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
SINGING LOUDLY One gopī informed Kṛṣṇa that when Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was singing about His glories, She enchanted all of Her friends in such a way that they became stonelike and dull. At the same time, the … Read More
ROLLING ON THE GROUND In the Third Canto, first chapter, verse 32 of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Vidura inquires from Uddhava, “My dear friend, is Akrūra in an auspicious condition? Not only is he a learned scholar and sinless, … Read More
DANCING While watching the rāsa dance performed by Lord Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs, Lord Śiva beheld the beautiful face of Kṛṣṇa and immediately began to dance and beat upon his small diṇḍima drum. While Lord Śiva … Read More
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Symptoms of Ecstatic Love The bodily symptoms manifested by a devotee in expressing ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa are called anubhāva. Practical examples of anubhāva are as follows: dancing, rolling on the ground, singing very … Read More
SPECIAL DAYS FOR REMEMBERING KṚṢṆA There are many statements about the festive days in connection with Kṛṣṇa’s different activities. One of these festive days is Janmāṣṭamī, the day of Kṛṣṇa’s birth. This Janmāṣṭamī day is the … Read More
KṚṢṆA’S DEVOTEES One may sometimes become overwhelmed with joy by seeing a devotee of the Lord. When Dhruva Mahārāja saw two associates of Nārāyaṇa approaching him, he immediately stood up out of sincere respect and devotion … Read More
