieving his desired goal of life, when one finds no fulfillment in his present occupation, when one finds himself in reversed conditions and when one feels guilt – at such … Read More

DISAPPOINTMENT When one is forced to act in a way that is forbidden, or to refrain from acting in a way that is proper, he becomes regretful and thinks himself dishonored. At that time there is … Read More

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Expressions of Love for Kṛṣṇa There are some bodily symptoms that express overwhelming ecstatic love (vyabhicāri-bhāva). They are counted at thirty-three as follows: disappointment, lamentation, humility, guilt, fatigue, intoxication, pride, doubt, apprehension, intense emotion, … Read More

DEVASTATION When a person is confused by simultaneous happiness and tribulation and does not know what to do, this state of confusion is called pralaya, or devastation. In this condition of pralaya one sometimes falls down … Read More

TEARS Out of jubilation, anger or separation there may be the pouring down of tears from the eyes. When such tears are very cold they are due to jubilation, and when they are due to anger … Read More

CHANGING OF BODILY COLOR Sometimes, due to great aggrievement caused by the dealings of Kṛṣṇa, the body changes color. The gopīs therefore addressed the Lord thus: “Dear Kṛṣṇa, due to separation from You, all of the … Read More

TREMBLING When Kṛṣṇa was trying to capture the demon Śaṅkha, Rādhārāṇī began trembling out of fearfulness. Similar trembling of the body was exhibited in Sahadeva, the younger brother of Nakula. When Śiśupāla was vehemently blaspheming the … Read More

FALTERING OF THE VOICE When Kṛṣṇa was going to Mathurā on the chariot driven by Akrūra, Yaśodā and all the gopīs came to try to forbid Him to pass and to block His way. At that … Read More

STANDING OF THE HAIRS ON THE BODY The standing up of hair on the body was manifested when mother Yaśodā found within Kṛṣṇa’s mouth all of the universal planetary systems. She had asked Kṛṣṇa to open … Read More

PERSPIRING An example of perspiring because of jubilation is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One gopī addressed Rādhārāṇī thus: “My dear Rādhārāṇī, You are rebuking the sunshine unnecessarily, but I can understand that You are perspiring only because … Read More

BECOMING STUNNED The symptom of being stunned is caused by ecstatic tribulation, fearfulness, astonishment, lamentation and anger. This symptom is exhibited by a stoppage of talking, a stoppage of movement, a feeling of voidness and an … Read More

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Existential Ecstatic Love When a devotee is always intensely affected by love for Kṛṣṇa in a direct relationship with Him – or even a little apart from Him – his status is called existential … Read More

WHEELING OF THE HEAD One gopī told her friend, “It appears that Lord Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of the demon Agha, has released from His mouth a whirlwind which is acting on your head and is gradually … Read More

LAUGHING LIKE A MADMAN When a devotee laughs very loudly like a madman, it is done out of an extraordinary agitation of ecstatic love within the heart. Such mad laughing is an expression of the condition … Read More

DROOLING As an example of the running down of saliva from the mouth, it is stated that sometimes when Nārada Muni was chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, he remained stunned for a while, and saliva oozed … Read More

NEGLECTING THE PRESENCE OF OTHERS As far as neglecting the presence of others is concerned, the wives of the brāhmaṇas who were performing sacrifices at Vṛndāvana left home as soon as they heard that Kṛṣṇa was … Read More

BREATHING HEAVILY As far as breathing heavily is concerned, it is stated, “Lalitā [one of the gopīs] is just like a cātakī bird, which only takes water falling directly from the rain cloud and not from … Read More

YAWNING It is said that when the full moon rises, the lotus petals become expanded. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa used to appear before Rādhārāṇī, Her face, which is compared to the lotus flower, would expand by Her … Read More

CRYING LOUDLY A gopī once said to Kṛṣṇa, “My dear son of Nanda Mahārāja, by the sound of Your flute Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī has become full of lamentation and fear, and thus, with a faltering voice, She … Read More

STRETCHING THE BODY It is said that sometimes when Nārada, the carrier of the vīṇā, remembers his Lord Kṛṣṇa in great ecstasy, he begins to stretch his body so vigorously that his sacred thread gives way.